A partial audio recording of the President Mirziyoyev’s speech at Jan. 19 Surkhandarya province meeting was leaked to YouTube. The four-and-a-half-minute audio contained harsh criticisms by the President towards some National Security Service officers, accusing them of treason:

"Today, I fired the Boysun district chief of National Security Service, this “impudent dog”, Sunnatullo Eshquvvatov. The thing is, the National Security Service must know their place and must do their own job. A couple of National security officers, the traitors, have virtually "killed" Surkhandarya. I know everything. I also decreed to dismiss the Angor district chief Abdumo'minov Bakhrom and the chief of the investigative department, Berdymukhammedov.”

“They once used to play “horse games” in Surkhandarya. All of the most profitable trades were appropriated by these people, I knew it myself. One or two of them are still in Tashkent, I will go back tomorrow and will fire them too. Colonel Haydarov, the deputy chief of VMSPG (unknown acronym), is also a traitor. I fired them all today.”

Then the President spoke to the deputy chairman of the NSS, Ravshan Sobirovich Yusupov, asking: "Have you conveyed my instructions?

“Yes, I have, sir, we convened a meeting and voiced all your instructions,” Yusupov replied.  

“Tell them again, as the deputy chairman, that from now on, the business will not be as usual, and tell them that they must attend all meetings, even at district level, and they must put away their impudence. Otherwise I'll close you down, I do not need this kind of service here. Your corrupt officers brought shame to us. Did you get me? " he asked and received a positive reply. I sacked three NSS deputy chiefs, the generals. One of them, Tashpulatov (Shukhrat Tashpulatov, deputy chairman of the National Security Service from July 2017, chief of the Tashkent Province Department) who had worked in Surkhandarya, was a thief.”

"I am here to serve the people honestly. You will see that everything will change, be settled and get going. The governor and my four local representatives (prosecutor service, tax service, police and customs service)! Have no fear any more. They (security service) no longer have power over you. Those times are now gone. Those people are only capable of sitting in their offices, gossiping and making up things. Their way of working brought huge damage to the country.”

“There was another one, the traitor to the nation, Gulyamov, who is now serving life sentence. (Shukhrat Gulyamov, former deputy chairman of the NSS, ex-head of the Surkhandarya province branch). We do need the National Security Service, but we need fair and honest officers, not those who spy after mayors and other government bodies. Those times are gone. The state must handle the state affairs. Everyone must do their own job. Those who gave them such powers are not there any more. The people have trust in me, I will live up to this trust".