TAJIKISTAN: END-OF-FISCAL YEAR PROJECT STATUS REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 DUSHANBE 001316 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN (HUSHEK) STATE FOR INL/AAE (BUHLER) JUSTICE (DUCOT AND NEWCOMBE) DEFENSE FOR OSP/P E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR KCRM KJUS PGOV PREL CH TI SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN: END-OF-FISCAL YEAR PROJECT STATUS REPORT REF: A) DUSHANBE 875 B) DUSHANBE 998 ¶1. (U) Summary: At the end of August, Ambassador Jacobson and Foreign Minister Zarif signed two letters of agreement totaling over $13 million to continue INL border security, policing, and anti-crime programs and to initiate projects in the justice sector. INL Dushanbe provides the following end- of-fiscal year project status report for new and existing projects. -------------- BORDER SECURITY -------------- ¶2. (U) INL is implementing seven construction and institution building projects to improve border guard infrastructure and technical capacity to control Tajikistan's borders and interdict drugs, terrorists, and weapons. The Ambassador and Minister of Foreign Affairs signed the seventh and eighth Amended Letters of Agreement (ALOA) at the end of August. This provided over $13 million in funding for INL operations and projects. Border Guard Academy ¶3. (U) ALOA 7 provides the $1,200,000 balance of funding necessary to move this $2 million project toward tender competition and award. Worldwide price increases in construction costs over the last six months required elimination or reduction in certain projects elements including fewer garages, no perimeter wall, and gravel rather than asphalt for the parade ground. INL Dushanbe is waiting on the Border Guards to provide an official letter agreeing to the reduced project scope. Upon receipt, Scope of Work document will be forwarded to RPSO Frankfurt to start the tender competition. Khirmanjo Border Observation Post ¶4. (U) Using funding from ALOA 7 INL Dushanbe is re-competing the renovation contract for the Border Guard observation and control post at Khirmanjo. After extensive consultations with INL Washington and A/OPE, the previous contract was terminated for cause by Dushanbe GSO. As near as we can determine the Border Guards have imprisoned the contractor. INL Dushanbe Construction Engineer expects to complete re-writing the scope of work and secure Border Guard agreement by the end of October. Upon Border Guard agreement, INL Dushanbe will submit a request for procurement through the INL on-line procurement system. INL Dushanbe Construction Engineer is winterizing the site to protect Border Guards and families until the new contractor can begin reconstruction. Kulma and Kizilart Border Crossing Points ¶5. (U) ALOA 7 provides the necessary funding to reconstruct Kulma (China) and Kizilart (Kyrgyz Republic) border crossing points. INL Dushanbe conducted assessment trips to the region in June and September and the Ambassador wrote to the Asian Development Bank to request coordination with the ADB's Customs modernization project (Reftels). INL Dushanbe requested interagency-coordinated preliminary sketches and site diagrams from the Border Guards. We will make a similar request at an upcoming meeting with the Customs Service. Shogun and Yol Border Observation Posts ¶6. (U) INL Dushanbe pledged funding from ALOA 7 and 8 for UNODC-implemented reconstruction of Shogun and Yol border observation posts under project E-24. UNODC informs us they submitted the Scope of Work for approval by UNDP in Dushanbe after which it must be approved by UNDP New York. Expected Qafter which it must be approved by UNDP New York. Expected tender competition date is mid-November. Construction completion date, depending on weather, is projected for early spring 2009. Shogun will be a modular construction rather than a renovation of existing buildings. This is a test of the quality and durability of the modular building concept. The Border Guards have been displeased with the retro-fitted container structures that EU/BOMCA provided on the Afghan DUSHANBE 00001316 002 OF 005 border but we hope they will accept the better designed modular building. UNODC and INL are defining requirements for reconstruction of the Yol border observation post with expected tender competition at the end of 2008. Border Guard Barracks at Murghab ¶7. (U) ALOA 7 and 8 provide funding for the renovation of a Border Guard barracks building at Murghab detachment (otryad). INL Dushanbe received floor plan sketches of the requested design but we are waiting on as-built drawings so the INL Construction Engineer can gauge the scope of work. The Border Guards promised the drawings by the end of October. -------------- Intelligence Capacity -------------- ¶8. (U) Committee for National Security Analytical Center Using funding provided under ALOA 6, INL Dushanbe agreed to extend the construction completion deadline for the Analytical Center on the 5th floor of the KNB Academy through the end of November because of a recent presidential decree on heating of government office buildings. The original design was to install split-pack heat/AC units in each room of the center. Given the vagaries of the electrical grid in Dushanbe the INL Officer requested a re-evaluation of heating the center with a view to reducing electrical consumption and overloading the split-pack units. After review, the INL and KNB Construction Engineers decided to rehabilitate the radiator and piping system of the building so it could draw heat from the city's central heating system and not depend entirely on split-pack units. INL Dushanbe is currently scheduling a ribbon-cutting for December. Joint Field Intelligence Center ¶9. (U) ALOA 8 provides funding to establish and build a joint field intelligence center and in September and October INL Dushanbe conducted extensive consultations to secure interagency agreement for the center. Next step is for First Deputy of the KNB General Gafarov to provide a promised written recommendation regarding the composition, size, and location of the center. INL Dushanbe sustains ongoing consultations with law enforcement and security service agencies. POLICING Ministry of Internal Affairs Academy Reconstruction ¶10. (U) Using funding provided under ALOA 6, INL Dushanbe drafted a Scope of Work to renovate the first and second floors of the MVD Academy. The MVD had agreed to the renovation work described in the SOW and it has been submitted to INL Washington via the INL on-line procurement system. MVD Academy Reform ¶11. (U) INL is continuing a MVD Academy reform project. The project is to work with the Academy leadership to redesign and reform of the Academy to implement a modern law enforcement personnel training regime. This includes providing a new organizational structure, rewriting the curriculum, and revising the length of study, and improving the pedagogical methods of instruction. Current progress has been limited due to poor project structure and management, insufficiently rigorous implementation, and bureaucratic intransigence in the MVD. Community Policing ¶12. (U) $450,000 for creation of a Community Policing project has been waiting on the companion piece of funding from the Qhas been waiting on the companion piece of funding from the 1210 process. At the end of September S/CRS informed the mission the funding was approved and was not redirected to fulfill Georgia requirements. INL Dushanbe is currently DUSHANBE 00001316 003 OF 005 exploring implementation options by competitive award in Washington to be overseen by an Eligible Family Member position at post. COUNTER-NARCOTICS Salary Supplements ¶13. (U) Using funding from ALOA 7 INL Dushanbe provided almost $2 million to the UNODC to continue the development of the Drug Control Agency under project HO-3. The funding provided was restricted to supporting salaries in the Agency for the next 18 months. Funding was conditioned on a successful DCA budget request where the Agency's budget would be increased to begin paying for salaries currently supported by project funding. INL Dushanbe agreed with the DCA that the required 10% (or greater) savings in U.S.-provided funding necessary for salaries would be redirected to enhancing agent professionalism through increased training. In early October, President Rahmon endorsed a 35% increase in the Agency's budget effective January 1, 2009. The next step is for the Parliament (Majilis) to consider the budget and approve by year's end. Language Laboratory ¶14. (U) As part of an INL-CENTCOM CN cooperative venture, INL Dushanbe Construction Engineer is serving as the Contracting Officer's Representative for a CENTCOM-funded English language laboratory for the Drug Control Agency. Located in the headquarters building, installation of the language lab will require upgrades to the electrical supply, windows, and heating. CENTCOM is funding the renovation and installation while INL is providing the project oversight. DCA Mobile Interdiction Teams ¶15. (U) INL is discussing reprogramming $500,000 in funds originally provided in ALOA 6 to implement a nationwide HF radio system. After signing ALOA 6 in 2007 we discovered this project was not supported by all law enforcement and security agencies. We will encourage the GOTI interagency to consider a nation-wide system. While negotiations take place, we propose to reprogram existing funds to higher priorities that can be implemented now and have requested CENTCOM provide funding for the communications system when agreement is reached. The reprogrammed funds will be directed to creation of a GBAO-region Mobile Interdiction Team. ¶16. (U) DCA General Nazarov agreed to provide a concept paper by the middle of November to begin planning. If the GOTI, UNODC, and INL agree to the concept paper, we would reprogram the funds as a pledge to the UNODC as part of the HO-3 project. ¶17. (U) Currently INL Dushanbe is renovating and transporting old shipping containers to remote locations in GBAO and elsewhere so DCA Mobile Teams rotating through an area have shelter, a place to prepare food, and a small office desk. Currently the team members are living in tents or in the back of small vans. Work at the border posts is jealously guarded by the Border Guards and Customs Service who claim that the law prevents cooperation with the DCA and MVD Committee on Contraband (Counter-Narcotics). Demand Reduction ¶18. (U) INL Dushanbe is implementing a demand reduction program. The first project will take place at the end of October. In this project, we are sponsoring an essay competition on why drugs are bad in conjunction with a karate Qcompetition on why drugs are bad in conjunction with a karate tournament to provide young people with a healthy lifestyle alternative. The winners of the essay competition will receive small prizes and free karate lessons. The karate tournament champions have agreed to travel to selected schools to deliver karate demonstrations and deliver an anti-drug message. DUSHANBE 00001316 004 OF 005 JUSTICE SECTOR ¶19. (U) Using $3,076,000 in reprogrammed prior year funding, INL Dushanbe launched inaugural justice sector projects. ABA/ROLI and the Criminal Procedures Code ¶20. (U) INL Dushanbe granted funds to the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative to continue to persuade the three uncooperative defense bars in Tajikistan to unite and become more professional to address the imbalance between defense and prosecution in the administration of justice. This includes creation of a legal code of ethics. ¶21. (U) ABA is implementing a project to coordinate an international donor group to assist in re-drafting the criminal procedures code. ABA has achieved only minimal success with this project because the Government of Tajikistan and the Minister of Justice in particular permit only the most limited engagement. We will reevaluate the project at the end of 2008 and if warranted, reprogram the money to a project with a greater likelihood of success. ¶22. (U) ABA also implements a program to combat religious extremism in the field of law. Working through the Islamic University, ABA is providing Muslim jurists with an overview of secular law trying to draw parallels to sharia law and increase mutual understanding and respect. Access to Justice ¶23. (U) INL Dushanbe collected project proposals from local NGO's to provide increased access to justice and the legal system for the indigent, minors, women, rural dwellers, and abused girls/TIP victims. We distributed the proposals to the embassy's Development Assistance Working Group for review/comments and will meet in the coming weeks to complete evaluation of the projects and move to the award stage. Training for Attorneys and Judges and Law School Scholarships ¶24. (U) Originally envisioned as an INL-implemented projects, INL Dushanbe requested that ABA/ROLI, the only available and qualified implementer in Dushanbe, prepare project proposals to increase the professionalism and international awareness of attorneys and judges through a multi-year training program in Tajikistan and the United States. INL Dushanbe also asked ABA to prepare a proposal for a project to provide competitive one-year law school scholarships to the United States for graduates of Tajikistan's law schools. ABA promised to provide completed drafts by the end of October. Ministry of Justice and the Procuracy ¶25. (U) A $500,000 program to provide training on international law to Ministry of Justice lawyers, assistance to Tajikistan's court marshal system, improve the MOJ's forensics capability, and work through the Ministry of Justice to improve defense attorney professionalism through training with prosecutors has run ashore because of changes in personnel at the Ministry of Justice. ¶26. (U) The Minister of Justice replaced his previous Deputy Minister, Gulchehra Sharipova, with Rustam Mengliev. At an upcoming introductory meeting, the INL officer will assess prospects for these projects. An alternative exists, however, as we have received inquiries from the Presidential Administration regarding cooperation with a to-be-established Legislative Institute to improve the quality of the QLegislative Institute to improve the quality of the legislation passed by Parliament and enacted into law. CRIME Anti-Trafficking -------------- ¶27. (U) We received a project proposal from the International DUSHANBE 00001316 005 OF 005 Organization for Migration to provide training to law enforcement officers and prosecutors, conduct anti-TIP public outreach, and continue support for a shelter for TIP victims. INL Dushanbe has distributed the proposal to the embassy Development Assistance Working Group (DAWG) and will conclude review in the coming weeks. JACOBSON