Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ASHGABAT1190
2008-09-09 09:49:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:
UK CHARGE D'AFFAIRES BAFFLED BY TURKMEN OFFICIALS'
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001190
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN AND NEA/IR, DRL
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/09/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL TX
SUBJECT: UK CHARGE D'AFFAIRES BAFFLED BY TURKMEN OFFICIALS'
STANDOFFISHNESS
Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001190
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN AND NEA/IR, DRL
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/09/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL TX
SUBJECT: UK CHARGE D'AFFAIRES BAFFLED BY TURKMEN OFFICIALS'
STANDOFFISHNESS
Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (C) SUMMARY: The UK Charge d'Affaires in Ashgabat is
puzzled by the reluctance of Turkmen government officials to
contact or meet with him or members of the EMBASSY staff. In
a meeting with emboff, he said that they avoid official
meetings or briefings, and rarely attend social events when
invited, a fact he attributes to a general fear of reprimand
for getting too cozy with foreign officials. We are not as
puzzled as our UK colleague. During the years of Niyazov's
rule, Turkmen found that the nail that sticks up gets beaten
down. There was no reward and frequently punishment for
sticking out. Nevertheless, we continue to develop warm and
productive relations with our Turkmen colleagues, as we
invest the time. END SUMMARY.
2. (C) In one of a series of introductory meetings with
foreign diplomats stationed in Ashgabat, emboff met on
September 5 with UK Charge d'Affaires George Scott. Scott
himself has been in Ashgabat for seven months, and says that
he has come to the conclusion that Turkmen officials are so
fearful of any real contact with foreign diplomats (or
foreigners, for that matter) that they shy away from most
official and other gatherings. He added that the Turkmen
seek technical and financial assistance from the UK in a
number of areas, but they won't actually let anyone in on how
things work to see how they can help. He said, "It's like a
doctor being asked to treat a sick patient hidden behind a
closed door, and told he must do so without even seeing or
examining the patient." Anytime he attends meetings with any
ministerial or other government entity in Ashgabat, the same
MFA desk officer shows up at all the meetings to take notes.
The desk officer reportedly never says a word, but listens
and takes copious notes of everything being said.
3. (C) Scott offered several anecdotes that illustrate
officials' essentially fearful attitude towards foreign
contacts. He also said that a visiting Turkmen government
minister in the UK oddly had no contact with the Turkmen
Embassy while she was in London. Shirin Akhmedova, Director
of the National Institute of Democracy and Human Rights, was
invited to London by the UK government for a visit and
consultations with the British government in July. During
the visit, her hosts asked whether she would like to arrange
a dinner with the Turkmen ambassador and EMBASSY staff, to
which she replied that there was no purpose in such a
get-together and that she had no plans to see them during her
visit.
4. (C) The British Foreign office recently arranged for a
Turkmen diplomat to attend a conference on Afghanistan at
Oxford University. When the participant returned, Scott
contacted him several times by phone and left messages
inviting him to share his impressions of the trip and the
conference with him. He got no response at all, and so
decided to send him a letter. When the Turkmen diplomat
heard that a letter might be on the way, he told an
interlocutor, "No, no! Please tell him not to send a letter,"
out of fear that he will somehow be accused of working for
the UK. He said he has also invited a senior MFA official
several times to "come by for tea" at the UK Embassy, to no
avail.
5. (C) Similarly, when Scott's predecessor at the EMBASSY was
about to depart Post earlier this year, the British
ambassador put on a farewell reception and invited a number
of foreign diplomats and several Turkmen from the MFA. The
invitations were delivered to the MFA but then were all
returned to the EMBASSY with a letter requesting a diplomatic
note giving more information about the purpose of the
gathering and formally requesting the attendance of the
Turkmen diplomats.
6. (C) Scott said that he regularly rides public
transportation in Ashgabat and walks to and from work. He
ASHGABAT 00001190 002 OF 002
finds that he frequently passes the same people on the
street each morning, and whereas people in other places might
begin to greet passersby or acknowledge a familiar face, the
Turkmen always look away. He chalks this up to being a
holdover of the control and isolation that the government
exercised during both the Soviet and Niyazov eras.
7. (C) COMMENT: During the years of Niyazov's rule, Turkmen
found that the nail that sticks up gets beaten down. There
was no reward and frequently punishment for sticking out.
Therefore, innovation is almost unheard of and people ask not
to be named in invitations to participate in foreign seminars
or training programs, no matter how much they want to go.
That said, we have had official Turkmen (although not many)
show up at our receptions. And while we would not expect our
contacts to show up at a Saturday afternoon barbecue, the
Embassy continues to develop warm and productive relations
with our Turkmen colleagues, as we invest the time. END
COMMENT.
CURRAN
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN AND NEA/IR, DRL
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/09/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL TX
SUBJECT: UK CHARGE D'AFFAIRES BAFFLED BY TURKMEN OFFICIALS'
STANDOFFISHNESS
Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (C) SUMMARY: The UK Charge d'Affaires in Ashgabat is
puzzled by the reluctance of Turkmen government officials to
contact or meet with him or members of the EMBASSY staff. In
a meeting with emboff, he said that they avoid official
meetings or briefings, and rarely attend social events when
invited, a fact he attributes to a general fear of reprimand
for getting too cozy with foreign officials. We are not as
puzzled as our UK colleague. During the years of Niyazov's
rule, Turkmen found that the nail that sticks up gets beaten
down. There was no reward and frequently punishment for
sticking out. Nevertheless, we continue to develop warm and
productive relations with our Turkmen colleagues, as we
invest the time. END SUMMARY.
2. (C) In one of a series of introductory meetings with
foreign diplomats stationed in Ashgabat, emboff met on
September 5 with UK Charge d'Affaires George Scott. Scott
himself has been in Ashgabat for seven months, and says that
he has come to the conclusion that Turkmen officials are so
fearful of any real contact with foreign diplomats (or
foreigners, for that matter) that they shy away from most
official and other gatherings. He added that the Turkmen
seek technical and financial assistance from the UK in a
number of areas, but they won't actually let anyone in on how
things work to see how they can help. He said, "It's like a
doctor being asked to treat a sick patient hidden behind a
closed door, and told he must do so without even seeing or
examining the patient." Anytime he attends meetings with any
ministerial or other government entity in Ashgabat, the same
MFA desk officer shows up at all the meetings to take notes.
The desk officer reportedly never says a word, but listens
and takes copious notes of everything being said.
3. (C) Scott offered several anecdotes that illustrate
officials' essentially fearful attitude towards foreign
contacts. He also said that a visiting Turkmen government
minister in the UK oddly had no contact with the Turkmen
Embassy while she was in London. Shirin Akhmedova, Director
of the National Institute of Democracy and Human Rights, was
invited to London by the UK government for a visit and
consultations with the British government in July. During
the visit, her hosts asked whether she would like to arrange
a dinner with the Turkmen ambassador and EMBASSY staff, to
which she replied that there was no purpose in such a
get-together and that she had no plans to see them during her
visit.
4. (C) The British Foreign office recently arranged for a
Turkmen diplomat to attend a conference on Afghanistan at
Oxford University. When the participant returned, Scott
contacted him several times by phone and left messages
inviting him to share his impressions of the trip and the
conference with him. He got no response at all, and so
decided to send him a letter. When the Turkmen diplomat
heard that a letter might be on the way, he told an
interlocutor, "No, no! Please tell him not to send a letter,"
out of fear that he will somehow be accused of working for
the UK. He said he has also invited a senior MFA official
several times to "come by for tea" at the UK Embassy, to no
avail.
5. (C) Similarly, when Scott's predecessor at the EMBASSY was
about to depart Post earlier this year, the British
ambassador put on a farewell reception and invited a number
of foreign diplomats and several Turkmen from the MFA. The
invitations were delivered to the MFA but then were all
returned to the EMBASSY with a letter requesting a diplomatic
note giving more information about the purpose of the
gathering and formally requesting the attendance of the
Turkmen diplomats.
6. (C) Scott said that he regularly rides public
transportation in Ashgabat and walks to and from work. He
ASHGABAT 00001190 002 OF 002
finds that he frequently passes the same people on the
street each morning, and whereas people in other places might
begin to greet passersby or acknowledge a familiar face, the
Turkmen always look away. He chalks this up to being a
holdover of the control and isolation that the government
exercised during both the Soviet and Niyazov eras.
7. (C) COMMENT: During the years of Niyazov's rule, Turkmen
found that the nail that sticks up gets beaten down. There
was no reward and frequently punishment for sticking out.
Therefore, innovation is almost unheard of and people ask not
to be named in invitations to participate in foreign seminars
or training programs, no matter how much they want to go.
That said, we have had official Turkmen (although not many)
show up at our receptions. And while we would not expect our
contacts to show up at a Saturday afternoon barbecue, the
Embassy continues to develop warm and productive relations
with our Turkmen colleagues, as we invest the time. END
COMMENT.
CURRAN