LITHUANIA SEEKING TO EXPAND SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VILNIUS 000739

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL LH AF
SUBJECT: LITHUANIA SEEKING TO EXPAND SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE
FOR AFGHANISTAN PRT

REF: A. VILNIUS 437 B. VILNIUS 483

VILNIUS 00000739 001.2 OF 002


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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) The GOL recently sponsored a pair of visits between
Afghanistan and Lithuania aimed at shoring up support in both
countries for its Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in
Ghor Province, Afghanistan. Ghor's Governor and a delegation
of Afghan parliamentarians came to Vilnius for meetings with
President Adamkus, Parliamentary Chairman Muntianas, and
officials from several ministries. The trip raised local
awareness of Lithuania's mission in Afghanistan and was also
a way for Lithuania to build bridges to influential MPs in
Kabul, who - the Lithuanians believe - pay too little
attention to the remote Ghor province. A Lithuanian
delegation of government, civil society, and business
representatives followed the parliamentarians back to
Afghanistan, where they held a series of political meetings
in Kabul and visited Ghor province in an effort to raise the
PRT's profile in Afghanistan. End Summary.

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Shoring up support in Lithuania
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2. (SBU) Both the Afghans' visit to Lithuania and the
Lithuanians' trip to Afghanistan received broad press
coverage in Lithuania. The delegation head, former
Lithuanian Ambassador to NATO Ginte Damusis, effectively
managed press coverage to focus positively on what Lithuania
was doing in Ghor province and Afghanistan's need for
assistance. Press conferences followed the Afghan
delegation's meetings with President Adamkus and
Parliamentary Chairman Victor Muntianas, as well as officials
in the defense, interior, and economy ministries.

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Seeking more cash
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3. (SBU) Damusis told the press that the MFA would seek a
five-fold budget increase, from one million litas to five
(370,000 to 1.85 million USD),for Lithuania's assistance to
Afghanistan. The MFA's request ultimately will rely on the
Prime Minister's and Seimas's approval, but Damusis told us
that she wanted to use the visits to get the request out
publicly in order to bolster public support.

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Trying to raise Ghor's profile on the ground
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4. (SBU) Damusis told us that the objectives of the
delegation's visit to Afghanistan were to raise the PRT's
profile in Afghanistan and to attract more support from
government structures and NGOs operating elsewhere in
Afghanistan. She said that Ghor's isolation and the lack of
media outlets there meant that few in Afghanistan knew about
the PRT's activities. To address these concerns, the Head of
Lithuania's special mission in Ghor, Ambassador Serksnys,
will establish a part-time residence in Kabul where he has
better access to NGOs, Afghan politicians, and, apparently,
Ghor's Governor who Damusis said spends the majority of his
time there.


5. (SBU) Damusis characterized the visits as successful,
saying that the parliamentarians have already begun to pay
more attention to Ghor than before the visits. NGO activity
has been harder to encourage, she said, due to the cost of
working in Ghor and the still-unstable security situation.
She pointed to the deaths in Ghor of four NGO workers in two
separate incidents while she was in Afghanistan, although she
said it was not yet clear if they had been targeted for their
affiliations, or merely the victims of ordinary crime.












VILNIUS 00000739 002.2 OF 002












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Finding visible assistance projects
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6. (SBU) Lithuania's primary goal remains security sector
reform, but Damusis's delegation sought to determine other
assistance projects that would have more visible impact on
local communities' infrastructure. She explained that the
complete lack of media coverage in Ghor means that the GOL
gets very little recognition for its important, but less
visible, work there. In response to appeals from the Ghor
Governor's office, Lithuania plans to build
micro-hydroelectricity plants to serve small communities.
Lithuania is also considering building a police headquarters
building.


7. (SBU) Two representatives of Lithuanian NGOs accompanied
the delegation to explore options to give on-the-ground
training in the fields of health and education, possibly
including training midwives. Another project will bring
physicians from Ghor to work and study in Kaunas University
Hospital. A Lithuanian business representative also
accompanied the delegation to explore business opportunities
in Afghanistan (reported septel).

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Still trying to improve police project
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8. (SBU) Improvement of the security sector remains
Lithuania's primary assistance goal, said Damusis. She said
that Lithuania will spend one-third of its assistance budget
in Afghanistan (300,000 litas - about USD 110,000) to train
the Afghan National police and donate vehicles, radio sets,
and basic police equipment. Lithuania intends to send
another Lithuanian police advisor to Ghor and again asked
about the possibility of the USG returning the American
police advisors who had been working in Ghor until April 2006
(ref A). Lithuania is also trying to attract police trainers
from other countries. Damusis told us that she has been in
talks with Ukraine and Latvia about sending a civilian
contingent of police trainers to the Ghor PRT (ref B).

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Comment
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9. (SBU) Visits like these, which aim at reinforcing support
for the PRT inside Lithuania while building ties with
politicians in Kabul, show that Lithuania is looking after
the long-term success of its mission in Afghanistan. The
MFA's request for a dramatic increase in assistance just as
Lithuania faces the prospects of taking over the costs of the
military mission in January 2007 is a positive sign that the
GOL remains committed to its mission in Ghor.
KELLY