USOSCE AMBASSADOR FINLEY'S VISIT TO TURKMENISTAN:

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 USOSCE 000203 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/RPM, SCA (PERRY),SCA-PPD (SCHWARTZ),DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/16/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TX SUBJECT: USOSCE AMBASSADOR FINLEY'S VISIT TO TURKMENISTAN: DRIVING HOME THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC REFORMS AGENDA Classified By: Ambassador Julie Finley for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) This is a joint USOSCE-Embassy Ashgabat message. ¶2. (C) Summary: During her May 4-5 visit to Ashgabat, USOSCE Ambassador Finley met with GOTX officials to urge progress on human rights and democratic reforms in Turkmenistan. With the exception of FM Rashit Meredov, GOTX interlocutors were reluctant to engage on substance and sought to avoid direct discussion of the main issues of concern. Ambassador Finley's meetings with the OSCE Center staff and representatives from civil society underscored the difficulties that civil society continues to face in trying to navigate through Turkmenistan's strictly controlled and overly bureaucratic state apparatus. End summary. Round 1: Meeting with FM Meredov -------------- ¶3. (C) USOSCE Ambassador Finley, accompanied by Ambassador Jacobson and USOSCE and Embassy Ashgabat officers, spent the first part of a two-day visit to Ashgabat meeting with GOTX officials to underscore the need for progress on human rights and democratic reforms in Turkmenistan. Meeting with FM Rashit Meredov in a room at the MFA that is wired so that President Niyazov can listen in, Ambassador Finley began by thanking the GOTX for its continued support for U.S. overflights and in providing gas-and-go services at Ashgabat airport. However, she continued, security is but one of many issues important to our bilateral relationship. We are particularly concerned about the state of human rights and democracy in Turkmenistan. Building economies and allowing citizens their human rights go hand in hand, Ambassador Finley underscored. The U.S. Government values its relationship with Turkmenistan and wants it to flourish and play a responsible role in the international community. Our questions and suggestions on human rights and democracy-building are made in good faith, and should be taken as such by the GOTX, she said. Ambassador Finley said she laughed when she read that Meredov was the former Director of the National Democracy and Human Rights Institute, asking how could this institute even exist. GOTX Redefines Human Rights -------------- ¶4. (C) Meredov responded that the GOTX listens to U.S. suggestions with due respect, and some issues have been resolved as a result, pointing to progress on registration of religious organizations as an example. However, Meredov continued, only 15 years have passed since independence, making Turkmenistan a young country. Turkmenistan has chosen its own path of development, Meredov said, adding that social and economic rights for citizens are provided for by the constitution. Ambassador Finley responded that these are not the only kinds of rights that the GOTX is responsible for ensuring. Where is the individual's right to protest, and the freedom of the media, for example? She also wondered about the logic behind President Niyazov's decision to lower mandatory school years from ten to nine. ¶5. (C) Meredov insisted that the GOTX does not need to create artificial conditions for citizens to protest, adding that there are "legislative processes" through which citizens can lodge complaints. "Public protests don't look good and aren't constructive," Meredov said. Meredov insisted that Niyazov's lowering of mandatory school years has not had a detrimental effect on Turkmenistan's youth, because the GOTX has front-loaded the educational system with an enhanced kindergarten. Meredov added that he is "absolutely satisfied" with his three daughters' education. Representing the GOTX at the OSCE: Not a Job for the Faint-Hearted -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) In response to Ambassador Finley's query about the welfare and whereabouts of former GOTX Ambassadors to the OSCE Batyr Berdiev and Vladimir Kadyrov, Meredov said that Berdiev remains in prison following his conviction for participation in the "terrorist act" (attempted coup) in 2002, and that all documents pertaining to his guilt were provided to the OSCE's satisfaction in 2003 when the organization invoked the Moscow Mechanism (in which a participating State can be called upon to explain its actions to the 55-member OSCE). As far as Kadyrov is concerned, Meredov said that he retains his title of ambassador and is currently working at an institute in his capacity as a jurist. Meredov said he saw Kadyrov personally on several occasions, and has no question as to Kadyrov's well-being. USOSCE 00000203 002 OF 004 Ambassador Finley responded that the best way to deal with the international community's concern about Berdiev and Kadyrov is for the GOTX to allow someone from the ICRC to visit them both. ¶7. (C) Ambassador Jacobson added that the GOTX recently took a good step by letting dissident author Esenov travel to New York to accept the prestigious PEN Award. The GOTX can amplify this progress now by letting representatives from the international community visit Berdiev and Kadyrov. Since there continues to be a dispute between the GOTX and the ICRC on visit modalities (the latter insists on visiting prisoners on a one-on-one basis, while the GOTX insists that a government official accompany),Ambassador Jacobson reiterated that she is willing to allow GOTX officials to accompany her on visits to both. Meredov was non-committal, and said that GOTX-ICRC discussions are continuing. Meredov concluded the meeting by cheekily asking about the current location of former USOSCE Ambassador Minikes. Round 2: The Impotent MOJ -------------- ¶8. (C) The meeting with Minister of Justice Ashyrgeldi Gulgarayev provided insight into how little weight the MOJ has. The visibly nervous Gulgarayev, only nine months into his tenure after a relatively benign career in the military, spent much of his time alternately perspiring profusely and explaining the areas for which the MOJ has no responsibility: freedom of movement, freedom of press, operations of law enforcement agencies. He insisted that the new migration law, which his ministry can only review if requested by the Mejlis, does not impede the travel of citizens either inside or outside of Turkmenistan, but rather serves to monitor the travel of foreigners in the country. When asked about the extreme difficulty NGOs face in registering -- something for which his ministry is responsible -- Gulgarayev insisted that many applications are rejected because they are insufficient and either do not contain the relevant paperwork or do not meet the requirements of the law (such as number of people who must be members in order to qualify for national status). ¶9. (C) When Ambassador Finley pushed back that the GOTX has made NGO registration virtually impossible (there are only seven independent NGOs in Turkmenistan, and only two were allowed to register in 2005),Gulgarayev let Head of the Department for International Relations and NGO Registration Maysa Saryeva explain the "technical" requirements of registering and why so many NGOs cannot meet these requirements. Ambassador Finley noted that the GOTX should not be afraid to admit that many of the organizations they term NGOs are really government NGOs. Ambassador Jacobson added that the USG is not encouraged by the difficulties the Ahal Alumni Association has faced in registering as an NGO. Round 3: The National Institute of Democracy and Human Rights: In Name Only -------------- -------------- ¶10. (C) Ambassador Finley interrupted Head of the Department for Democracy and Human Rights of the National Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (NIDHR) under the President of Turkmenistan, Shemshat Atajanova's sweeping overview of the institute. Ambassador Finley asked what grade Atajanova and Head of the Department for Statehood Studies and International Relations at the NIDHR Durdy Annamyradov would give the institute when neither democracy or human rights exist in Turkmenistan. (Note: The NIDHR is co-located in the MOJ building. End Note.) Atajanova and Annamyradov explained that the institute does mostly "scientific" work, which consists mainly of reviewing and making suggestions on legislation. For example, the institute played a role in banning child labor and the death penalty. Those achievements notwithstanding, Ambassador Finley said, where is the progress on freedom of expression and basic rights? The representatives responded that most citizens are concerned with "social" issues: residential problems, law enforcement, and services provided by social agencies, and concluded that development in Turkmenistan is evolutional: first political, then economic, then legal. Ambassador Finley noted that they forgot to mention "democratic." (Note: Atajanova explained that the State Service for the Registration of Foreign Citizens was created by recommendation of the NIDHR staff to regulate refugee issues. This Service also wrote the new Migration Law and enforces the GOTX's "black list" for citizens wanting to travel abroad. End Note.) Round 4: CRA Touts "Successes" -------------- USOSCE 00000203 003 OF 004 ¶11. (C) The meeting with the Council for Religious Affairs Chairman Atamyrat-Ogly, Deputy Chair Myrat Garryev and Mufti of Turkmenistan Allaberdiyev was dominated by Garryev, who reviewed the work that the Council has undertaken and the progress made toward freedom of religion in Turkmenistan. He explained that, while only four mosques and one Russian Orthodox church existed in the country after independence in 1990, today there are 11 religions operating freely throughout Turkmenistan, with 400 mosques and 13 Russian Orthodox churches spread throughout the country. (Note: Garryev counts each of the registered minority religious groups as an individual religion although seven of them are Christian communities.) The Council, despite being a government body, has been effective in easing requirements for the establishment of a religious organization (the law used to require 500 members, but now only requires five). Garryev acknowledged there are still official restrictions on group worship in homes, but the GOTX has limited ability to enforce these restrictions. Garryev claimed that all faiths live in unity without conflict. OSCE Center Under a Microscope -------------- ¶12. (C) During the first day of her visit, Ambassador Finley also met with OSCE Center staff and representatives of local NGOs. The OSCE Center staff explained that the Center still operates under a microscope in Turkmenistan, and is viewed with suspicion by the GOTX. The GOTX blocks most OSCE work with civil society. The population is generally afraid to contact the OSCE and, as a result, the Center has achieved only limited, small successes. One of those successes was securing GOTX approval to open an internet cafe on the OSCE premises. In addition, the OSCE Center in Ashgabat worked to raise the profile of two recent human rights cases, the release of psychiatric patient Durdykuliyev and the successful departure of writer Rahim Esenov to accept the PEN award in the U.S. Patience and persistence, as well as establishing confidence and respect, are essential to continuing OSCE work in Turkmenistan, concluded OSCE Center head Ambassador Djikic. The Challenges Faced by Turkmenistan's Civil Society -------------- -------------- ¶13. (C) His remarks were echoed by the civil society representatives who met with Ambassador Finley, who complained that civil society has become even more restrictive in Turkmenistan. Civil groups and private citizens avoid the OSCE office and events because they are harrassed by Turkmen authorities following such contacts, according to the NGOs. The group also complained about continued difficulties in registering their groups, accusing the MOJ of sitting on their requests for more than nine months, then demanding more documents and refusing to respond to their questions about the status of their applications. Out of the 15 civil society groups that met with Ambassador Finley, only five politically non-controversial NGOs (dealing with sports and rehabilitation of disabled people, for example) had succeeded in registering. These registered NGOs told Ambassador Finley that the GOTX watched them for one year to ensure they would not be a threat before approving their registration. ¶14. (C) Other civil society reps have been able to operate on a limited basis by registering as entrepreneurs and engaging in strictly limited (by the GOTX) activities under a patent. A Kazakh community representative described the community's failed attempts to register because they are viewed as an ethnic minority, and the GOTX would like to view all citizens as Turkmen. Nevertheless, the civil society representatives said they would persevere because the citizens are looking to them to help bring about change. Keik Okara, one of the groups in danger of closing because it is unable to raise funds due to its unregistered status, conducts English language and computer/internet training for youth, particularly those in limbo due to the recent reduction in mandatory school years, and has a waiting list of 270 students. Ambassador Finley's subsequent meeting with alumni of U.S. exchange programs also highlighted the dilemmas that Turkmen youth are facing with regard to education and employment opportunities. She encouraged them to persevere in their efforts to bring about positive change in Turkmenistan. Local Journalists Want More Contact With International Media -------------- -------------- ¶15. (C) At a wrap-up press opportunity with local stringers USOSCE 00000203 004 OF 004 (that was boycotted by the official Turkmen press), Ambassador Finley stressed the need for progress on democracy and human rights. Several of the journalists complained about the increasing GOTX restrictions on the media; one stringer for Itar-Tass said she had had her license revoked without explanation, while another complained that the GOTX had not allowed the OSCE Center to invite local journalists to its recent conference on tourism. The group expressed interest in working more closely with the OSCE Center on media-related issues and events. Comment -------------- ¶16. (C) While this visit did in fact offer up some, albeit small, examples of progress that the GOTX has made, more importantly, it provided Ambassador Finley with the opportunity to underscore, once again, to the government and the people of Turkmenistan that the U.S. Government's agenda in the region is based equally on promoting democracy and respect for human rights, security, and economic stability. Our meetings with GOTX officials, and their responses, were predictable. But the civil society representatives with whom we met made it clear that they depend on the U.S. Government and the international community to continue pressing the GOTX for more. Persistence and patience, along with a consistent message to the government in support of democratic reform, do indeed appear to be the tools to slowly chip away at President Niyazov's stranglehold on his people. FINLEY