GERMANS DISCUSS "STAGNANT" CT RELATIONSHIP WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000913

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/2017
TAGS: PTER PREL GM UZ
SUBJECT: GERMANS DISCUSS "STAGNANT" CT RELATIONSHIP WITH
UZBEKS


Classified By: CDA Brad Hanson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: According to the German Ambassador, the
German-Uzbek counterterrorism relationship is "stagnant,"
with no real dialog taking place. In addition to providing
little credible information, the Government of Uzbekistan
allows little access to the Islamic community, thus impeding
Germany's ability to reach an independent assessment about
the real terrorist threat here. The Uzbeks profess to want
more cooperation, but their approach to cooperation is that
German equipment and money are welcome, but that German
values on such things as respect for human rights are not.
The German Ambassador expects that the Uzbeks will "scream"
publicly if European Union sanctions are not lifted
completely in May, but that the decision will have little
negative impact on the German base at Termez because of the
money that the Uzbeks receive as a result of the German
presence. End summary.


2. (C) German Ambassador Matthias Meyer told visiting S/CT
Regional Affairs Officer Zachary Rothschild and Poloff on May
4 that the German-Uzbek counterterrorism relationship is
"stagnant." Terrorism, Meyer complained, is an area where
the Uzbeks will not allow a real dialog to take place.
Rather, government officials present the official view of the
situation, which, in the Uzbeks' mind, the Germans are not
allowed to question. Meyer said that it is difficult to know
the true threat of terrorism in Uzbekistan, because the
government provides little credible information and prevents
most access to the Islamic community, thus impeding the
Germans' ability to reach an independent assessment of the
situation.


3. (C) The German Ambassador said that the Government of
Uzbekistan has shown interest in greater counterterrorism
cooperation with Germany and the European Union. However,
German ability to work with the Uzbeks is limited by human
rights concerns. For example, Meyer said that Germany and
other European governments have refused to return at least
six persons wanted on terrorism charges by the Government of
Uzbekistan. Germany does plan to provide limited training in
Germany on how to deal with riots and other civil unrest, and
the European Union also agreed in principle during the recent
Astana meeting with Central Asian foreign ministers to
increase regional counterterrorism cooperation. Overall,
however, Meyer characterized Uzbekistan's approach to
counterterrorism cooperation as essentially telling the
Europeans that, while their money and equipment was welcome,
their values were not.


4. (C) Meyer said that on May 14 the European Union may agree
to modify its sanctions regime against Uzbekistan, but that
it is highly unlikely that sanctions will be removed
completely. He said that he expects that the Uzbeks will
"scream" in public about this decision for several months,
but that the overall relationship would normalize thereafter.
In particular, Meyer said that the sanctions decision likely
will have little impact on continued German military basing
in Uzbekistan. The air base in Termez, he said, is all about
money; the Uzbeks make too much of it from the German
presence to force Germany to close the base.


5. (C) Comment: The German Ambassador's description of
German-Uzbek counterterrorism cooperation sounds familiar, as
it essentially describes our own situation. We were struck
by Meyer's comments about the future of the German base in
Termez post-EU sanctions decision, particularly since,
according to USDAO Tashkent reporting, the Uzbeks have
specifically linked continued counterterrorism cooperation,
including the base, to the lifting of sanctions. We do not
know the extent to which the Ambassador's view is shared by
his German military colleagues. While Termez might be all
about money, the Uzbeks do not always see the economic value
of a foreign military base as outweighing their own political
considerations, as we discovered in 2005 at Karshi-Khanabad.
HANSON