Ukrainian flag hanging on the balcony of an apartment on the eighth floor of a residential complex in TAshkent' Mirzo-Ulugbek district was removed with the help of special equipment. The owner of the apartment, who was not at home at that time, said that before the incident, he received a call from a police officer. Photos surfaced on social networks showinf the fire truck's ladder being used to take down the flag.
The owner of the apartment, Rezhep Latipov, told the BBC Uzbek service that the incident took place on May 24 around 18:00. He said that no one was at home at that time, he was in Turkey with his wife.
According to Latipov, about 3 hours before the removal of the flag, a man called who introduced himself as an officer of Mirzo-Ulugbek district police department.
“If I am not mistaken, he introduced himself as Murad from the criminal investigation department. He asked if this apartment belonged to me. He also asked if I or my wife were citizens of Ukraine. I said "No. Then he asked why I have a Ukrainian flag on my balcony,” said the owner of the apartment.
He stated that in a conversation with a police officer, he said that the flag was inside the balcony of his apartment, that is, on the territory of his property.
“He insisted on removing the flag after a few personal questions about me and my wife's birth year. I asked them for a written explanation via Telegram as to why the flag should be taken down, I said that they can't take it down without a reason. He said that if I come, they will explain, and they have an order to withdraw, Latipov said.
The man added that he had not understood who reported the flag to the police and why.
He added that he had been born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, but constantly lived and worked in Uzbekistan.
“The flag was offered to me by my friends in Kyiv. I kept the flag at home to show them my personal support. I repeat it over and over again, the flag just hung on the balcony, it was not hung out on the street. It has been in the same place since March last year. So far, there have been no questions from the HOA or from anyone else.
I visited Ukraine a lot before the pandemic and the war. Although I don't speak Ukrainian, I had no problems communicating with people. I also have many friends in Russia. I have no enmity, hatred towards the citizens of Russia. I just hate war and the suffering it brings. My position is clear – I am against the war and I support Ukraine in this war,” Latipov was quoted as saying by the BBC.
The above situation has drawn sharp criticism from activists and users on social media. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has not yet responded to the situation. Who walks on the balconies with binoculars and why they decided to remove the Ukrainian flag, politicizing this issue and causing a public outcry, no one knows.
Correspondents of the Uzbek service of the BBC also wonder: why are they not taking action when еру flags of USRR, the flag of the former Uzbek SSR or the flag of Russia are raised in Tashkent?
Earlier, a march was held in Tashkent under the flag of the USSR. Then the participants shouted "Hurrah for Comrade Stalin!" At the same time, the Tashkent city mayor’s office, the TPD and other responsible departments did not publish official information about this march.
