Turkmenistan Publishes 2006-2010 Counternarcotics Plan

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001022

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE, SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY),INL/AAE (CARROL)
TASHKENT FOR CORTINOVIS
ALMATY FOR WALDO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR PREL PINR PGOV PBTS TX
SUBJECT: Turkmenistan Publishes 2006-2010 Counternarcotics Plan

Summary
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1. (SBU) Turkmenistan's new national counternarcotics plan is a
matrix of 48 measures with assigned implementers (government
ministries and agencies) and program durations. It is short on
detail, but will prove helpful for initiating new INL programs and
other U.S. government-sponsored counternarcotics and substance abuse
initiatives. More than 60% of the objectives are holdovers from the
previous plan, which failed to achieve goals on money laundering,
combating drug addiction and establishing drug registries. However,
the plan demonstrates progress, as the government is now admitting
the need to address substance abuse. End Summary.

Putting the Plan Together
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2. (SBU) On April 24, a presidential decree proclaimed the
establishment of a national counternarcotics plan, the "National
Program on Fighting Illegal Drug Trafficking and Assistance to Drug
and Psychotropic Substance Addicts for 2006 - 2010." Embassy
immediately requested a copy of the plan, but later learned that the
plan had not been completed. Finally, on August 31, embassy
received the counternarcotics plan, which consists of 48 different
"measures." Plan implementation was assigned to numerous law
enforcement ministries, the health ministry and a potpourri of other
government agencies. Specific responsibilities were not published.

Plan Highlights
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3. (U) Highlights of the new plan include:

-- Regional cooperation on counternarcotics issues;

-- Prevention, research and treatment of drug addiction as well as
HIV/AIDS victims;

-- Prevention and suppression of drug-related crimes among youth;

-- Enhanced technology-based border security;

-- Preparation of training materials for law enforcement agencies on
organized crime, terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering;

-- Conducting surveys on the spread of drug use and HIV/AIDS among
the population, and especially the young;

-- Creation of "hot lines" for drug users; and

-- Commemoration of special days such as "Combat AIDS Day" and
"Combat Drugs Day."

Where the Plan Addresses INL Programs
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4. (U) The plan also incorporates some new objectives which use
on-going and future International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
(INL) programs, such as:

-- Improving the technical capabilities of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs' national forensic laboratory, and training the national
forensic laboratory personnel in modern forensic examination
techniques (U.S. Department of Justice International Criminal
Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) - Forensic
Laboratory Support Program);

-- Developing and adopting legislation on money laundering;

-- Promoting the involvement of public associations in drug
addiction prevention activities; engaging youth in sports and
socially useful activities (Drug Demand Reduction Program);

-- Arranging roundtables with the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC),United Nations Development Program (UNDP),
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other
international organizations and diplomatic missions accredited in
Turkmenistan to discuss the status of the programs proposed in the

ASHGABAT 00001022 002 OF 002


plan (INL-funded UNODC programs on the Afghan border); and

-- Implementation of programs and projects proposed by the U.S.
Government and other foreign countries.

Something Old, Something New?
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5. (SBU) More than 60% of the activities listed in the new plan are
carried over from the previous 2001-2005 national counternarcotics
plan. Many of these holdovers are generic in description, and it
consequently is difficult to ascertain how much has been
accomplished. One major accomplishment, however, was the October
2004 adoption of the National Law on Drugs, which addressed the
storage and destruction of drugs and psychotropic substances,
precursor control and controlled deliveries.


6. (SBU) There are some significant actions which the old program
failed to accomplish and which were repeated in the new plan. For
example, the creation of special units to combat money laundering
was delayed to 2007. The goalposts for activities such as the
establishment of clinics for the compulsory treatment of
drug-addicted women and familiarization with international practices
for rehabilitating drug addicts was shifted from 2002 to 2007-2008.
The creation of a state registry of recipient agencies for drugs,
psychotropic substances and precursors has been shifted from 2001 to

2006.

Comment
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7. (SBU) Security and law enforcement cooperation continue to be the
one area of the three-pronged program of engagement (promotion of
security, economic development, democracy/human rights) with the
government for which the embassy receives consistent governmental
cooperation. It was encouraging to see that the government openly
admitted the need to address substance abuse, an area of engagement
the embassy has pushed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well
as the need for a national law on money laundering and greater
dialogue with the international community on narcotics. Although
security engagement is apparently moving forward, it is lopsided,
and not a substitute for meaningful engagement in human rights. End
Comment.

BRUSH