UZBEKISTAN VEHEMENTLY DENIES RUMORS OF SEPARATIST

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000459 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2018 TAGS: PGOV PBTS PREL SOCI UZ SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN VEHEMENTLY DENIES RUMORS OF SEPARATIST SENTIMENT IN KARAKALPAKSTAN REF: TASHKENT 363 Classified By: Poloff Steven Prohaska for reasons 1.4 (b, d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) officials directed MFA Americas Desk Chief Ismat Fayzullaev to deliver a statement to Poloff on April 16 refuting press reporting on separatist sentiment in Uzbekistan's autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan, and warning that U.S. Embassy inquiries about this subject do not help bilateral relations. MFA asserted that Uzbekistan has no problems with ethnic minorities, including Karakalpaks, and that certain international NGOs are trying to destabilize the country. Recently, Embassy contacts have indicated that some residents of Karakalpakstan are being resettled to Angren due to relatively worse socioeconomic and environmental conditions in Karakalpakstan and that the March conference on the Aral Sea in Tashkent was held to counter feelings of dissatisfaction, and even separatism, in the autonomous republic. While it is unclear how true such claims about separatism are, the incident at MFA certainly shows that the issue is extremely sensitive to the Government of Uzbekistan and reflects the government's continuing perception that some NGOs threaten domestic stability and security. The relationship between Tashkent and Karakalpakstan, which has Uzbekistan's lowest per capita income, remains an area to monitor closely. End summary. MFA Delivers Prepared Response to Inquiry -------------- ¶2. (C) Poloff met with Ismat Fayzullaev, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Americas Desk Chief, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 16 to discuss recent press reporting concerning separatist sentiment in Uzbekistan's autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan. (Note: An April 5 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) article had indicated that a shadowy group called the "Free Karakalpakstan National Revival Party" has accused Uzbekistan of genocide against the Karakalpak ethnic group, and cited sources who advocate the independence of the republic. End note.) Fayzullaev informed Poloff that his request had been reported to the Foreign Minister and his deputies. Then, reading from a prepared statement, Fayzullaev said that he had been instructed to deliver the following reply. Allegations of the existance of separatist sentiments in Uzbekistan are 100 percent false, he read. The Government of Uzbekistan is very upset that the U.S. Embassy is focusing on this issue, and such rumors, which are far from reality, do not help bilateral relations. There is no difference between what is going on here and what is going on between the United States and the state of Texas, he continued. Historically, Uzbekistan has had no problem with ethnic minorities, including the Karakalpaks, he said. (Comment: While interethnic relations in Uzbekistan have generally been good since independence, the Ferghana Valley was rocked by violence between Uzbeks and Meshketian Turks in 1989. End comment.) Concern that NGOs are Trying to Undermine the GOU -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Continuing to read from the statement, Fayzullaev said the GOU is aware of the reason for such rumors: some international NGOs are trying to destabilize Uzbekistan and are blind to the positive developments in Uzbekistan. Fayzullaev then gestured to an MFA intern sitting next to him, stating that she is from Karakalpakstan. The fact that she works at MFA shows that Uzbekistan has strong ties with Karakalpakstan, he asserted. He said that there "is a lot of trash" written about Central Asia, and "the RFE/RL article is an example of this trash." (Note: Poloff had originally read the article on his home computer, and discovered several hours after this meeting that the article had been blocked. End note.) Fayzullaev said he hoped the U.S. would not take such rumors seriously, and that such inquiries do not serve our mutual interests. Poloff replied that this was simply a request for information on the GOU's reaction to such reporting, and assured him that the U.S. is not supporting separatism in Uzbekistan, as reflected in the open nature of our query to MFA. Fayzullaev said that this is an extremely sensitive issue for Uzbekistan. He later apologized to Poloff and said that he was just following instructions in delivering the response. Other Recent Commentary on Karakalpakstan -------------- ¶4. (C) Poloff had visited the Republic of Karakalpakstan in November 2007, where Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Khaytmurat Abdurakhmanov assured him that there were no problems with Karakalpakstan's relations with Tashkent, economic conditions in the republic were good, and prices in Karakalpakstan on selected items were in fact lower than in Tashkent. Interestingly, during an April visit to Angren near Uzbekistan's Ferghana Valley, residents told Poloff that some residents of Karakalpakstan were being resettled to Angren because socioeconomic and environmental conditions were better in Angren. (Official unemployment in Angren is 30 percent of the population, while unofficial unemployment is 50 percent, according to an Angren resident working for the NGO Armon.) ¶5. (C) An Embassy FSN also speculated on April 16 that the press article is part of a Russian disinformation campaign to counter Karimov's interest in balancing relations with the West. The article could have been intended to reinforce fears that the United States is supporting efforts to undermine the GOU, thus driving a wedge between the U.S. and Uzbekistan. ¶6. (C) In late March, Rapid Reaction human rights group member and director of the Humanitarian Legal Center Shukhrat Ganiev described the issue of separatism in Uzbekistan as "a time bomb," noting that if the economic situation deteriorates, separatism could flare up and yield serious instability in regions where territory is divided between "different groups and clans." Also in March, a source told the Ambassador that the Tashkent conference on the Aral Sea had been intended to counter growing feelings of dissatisfaction, and even separatism, in Karakalpakstan by showing that Tashkent cares about the social and environmental problems there (reftel). Comment: -------------- ¶7. (C) It is unclear how much stock we can put into the veracity of claims of separatist feeling in Karakalpakstan, but clearly, simply asking for the GOU's commentary on reports of this has touched a nerve. The incident certainly underscores ongoing GOU concerns about the potential "threat" that NGOs pose to the security and stability of Karimov's regime. Ironically, last fall the GOU had urged the U.S. Embassy to come directly to the GOU for answers on questions concerning conditions in Uzbekistan rather than speaking with residents in the provinces, but when Poloff raised this question about Karakalpakstan with the MFA, the GOU's response was unusually swift and negative. The relationship between Tashkent and Karakalpakstan--particularly with respect to possible perceptions of relative economic disadvantage or political marginalization in the autonomous region--remains an area to watch closely. NORLAND