TURKS TRYING TO PERSUADE DOSTUM TO STAY

S E C R E T ANKARA 000034 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SE, SCA/A E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV AF TU SUBJECT: TURKS TRYING TO PERSUADE DOSTUM TO STAY REF: KABUL 11 Classified By: POL Counselor Daniel O'Grady, reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (S) MFA DDG for South Asia and Iran Babur Hizlan told us January 8 that Abdul Rashid Dostum is in a military hospital in Turkey (we presume in Ankara, though Hizlan did not say) getting rest and medical treatment. Hizlan did not specify the type of treatment Dostum is receiving, but noted amusingly that there is no alcohol served in the hospital, so he must be drying out. Dostum has indicated that he would like to rest further in a Turkish coastal resort, following his medical treatment. ¶2. (S) Hizlan said Dostum, following his R&R, is determined to return to Afghanistan. The Turks are trying to persuade him to remain in Turkey. MFA Deputy U/S for South Asia and Middle East Sinirlioglu plans to call on Dostum when he returns from New York. Asked if he thought Dostum will remain in Turkey at least through the Afghan presidential elections, Hizlan said Dostum cannot be forced to remain here and will "go when he goes." Hizlan noted that recent press attention and inquiries in the U.S. into Dostum's role in the 2001 Sheberghan mass killings have spooked the conspiratorially-minded Dostum and may be contributing to some hesitancy on his part to return to Afghanistan. ¶3. (S) The Uzbek community in Afghanistan still views Dostum as a leader, but Hizlan stressed Turkey's desire for a "new guard" to coalesce around Said Noorullah's Junbesh chairmanship. He called Abdul Khair, the MP Dostum instructed his Aina TV station to report as the new Junbesh chairman (reftel),a name "not worth remembering." Hizlan would not predict whether the Junbesh would ultimately support Karzai or the United Front in the presidential election; much he said, depends on whether a Pashtun national figure emerges to compete credibly against Karzai. He cautioned that if such a figure fails to emerge, and Karzai is unable to secure sufficient Pashtun votes, a non-Pashtun could win the presidency, which would bode poorly for Afghanistan's unity. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey Jeffrey