UZBEKS TO "TOLERATE" HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH FOR THREE

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000830

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/25/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEKS TO "TOLERATE" HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH FOR THREE
MORE MONTHS

REF: A. TASHKENT 782

B. TASHKENT 804

Classified By: AMB. JON R. PURNELL, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary: Only a week after denying an accreditation to
Human Rights Watch's Tashkent office director, the Foreign
Minister reversed the decision and offered her a three-month
accreditation. At the same time, a Human Rights Watch
assistant received a visa after a year-long wait, and the
Foreign Minister said that the organization's Central Asia
Regional Director could receive a visa to visit Tashkent.
This sudden "generosity" toward Human Rights Watch was
correctly interpreted by many in the Tashkent diplomatic
corps as a transparent attempt to win EU approval as the
Europeans prepare to decide May 14 whether to extend or alter
sanctions against Uzbekistan. End summary.


2. (C) On April 21, barely one week after the Ministry of
Justice denied Human Rights Watch office director Andrea Berg
a new accreditation, effectively expelling her from the
country (ref A),Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov personally
called Berg into his office and reversed the decision.
According to Berg, Norov indignantly told her that she had
committed flagrant violations of Uzbek law and had damaged
Uzbekistan's international reputation with biased reporting
about the country's human rights situation. Nevertheless, he
said, he would grant her a new three-month accreditation.
Berg quoted Norov as saying, "We will tolerate you, as long
as there are no more violations."


3. (C) Berg told Poloff that Norov also agreed to grant a
visa to Human Rights Watch's Central Asia Regional Director,
who has had an application pending for several months. The
Ministry also approved a visa--valid for three months and two
entries--for a new Human Rights Watch assistant, a U.S.
citizen whose visa application has been pending for
approximately one year. The assistant plans to arrive in
Tashkent during the week of April 23-27. Berg told Poloff
that Norov flatly refused to grant accreditation to Berg's
husband.


4. (C) The government's treatment of Human Rights Watch has
complicated the European Union debate over the future of its
sanctions against Uzbekistan. The EU is scheduled to decide
May 14 whether to continue or alter the sanctions. Human
Rights Watch local staffer Umida Niyazova still awaits trial
on charges of smuggling, illegal border crossing, and
threatening state security; her trial was abruptly delayed on
April 19 as it was about to begin (ref B). Several European
diplomats told the DCM that they see the sudden decision to
grant visas and accreditation to Human Rights Watch staffers
as a transparent, short-term gesture to win support for a
lifting of sanctions.


5. (C) Human Rights Watch, for its part, has embraced its
role in the evolving drama. Details of Berg's meeting with
Foreign Minister Norov quickly appeared in wire service
reports. Human Rights Watch invited leading human rights and
opposition political figure Vasila Inoyatova to Brussels,
where she lobbied EU officials to maintain or strengthen
sanctions against Uzbekistan. After her return to Tashkent,
Inoyatova told Poloff that she would not be surprised if the
government released Umida Niyazova from custody as a further
bid to win EU leniency. However, she said, dozens of other
human rights activists remain in jail. She characterized
them as "hostages," which the government will gladly trade
for concessions from the West. Inoyatova said, "They'll just
arrest someone else tomorrow."


6. (C) Comment: Post agrees with our diplomatic counterparts
that the government's sudden "generosity" towards Human
Rights Watch is not motivated by any interest in promoting
human rights, but instead is a cynical gesture designed to
manipulate EU opinion and assure the lifting of EU sanctions.
However, Human Rights Watch is not helping its cause by
taking the debate to the public. Broadcasting details of its
talks with Uzbek officials will only antagonize the
government further.

PURNELL