Переведено с использщованием AI
id: 47235
date: 12/10/2005
13:06
refid: 05DUSHANBE2008
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
002008
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR EUR/CACEN,
SA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM,
KDEM, TI, Internal Politics
SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN
CADA DIRECTOR REMAINS IN COUNTRY FOR NOW
1. (SBU)
EmbOffs met with David Lovett and Paul Linge, the
outgoing and present
Country Directors of the Central Asian
Development Agency, a
non-denominational Christian-supported aid
NGO December 9. Lovett’s visa expired in November and, after
thirteen years in
Tajikistan, the government denied his visa
renewal
application. The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs’ Consular
Department did not
explain why his visa was denied.
Concerned
over being deported,
he requested U.S. Embassy assistance in
resolving the matter.
2. (SBU)
PolOff met with Ismatullo Nasredinov, Head of the
Department of
European and American Countries in the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs,
regarding Lovett’s visa status.
Nasredinov
indicated the
decision not to renew Lovett’s visa was solely
because of problems
with Lovett’s personal application. The
Ministry has received
assistance from CADA in the past and
understands the
implications of deporting a high-profile person
such as Lovett. Nasredinov also explained that according to
Tajik law, a court
order is needed to deport someone. A
court
order requires a long
judicial process and Lovett is not
presently in danger
of being deported. Nasredinov attempted
to
contact the Consular
Department, however, no one has been able
to authoritatively
speak on this case.
3. (SBU)
Post will send a diplomatic note to the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs
requesting clarification on why the Consular
Department denied
Lovett’s visa renewal and reminding the
Ministry of Lovett’s
thirteen years of service to Tajikistan and
CADA’s contributions
to Tajikistan.
4. (SBU)
COMMENT: The Consular
Department’s refusal to give a
straight answer leads
one to believe it is not simply a
technical
matter. Lovett’s denial is another
action along the
lines of recent
governmental measures restricting NGO activities
and preventing NGO
registration. However, it should be
noted
CADA and Lovett have
also encountered problems with various
government agencies
in the past and this pressure could be
because of some
personal grievance against Lovett and CADA.
END
COMMENT.
HOAGLAND
NNNN
=======================CABLE
ENDS============================
id: 47319
date: 12/12/2005
11:45
refid: 05DUSHANBE2012
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 002012
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/CACEN,
DRL
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV, PREL,
PROP, KDEM, KPAO, RS, TI
SUBJECT: COUNTERING
DISINFORMATION IN DUSHANBE
1. SUMMARY:
Is the United States responsible for the «Color
Revolutions» in
Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan? Are
Americans
employed in such
organizations as CARE and the National
Democratic Institute
spies fomenting revolution? Are
U.S.-funded legal
assistance programs designed to turn children
against their
parents? If the Russian disinformation
campaign
is to be believed,
all of the above is true, and unfortunately,
much of it is
believed.
2. The aggressive, on-going Russian
disinformation campaign in
Tajikistan and
throughout the former Soviet States
targets
American NGOs, USAID
and U.S. programs, calling into question
U.S. initiatives, and
sometimes succeeding in shutting down
U.S.-supported
programs. To advance the President’s and
the
Secretary’s U.S.
foreign policy and transformational diplomacy,
SIPDIS
Post requests that
the Department coordinate a regional response
to counter this
campaign and highlight American programs and
intentions. END SUMMARY
3. Central Asian populations have almost no
other source of
news and information
than Russia’s mass media and their own
Russian-dominated
state media. Democratic forces in the
region,
such as they are,
trust the propaganda and believe the United
States has backed off
in its support for democracy because of
superior pressure
from Moscow. The anti-American
disinformation
campaign is coming
from the old-guard in Moscow who have been on
a roll for a year
now, with plenty of coverage in the press, and
access to high level
Tajik officials behind-the-scenes.
4. The Tajik press has published several
anti-NGO articles in
the last six
months. Two examples include:
— On September 29,
Tajik language Tojikiston published an
article critical of
CARE International’s activities in
Tajikistan, alleging
CARE deliberately introduced contaminated
seed potatoes into
Tajikistan.
— On 24 November, the
Tajik State-owned, Tajik language
newspaper Jumhuriyat
published «What does ABA/CEELI want with
the
teenagers?» The slanderous attack
on a U.S.-NGO alleged
that the American Bar
Association/Central European and Eurasian
Law Initiative is out
to create young revolutionaries.
ABA/CEELI’s
«Street Law» program, designed to introduce eighth
to tenth grade
students to legal issues and the profession of
law is now in
jeopardy because of the article.
5. In November, Embassy Dushanbe began a media
campaign to
educate the public on
NGOs’ and USAID’s activities in
Tajikistan. To date,
Post has submitted three articles to the
local press
highlighting NGOs for their work in micro credit
assistance, business
investment development, and business and
economic law. So far, Tojikiston is the only newspaper to
publish the articles,
and only in English, which limits the
public diplomacy
outreach. The campaign will continue
well
into 2006.
6. The Embassy took the high road on the CARE
attack, and did
not respond to the
charge, thereby not creating a media frenzy.
On the ABA/CEELI
attack, the Ambassador took the offensive,
received positive
press, and effectively refuted the charges.
Post will continue to
press locally, but would sincerely
appreciate every bit
of high-level assistance we can get. The
Secretary’s defense
of NGOs in Russia, for example (on her Kiev
SIPDIS
trip) helped to
offset the tone from the Russian press, but this
message has to be
loud enough and clear enough to be heard
through the noise
created by the Russian press.
7. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov believes the
United States
plotted the
«color revolutions», (which have failed and led to
instability) and the
U.S. is responsible for igniting a «New
Cold War.» He characterized USAID as a «U.S.
NGO» bent on
dominating the CIS
«information space.» This
mischaracterization
of U.S. efforts in the region needs to be
addressed directly,
because the mistrust it generates impacts so
very directly on U.S.
interests. Right now the U.S. Government
seem to be losing the
game in this region on a day-to-day basis.
More support from Washington, for our NGO’s,
our investors, and
our U.S. assistance
would be most welcome.
ARMBRUSTER
NNNN
=======================CABLE
ENDS============================
id: 47335
date: 12/12/2005
13:32
refid: 05DUSHANBE2013
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 002013
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR EUR/CACEN,
SA
NSC FOR MERKEL
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL, ECON,
ENRG, TI, TDA
SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN’S
HYDROPOWER: GEOPOLITICAL GAME OR GOOD
BUSINESS?
1. (SBU)
President Rahmonov hosted a December 11 meeting to
discuss Tajikistan’s
hydropower projects. Tajikistan is one
of
the world’s leading
countries in hydropower potential, and
increasingly
feasibility studies point to domestic and foreign
markets that could
help Tajikistan realize the economic
benefits. The meeting lasted several hours and included
enough
major international
players to suggest these projects are now
serious
business. Tajik Ministers,
representatives of the World
Bank, Islamic
Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European
Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, the German company
Lahmeyer and the
Russian company RusAl all attended. The
American firm, AES,
was represented by Vice President Dale
Perry. Perry briefed EmbOffs after the meeting. Although
optimistic about
AES’s possible role on the Rogun hydropower
plant, he is nervous
about the potential geopolitical intrigue
behind the
scenes. Perry believes 90 percent of the
decision-making takes
places behind closed doors, with sometimes
very little
consideration for the simple economics of the
projects.
2. (SBU)
President Rahmonov spoke eloquently and with detailed
knowledge of the
hydropower projects. He clearly stated
his
intentions. Rahmonov does not believe Sangtuda I or II
will
produce enough power
to sell to Afghanistan or Pakistan, and
therefore he has
allowed Iran and Russia to finance the projects
for Tajikistan’s
domestic consumption. The World Bank
devoted a
lot of effort into
feasibility studies on export power from the
Sangtuda
projects. Cevdet Denizer, the World Bank
Tajikistan
Country Director, was
disappointed at Rahmonov’s decision not to
allow IFIs to
participate in those projects.
3. (SBU)
Rahmonov sees the Rogun hydropower plant as the
vehicle for export to
Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Tajik
President met with
Presidents Karzai and Musharraf in Mecca
earlier this month
and confirmed their desire to purchase power
from Tajikistan. Until Rogun comes on line, Kazakhstan would
supply power south
with lines running through Tajikistan.
President Rahmonov
views AES as the lead on the Rogun project
with IFIs support and
perhaps RusAl cooperation.
4. (SBU)
The IFIs indicated they would only support Rogun for
international export,
not domestic consumption. The World Bank
needs to conduct a
feasibility study on Rogun. They still
have
questions about
RusAl’s role in Rogun, knowing RusAl’s stated
intention is to use
the plant to power Tajikistan’s «TadAz»
aluminum plant. Denizer awaits the World Bank’s senior
management decision
on cooperating with RusAl, a company not
known for its
transparency or acceptance of Western business
standards. Thus far, RusAl has not been able to comply
with
International Finance
Corporation (IFC) standards and has
applied for an IFC
compliance review. RusAl has hired the
German company
Lahmeyer to conduct a feasibility study, and
Denizer worries the
Rogun project will eventually be given to
Russia, just like
Sangtuda I. Perry believes AES is in a
stronger position
right now than RusAl in the eyes of the Tajik
leadership and he
indicated the question is whether RusAl will
even participate in
the Rogun project.
5. (SBU)
President Rahmonov formed a working group to
formalize the
structure of cooperation. The working
group,
consisting of the
Tajik Deputy Prime Minister, the Chairman of
the National Bank,
AES, RusAl and the international financial
institutions will
meet January 12 in Islamabad to draft a
Memorandum of
Understanding.
6. (SBU)
Perry will be meeting with the Ambassador December 19
and plans to return
to Dushanbe January 19.
7. (SBU)
COMMENT: Perry said AES will base
its business
decisions on
economics. Geopolitics and ulterior
motives could
potentially derail a
long-term contract for AES, however, if the
feasibility studies
confirm the good business sense in going
ahead with Rogun, AES
may find itself in a lead position in the
project. There will be other hurdles ahead as well,
including
the environmental
impact of the proposed projects and the social
impact if some irrigation
water is diverted from downstream
farmers. For now, Tajikistan is a step closer to
finding a way
to integrate more
fully into the region, and perhaps to becoming
the broker that
finally brings U.S. and Russian interests into
alignment so that
Russia and the United States actually
cooperate in
Tajikistan, rather than compete on the basis of a
zero sum game. END COMMENT.
HOAGLAND
NNNN
=======================CABLE
ENDS============================
id: 47421
date: 12/13/2005 7:51
refid: 05DUSHANBE2014
origin: Embassy
Dushanbe
classification:
UNCLASSIFIED
destination:
05DUSHANBE2004
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
002014
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/CACEN,
DRL
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM,
PREL, KPAO, RS, TI, Human Rights
SUBJECT: ENGAGING
HUMAN RIGHTS DAY DISCUSSION AT TAJIK TECHNOLOGICAL
UNIVERSITY
REF: A. A) DUSHANBE
002004
B. B) DUSHANBE 002005
1. The Russian Embassy and Tajik Embassy didn’t
want it to
happen. But CdA and EmbOffs held a broad-ranging and
energetic
discussion with
students and faculty members of the Tajik
Technological
University for Human Rights Day 2005 (NOTE: Not
Tajik Technical
University as stated in reftels A and B.
END
NOTE.) CdA delivered opening remarks, fielded
several poignant
questions, and before
turning over the remainder of the nearly
two-hour roundtable
discussion to PolOff, PAS, and USAID.
2. The Tajik Technological Students led off the
discussion with
direct questions
about secret CIA prisons in Europe, America’s
hope to improve
democracy/human rights in Tajikistan, and a
soulful criticism on
how real Tajiks can care about democracy if
more pressing and
primal concerns, like hunger and heat, make
democracy seem like a
luxury that only other countries can
afford. CdA emphasized that democratically elected
governments
are more responsive
and accountable, especially on issues that
hit home like jobs
and poverty reduction and said Tajikistan can
have prosperity and
democracy. On secret prisons, CdA said
the
United States is
wrestling with the issue, in the framework of
established human
rights accords and with the full and necessary
participation of an
open press.
3. Later in the discussion, Rector Amir Kataev
and Deputy
Rector Bozorali
Azizov tried to steer the conversation away from
human rights to focus
on the politically safe theme of how they
can increase material
funding and cooperation between the
university and the
Embassy. The students, undeterred by
official posturing by
their university leaders, returned to the
topic of human rights
and democracy with most of their
questions.
4. COMMENT:
The Tajik Government still considers the very
words «human
rights» taboo. The reality,
however, is that
students and Tajiks
are often very willing to tackle the subject
with EmbOffs given
the right setting. The Tajik
Technological
students asked
heartfelt, engaging, and at times accusatory and
challenging
questions. But the informal setting and
give and
take resonated with
the students who clearly enjoyed a chance to
parry and match wits
with Embassy staff. Post will continue
to
use any and all
opportunity to have such discussions with Tajik
students of all
ages. END COMMENT.
ARMBRUSTER
NNNN
=======================CABLE
ENDS============================
id: 47451
date: 12/13/2005
11:35
refid: 05DUSHANBE2028
origin: Embassy
Dushanbe
classification:
UNCLASSIFIED
destination:
05DUSHANBE2012
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
002028
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/CACEN,
DRL
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV, PREL,
PHUM, KPAO, TI
SUBJECT: AMERICAN BAR
ASSOCIATION NGO UNDER FIRE IN TAJIKISTAN
REF: DUSHANBE
00002012
1. Charge met with the American Bar
Association/Central
European and Eurasian
Law Initiative (ABA/CEELI) on December 12
to discuss their
ongoing struggle with the Tajik State-owned
media. ABA/CEELI’s «Street Law» program in
Tajikistan’s
secondary schools
(reftel) first came under fire in the press.
The press inferred
that ABA/CEELI is turning students against
their teachers and
parents with radical ideas. Now, the MFA
is
stating that
ABA/CEELI’s secondary school programs are no longer
needed in Tajikistan.
2. Post continues to work with ABA/CEELI to
reinforce the legal
obligation of the
Tajik State-owned newspaper «Jumhuriyat» to
print their rebuttal
letter to the negative article, published
November 24. Under Tajik law, print media must publish a
rebuttal letter
within one month of the original article.
«Jumhuriyat»
has yet to publish Ambassador’s «open letter» to
their chief editor
countering the original attack article
against ABA/CEELI,
though the Tajik local independent print
media all published
the letter in their weekly editions.
3. The diplomatic note to ABA/CEELI politely
stated that the
Tajik Ministry of
Education implemented a series of secondary
school programs,
titled «Fundamentals of State and Law,» and no
longer needs
ABA/CEELI to «duplicate» these themes with their
«Street
Law» program.
4. PAS learned that the Ministry of Justice is
currently
investigating several
secondary partner schools and informing
teachers that any who
continue to work with international NGOs
will be fired. ABA/CEELI is also undergoing a Ministry of
Justice inspection of
its charter to work in Tajikistan.
5. (SBU) COMMENT. Though mildly worded in typical Tajik MFA
fashion, the
diplomatic note is believed to be either a direct
consequence of the
«Jumhuriyat» attack article, or a companion
move against
ABA/CEELI’s secondary school program in Tajikistan.
The Ministry of Justice inspections are,
unfortunately, a fact
of life for NGOs
operating in Tajikistan. International
NGOs
ride a roller coaster
here in Tajikistan: sometimes relations
with the government
are high, and sometimes they suddenly
plummet. ABA/CEELI is at that low point right
now. Their
strategy for now is
to highlight their programs and successes.
Post has requested a
meeting with the Deputy Foreign Minister to
raise this and other
NGO issues. END COMMENT.
ARMBRUSTER
NNNN
=======================CABLE
ENDS============================
id: 47463
date: 12/13/2005
12:27
refid: 05DUSHANBE2029
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 002029
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958:
DECL: 12/13/2015
TAGS: MCAP, TI, FR
SUBJECT: IIR 6 947
0017 06/UPDATE ON FRENCH DEFENSE MINISTER VISIT TO
TAJIKISTAN (U)
CLASSIFIED BY:
Jonathan Edwards, DATT, USDAO Dushanbe, DIA.
REASON: 1.4 (a)
CONFIDENTIAL
SIPDIS
SERIAL: (U) IIR 6 947 0017 06.
COUNTRIES: (U) TAJIKISTAN (TI), FRANCE (FR)
IPSP: (U) IFC1531, IFC1549, IFC1540, IFC1500,
IFC2613, IFC1513,
IFC1512, IFC1517
SUBJECT: IIR 6 947
0017 06/UPDATE ON FRENCH DEFENSE MINISTER
VISIT TO TAJIKISTAN
(U)
WARNING: (U) THIS IS AN INFORMATION REPORT, NOT
FINALLY
EVALUATED
INTELLIGENCE. REPORT CLASSIFIED
CONFIDENTIAL NO
FOREIGN
———————————————
———
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
———————————————
———
DOI: (U) 20051213
REQS: (U) (U)
DHCD111052, DHCD111054, DHCD111051, DHCD111049,
UTCX206000504.
SOURCE: (C) //OTS 6-947-0008-06//FOREIGN MILITARY
REPRESENTIVE
WITH DIRECT AND
INDIRECT ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION. RO
MET
SOURCE FOR THE FIRST
TIME. CONTEXT STATEMENT — RO AND SOURCE
WILL MEET ON A
REGULAR BASIS AS A RESULT OF RO AND SOURCE’S
OFFICIAL DUTIES. SOURCE PREDECESSOR COOPERATED WITH RO IN THE
PAST IN COORDINATING
SUPPORT ISSUES FOR U.S. ACTIVITIES.
SOURCE
APPEARS
CREDIBLE. SOURCE IS AWARE THAT
INFORMATION WILL REACH
U.S. INTELLIGENCE
CHANNELS.
SUMMARY: (C//REL TO USA, GBR AND AUS) THE FRENCH
DEFENSE
MINISTER WILL VISIT
TAJIKISTAN BRIEFLY ON 17 DECEMBER THEN 18-19
DECEMBER AS PART OF
HER TRIP TO AFGHANISTAN. AT THIS POINT
THERE IS NO AGENDA
AND THE FRENCH REMAIN UNSURE WHETHER SHE WILL
MEET WITH PRESIDENT
RAHMONOV.
TEXT: 1. (C//REL TO USA, GBR AND AUS) ON 13 DECEMBER
2005, RO
MET WITH SOURCE AND
DISCUSSED THE UPCOMING VISIT OF FRENCH
DEFENSE MINISTER
MICHELE ALLIOT-MARIE. THE DEFENSE
MINISTER
WILL ONLY PASS
THROUGH THE AIRPORT ON 17 DECEMBER EN ROUTE TO
AFGHANISTAN. SHE WILL THEN RETURN THE EVENING OF 18
DECEMBER
AND DEPART IN THE
MORNING OF 19 DECEMBER.
2. (C//REL TO USA,
GBR AND AUS) SOURCE STATED THAT THE FRENCH
ARE STILL
COORDINATING THE VISIT AND TRYING TO MEET WITH
PRESIDENT
RAHMONOV. THE PRESIDENTIAL
ADMINISTRATION HAS NOT
CONFIRMED WHETHER
PRESIDENT RAHMONOV IS AVAILABLE OR NOT.
MS.
ALLIOT-MARIE MAY MEET
WITH TAJIK MINISTER OF DEFENSE, COLONEL
GENERAL SHERALI
((KHAIRULLOEV)), BUT THAT TOO REMAINS
UNCONFIRMED. IN RESPONSE TO RO’S QUESTION, SOURCE STATED
THAT
THE FRENCH HAVE NOT
ENCOUNTERED ANY ISSUES OF CONCERN REGARDING
THEIR BASING
AGREEMENT AT DUSHANBE AIRPORT AND NO SPECIFIC
AGENDA HAS BEEN LAID
OUT FOR MS. ALLIOT-MARIE’S VISIT. HE
SAID
THE TAJIKS ARE NOT
ADDING UNWARRANTED BASING CHARGES AS OTHERS
IN THE REGION ARE
DOING TO THE GERMANS AND THE UNITED STATES.
SOURCE CITED THE
UZBEKS CHARGING THE FRENCH 4,000 USD FOR ONE
C-160 STOP AND GO AT
TERMEZ AS AN EXAMPLE OF RISING COSTS IN THE
REGION.
3. (C//REL TO USA,
GBR AND AUS) SOURCE REITERATED THAT THE
FRENCH DID NOT HAVE
THE RESOURCES OR SPACE TO SUPPORT OTHER
NATIONS USING
DUSHANBE AIRPORT FOR SUPPORT OPERATIONS.
COMMENTS: 1. (C//REL
TO USA, GBR AND AUS) FIELD COMMENT:
FRENCH
CONTINUE TO APPEAR
QUITE COMFORTABLE WITH THEIR ARRANGEMENT IN
DUSHANBE. WITH NO OUTSTANDING ISSUES AND THE FRENCH
DEFENSE
MINISTER HAVING BEEN
IN DUSHANBE RECENTLY, THE PRESIDENT AND THE
FRENCH LIKELY VIEW
THE VISIT AS SIMPLY NORMAL COURSE OF
BUSINESS.
2. (U)
HEADQUARTERS COMMENT. REQUEST
ORIGINATOR OF CITED
REQUIREMENTS AND
INTERESTED CONSUMERS PUBLISH AN EVALUATION OF
THIS IIR IAW CHAPTER
13, DIAM 58-12, OR SUBMIT EVALUATION INPUT
USING THE FORM
LOCATED ON THE DHO- 2 WEB PAGE ON SIPRNET
(HTTP://DO.DIA.SMIL.MIL/DHO2/EVALFORM/EVAL.HT
ML) OR JWICS
(HTTP://DH.DIA.IC.GOV/DHO2/EVALFORM/EVALFORM.
HTML) DHO-2 WILL
PUBLISH THE INPUT AS
AN IIR EVALUATION.
3. (U) SOURCE IS AVAILABLE FOR FURTHER CONTACT.
4. (U) DIRECT ANY QUESTIONS CONCERNING THIS IIR
TO DIA/DHO-2 AT
STU III (202)
231-7299, OR DSN 428-7299.
COLL: (U) AB.
INSTR: (U) U.S.
NO.
PREP: (U) 6-04708.
ENCL: (U) NONE.
ACQ: (U)
GARMISCH, GERMANY (20051213)
DISSEM: (U)
FIELD: EMBASSY AT DUSHANBE.
WARNING: (U) REPORT CLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL
DRVD FM: DHS HUMINT
SCG OCT 04
DECL ON: 20151213
HOAGLAND
NNNN
=======================CABLE
ENDS============================
id: 47587
date: 12/14/2005
11:39
refid: 05DUSHANBE2037
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 002037
SIPDIS
EUR/CACEN
E.O. 12958:
DECL: 12/14/2015
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, TI,
Internal Politics
SUBJECT: FORMER
SECURITY OFFICIAL TAKES ON DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER
ROLE
CLASSIFIED BY:
Richard Hoagland, Ambassador, EXEC, State.
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d)
1. (C) Newly installed Deputy Foreign Minister
Saimumil Yatimov
met with Charge today
for their first substantive meeting.
Yatimov is well known
as a former Ministry of Security official
who dealt with international
affairs, but his appointment to a
high post in the
Foreign Ministry was interpreted as a possible
signal that the
Government intended to take a harder line with
respect to U.S.-Tajik
relations and the activity of American
NGOs. Today’s meeting did not confirm that
speculation. On the
contrary, Yatimov was
open and encouraged deeper U.S.-Tajik ties
in all spheres:
economic, social, political, and security.
Yatimov agreed with
Charge’s observation that Tajikistan is
carefully balancing
its relations with the big powers, but he
said Tajikistan must
keep its compass pointed West as its
general orientation.
2. (C) Charge asked for the meeting to press for
movement on
long-stalled NGO
issues involving visas and registration.
However, Yatimov
opened the meeting by praising Ambassador
Hoagland’s well
reported speech in Budapest on security matters
and he thanked the
Ambassador for his evaluation of Tajikistan’s
role in global
security. The Ambassador especially
praised
Tajikistan for its
commitment to counternarcotics and
counterterrorism on
the border with Afghanistan. Yatimov
thanked the United
States for construction of the Tajik-Afghan
bridge.
3. (C)
Yatimov also sees a key role for the United States in
the possible upcoming
hydropower projects. He said U.S.
participation is
especially important for geopolitical reasons.
Charge expected
Yatimov would explain that an American business
would help counter a
possible overwhelming Russian presence in
Tajik power, but
instead he said the American presence would
help improve
Tajikistan’s position vis-a-vis Uzbekistan.
The
Uzbeks would be less
likely to meddle in Tajikistan’s plans if
the U.S. is involved.
4. (C) Charge delivered a non-paper outlining NGO
problems and
appealed to Yatimov
to work closely with the United States if
problems arise. Yatimov said he could foresee «no
problems» if
NGOs abide by the
law. The non-paper made the following
points:
— On December 2, the U.S. Embassy organized an
NGO Roundtable.
We were pleased Deputy Minister of Justice
Mengliev attended,
along with
representatives from the MFA, Customs, and
President’s Aid
Coordination Unit.
— NGOs raised several problems that blocked
them from
administering social
and economic aid to Tajikistan including
the Tajik media
publishing anti-Western NGO articles, visa and
registration
difficulties, and requests for bribes to allow
assistance to
continue.
— NGOs improve civil society and their robust
presence is an
indicator of a stable
society that helps attracts investors.
— We hope the Working Group consisting of the
NGO Forum and
the government will
meet soon and review these issues.
5. (C)
The non-paper went into more detail on specific cases
involving CARE, the
American Bar Association, Internews, Habitat
for Humanity, NDI,
and Freedom House. Charge said these are
all
respected
organizations run by good people who are looking to
improve life for the
average Tajik. Yatimov agreed to look at
the paper in detail
and meet again.
6. (C)
COMMENT: Yatimov is hard to read
but talks a very good
game about the
importance of improving and accelerating the
bilateral
relationship. We will see how serious he
is about
that in the coming
weeks. His response on some of the hard
questions involving
NGOs should also be indicative of his
willingness to really
move the relationship forward. Yatimov’s
deputies say he is
ambitious, hard-working and aggressive.
If
he is an ally, he
will be a key player for the United States.
He has the
President’s ear and has the contacts in the other
Ministries to clear
up longstanding obstacles. Rather than
being a step
backwards, his appointment could signal a fresh
start on some very
old issues like visas and registration for
NGOs.
ARMBRUSTER
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