Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ASHGABAT416
2009-04-02 09:21:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:  

TURKMENISTAN: A TALE OF TWO NON-REGISTERED NGOS

Tags:  PHUM PGOV SOCI TX 
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DE RUEHAH #0416/01 0920921
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 020921Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2582
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 5025
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2778
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2643
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 3269
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 3432
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000416 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN; DRL
AID/W FOR EE/EA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: A TALE OF TWO NON-REGISTERED NGOS

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Sylvia Reed Curran.
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000416

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN; DRL
AID/W FOR EE/EA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: A TALE OF TWO NON-REGISTERED NGOS

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Sylvia Reed Curran.
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: In Turkmenistan, a civic organization is
required to register with the Ministry of Justice ("MOJ") in
order to operate legally. In 2008, one independent,
non-government-affiliated civic organization was registered,
the first since 2005. Despite these restrictive legal
conditions, some citizen groups that address specific social
issues continue to function, with varying degrees of success.
The experiences of two groups, one that works with young
people, the other with retirees, illustrate the challenges
and constraints that civic groups face as they seek to
function in compliance with the law. For an organization
with an accessible target group and adequate logistical
support, operating as an "economic organization" can actually
minimize the amount of government oversight and interference.
On the other hand, for a group who's activities involve
public outreach and large events, the lack of registration
hamstrings its ability to function. Still, as groups'
efforts to register remain stalled, some groups look for
alternatives that will allow them to carry out their work.
END SUMMARY.

YOUTH GROUP OPERATES AS "ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION"


2. (C) On March 31, poloff met with Irina Izyumova, the
director of the Resource Information Center within the Lachin
Sport Club ("LRIC"). The LRIC operates in a room in the
basement of a school, with the rest of the vast basement area
occupied by the martial arts club's training facilities.
Izyumova explained that the group was founded in 1998 and,
prior to 2003, functioned independently under the name
"Women's Issues," focusing on providing seminars on life
skills for teenage girls. In 2003, the new Law on Public
Organizations made it necessary for the group to register
with the MOJ. Izyumova said the group did not pursue
registration because of the cost. Each time a document was
submitted, there was a USD 100 filing fee. Registered NGOs
are required to submit semi-annual reports to the MOJ and to
obtain approval for their activities. She said the MOJ would
question the need for their activities and perhaps suggest it

would be better not to do them (e.g., AIDS education). There
would also be a lot of paperwork, including the need to
submit updated membership lists. Instead, the group was
invited by the head of the Lachin Sport Club to operate under
its roof. The sport club holds the status of an economic
("khozyaystvennaya") organization. As such, its only
interaction with the government is with the Tax Inspectorate,
but since the sport club operates on a non-profit basis, the
burden is minimal. However, in accepting an Embassy
Democracy Commission grant, according to the law, LRIC needed
to obtain permission to receive a foreign contribution from
the Registration Chamber at the Ministry of Economy and
Development. In addition to the cost of required translation
of documents and stamps on each page, there was a lot of
bureaucratic delay and ultimately the risk of refusal. It
took the LRIC six months and the personal intervention by the
sport club's director in order to obtain registration for the
Embassy grant.


3. (C) The LIRC works to promote a healthy lifestyle among
children and young people. It conducts seminars for children
and young people on life skills. During the summer the group
organizes "camps" at the center, which include field trips to
places of interest. Izyumova said the LRIC is the only
organization in Ashgabat carrying out such training. All the
activities are provided free-of-charge to children whose
families could not otherwise afford them. In addition to
drawing on the sport club's 120-member base, the LIRC posts
announcements about activities in area schools. For a
one-time "action" such as a children's camp, there is no
requirement to obtain a license or inform anyone in the
government since it is not an ongoing activity. The LIRC
also produces up to 500 copies of brochures and handouts on a

ASHGABAT 00000416 002 OF 003


range of topics such as basic first aid, tips when children
are home alone, hazardous chemicals, proper etiquette, and
dangers of alcohol. According to the Law on Printing and
other Mass Media, no approval is required for printing 500 or
fewer copies.

NO GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR THE GROUP'S ACTIVITIES


4. (C) Izyumova said the government is completely
uninterested in their work. It allows them to do it, but
provides them with no support. Government employees are
prohibited from working with civic organizations. She
referred to a "Central Asian mentality" that it is better not
to get involved, so many teachers and school administrators
turn down the LRIC's offers of literature and seminars. The
only exception is the Ministry of Health-operated health
center, which works with them in distributing information
about AIDS. She said even UNICEF does not work with
non-government organizations, only with the government.
Overall, Izyumova thought it is convenient and comfortable
for the LIRC to operate as it does now, although if there was
no requirement to register foreign grants, it would be better.

PENSIONERS' GROUP REJECTED TWICE FOR REGISTRATION


5. (C) On April 1, poloff met with members of the pensioners'
group "Arma Club," which has existed since 1999 and organizes
activities and seminars on issues of interest to the elderly.
Its first application for registration was denied in 1999
without explanation, but the group continued to function
openly without registration until the 2003 Law on Public
Organizations. At that time, they were told they had to stop
operating as long as they were not registered. The group
applied for registration again in 2004, but was rejected,
this time with a list of nine deficiencies. According to the
group's director Irina Adamova, they were told there is no
need for their group, and it was recommended that they work
with the Veterans' Union, but the Union was not interested.
As a result, Arma operates as an economic group and its only
contact with the government is its license for individual
commercial activities obtained from the Tax Inspectorate and
registration of grants from foreign donors. The group avoids
doing activities that require a license since ministries give
licenses only to registered organizations. The list of
licensed activities is included in the Law on Licensing
Certain Types of Activities and includes, for example,
providing consultations. As a result, Arma is careful to
characterize the advice it gives to pensioners in a way the
does not refer to consultations.

"SHOT DOWN LIKE DUCKS IN FLIGHT"


6. (C) Prior to 2003, Arma was located in space provided by
the Red Crescent Society. According to Adamova, the group
carried out an active agenda of meetings, excursions,
volunteer work and seminars. When the new Public
Organizations Law came into effect, the group was evicted by
the Red Crescent Society and was unable to find any partner
to provide a roof. Arma's current space is located in the
basement of an apartment building in a suite rented by a
commercial film company. The director of the company is a
former colleague of Adamova's and provides the modest space
as a favor. The group conducts seminars on aspects of laws
that affect pensioners, on how to start a small business, on
how to prepare for retirement, how to care for grandchildren,
etc. It also produces brochures on subjects of interest to
the elderly. Seminars are conducted on a monthly basis.
Since 2003, Arma has not been able to conduct public
gatherings such as its weekly Sunday meetings that served as
an important social activity and recruiting tool. Membership
has declined as a result. After describing the range of
activities the the group was involved in prior to 2003,
ranging from exercise classes for seniors, publication of
volumes of poetry and support drives for orphanges, Adamova
lamented that the government had "shot them down like ducks

ASHGABAT 00000416 003 OF 003


just when they had started to fly." She suggested that the
group might try to find a registered group that would allow
them to go under its roof.


7. (C) COMMENT: In the case of the LIRC, with a target
audience of children well within reach and the generous
logistical support of the sport club, the group seems able to
function without significant hindrance. In fact, it seems to
have less oversight as an economic organization than it would
if it was registered and subject to the MOJ's bureaucratic
reporting requirements and approvals. On the other hand,
lacking registration, the pensioners' group has been unable
to carry out activities such as consultations on pensioners'
issues and large social gatherings, and the accompanying
publicity, that lie at its core. Arma has not re-applied for
registration since 2004. Although its failure to re-apply
and continue to push the process means it's currently out of
the running, the fact that only one independent NGO, a
gardening association, has been registered since 2005,
combined with the run-around being given to other groups with
pending applications, suggests that in practical terms they
haven't missed out. Until there is a break in the
government's registration logjam, the pensioners might be
best served by finding a partner organization that would
heighten their profile and give them more options for
organizing activities, if such a partner exists. END COMMENT.
MILES