PRT/KUNDUZ: OUT IN BADAKHSHAN'S POPPYLAND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KABUL 002007

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/FO, SA/A, S/CR, SA/PAB, S/CT, EUR/RPM
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND
OSD FOR BREZINSKI
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD
REL NATO/AUST/NZ/ISAF

E.O. 12958 N/A
TAGS: SNAR PREL PGOV PINR AF
SUBJECT: PRT/KUNDUZ: OUT IN BADAKHSHAN'S POPPYLAND

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1. (SBU) SUMMARY. District managers in Jurm and
Baharak acknowledge that poppy is being grown in their
districts, but claim that the amount of land under
cultivation is much less than in previous years. They
add, however, that as long as there are no other
economic opportunities for the large number of
otherwise unemployed people in their districts, poppy
cultivation will continue. Although AL programs are
active in these districts, they complain that promised
projects to provide alternative livelihoods have
either not come through or are too limited to have a
significant impact. They worry there could be a
significant public backlash if poppy eradication is
carried out on a large scale. PRT Faizabad has
recently encountered resistance in Jurm and Baharak in
obtaining safe houses to enable overnight patrolling,
reflecting an apparent fear among powerbrokers that
the longer the PRT spends in their districts, the more
likely it will interfere in their criminal activities.
END SUMMARY.

So close, yet so bone-jarringly far away
--------------


2. (SBU) PRToff traveled April 13 to Jurm and Baharak
districts, which are best known for being two of the
biggest poppy-growing districts in Badakhshan. The
district center of Baharak is only 40 kilometers
southeast of Faizabad, but the trip there takes almost
two hours on a severely pitted dirt road. Baharak has
one of the few paved district centers in Badakhshan
(funded by USAID) and functions as a regional hub for
travel to various parts of the province. The district
center of Jurm is a further 25 kilometers south from
Baharak, requiring another hour of travel time. The
consolation for the bone-jarring ride is spectacular
mountain scenery, similar to what one might see in
western Montana, especially as one drives out of
Faizabad along the Kowkcheh River valley toward
Baharak.


3. (SBU) Much of the poppy grown in Badakhshan is
cultivated in remote locations, but during this trip,
several poppy fields were visible from the main road,
especially in Jurm. Because of the later growing
season in Badakhshan, the poppy plants were still only
an inch or two high. According to UNODC projections,
the opium crop in this part of the country is not
expected to flower until early June, with the harvest
coming later that same month. In one field, several
workers were on their hands and knees, pulling weeds,
while other workers were bringing water for the crop
in large shallow containers balanced on their heads
from a nearby stream or canal.

District managers claim cultivation is down
--------------


4. (SBU) PRToff met separately with the district
managers of both provinces, Dr. Mohammad Masoon in
Jurm and Mohammad Jowra in Baharak. Both acknowledged
that poppy was being grown in their districts, but
claimed that the amount of land under cultivation was
much less than in previous years, thanks to
exhortations by various government and religious
figures and their own actions. Jowra boasted that his

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police force had arrested smugglers and poppy growers
last year, which he said had contributed to the
alleged decline in poppy cultivation in Baharak this
year. However, upon further questioning, he admitted
that no one had been prosecuted for their crimes or
spent more than a couple of days behind bars. All had
been released upon request from their respective
village elders. (Comment: The claim by the district
managers that poppy cultivation is decreasing in Jurm
and Baharak tracks with what the Afghan Eradication
Force teams are finding. During their initial
reconnaissance missions in preparation for eradication,
cultivation appears to be lower than what was expected.
Time will tell but cultivation may not be at enhanced
level as was originally reported in the February 2006
UNODC Rapid Assessment Survey. End Comment.)

"Still waiting for help"
--------------


5. (SBU) Both Masoon and Jowra said poppy cultivation
would continue at some level, as long as there were no
other economic opportunities for the large number of
otherwise unemployed people in their districts. They
complained that promised projects to provide
alternative livelihoods had either not come through or
were too limited to have a significant impact. Masoon
said the alternative livelihood projects in Jurm
employed only about 100 people at a time, which was
far short of what was required in a district where he
estimated 60% of the adult men were jobless. Jowra
claimed that there were no alternative livelihood
projects at all in Baharak. He complained that
promises by visiting ambassadors from various donor
countries to build roads, bring in electricity, and
provide genetically-enhanced seeds and fertilizer had
not been fulfilled. "We're still waiting for help."
(Comment. USAID's spring seed program has provided
seeds and technical assistance to 1700 farmers in
Jurm/Khosh and 1701 farmers in Baharak/Warduj to plant
10,200 jeribs of onion, tomato, okra, cauliflower,
potato, and carrot. USAID has provided 33,260 CFW
labor days to repair 17 canals in Jurm. A bridge to
connect Baharak District to important market towns
should be completed by August. Although Alternative
Livelihoods Provided in these two districts will not
replace the value of poppy grown, it is clear that
much public information work is required to ensure
that local leaders know more about the large amount of
Alternative Livelihoods assistance being provided.
End Comment.)

Public backlash against eradication?
--------------


6. (SBU) Both district managers thought that there
could be significant public backlash if poppy
eradication were carried out in on a large scale in
their districts, since, as they claim, the poor have
no other way of supporting their families. But they
denied that there were any armed groups in their
districts who might try to prevent the poppy fields
from being eradicated, with Jowra claiming that such a
scenario was impossible since all the illegal weapons
in Baharak had already been collected. Both
acknowledged that their police forces were not large

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enough or properly equipped to deal with a major
security challenge. Jurm DM Masoon reported that for
his district of 60,000 inhabitants, living in 68
different villages, he had a police force of just 60
and only one police vehicle. Baharak DM Jowra said
his police force of 85 also had just one vehicle at
its disposal, to cover a district of 46,000 people in
86 villages.

Eradication in Kishim: A sign of things to come?
-------------- ---


7. (SBU) Governor-led eradication in Badakhshan began
April 11 in Kishim District, the main entry point into
Badakhshan from neighboring Takhar Province.
According to reports received by PRT Faizabad,
eradication was initially halted after three days due
to peaceful resistance by local farmers and their
families. Some reportedly stood in front of the
eradication tractors to stymie the operation. The
Ministry of Counter Narcotics in Kabul acknowledges
that there was some local opposition to the operation,
but claims that it was not significant and that it did
not stop eradication. The ministry reports that
eradication was only stopped for a short period due to
a lack of funds for fuel, and that it continued once
funding was provided to the governor. Local officials
have told PRT Faizabad that eradication was conducted
in several areas of Kishim District up until April 20,
but the amount of eradicated farmland remains to be
confirmed. The governor has plans to pursue
eradication in other districts, but those operations
had not yet begun as of the end of April.

Minimizing RPG attack on PRT patrol
--------------


8. (SBU) PRToff asked Masoon whether there was any
further information about who was responsible for the
April 5 midnight RPG attack on a Faizabad PRT patrol
overnighting at the Jurm district police station.
Masoon, pointing out the impact points of the two RPGs
on the police station next door, visible through his
office window, was at pains to emphasize that it was
still not clear who was the target of the attack. He
thought it was possible that the police station itself
was the target -- even though the German soldiers were
alone at the site and no Afghan police officers were
present. In a later meeting, Gulalai Akbari, a
Provincial Council member from Jurm, also claimed to
PRToff that the German patrol may not have been the
target of the April 5 attack. But she then quickly
added that PRT patrols should avoid overnighting in
villages in any case because they could potentially
put civilians in harm's way.

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


9. (SBU) Like in Jurm, the PRT has also encountered
negative attitudes toward its overnight patrols in
Baharak, where local elders recently vetoed an
agreement for the PRT to rent a piece of property in
the district center as a safe house. The fear among
powerbrokers seems to be that the longer the PRT
spends in their districts, the more likely it will

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interfere in their criminal activities -- although the
excuse given is that the foreign troops will not
respect Afghan culture and sensitivities. In regard
to the April 5 attack in Jurm, officials seem to be
avoiding any admission that might lead the PRT to
respond by increasing its presence in the district.


10. (SBU) NGOs and IOs have been generally welcomed
throughout the province for the aid and development
they provide, as long as their activities have not
challenged or undermined the existing corrupt power
structure. However, owing to the extremely poor
communications within the province, there is a general
misperception, as reflected in the comments of both
the Jurm and Baharak district managers, that the
international community has done little for the
province and that Badakhshan has ironically suffered
by being the only province which was not conquered by
the Taliban during their rule. Meanwhile, governor-
led poppy eradication has been carried out peacefully
thus far (in Kishim district),but that seems to
reflect the fact the effort has been small-scale and
has not posed a strategic threat to the poppy growers
or drug smugglers. End Comment.

Bio note: Dr. Mohammad Masoon
--------------


11. Dr. Mohammad Masoon, 42, was chief of social
affairs in the provincial government in Faizabad
before becoming Jurm district manager in late March.
With self-described "intermediate" medical training,
he served previously as chief medical officer of the
29th AMF Division, which was responsible for the nine
eastern districts of Badakhshan and was a part of
General Daoud's 6th Corps in Kunduz. He is a long-
term resident of Baharak district, where he has a
family house. He spends the work week in Jurm and
commutes to Baharak on weekends.


12. Mohammad Jowra has been Baharak district manager
since 2003, but PRT Faizabad reports that Jowra spends
so little time in the district that Chief of Police Lt.
Col. Qari Wadud effectively acts as district manager
much of the time. Jowra has a family home and farm in
Darayeen district, where he was formerly district
manager. Jowra said his family had been living in
Baharak, but has since moved back to Darayeen, where
he himself now spends weekends.

NEUMANN