TAJIKISTAN HOSTS REGIONAL CN CONFERENCE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 DUSHANBE 000909 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, INL, S/P NSC FOR MILLARD, MERKEL E.O. 12958: DECL: 5/18/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR TI SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN HOSTS REGIONAL CN CONFERENCE REF: A) DUSHANBE 908 B) DUSHANBE 870 CLASSIFIED BY: Jonathan Edwards, DATT, USDAO Dushanbe, DIA. REASON: 1.4 (d) ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies along with U.S. CENTCOM and Tajikistan's Committee on State Border Protection organized the International Conference on Counter Narcotics and the second Meeting of the Central and South Asia Counter Narcotics Security Working Group in Dushanbe, Tajikistan May 15-17. Ten countries including the Central Asian countries, except for Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan sent senior representatives to discuss security and border cooperation. Tajikistan's Chairman of the State Border Committee General-Colonel Saidimir Zuhurov chaired the conference and hosted senior level participants on excursion trips to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers bridge construction site at Nizhny-Pyanzh and border posts to see what is already underway to strengthen border protection and get a first hand understanding of the work that remains. Over the three-day conference, a Sub-Group drafted concrete recommendations on regional border cooperation (reftel A). END SUMMARY. RAHMONOV KICKS OFF CONFERENCE ¶2. (U) As the keynote speaker, President Rahmonov kicked off the conference with an energetic speech reiterating Tajikistan's commitment to fighting terrorism and drug-trafficking. He called for international support, not just regional cooperation, on securing borders and strengthening Afghanistan to stem drug production. ¶3. (U) Often putting aside his notes, Rahmonov told stories of local Afghans who have no other choice but to grow opium for their livelihood. He cited Afghanistan's high unemployment rate as the root cause of high drug production and made a plug for the Dasti-Zhum hydropower project as a means to supply energy to Afghanistan as well as irrigate 1.5 million hectares of land and provide jobs. ¶4. (U) Rahmonov also cited Tajikistan's good record on drug interdiction and its success serving as a buffer country for drugs trafficked through Central Asia to Europe. In the first quarter of this year alone, drug seizures have risen by 26%. Over the past 10 years Tajikistan has confiscated more than 60 tons of drugs, more than 50% of which was heroin. Tajikistan is the fourth in the world when it comes to amount of drugs seized and the first in the former Soviet Union. The Drug Control Agency and other security bodies are taking an aggressive approach to fighting drugs. They have arrested thousands of traffickers and targeted drug demand, reducing the number of drug addicts from nearly 30,000 to 6,000 over the past ten years. In the past DUSHANBE 00000909 002 OF 004 five years they have arrested more then 500 government officials involved in drug trafficking. ¶5. (U) Rahmonov emphasized that Afghanistan and Central Asia's drug problem is an "evil" that afflicts the entire world. International donor assistance is needed and only a unified approach can solve the problem. RUSSIAN NON-PARTICIPATION ¶6. (S) Prior to the conference, Post learned the Russians were not willing to participate and encouraged regional countries to boycott the conference (reftel B),but the Russians made their presence known throughout the three-day affair. The Russian station chief in Dushanbe made an appearance at the conference. ¶7. (S) Although the Embassy had contracted two Tajik Air helicopters to fly participants to the border on the first day and Nurek the second day of the conference, upon arrival at the airport the second day, the group was informed one Tajik Air helicopter was not available, and participants would have to fly in an Border Guard MI-8. Colonel Tojibaev, Chief of the Border Guard Foreign Relations Department later informed the DATT the Tajik helicopter at the last minute was redirected to take the Russian and Tajik Transport Ministers to visit the Nurek dam site, coincidentally the same place the conference delegation was going for lunch. The Russian and Tajik ministers also lunched at the same venue. The helicopter carrying the ministers also flew over the border outpost while the conference's international delegation toured the sites. (COMMENT: The helicopter heist was likely purposeful because plenty of Russian helicopters were sitting at the Dushanbe airport idle. END COMMENT.) TAJIK-HOSTED BORDER EXCURSIONS ¶8. (U) The Conference's Senior Executive Committee, including INL's Assistant Secretary Anne Patterson, the German Ambassador, the U.K.'s Head of the Drug and International Crime Department, Pakistan's Minister of Narcotics Control and Post's DCM and DATT flew down in three helicopters to the Nizhny-Pyanzh bridge site where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is constructing a $33 million bridge between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The Corps of Engineers briefed the seniors on the construction details of the bridge. The delegation crossed the bridge over to the Afghan side where the engineers briefed them further. The U.S.-funded bridge is an integral part of Afghan reconstruction linking trading routes and a road network that will eventually start from Kazakhstan and run through Afghanistan to southern ports. ¶9. (SBU) Realizing the bridge would more easily facilitate the DUSHANBE 00000909 003 OF 004 transport of goods north and south, some were concerned the bridge would also allow for increased drug trafficking. The Senior Executive Committee visited the border post on the Tajik side. Mirrored border posts on both sides of the bridge are being renovated and modernized. In addition, modern customs checkpoints and inspection areas are also being constructed. The border areas have been well thought out and designed to maximize the economic benefits of trade, but also take into account the need to aggressively target drug-traffickers. ¶10. (C) On the second day of the conference, the Senior Executive Committee visited the Khirmanjo border post on the Tajik-Afghan border. The Tajik border facilities are ill-equipped and do not have modern amenities, many without access to water or electricity. Flooding has destroyed roads along the southern Tajik border making some checkpoints inaccessible by vehicle and the delivery of supplies difficult. At some border posts, soldiers have to manually carry water from a local stream for use. When the Russian border guards left Tajikistan, they stripped the facilities of their technical equipment including communications systems. In order to renovate the one border outpost at Khirmanjo, it would cost $410,000. To date, the United States has provided uniforms, food and fuel to run the outpost's generators. Due to the remote location of the border posts and poor transportation infrastructure, bulldozers to widen roads would be needed to get materials to the outpost. ¶11. (C) The United States assists border checkpoints and outposts along the southern Tajik border from Uzbekistan to Kalaykuum, which is approximately half of the southern border. Nineteen border posts line that stretch with 660 soldiers, ten border posts of which are in need of assistance. In total, 6,700 Tajik soldiers at 47 posts are supposed to man the southern border with Afghanistan, however, in reality the numbers are most likely lower, with at most 40 guards per outpost. In between checkpoints, Tajik guards patrol the border on foot, horseback or donkey. ¶12. (C) The European Union's Border Management Program in Central Asia (BOMCA) assists posts from Kalaykuum to Ishkashim. Although BOMCA is supposed to assist outposts from Ishkashim all the way to the Chinese border, the reality is that the area is unmanaged. Outposts have not been renovated or received assistance. It is one of the most vulnerable border areas and is where the entrance to one of the more highly trafficked routes for illicit activity is located. Tajikistan's eastern border with China is extremely difficult to traverse through due to the mountainous terrain. The Chinese have also set up fencing all along the DUSHANBE 00000909 004 OF 004 border and allowed for one crossing point that is well guarded. ¶13. (U) After the visit to Khirmanjo, General Zuhurov scheduled a visit to the Nurek dam site for a tour of the facilities and boat ride in the placid reservoir. Nurek is a popular tourist site for local Tajiks during the hot summer months and Tajikistan is especially proud of its energy capabilities. General Zuhurov treated the group to a typical large Tajik spread outdoors by the dam. ¶14. (C) COMMENT: Despite the hot weather and at times over-the-top Tajik hospitality, it is useful for senior delegates to see firsthand the difficult challenges Tajikistan faces in managing border outposts. With 38 drug production labs in Northern Afghanistan, Tajikistan is literally on the frontlines of the war against drugs. Regional cooperation, increased training for guards and officials and modern equipment are much needed tools to stem drug-trafficking. Because of the regional countries' poor status, the war against drugs cannot be fought without international assistance. END COMMENT. HOAGLAND