FEBRUARY 2007 BORDER WRAP-UP REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 000314 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINR SNAR TI AF SUBJECT: FEBRUARY 2007 BORDER WRAP-UP REPORT REF: DUSHANBE 2153 DUSHANBE 00000314 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) An interagency Department of State and Defense team conducted a demining policy assessment visit February 5-7. The purpose of the trip was to obtain an initial assessment of the landmine problem, and make recommendations to the PCC sub-group regarding the viability of allocating resources to contribute to future demining operations (reftel). ¶2. (SBU) A Marine Corps Special Operation Command's (MARSOC) Foreign Military Training Unit (FMTU) continues to train a Tajik Border Guard Special Forces unit southwest of Dushanbe. The FMTU is a new Marine special unit designed specifically to conduct Foreign Internal Defense training and is currently training approximately 45 Tajik Border Guards in small arms, pistol marksmanship and combat tactics. They are scheduled to depart Tajikistan in March. ¶3. (SBU) Post's Office of Defense Cooperation hosted a seminar on Civil-Military Responses to Terrorism 12-16 February; 19 of 40 invited participants attended. The Committee on State Security's "Alpha" team participated, but the Border Guards did not. When we sought to encourage Border Guard attendance, a fairly junior representative of the Committee on State Security replied that the Border Guards had no role in the fight against terrorism. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not provide information required for Leahy vetting until the second day of the seminar, causing a last minute scramble to bring another funding source to bear. Despite the initial rough start, the seminar went quite well, with representatives from the Ministry of Defense, Committee on Emergency Situations and Drug Control Agency all actively participating. The Office of Defense Cooperation also invited Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Tajik government included them on the list of attendees, but they did not attend. ¶4. (SBU) Post's Narcotics and Law Enforcement Section met with First Deputy Gafarov of the State Committee on National Security the week of February 12. Post's Border and Law Enforcement Working Group drafted Embassy Dushanbe's priorities for assistance to the Border Guards, which include infrastructure, institutional development, salary supplements, communications, training and provision of equipment. Also of note, since the reorganization of the Border Guards under the State Committee on National Security, officers have been less willing to share information, schedule meetings or communicate as freely without top-level Committee approval. ¶5. (SBU) The Narcotics and Law Enforcement Section will also be completing the construction/renovation of the Bog, Bakharat and Khirmanjo border Posts on the Tajik-Afghan border in the Shurabad area by mid-April or early May. Within this period, we hope the Committee will distribute the millions of dollars worth of supplies and equipment (including 10,000 uniforms) which Post's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL),Export Assistance and Border Security (EXBS),and the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) have provided. ¶6. (SBU) The Office of Defense Cooperation is also waiting for the Tajik government to return "1033 Certification Letters", which are a Department of Defense required certification for Tajikistan to receive equipment and training under counter-narcotics funding. It is a statement that equipment will not be transferred to third parties, and that all persons using equipment or receiving training have passed background checks by the Tajik government. The Presidential Administration has informed Post that the diplomatic note and draft letter have been signed by the Deputy Prime Minister, and should be retuned to Post soon via Tajik diplomatic note. Another set of certificates is also required for the export control license for the Harris radios Post is providing under the counter-narcotics program. The Office of Defense Cooperation is preparing the DSP-83 certificates for transfer to the Tajik government for signature. ¶7. (SBU) At the February 15 Border International Working Group meeting, the European Union's Border Management Program for Central Asia (BOMCA) announced that they would continue their embargo against the Border Guard dog program. Embassy and European funding agencies and programs have all agreed not to provide any more dogs to the Tajik Border Guards, primarily due to lack of controls and other identified shortcomings, including rumors of the border guards breeding these dogs and selling their offspring for private gain. Post personnel have witnessed DUSHANBE 00000314 002.2 OF 002 other dogs being used as guard dogs, rather than their intended purpose of detecting narcotics. The Europeans' BOMCA program will however fund two trainers to retrain the Tajik dog trainers, and take an inventory of the dogs they previously provided. ¶8. The Office of Defense Cooperation and Army Corps of Engineers representatives from the Afghan Engineering District will also meet with Border Guard engineers March 13-16 to continue planning for the reconstruction/renovation of border posts at Kokul, Sayod and Ribhoz, three locations along the Afghan border affected by Pyanj river flooding. JACOBSON