MANAS AIR BASE SHOOTING AND KRYGYZ CULTURE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 001788 SIPDIS SIPDIS SAF FOR AF SECRETARY WYNNE FROM AMBASSADOR YOVANOVITCH DEPT FOR SCA/FO - DAS FEIGENBAUM AND SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/20/2016 TAGS: PREL SCUL PGOV MARR KG SUBJECT: MANAS AIR BASE SHOOTING AND KRYGYZ CULTURE REF: BISHKEK 1783 BISHKEK 00001788 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Amb. Marie L. Yovanovitch, Reason 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) I and my staff deeply appreciate the extensive State-DOD coordination in recent days regarding the December 6 shooting incident at Manas Air Base, as well as on accelerating release of the AIB report on the September aircraft collision. Both issues have, unfortunately, raised questions among the Kyrgyz public and political elites regarding the status of the base. As we work through these issues, I wanted to raise a matter that, in my view, could go a long way to improve the public image of the United States in this corner of the world. HELPING THE FAMILY: A CULTURAL IMPERATIVE -------------- ¶2. (C) The December 6 shooting incident, which resulted in the death of 42-year old Alexander Ivanov, created the expectation among the Kyrgyz people that the U.S. would provide compensation to the Ivanov family. This is a strong cultural belief in Kyrgyzstan -- independent of whether the Airman acted appropriately. If the U.S. could provide some form of assistance to the Ivanov family, as we do in Afghanistan and Iraq, it would help us put this very emotional issue behind us. ¶3. (C) The typical Kyrgyz on the street looks at the following facts and believes we have a moral obligation to help out: an individual died, his widow is in an extremely difficult situation as a result, and the U.S. was somehow involved; in Kyrgyzstan people -- friends and family -- take care of each other as a matter of tradition, and because they recognize that the Kyrgyz government cannot do so; and finally, the Kyrgyz believe that the U.S. is rich and the rich are obliged to help the poor. It is also a fact that the Kyrgyz believe that the Airman used excessive force and is guilty of murder, but, unlike in the United States, this is not the most important factor driving the compensation issue. NO COMPREHENSION OF THE AMERICAN POINT OF VIEW -------------- ¶4. (C) Every Kyrgyz interlocutor from the Prime Minister on down has said that we need to address the issue of compensation quickly and make a &humanitarian8 gesture to the family. The Prime Minister, a former law enforcement officer, told the Ambassador that the Kyrgyz legal system accepts that a humanitarian gesture does not constitute acceptance of guilt, and others have indicated the same thing, although we have not sought a legal opinion. Everyone we turn to for advice on how we can put the incident behind us, assumes that we are providing assistance to the widow ) and then forcefully suggests we do so when they find out otherwise. Arguments, which we make, that the base has a long history of providing extensive humanitarian support to the surrounding communities carry little water here because they not address the perceived obligation in this culture to extend a gesture to Mrs. Ivanova. ¶5. (C) It is incomprehensible in Kyrgyz culture that we would not provide some help to the family. It is such a strong cultural imperative that even Russians accept it, and we have been inundated with stories about how individuals have helped others even when they clearly have not been at fault. The media coverage of the shooting incident continues to be brutal (reftel) and covers a range of issues, some of which we can accommodate and others, such as the jurisdiction issue, which we cannot. If we could provide compensation to the Ivanov family, it would be one of the keys to turning public perception. BISHKEK 00001788 002.2 OF 002 THE IVANOV FAMILY: RELYING ON 18USD A MONTH -------------- ¶6. (C) Mr. Ivanov leaves behind his wife, who is the sole support for two sons, one in high school and one in college, and her retired parents. Mrs. Ivanova,s mother was recently released from the hospital and continues to have medical issues. Mrs. Ivanova is a teacher; the average salary for teachers in Kyrgyzstan is 700 Som a month, or approximately 18USD a month. Teachers in Kyrgyzstan are often not paid by the government for months at a time. Without an extended family network, it would be hard to survive on this amount, even here. ACTION REQUEST -------------- ¶7. (C) We understand that there may be compensation possibilities, independent of whether the airman is found to have acted appropriately, through either a foreign claims act payment or the Secretary of Defense's Emergency and Extraordinary expense authority. I strongly recommend that the Department of State and the Department of Defense closely review whether it would be appropriate to use these mechanisms in the Ivanov case, given the cultural expectations that exist here. We believe that providing even modest assistance to the Ivanov family would improve public perception of the U.S. in general, and in particular, that of our dedicated and professional airmen at the Base. YOVANOVITCH