Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ASHGABAT369
2006-04-11 03:18:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:  

MARY, BALKANABAT RFE/RL REPORTERS ALIVE AND DEFIANT

Tags:  PGOV PHUM PREL PINR TX 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO8708
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHMRE RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHAH #0369/01 1010318
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 110318Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7176
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNOSC/OSCE POST COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 0017
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0053
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 1660
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0378
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 0018
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0464
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL CALCUTTA PRIORITY 0001
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 0008
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI PRIORITY 0037
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 0001
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 0013
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 0339
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCJ2/HSE/CCJ5// PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC//J5/RUE// PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA PRIORITY 0022
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ASHGABAT 000369 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY),OSCE FOR AMBASSADOR FINLEY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PINR TX
SUBJECT: MARY, BALKANABAT RFE/RL REPORTERS ALIVE AND DEFIANT

ASHGABAT 00000369 001.2 OF 004


Classified By: Amb. Tracey A. Jacobson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ASHGABAT 000369

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY),OSCE FOR AMBASSADOR FINLEY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PINR TX
SUBJECT: MARY, BALKANABAT RFE/RL REPORTERS ALIVE AND DEFIANT

ASHGABAT 00000369 001.2 OF 004


Classified By: Amb. Tracey A. Jacobson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
--------------


1. (SBU) PDOff visited Mary Radio Free Europe/Liberty
(RFE/RL) stringers Ovezmuhammet Hommadov and Jumadurdy Ovezov
April 6. Both are in good condition but continue to deal with
cut-off telephones and harassment by local authorities.
Balkanabat stringer Shamurat Akolyev visited the embassy on
April 7 and said that though his phone line still was
disconnected, he was able to report to RFE/RL. End Summary.

PDOff Meets with RFE/RL Stringer Hommadov
--------------


2. (SBU) On April 6 PDOff arrived at Hommadov,s home
outside Mary city and received an enthusiastic welcome by
Hommadov, his family and two others ) the Director of Mary
NGO &Hemayat8 (a USAID/Counterpart partner) Kurban Bugrayev
and a local Counterpart grantee. According to Hommadov and
Bugrayev, Hummadov and Ovezov were in regular contact with
Mary American Corner Director Albina Burashnikova as well as
with Bugrayev whenever Hommadov traveled to the American
Center ) colocated with Hemayat ) or Bugrayev visited
Hummadov at home. Ovezov,s home is located a two-minute walk
away from that of Hommadov in the same farming commune. Both
of Hommadov,s BCTI cell phones are cut off )- the newer
number of the two was cut off April 5, 2006 -- only days
after Hommadov received the number and used it to call the
embassy to arrange the April 6 visit. Hommadov said that his
neighbors are too scared to cooperate in lending him phones
either to contact the embassy or file reports for RFE/RL.
Hommadov requested embassy assistance in obtaining another
SIM card.

Ovezov, Hommadov Clans Gather to Criticize Government
--------------


3. (SBU) After talking with Hommadov, PDoff walked with
Hommadov and accompanying family and friends to the home of
Ovezov where Ovezov openly greeted all the group in his
courtyard before continuing the meeting inside his home.

Ovezov has no landline or cell phone access and, according to
Hommadov, is too ill to travel into Mary city on a regular
basis. Ovezov was standing and appeared energetic and in
high spirits, but complained of pain and swelling in his
midriff (he had swathed his waist firmly with fabric) related
to a pre-existing kidney disorder for which he underwent
surgery over a decade ago.


4. (C) Ovezov ranted against President Sapurmurat Niyazov,
accusing him of shady business deals and condemning him for a
range of economic and social policies harmful to the Turkmen
people. Ovezov frequently referred back to business deals he
had conducted in 2003-2004 with GOTX support or at least
tolerance ) which he subsequently lost ) and which formed
the basis for several radio broadcasts he produced for
RFE/RL. Ovezov showed PDoff letters from business partners
in Turkmen and Russian indicating sums of money. Ovezov also
produced a letter from a former U.S Embassy PAO from May 2004
) when Ovezov was director of the private enterprise
&Zaman8 ) responding to his request for financial support
and informing him the embassy was unable to help him.
(Comment: This discussion was a bit murky, but Ovezov
clearly has an ax to grind with the GOTX based on his failed
business dealings. End Comment.)

Jail Treatment

ASHGABAT 00000369 002.2 OF 004


--------------


5. (SBU) Both stringers said that they were not physically
harmed while in jail, and that they had bread to eat during
their incarceration. Ovezov told PDOff that the cold
conditions in jail exacerbated his preexisting kidney
condition by intensifying the related pain in his back and
midriff swelling. He received no medical treatment while in
jail and is treating his condition now with herbal home
remedies.

Stringers Committed to Resisting Continued Harassment
--------------


6. (C) Hommadov and Ovezov both reported that a meeting of
district level decision makers took place before April 5 -)
including the local police and security services --
instructing them to keep the pressure on both stringers.
Hommadov reported that on April 5 he received a visit by the
local mullah, who urged him and his family to cease
communicating with RFE/RL and threatened to condemn them as
bad Muslims if Hommadov and his family had any contact with
RFE/RL. Hommadov reported that during his March 7-15
detention until approximately March 20, plainclothes police
or Security Services were stationed at either end of his
street surveilling his house. Hommadov reported that this
surveillance appears to have ended on the 20th. Hommadov
described his reports to RFE/RL as reports on social
conditions such as the price of produce and meat in the local
markets, wages and pension issues, as well as concerns that
the Government of Turkmenistan had not adequately addressed
the threat of Avian Influenza to Turkmenistan. Hommadov told
PDOff that the local authorities warned him not to report on
&constitutional8 matters.


7. (C) Ovezov reported a visit on the morning of April 2 by
two or three plainclothes police or members of the local
security services who told Ovezov to end his attempts to
contact RFE/RL and who demanded that he pay a fine of "$68
million" (sic) which apparently had something to do with
Ovezov,s personal business dealings. The men, who declined
to give their names, reportedly suggested that the United
States itself was an enemy of Turkmenistan and that it had
meddled maliciously in world affairs ) e.g., Chechnya and
Iran ) therefore Ovezov,s contact with RFE/RL, and by
extension the U.S. Government, suggested that Ovezov was
antagonistic to Turkmenistan. One of Ovezov,s male relatives
reported saying to the officials, &we are not afraid of
you8 and emotionally repeated this fact several times during
the meeting with PDoff. Ovezov expressed concern that the
community,s fear of consorting with members of his family ha
d isolated his children and spouse. Ovezov claimed that the
monetary &fine8 the plainclothes police attempted to elicit
from him on April 6 was a gross exaggeration of &debts8 he
incurred from the Government of Turkmenistan. He also
suggested that the debt itself was unfair.


8. (C) Despite this harassment, both Hommadov and Ovezov
declared their continued desire and intention to continue
working with RFE/RL. Hommadov produced a brochure from Radio
Turkey and said that he has begun to work with RT. During
the visit with Hommadov, the Counterpart grantee present also
expressed a wish to begin working for RFE/RL and sought
PDOff,s advice on how to transmit information given his lack
of a mobile phone and/or fax.

Stringer Ovezov's Request for International Assistance
--------------


ASHGABAT 00000369 003.2 OF 004



9. (C) Ovezov expressed his gratitude to European
governments and that of the United States for exerting
pressure to obtain his release from prison, and hoped for
their continued support. He also urged continued attention
to the cases of (psychiatric hospital detainee) Gurbandurdy
Durdykuliev, (PEN Award nominee and black-listed author)
Rahim Esenov, and Asghabat-based RFE/RL stringer Halmurad
Gylychdurdiyev and stressed that his and Hommadov,s arrests
were both &illegal.8 He requested help in obtaining
reliable access to a phone/fax line, preferably via a
satellite setup, and voice-activated dictaphones for both
himself and Hommadov to assist in their reporting activities.


10. (C) Ovezov claimed that he and his family &do not live,
only exist8 due to a lack of funds. He also requested
assistance from PDoff in finding a way for a friend of his to
safely deposit $1 million.


11. (SBU) An Ashgabat OSCE representative is slated to visit
the homes of both stringers on April 7.

Balkanabat Stringer Checks in, Places World Cup Bet
--------------


12. (C) Balkanabat stringer Akolyev paid an unannounced visit
to the embassy on April 7 where he met with PolOff and PDOff
to confirm that his home phone line was not functioning and
that the local post office has been unhelpful to him in his
attempts to call RFE/RL Prague to transmit reports. Akolyev,
a cameraman and coach, approached RFE/RL in October 2005 and
offered to become a stringer. He reports on sports but also
social issues such as problems with traffic police, GOTX
tree-planting initiatives, and the price of commodities such
as flour. His phone was cut off on December 30, 2005 and
since then he has attempted to transmit his reports to RFE/RL
using post office facilities in Balkanabat. He reported that
his neighbors were too frightened to help him by allowing him
to use their home phone. He also said that the local
authorities have not directly approached him about not
working for RFE/RL, but that local mullahs paid his father a
visit to urge him -- as a Muslim -- not to cooperate. He
also said that local authorities created an atmosphere of
fear in his community and urged his neighbors to ostracize
him. Nonetheless, he said, he was not afraid of this pressure
and would continue to try to transmit reports to RFE/RL.


13. (C) Emboffs urged him to report to embassy officers if
and when he has problems and told him that an embassy
representative would plan to visit him soon in Balkanabat.
Akolyev encouraged this contact on the basis that heightening
his profile with the local authorities could serve to protect
him from higher levels of harassment. On Akolyev,s
®ular8 visits to Ashgabat he collects his RFE/RL salary,
visits Ashgabat stringer Gylychdurdiyev, and transmits his
reports to RFE/RL among other tasks. This was not the first
such visit Akolyev has made to the embassy.

Comment
--------------


14. (C) There RFE/RL stringers cleared seemed to understand
the risk they were taking on by agreeing to work for RFE/RL.
They appeared willing to accept the harassment involved and
in some respects also seemed to enjoy the attendant
publicity. Embassy encouraged them to keep us informed of
their status. The GOTX use of local mullahs to join in the
harassment only underscores the complicity of the local
Islamic clerical establishment with the policies of Niyazov's
regime.

ASHGABAT 00000369 004.2 OF 004



JACOBSON