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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 000591 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR TNAR TI AF SUBJECT: CONFERENCE ON U.S.-TAJIK RELATIONS ALLOWS PRAISE AND CRITICISM OF US ROLE IN REGION DUSHANBE 00000591 001.2 OF 002 ¶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 DUSHANBE 00000591 002.2 OF 002 285 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 SIGNATURE