NORWEGIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE PLANS FOR CENTRAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L OSLO 000556

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/14/2018
TAGS: PHUM PROP PGOV SOCI NO
SUBJECT: NORWEGIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE PLANS FOR CENTRAL
ASIA, EASTERN EUROPE

Classified By: Political Counselor Kristen Bauer for Reasons 1.4 (b) an
d (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Poloff had a wide-ranging, two-hour meeting
with the heads of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC),a
prominent human rights organization with initiatives in many
Eastern European and Central Asian countries. Of greatest
interest is NHC's quasi-covert attempt to penetrate
Turkmenistan's media curtain. Human rights conditions in
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Byelarus, Russia, were also
discussed. The NHC is considering inviting a high-level U.S.
congressional delegation to Norway for discussions on salient
issues in the aforementioned countries. End Summary.


2. (U) Poloff met with Bjorn Engesland, Secretary General,
and Gunnar Slydal, Deputy Secretary General of the Norwegian
Helsinki Committee (NHC). The NHC receives part of its
funding from the GON, and is the human rights organization
most focused on issues in former communist countries.

Turkmenistan
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3. (C) In Turkmenistan, the NHC works closely with the
National Endowment for Democracy and the Open Society
Institute. The NHC is working to start an internet site for
Turkmen (based in Brussels) as well as a radio station that
would broadcast news into Turkmenistan from another nearby
country. The NHC's involvment in both endeavors would be
cloaked by independent foundations. Engesland and Slydal
were reluctant to talk about details, and this information
was treated by them as highly confidential.

Kyrgyzstan
--------------


4. (C) Engesland thanked the USG profusely for volunteering
its help in the recent trial of its regional representative
in Kyrgyzstan. Interestingly, Engesland said that the reason
for the sudden attacks by the GOK against the NHC was the
fact that the NHC began offering grants for Uzbek human
rights organizations. The NHC intends to attempt to
cooperate fully with the government, despite Engesland's
admission that the charges were ludicrous.

Kazakhstan
--------------


5. (C) The NHC intends to step up activity in Kazakhstan in
relation to their upcoming chairmanship of the OSCE.
Engesland said the Kazakh authorities are extremely
suspicious of NGOs, especially those that work with religion
or religious freedom, as they are perceived to meddle with
state control or, even worse, conduct espionage. Engesland
said it was ironic that Kazakhstan was intending to
prioritize terrorism and "tolerance" as issues during its
chairmanship.

Byelarus
--------------


6. (C) Engesland said it was "very difficult to see how
things will change" in Byelarus, and said the NGO community
feared that the Byelarussian "signals" of change would be
misinterpreted by western countries and "validated" by the
OSCE and the EU. "These signals have no substance behind
them," said Egesland, who had just returned from a two week
trip to the country. NHC supports civil society in Byelarus
and keeps in close contact with the democratic opposition and
human rights NGOs. The NHC will invite a delegation of
Byelarussian politicians to Norway this year, both to raise
the country's profile in Norway, and to encourage
communication with Norwegian politicians and groups.

Russia
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7. (C) NHC has an education project in the Barents (northern)
region of Russia, in which students from Norway are brought
to interact in a weeklong program on human rights and
tolerance. Russian teachers, journalists, police, and prison
officials are also involved in the program. The objective is
to start a dialogue and plant the seeds of future cooperation
on human rights matters. On the other hand, the NHC has

recently had a very public debate in the Norwegian paper of
record (Aftenposten) with the Russian ambassador concerning
claims of Georgian "atrocities" in South Ossetia. The NHC
disputed the Russians' justifications for war with Georgia.

U.S. Issues
--------------


8. (SBU) Engesland brought up Guantanamo and the death
penalty--continuing sources of concern for all Norwegian
human rights organizations. Engesland visited death row at
Livingston prison in Texas in 2004 and had a "strong learning
experience." On the same trip, he met with conservative
think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the American
Enterprise Institute to talk about Guantanamo and the War on
Terror. Significantly, the NHC is considering inviting
members of Congress who are "Friends of the NHC," which
includes Hillary Clinton among others, to a meeting in Norway
concerning the future of the OSCE, developments in Central
Asia and the CIS.
JOHNSON