TURKMENISTAN REFUSES INCOMING GROUP OF PEACE CORPS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 001244 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN PLEASE PASS TO PEACE CORPS - DAVID BURGESS (EMA REGION) E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2019 TAGS: PREL EAID SCUL TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN REFUSES INCOMING GROUP OF PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS REF: A. ASHGABAT 1120 ¶B. ASHGABAT 1078 Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Post received a diplomatic note September 29, stating that the incoming group of 50 new Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) should arrive fall 2010 rather than October 2, as had been planned. Earlier the same day, the Acting Peace Corps Country Director had received a call from MFA, saying that there would be no placements for incoming Peace Corps Volunteers this year and a diplomatic note would be forthcoming. Charge, who already had put in a request to meet with Deputy Chairman for Health and Education Hydyr Saparliyev to discuss the delay in placement approval, among other issues, asked to meet with Saparliyev right away as well as FM Meredov. MFA's response was that the meeting with Saparliyev would take place after the Embassy received the dip note and the meeting with Meredov would be this week. ¶2. (C) This development was totally unexpected. Per usual, Peace Corps Turkmenistan's country office had submitted a letter June 1 to MFA, with duplicates for Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, requesting placements for 50 PCVs (half working in healthcare and half teaching English). Within 30 days, Peace Corps received verbal approval from Ministry of Health, which also informed Peace Corps of the training sites. There was no word, however, from Ministry of Education. In Mid-August, Minister of Education Gulshat Mammedova (a relative of President Berdimuhamedov) gave a verbal commitment to Peace Corps and promised to get back to them with the training sites. As late as September 25, both Ministry of Education and MFA were assuring Peace Corps that the placement approvals were right around the corner. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: Unfortunately, it appears that Peace Corps may have been caught in our continuing problems with Ministry of Education. Given the timeline, it seems clear that hints that there could be a problem first surfaced in July. Ministry of Health responded right away regarding this year's group, but Ministry of Education, which has been unhappy with some of our exchange programs, did not. And July was when Ministry of Education started to place restrictions and new requirements on students studying abroad, especially those attending university in Kyrgyzstan, including American University in Central Asia (AUCA) in Bishkek. Ministry of Education appears to be behind the refusal of the incoming group of PCVs. The Turkmen may have delayed informing us of their decision regarding this group of PCVs until after Berdimuhamedov's trip to New York in order to avoid having to discuss one more contentious issue with U.S. officials. ¶4. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: This should not be read as directed specifically against the Peace Corps. President Berdimuhmedov always praises Peace Corps when he discusses cooperation with the United States. The Turkmen are asking to "delay" the entry of the 18th group of PCVs, not to end Peace Corps in Turkmenistan or send PCVs currently here home. What this could be is a ploy to get the United States to start negotiating immediately on a bilateral agreement on education (Ref A). The new Law on Education, announced August 19, points to bilateral agreements as the basis of international educational exchanges (Ref B). Blocking the AUCA students hasn't worked to achieve that goal, because the Americans instead pushed back and sought alternatives for those students. Meetings with Saparliyev and Meredov should bring further clarity. END COMMENT. CURRAN