KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT MAKES AN APPARENT ABOUT FACE ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 000632 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/29/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL KG SUBJECT: KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT MAKES AN APPARENT ABOUT FACE ON THE BASE REF: A. BISHKEK 627 ¶B. BISHKEK 626 ¶C. BISHKEK 614 BISHKEK 00000632 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Amb. Marie L. Yovanovitch, Reason 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Three parliamentarians told the Ambassador on May 28 that the parliament likely would postpone any plenary debate or resolution on the Manas Airbase until the fall. For now, the parliamentary committees that considered base issues during a heated May 23 session (Ref C) will refer the matter to the government for further work. We welcome this news about the likely delay in the parliamentary debate, but we expect pressure on the base to continue in the run-up to the August Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. END SUMMARY. Tagayev: Extremely Conciliatory -------------- ¶2. (C) In separate meetings on May 28, the Ambassador talked to three MPs about planned parliamentary actions following the May 23 parliamentary committee session on the U.S. Airbase at Manas Airport. Parliamentary Defense and Security Committee Chairman Rashid Tagayev, who presided over the May 23 session and had promised a plenary debate on the base, was extremely conciliatory. He said that the May 23 session had gotten out of hand, and he distanced himself from responsibility. He claimed that he had raised the question, because the Parliament had adopted a resolution on the base in December and it was necessary for his committee to follow-up, but he had wanted a confidential session -- one that would show his respect to the Ambassador and to the U.S. Others had suggested a joint meeting with other committees, and he hadn't realized how such a session would turn out; others were not "at the same level." He said he had explained to Speaker of Parliament Sultanov, the Foreign Minister, and the Kyrgyz White House how the Wednesday committee meeting happened. Tagayev said he also complained to the White House that the Kyrgyz government was not working together and it was hard to get information from the government about the base. Tagayev said that his main concerns about the base were the Ivanov matter, ecology issues, transparency on finances, and Iran. ¶3. (C) Tagayev said he would now look for ways to smooth over the situation with the base. Now that everyone has had his say, Tagayev expected the issue would quiet down. Tagayev told the Ambassador that he had consulted with Speaker Sultanov and it appeared that there will be neither a resolution nor a full parliament debate before the fall. For now, Tagayev said that the committees likely will refer the matter to the government and encourage it to work on base questions; parliament most likely would come back to the issue in the fall. While no final decision has been made, Tagayev said he would gather a group of about 15 parliamentarians ("not everyone, because not everyone understands the situation as I do") to persuade them. Sultanov will make the final decision. "Right now, the important thing is to find a way out of the situation," Tagayev added. Karabekov: Russians Directing Base Campaign -------------- ¶4. (C) MP Kubai Karabekov confirmed to the Ambassador May 28 that the full parliament would likely take up the base issue again in the fall. He told the Ambassador that his advice on BISHKEK 00000632 002.2 OF 002 the base was to work with Presidential Chief of Staff Sadyrkulov, Speaker Sultanov, and maybe Foreign Minister Karabayev. ¶5. (C) Karabekov also put the base issues in the context of Russian and SCO pressure on the Bakiyev government. Karabekov claimed that President Bakiyev did not want to host the SCO Summit in Bishkek, because he knows the meeting of heads of state is a lot for Kyrgyzstan to pull off. The Chinese and Russians, however, insisted. In return, the Chinese promised the cars for the government. (Comment: apparently the government chose Audis. End Comment). The Russians promised that they would take care of the opposition. Karabekov said that the FSB was behind the campaign against the base, working closely with parliamentary actors, the FSB-funded political party Sodruzheztvo, and the mass media. Thus, regarding the base, any final decision will not be made by Bakiyev. ¶6. (C) Karabekov added that the Chairman of the Coordinating Council of the new "Movement for the Withdrawal of the American Base from Kyrgyzstan," Alexander Tiperov, was a former KGB informer. He was kicked out of the KGB, because he started informing on his fellow KGBniks. Tiperov had no conscience, said Karabekov, and the FSB was using him against the base. Masaliyev: Parliament Not Taking His Advice -------------- ¶7. (C) In a May 28 meeting, MP Masaliyev also told the Ambassador that the full parliament would not consider base issues until the fall. He confirmed that the parliamentary committees would likely refer the matter to the government for further work. He said that he continues to oppose the base on principle, but parliament was not going to adopt any of his suggestions for dealing with the base. (Comment: good news for us. End comment.) Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) We welcome this news about the likely delay in parliament's debate over the base; it appears that Sadyrkulov's May 26 conversation with key figures in government and parliament to counter the hysteria and misinformation about the base was effective. Nevertheless, we expect strong pressure on the base to continue in the run-up to the August 16 SCO summit in Bishkek. YOVANOVITCH