CONFERENCE ON U.S.-TAJIK RELATIONS ALLOWS PRAISE AND CRITICISM OF US ROLE IN REGION

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TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR TNAR TI AF
SUBJECT: CONFERENCE ON U.S.-TAJIK RELATIONS ALLOWS PRAISE AND
CRITICISM OF US ROLE IN REGION

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1. Summary and Comment: The April 13th conference "15 Years of
U.S.-Tajik Relations" offered few surprises in terms of opinions
or positions, but did provide an open forum for real debate and
discourse about the U.S. role and policy in Tajikistan and the
region. Some Tajik government officials praised U.S.
cooperation in the region, while others took gentle stabs at the
U.S. military presence throughout Central Asia after September
11th and increasing narcotics production in Afghanistan. A few
academics cited their opinion that the U.S. government used the
events of September 11th to expand its military presence in the
region and to get closer to the oil and gas reserves of the
Caspian Sea. The conference -- one of a series of fifteenth
anniversary events marking Tajikistan's bilateral relations --
was a useful opportunity to reach out to the Tajik public that
gets most of its information from Russian media and to explain
the nuances of U.S regional and bilateral priorities. End
summary.


2. (U) Deputy Assistant Secretary Evan Feigenbaum gave the
keynote speech and disabused the notion that the U.S.
government's main role in Tajikistan was to further U.S.
geopolitical strategic goals. On the contrary, he highlighted
the fact that the Untied States and Tajikistan faced the mutual
problems of terrorism, narcotics, crime and corruption. First
Deputy Foreign Minister Saimuddin Yatimov expressed thanks for
U.S. direct technical support through the Export Control and
Border Security office (EXBS),and praised ongoing joint
military and counter-narcotics efforts. The Director of the
Center for Strategic Research, Suhrob Sharipov, highlighted that
the United States was an important partner in the field of
counter-terrorism, since both Tajikistan and the United States
faced the common threats of extremism and terrorism. He noted
that much of Tajikistan's security and stability depended on
events in Afghanistan and that the U.S. and Tajikistan were
working closely to improve border security. Finally, while
achieving democracy demanded a great deal of time, he added that
Tajikistan had implemented many political reforms, and was
moving closer to democracy.


3. (U) Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan leader Muhiddin
Kabiri offered both words of praise and criticism for the United
States; he stated that he believed there were two different
"Americas": one for those who live in the United States, and a
different world for those living in other countries and looking
at it from the outside. In general, Muslims do not have a
positive view of the United States, primarily as a result of its
military actions in the Middle East (he commented that Muslims
could understand attacking the Taliban in Afghanistan, but could
not justify a war in Iraq) and constant U.S. support for Israel
in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He further added the
United States pursues double standards against Muslims around
the world; the United States voices support for human rights,
democracy and rule of law, but at the same time supports
autocratic Islamic regimes which violate these very principles.


4. (U) Despite these words of criticism, Kabiri was encouraged
by U.S. support for the Saudi initiative to bring peace to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He also thanked the United States
for its intervention in stopping the genocide of Bosnian and
Kosovar Muslims. He also praised the fact that President Bush
hosts an annual Iftar dinner in Washington for the heads of
Islamic states, and the fact that Secretary Rice wore a
headscarf during her 2005 visit to a Dushanbe mosque.


5. (U) Kabiri predicted that a new generation of Muslims was
currently developing independent of the radical and
fundamentalist movements, which would eventually sustain
peaceful development. While this can be achieved with or
without the help of friendly governments, such assistance would
expedite this peaceful development. A superpower such as the
United States can help, since they have great influence over
existing authoritarian governments, whose existence he compared
to slavery. As the U.S. was able to overcome slavery, and
former slaves were able to achieve their freedom and equal
rights, modern-day Muslims will be able to follow this same
path.


6. (U) During the discussion at the end of the conference,
participants again displayed both praise and criticism for U.S.
involvement in Tajikistan. One representative from the Ministry
of Energy and Industry criticized the Russian government for not
spending additional funds to raise the level of the dam at the
Rogun hydropower station. (Comment: The Russians have thus far
proved unwilling to increase the proposed level of the dam from

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285 to 330 meters. End Comment.) He thanked the U.S.
government for its exploratory projects in the Tajik energy
sector. A professor expressed his gratitude for U.S.
educational exchange programs, including the Future Leaders
Exchange Program (FLEX) that sends high school students for a
year to the United States, and commented that such programs were
beneficial for both sides.


7. (U) Another Tajik participant criticized U.S. policy in
Afghanistan, stating that the Taliban was reviving and that
narcotics production had skyrocketed over the past two years.
Another participant queried how the role of Islam affected U.S.
policy in Central Asia. PolOff gave the closing remarks at the
conference, providing answers to the various questions posed by
the participants. He replied that while narcotics production in
Afghanistan had increased, it was also important to note the
achievements that have been accomplished in that country the
last five years, including free elections and women's
participation in Parliament for the first time in Afghan
history. On religious freedom, he explained that given the fact
that the United States was founded on the principle of freedom
of religion, and that thousands of mosques, churches and temples
peacefully co-exist in the United States, the United States
supports the rights of Central Asians and people around the
world to peacefully and freely worship any religion without
interference.


JACOBSON
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