TAJIKISTAN: SCENESETTER FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY BOUCHER'S

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 001155 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON TI SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN: SCENESETTER FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY BOUCHER'S VISIT REF: A) DUSHANBE 1149; B) DUSHANBE 1130 DUSHANBE 00001155 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) Embassy Dushanbe welcomes Assistant Secretary Boucher and Senior Advisor Caitlin Hayden to Dushanbe for the Assistant Secretary's third visit to Tajikistan. SIPDIS ¶2. (U) By now, you have received two reftels describing the current environment in Tajikistan. Ref B contains some generic talking points. Below are some additional issues and suggested talking points we would like you to raise. Your visit will come 10 days after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek and two weeks after President Rahmon's trip to Azerbaijan. President Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan is expected to visit in mid-September and Dushanbe will host a Collective Security Treaty Organization conference October 5, which is also Rahmon's birthday. Your meeting with Rahmon will be a good opportunity to query him on these regional developments. TRILATERAL DISCUSSIONS: REGIONAL COOPERATION AND SECURITY ¶3. (SBU) Security and the Bridge: As noted in Ref A, Tajikistan is behind the curve on planning to manage the bridge and related border security. It will be months before the Tajiks are ready to deploy an appropriate border force. After months of telling Ambassador "not to worry" about this issue, Foreign Minister Zarifi told Ambassador August 9, "We really don't have the knowledge or experience to set this up." -- Tajikistan and Afghanistan need to take the lead on operating the bridge. We encourage Tajikistan and Afghanistan to work quickly towards integrating customs and immigration procedures, including properly training staff. -- U.S. assistance programs have already provided extensive training for border guards and customs officials (although the Border Guards have opted out of some recent training events). We are looking at ways to provide you with a border crossing expert specifically to train your staff on how to operate the new bridge crossing. -- Recently your government announced the decision not to allow Afghan border guards to train with their Tajik counterparts in Tajikistan. You should seriously reconsider this decision, and permit Afghan staff to participate in U.S. and EU-funded border guard training programs. Joint training and network-building is 
necessary for effective border management. -- We are looking into moving the construction bridge at Nizhny-Pyanj to Kokul and are checking with Central Command about the feasibility and costs of moving the construction bridge. ¶4. (SBU) Hydropower and Energy: You can expect the Tajiks to push, once again, for U.S. financing and construction of a billion-dollar hydroelectric station at Dostijhum. This is of interest to Afghanistan as well, as the dam could also provide agricultural irrigation to northern Afghanistan. -- To the extent that your government is successful in negotiating an international standard power purchase agreement with Afghanistan, this would send a good signal to potential investors. We would be happy if an American company would be interested in constructing the Dostijhum hydropower station, but the U.S. government does not direct American businesses where to invest or how to operate. In order to attract American investment, you should work on improving the business climate. I am confident that private investment is more effective in the long term than state-run business. BILATERAL TALKS ¶5. (SBU) Create a Welcoming Business Environment -- Private investors will make judgments about the business environment here based on economic opportunity and concrete government actions. American businesses are concerned about government directives and perceived government attempts at controlling private business. One example is Comsup. Comsup is an American company that owns the firm Anzob. Anzob received instructions from the government to sell its antimony production to another Tajik company at below market rates. This kind of government interference in private business is not a good signal DUSHANBE 00001155 002.2 OF 002 for other potential investors. ¶6. (SBU) Respect Religious Freedom -- We are concerned about the draft law on religion and religious associations. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe as well as others report that the draft law may violate some international religious freedom standards. Additionally, I have heard reports of mosque closures and pressure on religious groups. What can you tell me about these reports and the status of the draft law on religion? ¶7. (SBU) Stop Harassment Towards Civil Society -- I am also concerned about the law on public associations that your government passed in May and its potential impact on civil society. I hope that you can create an environment where nongovernmental organizations can operate freely. Nongovernmental organizations work hard in this country to promote democratic reform and economic growth. They share your common goal of long-term stability and development. Potential private U.S. investors also view a vibrant civil society as a positive factor when deciding to invest in a country. -- The last time we met in Dushanbe, I had hoped that you would be able to register National Democratic Institute and Internews Network. The country directors of both organizations have not yet received long-term visas and Internews Network cannot implement its U.S.-funded community radio stations project. These actions have already reduced U.S. assistance and, more importantly, send a signal to the world that Tajikistan is not interested in cooperation in democratic development and a free media. ¶8. (U) Embassy Dushanbe looks forward to your visit, and to the opening of the Tajik-Afghan Bridge. JACOBSON