PRT BAMYAN: AMBASSADOR ASSESSES DEVELOPMENT AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 002068 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/FO DAS GASTRIGHT, SCA/A STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG NSC FOR HARRIMAN OSD FOR SHIVERS CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-82 POLAD RELEASABLE TO NATO/AUST/NZ/ISAF E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV SNAR PHUM PTER EAID AF SUBJECT: PRT BAMYAN: AMBASSADOR ASSESSES DEVELOPMENT AND SECURITY REF: KABUL 1812 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: During his introductory visit to Bamyan Province, Ambassador Wood and Governor Habiba Sarabi discussed development priorities and security risks in what has generally been Afghanistan's most secure province. The Ambassador also met the Provincial Council, a women's shura, and toured a USAID-funded midwifery training center. The governor and provincial council members assured the Ambassador of their support for the international community, but as expected, pressed for more U.S. development assistance to Bamyan. END SUMMARY. -------------- Governor Sarabi: Focus Remains on Roads -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Governor Sarabi, who has publicly accused USAID of failing to keep prior development commitments in Bamyan, said that after her recent meeting in Kabul with the Ambassador (reftel),she had received a report from USAID which detailed its assistance to Bamyan province in FY 2007 (totaling $17 million) and said she "fully appreciated" USAID's efforts. The Ambassador told Governor Sarabi that the U.S. will give more development assistance to Bamyan in the next 18 months than it provided in the previous five years altogether. This includes pavement of both the Airfield Road and Bazaar Road in Bamyan City, two projects that have taken on great symbolic significance in Bamyan, which today has no paved roads. ¶3. (SBU) Governor Sarabi described the abysmal state of the Dai Kundi roadway, which has received no repairs in 20 years. Large sections of this road collapsed during spring floods and have not been restored. The poor condition of this north-south route creates problems not only for the isolated Panjab and Waras districts in southern Bamyan (where a large part of the province's population resides),but drives up the cost of shipping food and other goods to Ghor and Dai Kundi provinces. The governor pressed for assistance but acknowledged that she has not discussed it with the governor of Dai Kundi or asked the central government for assistance. (Note: The U.S. Army CERP manager for Bamyan is seeking approval for funds to repair pavement and bridges along approximately 60 kilometers of this road. End note.) -------------- --- Governor on Security, Police, Provincial Council -------------- --- ¶4. (SBU) When asked about reports of weapons and drugs being moved through Bamyan province, Governor Sarabi described these as problems from Dai Kundi and Ghazni that spill over into Bamyan. She identified the problem area for Bamyan as the Kahmard district in northeastern Bamyan, which is home to the province's minority Tajik community. ANP have a hard time tracking activity in this district because of its mountainous terrain. The province's principal defense, she said, is that the people of Bamyan oppose drugs and inform the police of drug activity. ¶5. (SBU) Overall, Governor Sarabi said the ANP are doing a good job but are not well-trained. Governor Sarabi was pleased with the training program at the PRT's Regional Police Training Center and with the police reform efforts by the Ministry of Interior, but she indicated concern about the quality of Bamyan's ANP officers in the higher ranks. -------------- -------------- Provincial Council Questions Distribution of U.S. KABUL 00002068 002 OF 002 Assistance -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The Ambassador also met with the provincial council who assured the Ambassador of the Bamyan people's support for the U.S., but in a common refrain in the central provinces, complained that Bamyan is ignored when it comes to development assistance. Former PC chair Nawroz Etimadi bemoaned that provinces racked with insecurity and poppy cultivation, like Helmand, receive more in development assistance than the $17 million a more secure, poppy free province like Bamyan, where the local people are more supportive of the central government and shun poppy cultivation. Etimadi asserted that the international community sends the wrong message when it is perceived that provinces plagued by violence, poppy and ineffective leadership receive more attention and development assistance than provinces that are quiet and whose leadership takes an active role in keep them that way. ¶7. (SBU) Mohammad Muhsini, Bamyan's most influential religious leader and the recently elected chairman of the Provincial Council, outlined the need for three specific projects: a new road in the center of Bamyan province, a dormitory for Bamyan University, and better roads connecting Bamyan to other provinces. (Note: The day following the Ambassador's visit, the chairman of the Bayat Foundation laid the cornerstone for a new women's dormitory at Bamyan University; a men's dormitory is also needed. End note.) -------------- Bamyan Women's Shura -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The Ambassador also met with the Bamyan women's shura, who raised concerns about distances girls must travel to school and that access to health care is cut off during the winter months. The Ambassador also toured the USAID-funded Midwifery Training Center, which is reducing infant and maternal mortality rates in the central highlands. WOOD