TURKMENISTAN: OPENING OF UN PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001365

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, IO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL UN TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: OPENING OF UN PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY
CENTRE MORE SHOW THAN SUBSTANCE

REF: ASHGABAT 1335


1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: The United Nations Center for Preventive
Diplomacy opened in Ashgabat December 10, amidst intense
state media coverage and international attendance. Although
the Center is to receive an operating budget of about $2.3
million per year and will have four UN officers overseeing
its daily operations, observers have little confidence that
the Center will be anything more than a political symbol of
friendship between the Government of Turkmenistan and the UN.
Tajikistan's President Rahmon attended the event, the only
head of state to do so. END SUMMARY.


3. (SBU) On the eve of Turkmenistan's 12th anniversary of
permanent neutrality, the UN, in close coordination with the
Turkmen government, opened its Center for Preventive
Diplomacy on December 10. Thousands of flag-waving
university students, flushed out of classrooms for the day,
welcomed regional and international officials, the diplomatic
corps, and a cadre of Turkmen government bureaucrats in black
Mercedes, as state-run media captured the event's hoopla on
tape. After the ribbon-cutting came photos of President
Berdimuhamedow with senior regional and international
officials, then champagne toasts, then lunch, then a bizarre
two-day conference kicked off, where representatives from
neighboring countries, regional organizations, and the UN
lauded the important future role of the Center and expressed
their approval of the Center's location in neutral
Turkmenistan. The conference was also highlighted by
statements from the Armenian and Azerbaijani contingents, who
complained about the lack of attention to their intransigent
conflict, and from an Iranian speaker who used his moment at
the podium to criticize U.S. policy in the region.


4. (SBU) The foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Iran, as well as high-level
representatives from the UN, Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO),the Economic Cooperation Organization
(ECO),the CIS, the OSCE and NATO were present. Tajikistan's
President Rahmon, already in town for an official visit, also
attended and spoke at the opening. The Center's primary goal
is to maintain contact with other regional organizations and
facilitate coordination and information sharing with them.
The Center is also tasked to provide a "political framework
and leadership for the preventive activities of the UN
country teams in the region." Its focus, however, will be to
facilitate regional cooperation on cross-border issues such
as terrorism, narcotics trafficking, or water-resource
management.


5. (SBU) In truth, however, the Center was the brainchild
of former President Niyazov, who began pressing UN officials
several years ago to establish a regional office in
Turkmenistan that would address regional security problems.
Establishing the Center in Ashgabat would also, however, give
Turkmenistan the international legitimacy it craves, through
an organization that does not clash with the state's
self-described neutrality policy. With the advent of new
leadership in the country, UN officials decided this year to
move forward with the creation of the Center, hoping it would
further nurture the relationship between the UN and the
government of Turkmenistan as the country moves forward on
reform initiatives.


6. (SBU) The Center opened in a former hotel in the
Berzengi region of Ashgabat, which the government refurbished
and provided to the UN, all expenses paid. The Center is to
have a $2.3 million annual budget and a four-person UN staff
with 10-12 local hires to provide support. Former OSCE

ASHGABAT 00001365 002 OF 002


Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan Ambassador Miroslav Jenca
had originally been considered for the director's position,
but his name has been withdrawn from consideration, and it is
unclear now who will head up the Center. (NOTE: The rumor in
Ashgabat is that the Government of Turkmenistan rejected
Jenca, but no reason was cited. END NOTE.)


7. (SBU) Tajikistan's President Rahmon was in Ashgabat for
a three-day visit coinciding with the opening of the Center
and also made public statements of support for the Center's
mission and Turkmenistan's role as patron. Given the heavy
attention the state-run media devoted to the Center's
opening, Rahmon's visit here to finalize a deal on the
purchase of Turkmen electricity and petroleum products
received minimum coverage. After the conference, Rahmon
allowed himself to be swept away to the coastal city of
Turkmenbashi, where Turkmen officials pressed him for
investment in the Avaza national tourism zone (reftel).


8. (SBU) COMMENT: Few in the diplomatic corps believe the
Centre for Preventive Diplomacy will ever have a legitimate,
actionable mandate to promote dialog and cooperation in
resolving regional political and security problems, given the
UN's scant description of the Center's organization and
mission. The greatest concern, however, lies in the
willingness of the UN to be used by the government to
establish an international Center that will ascribe
international prestige to a country that until a year ago was
a poster child for isolationism. It is unlikely the UN will
be able to appoint a politically acceptable director who can
develop the Center into an effective vehicle for change in
this troubled region. END COMMENT.
HOAGLAND