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