AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH KYRGYZ SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L BISHKEK 001178

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (GORKOWSKI)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KG
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH KYRGYZ SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT

REF: A. BISHKEK 710

B. BISHKEK 1135

Classified By: Ambassador Tatiana C. Gfoeller for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d).


1. (C) On November 19, Ambassador made an introductory call
on Speaker of Parliament, Aitibai Tagayev. Tagayev defended
the recently passed, restrictive law on religion (ref B),
saying that the law had been adopted "with the interests of
the Kyrgyz citizens in mind." Tagayev also lauded passage of
a new tax code, which he said cut the number of taxes.
Tagayev would not elaborate on legislative priorities for the
remainder of the year, nor would he discuss possible changes
to the law on adoptions. Tagayev is an unimpressive figure:
he has only a cursory understanding of recent legislation,
and he is clearly uncomfortable discussing any substantive
issues. End Summary.


2. (C) Tagayev, who was elected on the slate of the
President's Ak Jol party, opened the meeting by describing
the December 2007 Parliamentary elections and the resulting
make-up of Parliament along the lines of political party,
gender, and ethnicity as a step forward for democracy in
Kyrgyzstan. Tagayev lauded the accomplishments of
Parliament, citing the passage of the tax code that cut the
number of different types of taxes in half from sixteen to
eight, and reduced the VAT rate from twenty to twelve per
cent. (Note: Tagayev gave the same tax code speech during a
meeting with the previous ambassador in July. Ref A.
Business leaders have been critical of the tax code, which
they believe will increase their tax obligations. End Note.)
When asked about legislative priorities for the remainder of
2008, Tagayev said that Parliament was preparing plans for
December, but he was unable to elaborate.


3. (C) Ambassador pressed Tagayev for answers regarding
current legislation but received limited and somewhat
uninformed responses. When asked about the draft law on
adoptions, Tagayev only noted that it was currently being
reviewed and would be addressed in the coming year. When
further pressed by Ambassador about the recent stoppage of
approvals for adoption by Americans, Tagayev said that local
parents are "refusing to give up their children for
adoption."


4. (C) Regarding the law on religion recently passed by
Parliament, Ambassador asked how the law will balance the
protection of religious freedom with the prevention of
extremist activity. Tagayev said that the law was passed
only after two readings by Parliament, discussions of OSCE
recommendations, and numerous roundtables. Therefore, he
claimed, "the law was adopted with the interests of Kyrgyz
citizens in mind." Unfortunately, he added, they were unable
to adopt all of the OSCE's recommendations. Tagayev claimed
(inaccurately) that the law's new registration provisions --
requiring a minimum of 200 members for a religious
organization to be registered -- were less restrictive than
the requirements in neighboring states.


5. (C) Comment: Tagayev was either unable or unwilling to
hold substantive discussions on legislative issues. He
preferred to share only very basic information about the
physical make-up of Parliament or legislation. When the
Ambassador pushed gently for a more substantive discussion,
Tagayev abruptly ended the meeting, offering his "best wishes
for the American people." Tagayev remains a thoroughly
unimpressive figure and does not appear capable of calling
the shots in Parliament on his own.
GFOELLER