The hunt for Islamists blamed for a series of attacks in Uzbekistan that have left more than 50 people dead this year is in full swing, but those asked to become the state's eyes and ears are not all enthusiastic.
President Islam Karimov, a military ally of the United States, has blamed the Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamic group for the latest blasts in July. They targeted US and Israeli embassies.
With arrests continuing and more trials expected, Karimov has picked up on the defendants' confessions - some reported to be forced - that they were also linked to the al Qaeda terror network and had trained in neighbouring Kazakhstan's vast desert expanses.
"The law enforcement bodies are powerful ... but against such an enemy we need help from every citizen who loves this country," Karimov told journalists last week.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, though banned in Uzbekistan, is legal in most Western countries and has insisted that it never uses violence.
Rights defenders say that the confessions by the 13 male and two female defendants in this month's trial were obtained using torture, a practice that is allegedly widespread under Karimov's rule.
Two arrested men were reported boiled in water and to their deaths in 2002.
Meanwhile domestic television has repeatedly broadcast denunciations of Hizb ut-Tahrir by artists, writers and historians and devout Muslims complain of being harassed by the security forces.
To supplement the police that are permanently positioned on most street corners the authorities have rallied the ubiquitous mahallas - similar to residents' committees - that for centuries have doled out aid to the needy and have helped maintain order.
"They told us to look out for strangers and unknown cars while we're sitting in front of our apartment buildings and to report anything suspicious," a 65-year-old pensioner said, adding wryly that the mahalla had refused his plea for a new bench for the purpose.
Among those watched is Latifa, 56, whose husband and two sons are serving long prison terms for Hizb ut-Tahrir membership and allegedly threatening the constitutional order.
"Everybody who visits me is checked by the police," Latifa said, pointing to the police station in front of her home.
"But terrorism is un-Islamic - my children, even after being brutally tortured, have never shown the slightest sign that they want revenge," she said.
In reality the authorities' appeals for help are likely to meet ambivalence from much of Uzbekistan's 26-million population due to the Soviet-style economy's continued decline and to the government's harsh methods, commentators say.
The wider population has barely been touched by this year's explosions, which were relatively small in size and mainly caused fatalities among the police, they point out.
"In Uzbekistan, where there is no political or economic freedom and people are controlled only by orders and punishments, where is this patriotic spirit supposed to come from?" a Tashkent-based Uzbek political scientist demanded, speaking on condition of anonymity.
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