Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ASHGABAT454
2007-05-04 13:39:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:  

PRESIDENT BERDIMUHAMMEDOV TELLS UN HIGH

Tags:  PHUM PREL PGOV TX UN 
pdf how-to read a cable
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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 041339Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8699
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNOSC/OSCE POST COLLECTIVE
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 0277
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RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC//J5/RUE//
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1277
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0505
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000454 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY, NICOLAIDES)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV TX UN
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT BERDIMUHAMMEDOV TELLS UN HIGH
COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ARBOUR HE WANTS TO COOPERATE

Summary
-------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000454

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY, NICOLAIDES)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV TX UN
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT BERDIMUHAMMEDOV TELLS UN HIGH
COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ARBOUR HE WANTS TO COOPERATE

Summary
--------------


1. (SBU) UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Louise Arbour
characterized her first meeting with Turkmenistan's President
Berdimuhammedov on May 3 as "extremely cordial and positive,"
though she told the Charge later that she had "received the
run-around" on a number of issues, including freedom of
movement and prison access by independent organizations.
That said, Berdimuhammedov and Arbour agreed to continue
cooperation and contact. The fact that Arbour was able to
come to Turkmenistan at all -- and to meet with the president
-- was a major step forward in elevating the level at which
the dialogue on rule of law is taking place. End Summary.

Meeting with President "Extremely Cordial"
--------------


2. (SBU) Arbour gave the Charge on May 4 a brief read-out of
her meeting with Berdimuhammedov, which had been "extremely
cordial and positive." Arbour said that, while it was hard
to judge how much the president took in, he was responsive,
muttering "of course, of course" in Russian often throughout
the meeting. Arbour was unsurprised by her good reception,
noting that the real success of a visit often could not be
judged until further into a relationship; barriers often did
not appear until "further down the food chain." Still, the
fact that Arbour was allowed to come to Ashgabat and to meet
with the president was "big;" Geneva had been predicting that
she would not get presidential access. Arbour also was given
a "working-level" meeting with Deputy Chairman/Foreign
Minister Rashit Meredov, the only person (in the Charge's
words) that was able to communicate to Berdimuhammedov what
the world thought of Turkmenistan and why that opinion was
important. Arbour agreed with the Charge's assessment.

Arbour Given "Run-Around" on Freedom of Movement...
-------------- --------------


3. (SBU) Arbour said she raised freedom of movement issues
with the president, but was "given the run-around;" she was
told that the only people who were not allowed to travel were
those who were under some kind of criminal investigation.
She noted that Turkmenistan's authorities did not seem to

have instituted the travel ban because they were worried
about a mass exodus; instead, the point seemed to be control
and arbitrariness. The Charge discussed the U.S. experience
in raising freedom of movement/Jackson-Vanik issues.
Although authorities did not admit the black list's
existence, the Charge had seen the list in one case; then,
when the embassy pressed them further on the issue, officials
-- including Meredov -- went into overly legalist
explanations, stating that the travel restrictions were only
"temporary."

...and on Prison Conditions and Access
--------------


4. (SBU) Arbour said that she had raised prison conditions
and access by independent groups, but did not get a straight
picture from her meetings of the situation. At Arbour's
request, the Charge related the history of the international
community's efforts to get the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) access to Turkmenistan's prisons: the
United States and others had previously vigorously engaged on
this issue with the government, but backed off at ICRC's
request when the organization decided to change its tactics.
Although the United States continued to raise the issue, it
did so less vocally than previously. Meanwhile, ICRC access
still seemed to be stuck on the issue of allowing
representatives access without the presence of government

ASHGABAT 00000454 002 OF 003


representatives to the group the government referred to as
"terrorist," i.e, those associated with the 2002
assassination attempt on Niyazov. Arbour noted that prison
access should not be pinned solely on the ICRC; other
independent groups could also perform this action. What was
important was ensuring that experienced people had
independent access.

Amnesty Law "Scandalous"
--------------


5. (SBU) Arbour noted that Berdimuhammedov had seemed very
proud of Turkmenistan's amnesty law, under which thousands of
prisoners were amnestied every year. This was scandalous and
a real problem, because the law's existence demonstrated that
there was corruption in charging people with crimes; any
prisoner in Turkmenistan's prisons in a sense could be
classified as a political prisoner because he had been unable
to pay for an amnesty. It was clear there was no rule of law
in Turkmenistan, nor was there a sense of justice. She
believed the country's entire law enforcement sector was
problematic.

Commission on Law Enforcement Activities Receiving Complaints
-------------- --------------


6. (SBU) In citing his administration's achievements, Arbour
said, Berdimuhammedov had included the establishment of a
presidential commission to address citizens' complaints about
law enforcement activities. The Charge said that Myrat
Yslamov, the commission's chairman, actually talked to the
U.S. Embassy; he was one of the few officials who actually
seemed to understand foreign concerns. Apparently Yslamov's
commission was receiving many complaints.

Berdimuhammedov Agreeable on Access to Information
-------------- --------------


7. (SBU) Arbour said that Berdimuhammedov could not have
been more agreeable when the issue of access to information
came up. The Charge responded that, even though
Berdimuhammedov promised access to Internet for all, the type
of access was a problem: all cafes were state-run; cafe
operators took users' passports and monitored all Internet
access. In addition to this, citizens were charged $3 per
hour -- a steep price for most average citizens. Despite
this, the embassy had found out that almost everybody had an
e-mail address. But the public Internet cafes could hardly
be considered broad-based "access."

Both Sides Agree to Do More
--------------


8. (SBU) Arbour confirmed state-run media reports that
Berdimuhammedov agreed to continue the cooperation between
Turkmenistan and the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights.
She was glad of this; the bar on comprehending legal rights
and protections was very low in Turkmenistan. She agreed
with the Charge that almost nobody -- either citizens or
officials -- seemed to understand the basic concepts behind
rule of law; there was much work to be done in Turkmenistan.

Media Coverage of Visit Positive
--------------


9. (U) The state-run media ran a very positive, front-page
article on Arbour's visit May 4. Coverage focused primarily
on Berdimuhammedov's presentation to Arbour on his country's
democracy and human rights accomplishments, including
Turkmenistan's implementation of UN conventions on
elimination of discrimination, children's rights and others.

ASHGABAT 00000454 003 OF 003



Comment
--------------


10. (SBU) Arbour's visit and meeting with Turkmenistan's
president was significant. Berdimuhammedov agreed to the
visit the weekend before his inauguration, and it appears
that, unlike his successor, he recognizes that world opinion
counts. That said, as Arbour noted, there clearly was much
to be done here; despite increased stress here of the
importance of rule of law, only a handful seemed to
understand the concept, and any efforts to address human
rights and rule of law issues were likely to face resistance
for some time to come. Still, Arbour's visit has offered a
forum for getting mention of these issues into the state-run
press and -- post hopes -- added impetus for the president to
broaden his reforms to the basket of the most difficult
issues -- democracy and human rights. End Comment.
BRUSH