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id: 44064

date: 10/31/2005 10:22

refid: 05DUSHANBE1745

origin: Embassy Dushanbe

classification: CONFIDENTIAL

destination: 05DUSHANBE1729

header:

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of
the original cable is not available.

 
 
 
—————— header ends —————-

 
C O N F I D E N T I A L DUSHANBE 001745

 

SIPDIS

 

 

E.O. 12958: DECL:  10/31/2015

TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, TI

SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN:  UN SPECIAL
RAPPORTEUR FINDS JUDICIARY

UNBALANCED

 

REF: DUSHANBE 1729

 

CLASSIFIED BY: Richard Hoagland, Ambassador, US Embassy

Dushanbe, State.

REASON: 1.4 (b)

 

1.  (C)  During his recent visit to Tajikistan, UN
Special

Rapporteur on Independent Judiciary and Lawyers Leandro Despuy

noted a great imbalance between the power of Tajikistan’s

prosecutors, and the weakness of lawyers («advocates») and

judges in the system.  United
Nations Tajikistan Office of

Peacekeeping’s (UNTOP) Ambassador Vladimir Sotirov reported

Despuy found the prosecutors’ ability to initiate investigations

and prevent the implementation of a court decision distortedQe

objectivity and fairnesQof theQurt process.  Judges are too

often afraid of proQcutors.  He
hoped the parliament’s reforms

to the criminal code would remove these powers from the

prosecutor, thus legislating a more balanced judicial system.

 

2.  (C)  NOTE: A current case in point is journalist Jumaboy

Tolibov. Having written articles criticizing the Prosecutor’s

Office in Sogdh province, he was arrested and sentenced to

prison.  Acting on his appeal, the
Supreme Court’s Criminal

Affairs Board ordered his release. The Prosecutor General

overruled the Supreme Court, and Tolibov remains behind bars.

END NOTE

 

3.  (C)  According to Sotirov, Despuy enjoyed access
to all

levels of government, and remarked on Tajik interlocutors’

openness.  People were unafraid to
share their concerns about

salaries, corruption, and a need for better training.  The

Special Rapporteur will prepare a report on his visit for the UN

High Commission on Human Rights; he should publish his full

findings in Spring 2006.

 

4.  (C)  Turning to other issues, Sotirov observed
UNTOP’s

«relationship of trust» with the Tajik government allowed them

to address a number of sensitive issues not specifically in

their mandate.  For example, UNTOP
was addressing a number of

complaints they had received from citizens and inmates about

food and sanitation conditions in prisons.  UNTOP experienced

the same difficulties and frustratiQs as other international

missions Qng through the MFA to get meetings (reftel), but

characterized it as bureaucratic, not political.  «They don’t

have the administrative capacity to tackle requests.»

 

5.  (C)  Sotirov referred to the Iskandarov trial as a
step in

the «political elimination of the warlords» after the Civil
War.

 He observed that democratic
reforms were not an easy sell to

the Tajik public for two reasons. First, many think democracy

caused the civil war, so enthusiasm for democratic initiatives

is limited.  Second, remembering
the Civil War, many equate the

political opposition with a potential military opposition.

 

6.  (C)  COMMENT: It is not surprising that Tajik interlocutors

spoke to the Special Rapporteur openly about problems of

corruption and salaries-these are safe topics which generate

much hand-wringing and head-nodding, but few viable solutions.

UNTOP can sometimes take a cautious approach to the government

of Tajikistan, and is careful to preserve its status and limited

influence, but also uses its unique position to address problems

delicately where other institutions have limited access.

 

 

HOAGLAND

 

 

NNNN

 
=======================CABLE ENDS============================

 
 
id: 44072

date: 10/31/2005 11:11

refid: 05DUSHANBE1746

origin: Embassy Dushanbe

classification: UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

destination:

header:

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of
the original cable is not available.

 
 
 
—————— header ends —————-

 
UNCLAS DUSHANBE 001746

 

SIPDIS

 

 

SENSITIVE

 

STATE FOR EUR/CACEN, SA, EAP, EB

NSC FOR MERKEL

 

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: PREL, ECON, ETRD, ELAB, KDEM, JA, IN, AF, UZ, TI

SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN:  JAPANESE
CHARGE:  «TOKYO LOOKING FOR NEW
IDEAS

FOR CENTRAL ASIA»

 

 

1.  (SBU) New Japanese Charge
d’affaires Hiroshi Takahashi

called on the Ambassador on October 26. Unlike his, Takahashi

is energetic and brimming with ideas based on his extensive

experience in Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.

 

2.  (U) Takahashi noted his
government established the «Japan

Plus Central Asia Forum» in 2004, but has done relatively little

to energize it.  Tokyo is now
ready to move again and has asked

for new ideas.

 

3.  (SBU) Takahashi said Japan
supports the U.S. and EU

positions on the Andijon events in Uzbekistan but so far seems

to be under Tashkent’s radar.  As
soon as Tashkent figures out

Tokyo’s position, Takahashi predicts it will be harder for Japan

to do any business in Uzbekistan. Takahashi recommends that

Japan concentrate on relations and development projects with

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and, especially Tajikistan.

 

4.  (SBU) Takahashi judges
Tajikistan is pivotal in Central Asia

because of Afghanistan.   He sees
two possible initiatives that

would help build Tajik-Afghan ties. He will suggest that Tokyo

encourage the creation of a «binational free-trade dry port»
at

the site of the new Tajik-Afghan bridge at Nizhniy Pyanzh.  He

pointed out that Afghans have traditionally been great traders,

and a free-port trade zone between Tajikistan and Afghanistan

could help stimulate economic development in the region.

 

5.  (SBU) Takahashi said he would
like to see Tajik migrant

laborers turn from Russia to Afghanistan, especially as large

infrastructure construction projects take off in Afghanistan.

He noted they would be closer to home, share a common language,

and be treated better than in Russia. He added he would like to

see Japan, the United States, and the European Union do much

more to encourage Tajik companies to participate in Afghan

reconstruction.  He said he knew
the United States had once

pushed this for Uzbekistan but, he alleged, President Karimov

had undercut this initiative because he did not want Uzbek

companies prospering abroad where he feared they might be beyond

his control.

 

6.  (SBU) The Ambassador noted
that India, too, may be looking

for greater involvement in Central Asia, and encouraged Tokyo

and New Delhi to consider consulting how to promote economic and

democratic development in the region. He noted that as «eastern

democracies,» both Japan and India would be especially

well-placed to support Western efforts to promote democratic

development.  Their participation
would help to counter those

among the old guard in Tajikistan who protest that democracy is

a Western export inappropriate for Asian countries.

 

 

HOAGLAND

 

 

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=======================CABLE ENDS============================

 
 
id: 44168

date: 11/1/2005 9:21

refid: 05DUSHANBE1751

origin: Embassy Dushanbe

classification: UNCLASSIFIED

destination:

header:

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of
the original cable is not available.

 
 
 
—————— header ends —————-

 
UNCLAS  DUSHANBE 001751

 

SIPDIS

 

 

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, ECON, SOCI, KISL, KDEM, TI

SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN:  PROVINCIAL
LIFE CHANGES SLOWLY

 

 

1.  (U) Sensitive but
unclassified.  Please handle accordingly.

Not for public Internet.

 

2.  (U) SUMMARY:  On October 27 in the southern city of Kurgan

Tyube, EmbOffs met with a sampling of community leaders.  Change

comes slowly in the provinces, old habits die hard, and the

bureaucracy retains its power to interfere in business.  END

SUMMARY.

 

THE BUSINESSMAN

 

3.  (SBU) Azim Aliyev, director of
Open Stock Company ALI, a

cannery privatized since 1996, intimated the local government

still controls the management of the plant.  He suggested it is

universally understood if a company fails to comply with the

local government, it would be threatened with higher taxes, a

cut in the electricity supply, or other measures of coercion.

Somewhat reticent in offering specific examples, Aliyev admitted

such actions have been taken against him in the past.  He echoed

the familiar Tajik view that «Only stability leads to
freedom.»

Aliyev declined PolOffs’ request to tour the factory, saying

that it was not fit to present. He expressed interest in

learning more about the United States’ private sector, and

accepted an application for the Special American Business

Internship Training program.

 

THE ISLAMIC POLITICIAN

 

4.  (SBU) The local head of the
Islamic Revival Party of

Tajikistan (IRPT), Hoji Qalandar Sadriddinov, conforms to the

conciliatory message from IRPT leaders at the national level.

He stressed, unlike other political parties that draw negative

attention, the IRPT has a good relationship with the government.

 Even so, he cautiously cited some
examples of the government

cracking down on IRPT members and unfair representation at the

polls in February’s elections as areas needing improvement.  The

growth of political pluralism, according to him, would depend on

each party’s leadership and popularity. He listed the top three

issues of concern to Kurgan Tyube as jobs and salaries,

corruption, and freedom of speech. There are no madrassas in

Kurgan Tyube, and new construction of Friday Mosques, which

typically attract a large number of worshipers, has not been

permitted.  In addition, he
admitted that drug trafficking has

posed a problem in the region since 1995.  He argued the

government uses the pretext of drug interdiction to stop certain

shipments of goods throughout the region, detering trade and

economic activity.

 

THE FAMILY DOCTORS

 

5.  (SBU) Embassy PolOffs visited
the new family medicine clinic

in Kurgan Tyube and met with USAID-funded Family Medicine

Manager, Dr. Farida Asadova, and several other doctors.  The

Ministry of Health initiated a program to retrain specialist

doctors in family medicine in response to a shortage of family

practitioners in Tajikistan. Tajik State Medical University

graduates only about 36 family physicians each year.   Having

more family doctors available to treat patients would save time

and money for patients used to a system where they shuttle

between specialists, paying each an under-the-table «gift» in

exchange for services.   In an
effort to avoid these unofficial

payments, fees are stated up front at the clinic.  However,

according to the doctors, patients are reluctant to pay such

clearly stated fees, fully engrained with the Soviet-style

mentality of medical care.  We
have also heard that some of the

doctors themselves are resisting the change.  The $16 they

receive each month as a salary forces them to work for

under-the-table donations.  The
family doctors in Kurgan Tyube

were optimistic the system will even itself out eventually and

transparent payments will become the norm.

 

6.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Change comes slowly in post-Soviet countries

like Tajikistan, and even more slowly when the government itself

is selective and ambivalent about reforms.  We suspect our

 

interlocutors were reserved, at least in part, because they were

meeting with U.S. Embassy officers without prior authorization

from local authorities.   We had
attempted to schedule a meeting

with the Mayor of Kurgan Tyube, but did not go through the

standard diplomatic-note routine. Since Dushanbe had not

authorized Kulyob to authorize Kurgan Tyube, the mayor was «not

available.»    END COMMENT.

 

 

HOAGLAND

 

 

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=======================CABLE ENDS============================

 
 
id: 44490

date: 11/4/2005 11:41

refid: 05DUSHANBE1776

origin: Embassy Dushanbe

classification: CONFIDENTIAL

destination:

header:

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of
the original cable is not available.

 
 
 
—————— header ends —————-

 
C O N F I D E N T I A L DUSHANBE 001776

 

SIPDIS

 

 

STATE FOR EUR/CACEN, EUR/ACE, EUR/PPD, SA, DRL

ALMATY FOR USAID

 

E.O. 12958: DECL:  11/4/2015

TAGS: PREL, PGOV, EAID, KPAO, TI

SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN:  REQUEST FOR
GUIDANCE — BILATERAL INFORMATION

AGREEMENT

 

CLASSIFIED BY: Richard E. Hoagland, Ambassador, EXEC, Embassy

Dushanbe.

REASON: 1.4 (b), (d)

 

1.  (U) Request for guidance.  See para five below.

 

2.  (C) In November 2003,
President Rahmonov told the Ambassador

he wanted to be able to broadcast a wider variety of news and

opinion on Tajik State TV than simply Russia-generated material.

 The Embassy offered access to
VOA-TV Russian-language

broadcasts.  After many months of
preparation, IBB in Prague

sent the required receiving equipment to Dushanbe for

installation at Tajik State TV. After months of equivocation,

the Government of Tajikistan informed the Embassy that such

broadcasts would be impossible unless the United States and

Tajikistan completed and Bilateral Information Agreement.  We

said we would look into it.

 

3.  (C) The U.S. NGO Internews is
finding it increasingly hard

to fulfill its obligations to USAID and DRL grants in Tajikistan

because of restrictive licensing laws and regulations for

broadcast outlets and sources of production.  On October 26,

Internews Country Director in Tajikistan, Troy Etulain, wrote to

the Ambassador and suggested that Internews’ roadblocks might be

removed if the United States concluded a Bilateral Information

Agreement (text of letter faxed to EUR/CACEN).  In fact, we

doubt such a bilateral agreement would solve Internews’

problems, because the fundamental issue is Tajikistan’s strict

control of its information space subsequent to «color

revolutions» in Tbilisi, Kiev, and Bishkek, and prior to the

late 2006 presidential election.

 

4.  (C) In our opinion, a
Bilateral Information Agreement would