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