KYRGYZ FM RACHETS DOWN CONCERN OVER AMERICANS'

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BISHKEK 000443 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (GEHRENBECK) E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV KG SUBJECT: KYRGYZ FM RACHETS DOWN CONCERN OVER AMERICANS' ACTIONS REF: A. BISHKEK 374 ¶B. BISHKEK 442 BISHKEK 00000443 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Amb. Marie L. Yovanovitch, Reason 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: The Embassy contacted the three USG-sponsored American citizens, whose activities FM Karabayev complained to the Ambassador on April 15, were damaging to U.S.-Kyrgyz relations. While the two Americans based in the southern city of Osh delved into the sensitive issue of the ethnic Uzbek minority, their activities combined with the remarks of the third individual in a Kyrgyz parliamentary hearing did not, in our view, cross any significant redlines. President Bakiyev's Chief of Staff reinforced that view, telling us that he had not heard of these reportedly damaging issues, and pointed his finger at the Kyrgyz intelligence services. FM Karabayev, in a May 2 meeting with the Ambassador, downplayed his April 15 "friendly" remarks about the actions of the three Americans and the Ambassador, but still expressed sensitivities about ethnic Uzbeks and criticism about the domestic political scene. While our concerns have been eased somewhat, Kyrgyz officials will continue to be worried about the ethnic Uzbek community and be reactive to any real or perceived criticism of President Bakiyev's backsliding on his democratic commitments. End summary. ¶2. (C) Following Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Karabayev's April 15 expression of concern (reftel A) about recent activities by three Americans and the Ambassador, Embassy contacted Colin Williams Lober, Brent Hierman and Scott Kearin (Amcits, please protect) to obtain further details about their recent activities. Checking the Facts -------------- ¶3. (C) Lober, in an April 17 meeting with the DCM, denied undertaking any activities or making any remarks that would be construed as supporting "ethnic strife" (as claimed by FM Karabayev) between ethnic Uzbeks and ethnic Kyrgyz. Lober, a former Peace Corps volunteer in the Kyrgyz Republic and research associate at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, has been studying Uzbek in the Osh area through the ACCELS-administered Flagship Language Program, which is funded by the Department of Defense. He also has been volunteering with local NGO DCCA, which he claimed had a mixed staff of ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz working to promote interethnic harmony and community development. Lober noted that his volunteer work had put him in contact with many local leaders in Osh, but that he has since decided to abandon his volunteer work for the remaining months of his language studies. ¶4. (C) Hierman, in his April 25 meeting with the DCM, also could not recall any instances when he would have been observed making any comments, as claimed by FM Karabayev, maligning official Kyrgyz engagement with the ethnic Uzbek community in the Kyrgyz Republic. A Fulbright-Hayes scholar conducting doctoral research, Hierman commissioned a survey exploring attitudes towards ethnic Kyrgyz, Uzbeks and Tajiks in the Osh region. His work, which will soon take him to Tajikistan for several months, focuses on how ethnic minority communities promote their concerns. (Note: His preliminary observation is that ethnic Uzbeks in the Kyrgyz Republic are poorly organized, focused on business activities and do not use their ethnicity for political purposes. End note.) Hierman recalled only one awkward meeting with a representative of the Assembly of Nationalities in Osh, and expressed a willingness to share his research results with the Kyrgyz government. ¶5. (C) Kearin, the head of the National Democratic BISHKEK 00000443 002.2 OF 003 Institute's Bishkek office, is a previous target of official Kyrgyz angst during and immediately following the December parliamentary elections. At the invitation of parliament, he delivered remarks at a Kyrgyz parliamentary hearing on the proposed law on political parties. Embassy has reviewed Kearin's remarks, which echoed concerns raised by other participants in the hearing, and discovered nothing that should not be discussed in a democratic environment or that has not been already raised by others. President's Administration Dismisses Concerns -------------- ¶6. (C) During the Ambassador's April 28 lunch with President Bakiyev's Chief of Staff Medet Sadyrkulov, Sadyrkulov said that he had not heard of the issues raised by FM Karabayev April 15. If the issues were "sensitive," Sadyrkulov assured the Ambassador, "information would have come to me." Referencing the Ambassador's freedom of speech remarks, which FM Karabayev had singled out for concern, Sadyrkulov said that if the remarks had truly been disturbing then Nurlan Sadykov (a presidential advisor who had been present during the speech) would have contacted him. "The GKNB gives assignments to us all the time," Sadyrkulov concluded, and noted that "some of us do them, and some of us ignore them." (Note: The GKNB is the Kyrgyz intelligence service. End note.) Foreign Minister Cools the Rhetoric -------------- ¶7. (C) On May 2, the Ambassador met again with FM Karabayev to review numerous bilateral issues and closed the meeting with a discussion of the concerns raised by Karabayev on April 15. The Ambassador reviewed the findings of our investigation into the questionable activities Karabayev had identified. Karabayev, appearing much less agitated than on April 15, acknowledged having finally read Kearin's speech, and complained that Kearin apparently was not aware of the "impact and interpretation" of his remarks. On Lober, Karabayev highlighted the benefits the Uzbek minority enjoy in the Kyrgyz Republic, but cautioned against fomenting divisions amidst the Kyrgyz Republic's "united nation." ¶8. (C) Turning to his April 15 concerns about the Ambassador's freedom of speech remarks, Karabayev noted that he had read the Ambassador's speech and emphasized the "rights of the people" in the Kyrgyz Republic. The Ambassador underscored that the United States would always remain a permanent friend of the Kyrgyz Republic, noted the importance of democracy and said that there would always be "discussions between friends." Karabayev repeated his earlier comment that his April 15 remarks constituted "friendly, unofficial" feedback, and reasoned that the Kyrgyz political institutions, like those in Afghanistan, needed time to develop. Denying that his original comments had been a "rebuke," Karabayev downplayed any cause for concern. Comment -------------- ¶9. (C) Although we are still concerned about the source, timing and meaning of FM Karabayev's April 15 discourse, our subsequent conversations have somewhat eased our concerns. The Kyrgyz White House is worried about the large ethnic Uzbek community in southern regions of the country. Although economic problems are growing in the south, we are not detecting any significant change in political attitudes there. We will remain watchful for any anxiety among Kyrgyz officials about developments in ethnic Uzbek regions or negative reaction to how we handle the Kyrgyz Republic's backsliding on democratic commitments. However, we remain committed to working with the Kyrgyz to fulfill President BISHKEK 00000443 003.2 OF 003 Bush's Freedom Agenda. One way to do this is to remind President Bakiyev of his public commitments to democracy, such as his May 5 Constitution Day address (reftel B). YOVANOVITCH