DIP CORPS JOINS HANDS, RIDES A LOVE TRAIN TO THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000313 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CACEN (PERRY) E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL TX SUBJECT: DIP CORPS JOINS HANDS, RIDES A LOVE TRAIN TO THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. . . LITERALLY Classified By: AMB: TRACEY JACOBSON FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D. SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) On March 17, Conoff, along with most of Ashgabat's diplomatic corps, traveled by train to the town of Ichoguz, halfway between Ashgabat and Dashoguz to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the new $2 billion Ashgabat-Garagum-Dashoguz rail line. While the event itself was nothing special, the atmospherics of inebriated ambassadors at play on a new Chinese railcar did make for interesting companionship and provided some insight into some of the issues that our fellow diplomats deal with. While the completion of the new rail line will definitely benefit Turkmenistan's transportation and transit infrastructure, and is another example of growing Chinese commercial influence in Turkmenistan, it once again showed the GOTX's ability to orchestrate another senseless spectacle without consideration for the lives of the participants whose presence at such events is obligatory. END SUMMARY. -------------- BACKGROUND ON THE BASHI EXPRESS -------------- ¶2. (U) The recently completed 550 km Ashgabat-Garagum-Dashoguz rail line connects the capital with the northern city of Dashoguz. The new rail line is expected to dramatically reduce the time and distance traveled between Ashgabat and Dashoguz from 22 hours to 8 hours at a speed of roughly 80km an hour (Note: The previous rail line was a winding route that took travelers through Uzbekistan while this new route is a straight shot through the desert. It currently takes around 10-11 hours to drive from Ashgabat to Dashoguz and 55 minutes to fly the same distance - for 60,000 manat/approx. $2.50 for a roundtrip ticket. End Note.) ¶3. (U) Construction on the rail line began in 2000 and cost approximately two billion dollars. The railway line is expected to boost cargo transit and trade between Europe, Central Asia, and South Asia, according to the official press. The new railway line is part of an overall GOTX scheme to overhaul the country's rail system and replace aging trains with new modern Chinese-built trains. The new line was built to exclude travel into Uzbekistan via the Soviet system and reduce the smuggling of LNG and other products. The GOTX has also reported that the line was built to support construction of the controversial Altyn Asyr desert lake scheduled for completion in 2020. The train taking the dip corps to the inauguration event was a Chinese built copy of the standard Soviet overnight trains (only with more plastic in its interior),with amenities similar to the second-class "kupe" class, though with smaller, thinner beds and "Turkish toilets." Despite being heralded as a new modern train, the brakes were well-worn and rusted. -------------- ROAD TRIP!!! -------------- ¶4. (C) Ashgabat's diplomatic corps arrived at Ashgabat's central train station at around 0650 and were greeted by hundreds of school children lining the roads nearby who had previously been bussed to the site to meet President Niyazov, who would also be traveling on the train. (Note: Conoff approached some of the students and asked how long they had been standing there. The students, clearly shocked that someone would talk to them, declined to answer as their teacher, also visibly surprised, stood nearby. End Note.) After exchanging pleasantries and jokes about the upcoming adventure, the dip corps was unceremoniously escorted to the train cabins and placed in their respective cabins. After awaiting the president's arrival, the train departed as throngs of students, railway workers, and plainclothes security officials waived us off. ¶5. (C) As the train trundled into the Garagum Desert at a breakneck speed of 35 miles per hour, strategically placed horse riders, school children, and railway workers, some standing nowhere near any particular sign of civilization, waived the train on its way north. Smartly dressed waitresses passed through the cabins offering drinks, snacks, and badges emblazed with Niyazov's image which we were told not to forget to wear. As the train passed through several rural train stations, throngs of students greeted the train holding flags, Niyazov portraits and placards extolling the Great Leader. ¶6. (C) After a costly card game involving two bottles of ASHGABAT 00000313 002 OF 003 cognac and an empty Consular officer wallet, Conoff asked cabin mate Kazakh Ambassador Murat Atanov his impressions about serving in Turkmenistan. Atanov admitted that working with the GOTX was by far the most difficult foreign government in his career. He said that Astana was very concerned about the closure of Kazakh language schools in Turkmenistan, and noted that most ethnic Kazakhs had immigrated to Kazakhstan. He added that while at first it was easy for ethnic-Kazakhs to immigrate back to the motherland, specifically to Almaty and Astana, most ethnic-Kazakhs now remained in Western Kazakhstan, near the Turkmenistani border, since the Kazakhstani government could no longer afford to cover resettlement costs in the major cities. ¶7. (C) Conoff informed Ambassador Atanov that the USG was very concerned with the GOTX's treatment of all ethnic minorities. Conoff also said that the embassy was actively involved in trying to provide educational opportunities to Turkmenistani students by facilitating their travel to universities in the United States and the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek. ¶8. (C) As the train continued its slow and painful journey north, television crews passed through the cabins to film smiling ambassadors enjoying their trip. Several of them, including Chinese Ambassador Guicheng Lu, Russian Charge Andreiy Krutko, and others gave saccharine praise to Niyazov and his latest achievement. During his interview, Father Andrzej Madej of the Apostolic Nunciature praised the GOTX for giving the people yet another place to socialize, travel, and pray. -------------- WE'RE HERE, BUT WHERE IS HERE? -------------- ¶9. (C) Five hours after we departed, the train arrived in Ichoguz, an isolated hamlet midway between Ashgabat and Dashoguz in the middle of the Garagum desert to a throng of hundreds of students and villagers, bussed in to greet the president/train. After being ushered into a tent, the dip corps waited about half an hour before Niyazov appeared, gave a 20 minute speech praising the heroic railway workers for building yet another testament to the greatness of the Golden Century of Turkmenistan, and handed out prizes to several officials (a television, medal, and fifty dollars). As Niyazov was speaking, the assembled crowd began another round of orchestrated chanting of praise to Niyazov. Krutko, sitting next to Conoff, suggested that the chanting was for Niyazov's alleged body double that he uses for public appearances. After Niyazov's appearance, he briefly approached the assembled dip corps, thanked them for coming, and joked that after Ambassador Lu's recently published interview about China's relations with Turkmenistan, girls from all over were calling the GOTX trying to find out Lu's phone number. (Note: A small group of Chinese diplomats and/or businessmen accompanied Lu during the trip. End Note.) ¶10. (C) As Niyazov helicoptered away, condemning the dip corps to another five hour train ride without the Great Leader, the dip corps was escorted to a lunch with vodka and pleasantries flowing at equal speed. Among some of the more interesting toasts was a toast by Ambassador Lu praising developing Chinese-Turkmenistani relations in the transportation sphere, with Krutko adding "And not just in transportation." A somewhat inebriated Uzbek Ambassador Alisher Kadyrov, while attempted to refill his colleagues' shot glasses, praised the rail line's construction as a vital addition to Turkmenistan's development to a very sober Foreign Minister Meredov. As the dip corps made its way back to the train, British Ambassador Peter Butcher, Georgian Ambassador Alexei Petriashvili, and Romanian Charge Silviu Domian exchanged gossip about the latest "gift" prominent Turkish businessman Ahmet Calik (who was also in attendance) gave to Niyazov-an armored car rumored to be worth one million dollars. (Note: Conoff saw what appeared to be a new car covered under a tarp and sitting on a nearby truck. End Note.) Throughout the entire stop in Ichoguz, the bussed in masses performed a non-stop concert of singing and dancing, with no spectators in sight. Conoff managed to briefly speak to some of the performers/audience who told him that they had been bussed to the station four hours before the train's arrival. -------------- FINDING SAFE HAVEN AMONG OUR ALLIES -------------- ASHGABAT 00000313 003 OF 003 ¶11. (C) With the president gone, their official demands completed, and the train returning back to Ashgabat (again at an agonizing 35 miles per hour),most of the dip corps retired to their respective cabins for libations and merriment. Conoff successfully found a safe haven with the Romanian Charge Domian (who was very eager to get off the train) and Father Madej who shared his thoughts about his 10 years spent in Turkmenistan. According to Father Madej, he has seen a continuous degradation in the overall situation in Turkmenistan, noting that the people here by and large are more and more frustrated with daily life. Despite the hardships, Madej said that he hoped to continue working in Turkmenistan "as a priest not as a politician" until he -- Madej -- died. ¶12. (C) Georgian Ambassador Petriashvili joined Conoff's group. Noting the upcoming presidential elections in Belarus, Conoff asked Ambassador Petriashvili his views about the recent deportation of Georgian MPs from Belarus and about popular Georgian singer Valeriy Meladze performing in concerts supporting President Lukashenko. Petriashvili was angry with the MPs deportation and scoffed at the Lukashenko regime's "excuse" that the MP's were there to instigate revolution and civil unrest. He referred to Meladze as a "pig-bastard" who sold out to Lukashenko for money. He reassured Conoff that "America can count on its Georgian friends." Finally, after almost 12 hours on the rails, the weary dip corps arrived back in Ashgabat to waiting families, colleagues, and a much needed Marine House St. Patrick's Day party. -------------- COMMENT: "IT'S GOOD TO BE DA KING" -------------- ¶13. (C) The inauguration of the Ashgabat-Garagum-Dashoguz railway line represents several things. The completion of a north-south line entirely within Turkmenistan's borders is a vital transportation line that will significantly contribute to developing the infrastructure of the vast, desolate, and under developed Garagum desert, while cutting down on the transportation time and the cost of moving goods and people from north to south. The inauguration also underlined China's increasing presence in Turkmenistan's infrastructure, moving from gas exploitation, to improving Turkmenistan's telephone and railway systems. ¶14. (C) Most vividly however, is that the inauguration celebration once again showed the GOTX's ability to draw a crowd to reinforce the Potemkin village image that everyone flocks to celebrate the latest achievement in the Golden Century of the Turkmen People. Although the diplomatic corps' presence is not overtly obligatory (unless you don't want any diplomatic requests answered for a couple of weeks), the penalty for absenteeism amongst Turkmenistani citizens is unquestionably more severe. Mel Brooks said it best: "It's good to be da king." END COMMENT. JACOBSON JACOBSON