Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ASHGABAT1628
2009-12-18 08:04:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:
TURKMENISTAN: 2009 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM
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UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001628
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN AND S/CT (RHONDA SHORE); NCTC
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER ASEC PREL TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: 2009 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM
REF: STATE 109980
UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001628
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN AND S/CT (RHONDA SHORE); NCTC
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER ASEC PREL TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: 2009 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM
REF: STATE 109980
1. The following paragraph is EMBASSY Ashgabat's submission
for the 2009 country terrorism report (reftel).
2. Since the September 2008 violence in Ashgabat's Khitrovka
neighborhood, the Turkmenistan Government has not reported
any other violent incidents. The government maintains a
military-style counterterrorism unit said to have hostage
rescue and explosives threat management capability, as well
as a Department for the Prevention of Terrorism and Organized
Crime in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In May 2009, the
Turkmenistan Government passed an Anti-Money Laundering and
Counterterrorism Financing Law, which went into effect in
August 2009. This law supposedly created a new state agency
to collect information and uncover suspicious transactions.
Although Turkmenistan's law enforcement and security agencies
exerted stringent control over society, Turkmenistan's border
guards, customs services, and law enforcement were small in
size and uneven in quality. The government strictly
controlled access into and passage through Turkmenistan at
official border crossings and along main roads, but
clandestine passage was still possible due to long and porous
borders that stretch across mountain and desert terrain. The
U.S. Government worked with the Turkmen authorities to
improve the quality of border checkpoints; in October 2009
the U.S. opened a new checkpoint at Farap on the border with
Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan Government officials have met with
U.S. Government counterterrorism experts and are expected to
participate in training in early 2010 in critical incident
management. They have also expressed interest in additional
future training. With continued cooperation to equalize the
quality of law enforcement throughout the country, the
potential for Turkmenistan to be used as a safe haven for
terrorists would decrease.
3. The EMBASSY Ashgabat point of contact for the 2009 country
terrorism report is Political Officer Sarah Manaker.
Telephone number: (993-12) 35-00-45 x 2167. Email:
manakersv@state.gov.
CURRAN
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN AND S/CT (RHONDA SHORE); NCTC
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER ASEC PREL TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: 2009 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM
REF: STATE 109980
1. The following paragraph is EMBASSY Ashgabat's submission
for the 2009 country terrorism report (reftel).
2. Since the September 2008 violence in Ashgabat's Khitrovka
neighborhood, the Turkmenistan Government has not reported
any other violent incidents. The government maintains a
military-style counterterrorism unit said to have hostage
rescue and explosives threat management capability, as well
as a Department for the Prevention of Terrorism and Organized
Crime in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In May 2009, the
Turkmenistan Government passed an Anti-Money Laundering and
Counterterrorism Financing Law, which went into effect in
August 2009. This law supposedly created a new state agency
to collect information and uncover suspicious transactions.
Although Turkmenistan's law enforcement and security agencies
exerted stringent control over society, Turkmenistan's border
guards, customs services, and law enforcement were small in
size and uneven in quality. The government strictly
controlled access into and passage through Turkmenistan at
official border crossings and along main roads, but
clandestine passage was still possible due to long and porous
borders that stretch across mountain and desert terrain. The
U.S. Government worked with the Turkmen authorities to
improve the quality of border checkpoints; in October 2009
the U.S. opened a new checkpoint at Farap on the border with
Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan Government officials have met with
U.S. Government counterterrorism experts and are expected to
participate in training in early 2010 in critical incident
management. They have also expressed interest in additional
future training. With continued cooperation to equalize the
quality of law enforcement throughout the country, the
potential for Turkmenistan to be used as a safe haven for
terrorists would decrease.
3. The EMBASSY Ashgabat point of contact for the 2009 country
terrorism report is Political Officer Sarah Manaker.
Telephone number: (993-12) 35-00-45 x 2167. Email:
manakersv@state.gov.
CURRAN