TAJIK GOVERNMENT-WESTERN NGO ROUNDTABLE: ATTENDANCE HIGH,

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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