CROSSING THE UZBEKISTAN-KAZAKHSTAN BORDER A SLOW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 001894 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN, INL (A. BUHLER),EXBS (J. HARTSHORN) E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/31/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL KZ UZ SUBJECT: CROSSING THE UZBEKISTAN-KAZAKHSTAN BORDER A SLOW PROCESS REF: TASHKENT 877 Classified By: Poloffs Steven Prohaska and Richard Fitzmaurice for reas ons 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Summary: During a recent unofficial trip from Uzbekistan to southern Kazakhstan, poloffs observed a relatively inefficient, poorly equipped Uzbek border crossing port. Poloffs also observed a much greater flow of people from Uzbekistan into Kazakhstan, perhaps reflecting the continuing relative dearth of work in Uzbekistan. End summary. ¶2. (C) Poloffs had to pass through two gated areas on Uzbekistan's side of the border at Gisht-Koprik, the largest port on the border between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. After being waved through the first one rapidly thanks to diplomatic plates, poloffs encountered a major delay at Uzbekistan's second gate despite the fact that there were no other cars ahead in poloffs' lane. Border security officials handed back the first poloff's passport within a few minutes, but held the second poloff's passport in the border guards' main administrative building for almost 45 minutes before finally processing it. Border personnel also allowed at least two other cars to pass through the gate while poloffs waited. When poloff inquired about the delay, the official informed him that his supervisor was inspecting his passport. Poloff asked to meet the supervisor, who explained to him that a "computer glitch" with the passport had caused the delay. (Comment: We are suspicious of this explanation, as we think it is unlikely that one U.S. diplomatic passport cleared through their computer system without a problem while the other caused a malfunction. Poloffs suspect that they were delayed intentionally until the border officials had informed others in the government that they were attempting to pass through the border. Furthermore, the second poloff was the driver of the vehicle and had traveled to Kazakhstan on two other occasions in the past month, which may explain why his passport was held up. End comment.) When crossing back into Uzbekistan later that evening, poloff noticed that the Uzbek border officials were keeping a separate tally of foreigners by nationality that had passed through the border that day. SAME PLANET, DIFFERENT WORLDS -------------- ¶3. (C) The contrasts between each side of the border were striking. On Uzbekistan's side, border security personnel pawed through vehicle trunks and seats, shining flashlights throughout. Passport control consisted of two small but neat offices for those traveling across the border, each one barely large enough to accommodate two Uzbek officials. The barrier at passport control was a three-foot tall barred plate that stood upright and had to be lifted off to one side to allow vehicles to pass. Kazakhstan's side of the border had a much larger, more modern passport control room for travelers which included an X-ray machine, computer screens that revealed the contents of baggage, a suggestions box, and at least one camera near the ceiling which photographed travelers. The Kazakh border officials finished processing poloffs' documents in roughly 20 minutes and an easily movable horizontal beam allowed vehicles to pass. KARIMOV AND NAZARBAYEV: BEST FRIENDS FOREVER? -------------- ¶4. (C) On Kazakhstan's side of the border, a large photograph of Karimov and Nazarbayev grinning and standing side by side hung in the main section of the passport control room. Poloff asked if he could take a photo of it. One Kazakh border security official, after consulting with a colleague, agreed to let him photograph only Karimov and Nazarbayev, but stressed that he could not photograph the Kazakh text below it, which included a quote from Nazarbayev. The officer watched over poloff's shoulder while he took the photo to ensure that he followed these rather bizarre instructions. DESPITE DELAYS, SIGNIFICANT MOVEMENT OUT OF UZBEKISTAN -------------- -------------- TASHKENT 00001894 002 OF 002 ¶5. (C) Poloffs crossed the border between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan early in the morning and in the evening of the same day. Each time they noticed that far more individuals were headed toward Kazakhstan. During an informal conversation with a student in southern Kazakhstan, poloffs learned that Uzbeks, rather than Kazakhs, pick the cotton there around harvest-time. ¶6. (C) Before the trip, when poloff asked an Embassy FSN how long it would take to cross the border checkpoint, he replied, "For you? Thirty minutes. For me? Five hours." Another Embassy FSN indicated to poloff that traveling across the border takes more time without diplomatic plates. He also said that it was easier to transit the border on weekends than weekdays. A third FSN said that he had not driven through the border recently, and preferred paying twice as much to fly because of past instances of harassment from security services to those transiting the border. COMMENT: -------------- ¶7. (C) Based on our limited observations, Uzbekistan's side of the border is in need of a much more significant infusion of resources--and perhaps changes in regulations--if it is to match the efficiency of what we saw on Kazakhstan's side. While poloffs spent more than an hour trying to pass through the border checkpoint, delays are much worse for Uzbeks traveling to Kazakhstan. Despite long waits, the much greater traffic from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan may reflect in part the continuing greater availability of work opportunities and better economic conditions in Kazakhstan. NORLAND