SECURITY SERVICE DISRUPTS POLOFF BUKHARA VISIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 001681 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR DS, PD E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/24/2017 TAGS: PREL PROP PINS PHUM OEXC UZ SUBJECT: SECURITY SERVICE DISRUPTS POLOFF BUKHARA VISIT REF: TASHKENT 1661 TASHKENT 00001681 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: POLOFF TIM BUCKLEY FOR REASONS 1.4 (B,C,D) ¶1. (C) Summary. Poloff visited Bukhara from September 20 - 23, where he previously served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a high school. Local English teachers informed poloff that an NSS (National Security Service) agent was monitoring the hotel and questioned them about their association with an American diplomat. At a visit to a Bukhara high school, NSS interrupted a courtesy call with the Director and ordered him immediately sent to pick cotton. Terrified school staff and students, including poloff's former colleague and acquaintances, canceled planned activities at the school and asked poloff to depart the premises. Poloff had notified MFA by diplomatic note of his intended visit to Bukhara and had requested official meetings. End summary. FORMER PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER RETURNS TO SITE -------------- ¶2. (C) Poloff visited Bukhara from September 20 - 23 to meet contacts and attend a civil society conference sponsored in part by NDI and attended by several high-ranking GOU officials. Poloff recently arrived at post but had previously served in Bukhara as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 2002 - 2004 in a local high school. Planned activities during his first visit to his former site included meetings with former colleagues and acquaintances. Post requested courtesy calls with the Hokims (governors) of Bukhara City and Region via diplomatic note, which were formally denied. NSS WAITS AT THE HOTEL -------------- ¶3. (C) Upon arrival in Bukhara, poloff was greeted at the hotel by two friends and former colleagues who taught at the high school where he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer, including poloff's former counterpart (the person assigned by Peace Corps to work closest with the Volunteer). Both teachers are alumni of highly competitive USG-sponsored professional development programs in the United States. While waiting for poloff's arrival at the hotel, the teachers had contact with an NSS agent, whom they know based on regular monitoring and harassment due to their previous participation in the USG-sponsored programs. One noted that "they keep track of all Bukhara English teachers who went to the USA". The NSS agent asked what they were doing at the hotel and noted "your friend is a very important person at the US Embassy...he is a Secretary there". The teachers noted the agent remained near the lobby of the hotel during our initial meeting, and poloff's former counterpart subsequently received a phone call on her cell phone again asking about her purpose in meeting the American officer. She had not previously provided her cell phone number to the authorities and was alarmed. MEETING IS INTERRUPTED AND ENDED -------------- ¶4. (C) Poloff arranged to visit the Technological Institute Lyceum, a local high school where a former colleague now works as the Director of the Foreign Language Department. The schedule included a courtesy call with the School's Director, presentation of publications on behalf of the Embassy's Public Affairs Section, and guest lectures with English students at the school. The Director of the Foreign Language Department said that students and faculty were very excited about the visit, and some of poloff's former students learned of the visit and planned to attend. Many faculty members waited at the door and were delighted and honored to speak with a foreign diplomat who could speak some Uzbek and Russian and knew their education system. ¶5. (C) The School Director warmly greeted poloff in his office and explained that he was happy to have a prominent guest. He is an earnest educator who studied in Moscow in the 1970s and takes his job seriously. He appreciated the publications and digital materials from the Public Affairs Section, and noted that "Uzbekistan needs assistance from foreign countries in promoting the proper education and TASHKENT 00001681 002.2 OF 002 upbringing of our youth". Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and the Director was summoned immediately from the room. Poloff's teacher friend, who was in the meeting, spotted the same agent who had been at the hotel. After several minutes, another staffmember came and whispered to the teacher, who became nervous and directed poloff to step outside. THREATENED WITH COTTON-PICKING -------------- ¶6. (C) After several minutes in the school's lobby there was no sign the meeting with the Director would resume. The group of faculty that happily conversed with poloff previously now worriedly whispered among themselves. Poloff overheard talk of picking cotton, and finally poloff learned that the Director was being sent immediately to the cotton fields to assist with the harvest. It is common for university students and, to a limited extent, civil servants to have to contribute to the cotton-picking effort, but school staff informed poloff there had been no plans for the Director to go to the cotton fields. ¶7. (C) Silenced faculty quickly turned away or returned to their classrooms, and poloff's former colleague said it was no longer possible to continue with the planned tour of the school or lectures with the English students. One of poloff's former students dissolved into tears and said the students were very disappointed. Poloff was asked to depart the premises immediately, and subsequent phone calls to a former colleague were not returned until two days later, when she said "I truly regret that day". COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) The aggressive interruption of an emboff's meeting with a school director is disappointing to us and clearly instilled fear in common Uzbeks who happened to work at or attend the school. The threat to send the director to the cotton fields, regardless of whether it was implemented, sent a clear and powerful message that contact with American diplomats has consequences. Sustained harassment of English teachers who have participated in USG-sponsored training programs in the United States is also a signal to program alumni that they need to be careful about pursuing professional opportunities. ¶9. (C) Comment continued: P/E Chief spoke with MFA Head of America's Department Ismat Faizullaev on September 24 and expressed concern about the NSS behavior. Faizullaev noted First Deputy FM Nematov's message to Ambassador (reftel) that American diplomats must clear in advance of their travel within the country. Faizullaev acknowledged that he had traveled freely within the United States when posted there and said that, frankly, this matter would have to be settled at a higher level. P/E Chief reminded him that we had, as a courtesy, informed the MFA of the intended travel and had even requested courtesy calls with local officials. Ambassador will raise this incident with DFM Nematov when they meet as expected later this week. NORLAND