TURKISH INSTRUCTORS MAKE OBSERVATIONS AT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001352 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, INL, DUSHANBE FOR DEA MOSCOW FOR DEA ISLAMABAD FOR DEA ANKARA FOR DEA AID/W FOR EE/AA (BOB WALLIN) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL SNAR EAID TX SUBJECT: TURKISH INSTRUCTORS MAKE OBSERVATIONS AT ANTI-CRIME TRAINING FOR TURKMENISTAN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Two officers from Turkey's Ministry of the Interior, Department of Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime led a workshop sponsored by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for a group of Turkmenistan law enforcement officers. These workshops are opening up new worlds to the participants in terms of outlook on their career and the scope and magnitude of crime in Turkmenistan. The Turkish instructors stressed the importance of continuing these law enforcement capacity-building programs in Turkmenistan. More INL funding and additional programs would be beneficial to further promote this type of training. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) Two officers from Turkey's Ministry of the Interior, Department of Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime taught a group of law enforcement officers from around Turkmenistan in a UNODC-organized workshop. Meret Berdiyev, the head of Customs International Department, attended the graduation ceremony on November 30. The instructors -- Mikail Ucak and Anadolu Atayun -- made several observations regarding the participants in the UNODC training program and Turkmenistan's capacity to fight crime. LESSON ONE: ORGANIZED CRIME IS A REALITY IN TURKMENISTAN ¶4. (SBU) Ucak and Atayun noted that training of this type opened up new worlds to the officer-students, by introducing new law enforcement concepts. They claimed the most important of these concepts is the idea that organized crime is a reality in Turkmenistan -- and not just in terms of narcotics. Use of the Internet to locate organized crime figures was also a revelation to the students. LESSON TWO: POLICE WORK IS A PROFESSIONAL CAREER ¶5. (SBU) In the Turks' view, previously, these officer-students had the impression that police work was an elementary job, and they performed duties such as investigations and interrogations at a rudimentary level. Therefore, Ucak and Atayun asserted, various scholarly works available on the field of law enforcement presented during the training served as an eye-opener and made the officer-students see their jobs in a different light. Thanks to UNODC training, the officer-students better understand the pivotal role that they play in their society's safety and well-being. TURKISH INSTRUCTORS SEE SOME RESISTANCE, BUT PREDICT IT WILL FADE WITH TIME ¶6. (SBU) Social interaction with students is a valuable part of any law enforcement training class. The Turks predicted that the officer-students will have the ability to forecast crime trends due to this training. They found the students to be very open and willing to observe and learn. Ucak and Atayun acknowledged, however, that there were some "hardliners" (i.e., close-minded individuals) in the class, but they did not affect the tenor of the class overall. Ucak and Atayun emphasized the importance of continuing law enforcement education programs in Turkmenistan, both due to Turkmenistan's strategic location and to the interregional nature of narcotics and organized crime issues in Central Asia. ASHGABAT 00001352 002 OF 002 ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: Turkmenistan is in a period of transition which will inevitably lead to positive outcomes, but also most likely increased crime. Speaking similar languages and coming from a culture similar to that of Turkmenistan's, Ucak and Atayun were able to connect very quickly with these officers. Their observations reinforce post's opinion that more INL funding and additional programs would be beneficial, both regionally and for the U.S.-Turkmen relationship. END COMMENT. CURRAN