id: 46725
date: 12/5/2005 11:37
refid: 05DUSHANBE1944
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
001944
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/5/2015
TAGS: MCAP, TI
SUBJECT: IIR 6 947 0013 06/AIDS, MEDICAL PERSONAL CARE, LEADERS DO
NOT (U)
CLASSIFIED BY: Jonathan Edwards, DATT, USDAO Dushanbe, DIA.
REASON: 1.4 (a)
CONFIDENTIAL
SIPDIS
SERIAL: (U) IIR 6 947 0013 06.
COUNTRIES: (U) TAJIKISTAN (TI)
IPSP: (U) IFC1510, IFC1590,
IFC2500, IFC1913, IFC2550, IFC2210.
SUBJECT: IIR 6 947 0013 06/AIDS, MEDICAL PERSONAL CARE, LEADERS
DO NOT (U)
WARNING: (U) THIS IS AN
INFORMATION REPORT, NOT FINALLY
EVALUATED INTELLIGENCE. REPORT
CLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL NO
FOREIGN
——————————————— ———
DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE
——————————————— ———
DOI: (U) 20051201
REQS: (U) GOSG181700104, GOSG181600403, DHCD111049, DHCD111054,
DHCD111044, DHCD045061,
SOURCE: (C) //MEMBER USDAO
DUSHANBE//MEMBER HAS AN ESTABLISHED
RELATIONSHIP WITH TAJIK MILITARY MEDICAL LEADERS. CONTEXT
STATEMENT-MILITARY MEDICAL LEADERS TEND TO BE MORE FRANK AND
OPEN REGARDING ISSUES THAT IMPACT THEIR WORK. HOWEVER, MANY
MILITARY MEDICAL LEADERS ARE ISOLATED FROM THE DECISION PROCESS
IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE.
SUMMARY: (C) MILITARY MEDICAL
PERSONNEL IN THE MINISTRY OF
DEFENSE ARE DEVELOPING AN AGGRESSIVE PROGRAM TO CONFRONT THE
SPREAD OF AIDS. HOWEVER, THE
MINISTRY OF DEFENSE LEADERSHIP
APPEARS UNINTERESTED, LEAVING MOST EFFORTS TO UNITED STATES
ASSISTANCE.
TEXT: 1. (U) ON 1 DECEMBER, WORLD
AIDS DAY, THE TAJIK MINISTRY
OF DEFENSE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT HOSTED AN AIDS
INFORMATIONAL/ENTERTAINMENT EVENT AT THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
HEADQUARTERS. RO AND THE UNITED
STATES EMBASSY DEPUTY CHIEF OF
MISSION ATTENDED AND SPOKE DURING THE EVENT. GENERAL MAJOR
((GRUDINA)), ONE OF THE DEPUTY MINISTERS OF DEFENSE, A NUMBER OF
SENIOR TAJIK MILITARY MEDICAL OFFICERS WERE ALSO IN ATTENDANCE
AND APPROXIMATELY 40 JUNIOR OFFICERS AND CIVILIANS FROM THE
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT AND FOREIGN RELATIONS DEPARTMENT WERE ALSO IN
ATTENDANCE.
2. (C) MG GRUDINA OPENED THE
EVENT WITH A SHORT FIVE- MINUTE
SPEECH THAT RECOGNIZED AIDS IS AN ISSUE OF CONCERN WITHIN THE
MINISTRY OF DEFENSE. HE NOTED
THAT HE WAS UNSURE OF THE LEVEL
OF THE THREAT AND POINTED OUT THAT TAJIKISTAN HAS LITTLE
EXPERIENCE DEALING WITH SUCH ISSUES. HE ACKNOWLEDGED THE
DISEASE IS SPREADING AND TAJIKISTAN NEEDS TO ENCOURAGE
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES. MG GRUDINA
THEN NOTED HE HAD AN
IMPORTANT MEETING WITH THE MINISTER AND NEEDED TO DEPART
QUICKLY. [FIELD COMMENT: RO HAS HEARD
MG GRUDINA SPECIFICALLY
STATE TO AN AMERICAN OFFICER THAT THE UNITED STATES PUTS TOO
MUCH EMPHASIS ON ITS AIDS PROGRAM WITH TAJIKISTAN. HE STATED
THAT AIDS IS NOT AS SERIOUS AS THE U.S. PORTRAYS AND THE MONEY
WOULD BE BETTER SPENT ON OTHER ASSISTANCE. MG GRUDINA WAS
CLEARLY UNCOMFORTABLE AT THE AIDS FORUM.]
3. (U) FOLLOWING A SPEECH FROM
THE UNITED STATES DEPUTY CHIEF
OF MISSION, COLONEL M.K. ((KIEMOVA)), DIRECTOR OF THE MOD
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT SPOKE. AFTER
STATING THE GLOBAL AIDS
SITUATION, COLONEL KIEMOVA NOTED THAT 500 TAJIKS ARE INFECTED
TODAY. TAJIKISTAN NEEDS TO TAKE
STRONGER MEASURES TO STEM THE
SPREAD, HE SAID. HE EMPHASIZED
THAT SOCIAL-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
IN TAJIKISTAN ARE HELPING TO INCREASE THE SPREAD OF AIDS. HE
SAID THE USE OF ILLEGAL NARCOTICS IS THE PRIMARY CONDUIT BY
WHICH AIDS IS SPREAD. THE
GOVERNMENT OF TAJIKISTAN HAS DIRECTED
THROUGH SOCIAL LAWS THAT THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE CONDUCT
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES AGAINST THE SPREAD OF AIDS. HE POINTED
OUT THAT IN THE LAST TWO YEARS THE MOD HAS INCREASED ITS
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES WITH THE HELP OF DONOR NATIONS, ESPECIALLY
THE UNITED STATES. HE ADDED THAT
THE CENTRAL MILITARY HOSPITAL
AND THE UNITED STATES EMBASSY ARE WORKING HARD TO FURTHER EXPAND
THE PROGRAM. THE RESULTS OF THIS
COOPERATION HAS BEEN THE
TRAINING OF DOCTORS, LAB TECHNICIANS AND NURSES IN PREVENTATIVE,
TESTING AND CARE. THE HOSPITAL IS
WORKING HARD TO TEST MORE
SOLDIERS AND IDENTIFY THOSE NOT ALREADY TESTED. THE HOSPITAL
AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENT ARE LEADING THE MOD’S EFFORTS, AND THEIR
EFFORTS CONTINUE TO EXPAND.
4. (U) COL ((USMANOVA)), DIRECTOR
OF THE CENTRAL TAJIK MILITARY
HOSPITAL PROVIDED A BRIEFING ON THE MOD’S SPECIFIC PROGRAMS.
THE BRIEFING STARTED NOTING THAT HIV IS SPREADING IN TAJIKISTAN
AND IT IS A PROBLEM THE MOD MUST ADDRESS AND IS DOING SO. THE
MOD IS CREATING AN ELEMENT WITHIN THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT
DEDICATED TO HIV EDUCATION AND TRAINING. THE MOD IS WORKING TO
CREATE LABARATORIES AT EACH MAJOR TRAINING BASE. THE MOD IS
PARTICIPATING IN THE TAJIK GOVERNMENT’S STRATEGIC THREE-YEAR
PLAN. THE FACT THAT MOST MILITARY
ACTIVITY AND MOBILIZATIONS
INVOLVE YOUNG SOLDIERS, HIV IS A SPECIAL CONCERN OF THE MOD.
THE MOD’S EDUCATION PROGRAM ATTEMPTS TO INFLUENCE SOLDIERS TO
UNDERSTAND HIV, ITS CAUSES AND AVOID DISCRIMINATING
AGAINST/HARASSING THOSE WITH HIV. IN CLOSING, THE BRIEFING
HIGHLIGHTED THAT SOLDIERS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD ARE DEPLOYED INTO
AREAS WHERE THE RISK OF HIV IS VERY HIGH. COL USMANOVA ADDED
THAT THE TAJIK MILITARY MUST BE BETTER EDUCATED AND BETTER
PREPARED, BUT PROGRESS IS BEING MADE.
4. (C) FOLLOWING THE DIRECTOR’S
SPEECH THE AUDIENCE ENJOYED A
FEW ENTERTAINMENT EVENTS SPONSORED BY LOCAL STUDENT GROUPS AND
NGOS. AFTER THE EVENTS A SELECT
NUMBER OF ATTENDEES ENJOYED THE
TYPICAL LARGE TAJIK LUNCH. DURING
THE LUNCH IN RESPONSE TO A
FEW QUESTIONS FROM RO, COLONEL KIEMOVA NOTED THAT THE MOD STILL
NEEDS MORE FUNDS TO SPREAD THE INFORMATION OUT TO THE FIELD. HE
THANKED RO A NUMBER OF TIMES FOR THE UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMS, AND NOTED HOW LITTLE WOULD BE DONE IN THE MOD WITHOUT
THIS ASSISTANCE. HE SAID THAT
WHILE IT IS HARD TO GET THE MOD
TO TAKE THE SPREAD OF AIDS SERIOUSLY, HE FELT PROGRESS WAS BEING
MADE. AFTER RO’S COMMENT, HE
HOPED TO TAKE SOME OF THE
ENTERTAINMENT ACTS ON THE ROAD TO SUPPORT THEIR AWARENESS
PROGRAM, BUT NOTED AGAIN THAT THE MOD NEEDS MORE FUNDS TO DO
THIS RIGHT.
COMMENTS: 1. (C) FIELD COMMENT: RO WAS SURPRISED AT THE QUALITY
AND EFFORT DISPLAYED DURING THIS MOD-SPONSORED EVENT. RO
UNDERSTANDING OF MOD AIDS PREVENTION PRIOR TO THIS EVENT WAS
LIMITED TO A FEW DISCUSSIONS WITH SENIOR LEADERS IN THE MOD WHO
DO NOT RECOGNIZE AIDS AS A PROBLEM. THE MOD MEDICAL DEPARTMENT
AND THE HOSPITAL ARE CLEARLY ENGAGED IN TRYING TO EXPAND THE
MINISTRY’S AIDS AWARENESS AND TESTING PROGRAMS. HOWEVER, DURING
THE EVENT RO SAW THE MAJORITY OF TAJIKS UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE
SUBJECT MATTER DISCUSSED. ONE
SKIT INCLUDED SIMULATING PUTTING
A CONDOM ON, TO WHICH THE MAJORITY PRESENT FIDGETED AND GIGGLED.
WHILE MOST TAJIKS ARE CONSIDERED
SECULAR MUSLIMS, THE SUBJECT
OF AIDS PREVENTION IS DIFFICULT TO DISCUSS. IN ADDITION,
PROBABLY 90 PERCENT OF THOSE IN ATTENDANCE WERE FROM THE MEDICAL
DEPARTMENT OR CENTRAL MILITARY HOSPITAL. THE OTHERS IN
ATTENDANCE WERE MOSTLY FROM THE FOREIGN RELATIONS DEPARTMENT.
THIS EVENT ON WORLD AIDS AWARENESS DAY IN THE MOD HEADQUARTERS
LACKED THE PRESENCE OF MOD LEADERSHIP AND NON-MEDICAL SOLDIERS
AND LEADERS. GIVEN NEARLY THE
ENTIRE EVENT WAS FUNDED BY U.S.
ASSISTANCE, IT APPEARS THE AIDS PROGRAM IN THE MOD HAS VERY
LIMITED EXPOSURE AT THIS TIME. THE DIRECTOR’S COMMENT THAT
APPROXIMATELY 500 TAJIKS ARE INFECTED WITH HIV IS WELL BELOW
MOST INTERNATIONAL FIGURES.
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 (20051201)
DISSEM: (U) FIELD: EMBASSY AT DUSHANBE.
WARNING: (U) REPORT CLASSIFIED
CONFIDENTIAL
DRVD FM: DHS HUMINT SCG OCT 04
DECL ON: 20151201
HOAGLAND
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=======================CABLE ENDS============================
id: 46805
date: 12/6/2005 9:18
refid: 05DUSHANBE1947
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
001947
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/CACEN, EUR/ACE, SA, DRL, S/P
NSC FOR MERKEL
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/6/2015
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PINR, EAID, KDEM, RS, TI
SUBJECT: TAJIK GOVERNMENT-WESTERN NGO ROUNDTABLE: ATTENDANCE HIGH,
EXPECTATIONS RESTRAINED
CLASSIFIED BY: Richard E. Hoagland, Ambassador, EXEC, Embassy
Dushanbe.
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d)
1. (SBU) What looked like a
routine meeting was a small
breakthrough for Tajikistan’s development community. The
December 2 roundtable discussion of donors, NGOs and government
was the first time all three groups came together on any
subject, let alone the sensitive issues of NGO intentions,
registration and visa issuance. The dialogue remained
relatively benign and predictable but the event demonstrated a
good faith effort on the part of the Tajik government, sending
eight representatives including Deputy Minister of Justice
Rustam Mengliyev, and showed the Tajiks that a united front of
donors and the NGO community expect more transparent, consistent
visa and registration procedures.
2. (SBU) The turnout for the
event was exceptional, with an
overflow crowd that could not be accommodated with enough
headsets for translation. Government turnout was gratifyingly
strong. As expected, the
government held the party line about
visa issuances, repeating that the normal time frame was 14-30
days, but technical difficulties (read: sloppy paperwork) can
lead to longer waits. Despite
having an open floor and myriad
individual complaints about the visas process, the NGOs kept
relatively quiet on the visa front. Only the EU representative
pressed the consular representative about the inconsistent
issuances for EU consultants and NGO workers. Bakhram
Kholnozarov, consular department head, demurred, claiming that
Tajik law dictated visa policy but they followed those
regulations precisely. Later, the
Tajiks admitted there were
some «negative cases,» referring obliquely to the politically
charged cases like NDI which have dragged on for months.
3. (SBU) NDI seized the
opportunity to make their case publicly
when the discussion turned to registration. NDI Country
Director Gegham Sargsyan asked why designated Ministry of
Justice (MoJ) points of contact had refused their calls.
Mengliyev acted surprised and said his door was always open when
issues arose. The Director would
not back down until he had a
fairly firm assurance of a meeting with a decisionmaker. Other
NGOs reported successfully re-registering within one month. The
MoJ reviewed the laws that required many NGOs to re-register,
and acknowledged that there were at times conflicting
regulations and requirements. The Tajiks would not comment on
the draft law that would require all NGOs to re-register (based
on the similar Russian draft law), although ABA/CEELI raised the
question. Another Tajik official
from the Presidency’s Aid
Coordination Unit (ACU) agreed that the NGOS reporting
requirements to the government could be streamlined.
4. (SBU) More than 60 people
crowded the UN conference room for
the 90-minute discussion. On the
Tajik side, four
representatives from the MFA, including the head and deputy of
the consular sections, Deputy Minister of Justice Rustam
Mengliyev, representatives of the Ministry of Customs and State
Revenues and ACU. From the
donors, the EU, UN, British, French
and German embassies attended, as did a large number of USAID
and State Embassy officers. Dushanbe’s NGO forum, a
representative body of 40 international NGOs turned out in
force, and their Chairman, Mercy Corps Director Gary Burniske,
gave introductory comments highlighting the role of NGOs and the
significant and varied projects they carried out, both
humanitarian and developmental across all sectors. Meg Luckins,
project team leader for the British-funded Supporting the
Development of Third Party Arbitration Courts moderated the
discussion and skillfully drew the Tajik participants into the
discussion without backing them into a corner.
5. (SBU) Although some non-Tajik
participants privately
expressed frustration about the futility of such a meeting, many
NGOs were grateful to come to the table with the government for
the first time. At the
conclusion, the government agreed to
coordinate with the NGO forum to form two working groups to
address visa issues and registration procedures. There was also
some time after the meeting for individual NGOs to work their
issues «offline.»
6. (SBU) COMMENT: In a country where government officials
regularly dodge phone calls and avoid meetings, having officials
available to answer unscripted questions was a gratifying step
forward. No one could expect the
government to admit to willful
delays on visas or intentional interference on registration, no
matter what the truth behind the recent problems. Whether or
not the pledges of cooperation, communication, and open doors
were sincere, several well-connected government officials made
such offers in front of a large audience, and Post intends to
work to hold them to their word. However, convincing the
leadership of NGOs’ good intentions for Tajikistan remains an
ongoing challenge for all donors. When queried about the
meeting several days later, North America desk officer
Nasredinov said it was a good step forward for a first meeting,
and he encouraged further working group interaction.
7. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: As pleased as we were with this
meeting, we know smoothing the path for Western NGOs in
Tajikistan will be an uphill battle. The Ministry of Security,
in cahoots with hard-line, anti-Western Russian intelligence
advisers, is determined to limit the Western presence and
influence in Tajikistan to the greatest extent possible. At the
same time, we have reformists in the various parts of the
government who are rooting for the West and doing what they can
to help. In fact, the idea for
this roundtable came from one of
the best young reformers. Atop it
all sits President Rahmonov
whom we still believe is generally a reformer at heart, but who
has to work hard not to fall off his high-wire while he tries to
keep both the Kremlin and the West relatively satisfied. END
COMMENT.
HOAGLAND
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=======================CABLE ENDS============================
