Personnel of the central office of the Interior Ministry of Uzbekistan saw the last of Minister Zakirzhon Almatov earlier today. The ceremony where Almatov was pensioned off was attended by practically all directors of national security structures and senior officials of the presidential administration.

Those present say that Almatov looked ill and spoke in whisper as though speaking up was painful. Other speakers were clearly distressed to see Almatov go.

Almatov became the interior minister on the second year of Uzbekistan's sovereignty and, unlike a lot of his colleagues, was never relieved of his duties or demoted. Men who know him say that Almatov was a man of principles who could be counted on to refuse doing what he thought did not concur with the part the Interior Ministry was supposed to play.

He performed his duties, being a part of a system of harassment which was not exactly the best ever or liked by the population.

When chief of the Tashkent Regional Directorate of the Internal Affairs in the late 1980's and early 1990's, Almatov refused to give the order to shoot at protesters in the Bukin and Parkent districts. The order was then given by Deputy Interior Minister V. Gusev...

The most powerful minister of the Uzbek Cabinet for almost 14 years on end, Almatov never commandeered a profitable business venture from anyone, never bought land plots secretly, and never ran lucrative businesses of his own.

He was a soldier and retired as one - a soldier who carried out orders of the first president.

Even when Almatov privately disagreed with some orders, he was soldier enough to carry them out first and discuss them later. And that is how things are supposed be done.

Attempts are made nowadays to pin the blame for what happened in Andizhan on Almatov. That's a wrong approach because a soldier ordered to open up is first and foremost compelled to do so by the oath of loyalty. Emotions can wait until later, until old age and pension...