OPEN DIALOGUE PROJECT TO CO-SPONSOR HUMAN RIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000079 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2018 TAGS: PHUM EUN PGOV PREL UZ SUBJECT: OPEN DIALOGUE PROJECT TO CO-SPONSOR HUMAN RIGHTS EVENTS WITH UZBEK GOVERNMENT THINK-TANK, PREDICTS AMNESTY FOR TOJIBOYEVA REF: A. 07 TASHKENT 2000 ¶B. 07 TASHKENT 1489 Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Summary: On January 16, poloff met with the directors of the Open Dialogue Project (ODP) and National Democratic Institute (NDI),who talked about their recent activities and plans. ODP Director Mjusa Sever described her organization's plans to co-sponsor a March conference on law enforcement and habeas corpus and a May conference on regional security in conjunction with the Regional Policy Foundation (RPF),an influential quasi-governmental think-tank whose director was behind another human rights conference co-sponsored by NDI in November. In addition, ODP also plans to bring together human rights activists and government officials for a roundtable on death penalty abolishment in February. Sever also reported being told by government contacts that new visas will be issued for her and her new expatriate deputy, as well as that imprisoned human rights activist Mutabar Tojiboyeva will be amnestied this year. The discussions on co-sponsoring the March and May conferences between Sever and the RPF director are a welcome sign that the government is allowing greater dialogue on human rights with the international community, but we are still waiting for the GOU to take more substantive steps on improving human rights in Uzbekistan. ¶2. (C) Summary continued: During the meeting, Sever, a Slovenian citizen, also reported being told by the Slovenian MFA and EU officials that a group of EU Foreign Ministers will come out to Tashkent in March or April shortly before the EU decides on whether to reinstate the visa ban against selected Uzbek officials that was waived in November. In a separate meeting on January 8, British Third Secretary Ben Greenwood told poloff it was unlikely that the EU would prolong or entirely lift the visa ban, noting that the United Kingdom would be strongly opposed unless the government demonstrated significant progress on human rights before April, such as by releasing several high-level political prisoners, including Tojiboyeva. End summary. ODP PLANS MARCH CONFERENCE ON LAW ENFORCEMENT -------------- ¶3. (C) On January 16, poloff met with Open Dialogue Project (ODP) Director Mjusa Sever and National Democratic Institute (NDI) Director Richard Glaub, who described their recent activities and plans for the first part of 2008. Sever shared a draft schedule for a law enforcement conference on March 5 and 6 that ODP will host jointly with the Regional Policy Foundation (RPF),an influential quasi-governmental think-tank. The conference will include panel discussions devoted to protecting human rights, the implementation of Uzbekistan's new law on judicial review (the so-called "habeas corpus" law),community policy, forensic investigations, and dealing with conflict situations. It also will include participation by Uzbekistan's main law enforcement bodies, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), Prosecutor General's Office (GPO),the National Security Service (NSS),and the Chief Forensic Pathologist Dr. Giyazov. Several international representatives also plan to attend, including Cindy Shain of Eastern Kentucky University and Institute for New Democracies (IND) Chairman and former Congressman Dr. Lawrence DeNardis. POSSIBLE SECOND CONFERENCE ON REGIONAL SECURITY -------------- -- ¶4. (C) Sever was approached by RPF Director Sayfiddin Juraev, who was also the driving force behind another conference on human rights and security which NDI co-sponsored in November (ref A),about holding another conference in May on regional security, which would include representatives from NATO, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),and the Center for International and Strategic Studies (CSIS). While Sever is interested in co-sponsoring the second conference, she is currently reluctant to make any commitments until she knows the terms under which her contract with USAID, which is set to expire in March, will be renewed. Sever also reported that the government has given the green light for GOU participation at the 15th Annual International Police Executive Symposium which will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio, in early May. ODP TO HOST ROUNDTABLE ON DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) In addition to the conferences, the Open Dialogue Project (ODP) plans to hold smaller roundtables focusing on human rights over the next few months. At the end of February, ODP plans to host a roundtable on the abolishment of the death penalty which will bring together GOU representatives and local human rights activists from the Rapid Reaction Group (Note: The Uzbek government formally abolished the death penalty as of January 1, 2008. End note.) Sever also raised the idea with Juraev of holding another roundtable on the role of human rights defenders in society, an idea which Juraev reportedly has continued to entertain. ODP VISA AND REGISTRATION ISSUES -------------- ¶6. (C) Sever reported being told by her Uzbek government contacts that her visa, which is set to expire in mid-February, will be renewed. She was also told that a visa will be granted to her new deputy, a Slovenian citizen, who will arrive in Tashkent shortly afterwards. Once she and her deputy have their visas, Sever said that she will raise the issue of accreditation and seek again to have ODP officially registered with either the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Justice. SLOVENIA'S EUROPEAN UNION PRESIDENCY -------------- ¶7. (C) During her winter break back home in Slovenia, Sever met with the Slovenian MFA and EU representatives, who told her that a group of EU Foreign Ministers will come out to Tashkent in March or April shortly before the EU decides on whether to reinstate sanctions against Uzbekistan. However, she was also told that Kosovo, and not Central Asia, will remain the focus of EU diplomacy efforts during the Slovenian EU presidency, which began on January 1. ¶8. (C) In a separate meeting on January 8, British Third Secretary Ben Greenwood told poloff that it was likely that SIPDIS the EU would decide to reinstate sanctions against Uzbekistan (Note: In October, the EU voted to waive a visa ban against selected GOU officials for six months. End note.) Greenwood was unsure whether a unanimous vote would be required for prolonging the visa sanctions waiver, but he noted that the United Kingdom would be strongly against prolonging the visa waiver unless the Government demonstrates significant progress on improving human rights before April. He suggested that significant progress would include releasing several high-profile political prisoners, including human rights activist Mutabar Tojiboyeva and Sunshine Coalition founder Sanjar Umarov (Note: During lunch on January 16, Sever reported being told by her government contacts that Tojiboyeva would be amnestied this year. On January 22, Sever also reported being informed by a "top-level" government contact that another amnesty will be announced for the Navruz holiday in March. Sever insisted that this new amnesty was not a rumor and has already been approved by the GOU. End note.) NDI REPORTS SUCCESSFUL CONFERENCE WITH NGOS AND JOURNALISTS -------------- -------------- ¶9. (C) NDI's Glaub reported recently holding a successful conference in Tashkent with NGO representatives and journalists. The goal of the conference was to teach NGO representatives how to interact with the media in order to promote their causes. He noted that the two groups began the conference with a low level of awareness of each other, but familiarized themselves through conference activities, including holding mock press conferences together. Glaub was interested in securing funding to replicate the conference's success in Uzbekistan's regions, though he admitted NDI's mandate did not necessarily include working with journalists. All of the NGOs and journalists who participated in the NDI conference were affiliated with the government, as Glaub noted it was still not possible for NDI to hold conferences with independent NGOs or journalists. COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (C) Although Juraev has previously stressed the independence of the Regional Policy Foundation (ref B),it is reasonably clear that he has received instructions from higher up to continue discussions with ODP on co-sponsoring human rights-related conferences and roundtables. We take this as a sign that the GOU is interested in pursuing greater dialogue on human rights with the international community (Note: At Juraev's invitation, the Ambassador addressed 50 RPF students on January 22, followed by a free-wheeling hour-long question and answer session in which students asked about Uzbek and U.S. elections, the role of NGOs, Afghanistan, Iran, OSCE, U.S. bases, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. End note.) However, whether the GOU is now prepared to take substantive steps towards improving human rights, such as releasing a significant number of political prisoners and taking steps to end torture and abuse in its prisons, remains to be seen. In addition, the GOU's renewed interest in human rights dialogue may just turn out to be another attempt to forestall the reinstatement of the EU visa ban. Despite our healthy cynicism, though, we will continue to take advantage of this opening to press the Uzbeks on making real improvements on human rights. NORLAND