TURKMENISTAN: ACTIVIST'S LETTER TO

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 000312

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI KDEM TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: ACTIVIST'S LETTER TO
BERDIMUHAMEDOV ON BEHALF OF VULNERABLE CITIZENS SO FAR
ATTRACTS NO NEGATIVE RESPONSE FROM THE GOVERNMENT


1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Civil society activist Natalya Shabunts
published via Internet a long letter she sent to
Turkmenistan's President Berdimuhamedov, criticizing the
government for its failure to protect and care for
Turkmenistan's most vulnerable citizens, including the
disabled and senior citizens. The letter represents the
collective complaints of numerous citizens. She said she
believes that if the president were made aware of these
problems, he might consider corrective action, given his
desire for Turkmenistan to fulfill its international human
rights obligations. At the same time, she indicated full
awareness of the risk she is taking in doing so. Even though
her letter of complaint has appeared internationally and she
informed people beforehand of her intention to publicize her
complaints, there so far has been no negative government
response, including from the security organs. This level of
freedom of expression would have been unheard of 1 1/2 years
ago, and represents another small step forward. END SUMMARY.


3. (SBU) Post called on March 4 on Natalya
Anurova-Shabunts, the author of an open letter to President
Berdimuhamedov that was made public on March 3. Shabunts is
a well-educated, long-time civil society activist in Ashgabat
whose work in recent times has primarily centered on services
and educational programs for the country's most disadvantaged
citizens. She has a long history of work in the civil
society network here, having authored several legal compendia
for OSCE, and overseen or participated in numerous USAID and
other internationally funded projects. (NOTE: She forwarded
a copy of her letter to post and other international
organization offices here in mid-February in the hope that
doing so would afford her some protection from a negative
government response. END NOTE.)


4. (U) The letter, which can now be read in its entirety on
the chrono-tm.org website, is a respectful yet detailed
criticism of the progress of reforms underway in
Turkmenistan, that specifically focuses on the plight of
disabled citizens, as well as pensioners and the
Russian-speaking minority. Here, the combination of archaic
cultural biases, the government's refusal to acknowledge the
needs of disabled citizens, and lack of equipment and
technology to assist the disabled has conspired to keep them
at home or in hospital-style care centers, where they are out
of view. Her letter describes the dramatically declining
living conditions for pensioners, and also mourns the poor
treatment and continuing emigration of the Russian-speaking
intelligentsia, who were rejected by the previous government
and continue to be ignored by the current one.


5. (SBU) Shabunts expressed her frustration with both local
and national government officials, who have repeatedly
impeded her and her colleagues' efforts to improve the lives
of the disabled citizens that her programs assist. She noted
that they have limited capacity to help themselves, and only
receive welfare benefits of about 11-20 dollars a month. She
said that government representatives refused to permit
projects that provided any kind of educational training, even
though there are no national educational programs for
students with special needs beyond elementary school.
Further, she accused city officials of constantly throwing up
obstacles to her group's efforts to establish a new location
for their program and generally to do their work.


6. (SBU) She said she sent the letter to the presidential
apparatus with the stated promise that if she received no
indication that President Berdimuhamedov had received it
within a certain time, she would make the letter public.
Shabunts described herself as an optimist, and suggested that


if the president were personally aware of the transgressions
of various government officials, this behavior toward her
work would stop, especially given the president's declared
goal of fulfilling the country's international human rights
standards. (COMMENT: We would doubt he was ever shown the
letter. END COMMENT.)


7. (SBU) Shabunts displayed her realist side as well, and
spoke critically of the general reform efforts to this point.
She described Turkmen government officials as "masters of
good documentation" in that they can be very efficient at
developing new legislation, at assembling reports for
international consumption, and producing good news articles
praising the progress of these efforts. She said that she is
still waiting to feel or observe the actual, tangible effects
of reforms that are underway. Interestingly, she holds a
Russian passport, and could leave Turkmenistan if she wished,
but she said that her work here is important and meaningful,
and this country is her home. (NOTE: According to Internet
information, Shabunts was denied permission to travel abroad
in 2005. She worked closely with the Soros Foundation in the
past, likely a factor in the denial. END NOTE.)


8. (SBU) She admitted that she is concerned about the
government's reaction to her letter appearing on the
Internet. Although the letter has been posted on the
Internet since March 3, she said she has not received any
calls or visits from the authorities about it.


9. (SBU) COMMENT: Shabunts is a product of long-term U.S.
and international organization efforts to develop civil
society and public interest activism here. The fact that
there has been no negative reaction from the government,
despite her having sent the letter to embassies and
international organizations, to the president, and its
posting on the Internet is interesting. Under former
President Niyazov, anyone who dared to do such a thing would
probably have been placed under house arrest or imprisoned.
It is possible that the government differentiates Shabunts'
largely apolitical focus on socio-economic problems for
Turkmenistan's most vulnerable citizens from someone with a
more political agenda. We doubt the president has seen the
letter, and it could be the security organs have not yet
gotten around to her. If she remains free from harassment,
that will be another small step forward for Turkmenistan.
END COMMENT.
HOAGLAND