MFA PUBLICLY LASHES OUT AT AMBASSADOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BISHKEK 000532 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/18/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV KG SUBJECT: MFA PUBLICLY LASHES OUT AT AMBASSADOR REF: A. BISHKEK 497 ¶B. BISHKEK 343 Classified By: Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: On April 18, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a sharply worded statement, rebuking Ambassador Yovanovitch for comments she made in support of Kyrgyzstan's participation in the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative during an April 15 interview with local media (MFA statement attached below). The MFA statement said the Ambassador's words "diverged from the spirit of bilateral relations," and accused her of interfering in the internal affairs of Kyrgyzstan. The MFA statement was unprecedented, both for its harsh tone and the public way it was released. Nevertheless, the statement had little to do with HIPC and everything to do with Kyrgyz domestic politics, as well as posturing on the eve of Bakiyev's April 24 visit to Moscow. The government is under severe pressure from the opposition, which is organizing a major demonstration on April 29 (reftel a). In reaction to opposition plans, the government appears to be getting increasingly desperate, lashing out at the U.S. and opposition, in hopes of cowing both into silence. The statement marked the MFA's third (but first public) reprimand of the Ambassador since February (reftel b). END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. "WE STILL WANT GOOD RELATIONS WITH U.S." -------------- ¶2. (C) On April 19, the Ambassador met with Foreign Minister Jekshenkulov and Presidential Foreign Policy Advisor Ermek Ibraimov to discuss the MFA statement and President's statement on the Coalition Airbase (septel). Ibraimov told the Ambassador that the statement had been an MFA initiative, and not at the behest of the Presidential Administration. Ibraimov said that MFA statement and President Bakiyev's April 19 public statement regarding Manas Airbase (septel) should not be interpreted as any kind of Kyrgyz desire to downgrade the bilateral relationship or provoke a confrontation. It was merely an attempt to get Washington to speed up the negotiations. ¶3. (C) In a meeting later on April 19, Foreign Minister Jekshenkulov told the Ambassador that the MFA statement was "our position," (but didn't specify what "our" means) and said that he himself was against Kyrgyzstan's participation in the program. Jekshenkulov said that the statement was aimed not only at the U.S., but also at the Russians, Kazakhs and others in the international community. He also claimed that the statement was prompted after the MFA received a number of angry calls from parliamentarians and others complaining about the Ambassador's comments on HIPC. Like Ibraimov, he denied any connection to the President's April 19 statement regarding Manas Airbase, and urged the Ambassador to explain that Kyrgyzstan continues to want good relations with the U.S. ¶4. (C) Jekshenkulov denied that either statement was instigated by the Russians. Later in the conversation, he noted that the Ambassador should "be careful." Pointing north to Moscow, he said the Russian intelligence services are active in Kyrgyzstan, and are closely tied to the Kyrgyz services. Jekshenkulov said that the Kyrgyz National Security Service (SNB) had recently provided a negative report on the Ambassador's activities to Bakiyev. According to Jekshenkulov, the President, "a Leo," became very angry that "Maria wants a revolution." ¶5. (U) Begin MFA statement: Lately the attention of the Kyrgyz public is chained to the issue of Kyrgyzstan's entering the international program HIPC, which provides a possible cancellation of a part of the external debt of the country. The hot discussions that have developed by the issue involving a wide spectrum of opinions directly underline the significance of the given issue to which, most likely, can BISHKEK 00000532 002 OF 003 play a main role in the further political and social and economic development of our country. The urgency of this question is confirmed by the fact that representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Kyrgyzstan are involved in the discussions. During regular meetings with the leadership of MFA, our foreign colleagues articulate their opinions and views concerning Kyrgyzstan's joining this program. At the same time, unfortunately, sometimes participation of representatives of foreign missions in discussion of the given theme goes beyond norms of diplomatic relations, and also diverge from the spirit of bilateral relations. In this connection, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to draw the attention to statements published in the local media by US Ambassador Yovanovitch, concerning Kyrgyzstan's participation in the HIPC program. In our opinion, Ambassador Yovanovitch did not chose the best way to express her point of view on this matter. When there is an active discussion of such an important question for the country, and when the country's leaders have not yet made their final decision on it, any public statement pro or con by foreign diplomats on internal political and economic problems is perceived as interference in the internal affairs of the country and puts certain pressure upon the leadership of Kyrgyzstan. In this connection, we would consider it pertinent to remind, that in conformity with clause 41 of the Vienna Convention about diplomatic relations, foreign diplomats "are obliged to respect with laws and regulations of the host state. They also are obliged not to interfere with internal affairs of this state." Moreover, we see as erroneous attempts by Ambassador Yovanovitch to present the experiences of 28 countries that entered the HIPC as positive. First, according to our data and data of the UN Commission on Trade, Harvard University, the American Council on the International Research and other influential organizations, it is simply contrary to reality. Any country which has accepted conditions of the HIPC program, has not received the promised economic growth, and have kept the status of &raw material producing countries8. Secondly, everyone should understand, that any country has its own particular circumstances, that do not allow certain international formulas and schemes of economic policy to be automatically applied on them. In connection with the above-stated, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on Ambassador Yovanovitch and heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Kyrgyzstan to refrain from further public statements deemed as interference into internal affairs of Kyrgyzstan and contrary to the spirit of mutual relations and the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, on issues not only concerning HIPC, but also on other internal problems of political and economic character. Defending the sovereign rights of Kyrgyzstan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will adhere firmly henceforth to principles of the protection of national interests of Kyrgyzstan. End MFA statement. COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) The Ambassador's comments on HIPC were innocuous, and both the Finance Ministry and Prime Minister's office support participating in the program (Bakiyev's position is unknown, although he supported the initiative last summer). Kyrgyzstan has officially applied to participate in HIPC - in most countries that would be considered an official country position, but not in Kyrgyzstan, where the Prime Minister and President can never agree. ¶7. (C) The Ambassador's interview provided an excuse for the MFA to publicly dress-down the U.S. on the eve of Bakiyev's April 24 visit to Moscow, and as the Kyrgyz Government grows more desperate by the day to stop opposition plans for a BISHKEK 00000532 003 OF 003 massive demonstration on April 29. In recent days the government has increasingly played from the Akayev crisis management handbook ) smear the opposition, lash out at the Americans, and cozy up to the Russians. The MFA statement was intended to silence the U.S. and other international critics. Recent U.S. public statements about the assault on civil society leader Edil Baisalov and public calls by SCA A/S Richard Boucher and the Ambassador on the Kyrgyz Government to tackle organized crime have received wide play here. The MFA statement was likely an attempt to head off any further public comments by the Embassy. The Ambassador intends to continue to voice the U.S. position and meet with representatives of all parts of Kyrgyz society and public life. YOVANOVITCH