TURKMENISTAN: RESTAURANTS AND CAFES ORDERED CLOSED

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 001670

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN; EEB;
COMMERCE FOR DSTARKS/EHOUSE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2019
TAGS: ECON PGOV PHUM SOCI KCOR TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: RESTAURANTS AND CAFES ORDERED CLOSED
FOR NEW YEAR'S

Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Private restaurants and cafes in Ashgabat have been
closing their doors, reportedly at the unwritten order of
Turkmen government officials. Embassy staff have reported
that most restaurants in downtown Ashgabat are closed, during
what is usually the busiest time of the year for restaurants
and cafes. Beginning December 20, private restaurateurs were
reportedly told by representatives of the Office of Economic
Crimes in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and local police
that all restaurants and cafes must close their doors for
business immediately and they would not be permitted to
reopen until January 3, 2010. As of December 29, only a few
private restaurants and cafes refused to close. There was
reportedly no written order given; owners were contacted
in-person at their places of business. Our contacts stated
that government officials cited the December 5 nightclub fire
in Perm, Russia, which killed over 150 people, as the reason
for the closings.


2. (C) Although Russian media reported that Turkmen President
Berdimuhamedov ordered all restaurants and cafes closed,
local owners have complained that restaurants and cafes owned
by the Ministry of Commerce or the President's Office have
not closed. Locals have reported that their annual company
parties were not canceled if they were held at
government-owned restaurants. There is also speculation that
some private restaurant owners with close ties to the
president's family have not been ordered to close their doors.


3. (C) One example of a restaurant that has stayed open is
the popular Chinese restaurant in the government-owned Aziya
hotel. One emboff ate there the evening of December 28 and
found the place (uncharacteristically) packed. Emboff even
ran into Institute of Democracy and Human Rights Director
Shirin Akhmedova, who was there with a group of friends.


4. (C) One private restaurant owner, who owns two very
popular restaurants in Ashgabat, contacted the Embassy on
December 29, stating that he would refuse to close until he
received an official, written, government order, but he
wanted the U.S. Embassy to know what was happening. He
claimed that he had contacted his friends at the Ministry of
National Security (MNB),who agreed to try to help him "keep
the police from shutting down his restaurants." He also
shared that he was told by Ashgabat police that he would not
receive a written order to close his business, but instead he
would be convinced to close "through other measures." On
December 30, he reported that despite his attempts to remain
open, one of his restaurants was closed late on December 29
by police, who entered the restaurant with several officers
and forced customers and staff to vacate. The owner noted
with surprise that his second, smaller restaurant remains
open, and police have not yet harassed him to close it.


5. (C) COMMENT: It is difficult to ascertain if the Turkmen
President himself actually ordered all restaurants and cafes
to be closed for the holidays for reported safety reasons.
It is plausible that lower-level government officials are
using the threat to close restaurants and cafes to extort
bribes and are using the President's name for their own
purposes. Who would question a "presidential order?" In
fact, police officials and establishment owners have cited
other reasons for the closure. At the same time, private
restaurant owners have asserted that the closings targeted
private businesses, thus allowing government-owned
restaurants to benefit from displaced customers during the
busy holiday season. END COMMENT.
CURRAN