TURKMENISTAN: UNODC LAW ENFORCEMENT DONOR COORDINATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000429 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, INL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KCRM SOCI TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: UNODC LAW ENFORCEMENT DONOR COORDINATION MEETING ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On April 3, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) hosted the Law Enforcement Donor Coordination meeting in Ashgabat. It was the first of four such events this year. Representatives of international organizations and different missions attended the event. Each of the participants at the event was encouraged to do a brief presentation and/or make a short statement regarding the ongoing goals/projects in the counter narcotics area in Turkmenistan. The head of UNODC in Turkmenistan said that currently in Turkmenistan there are over 32,000 registered drug users and over three tons of drugs being seized annually by the Turkmen law enforcement agencies. He also said that the existing drug problem in Turkmenistan was one of the most important security priorities in the country. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) On April 3, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) hosted the Law Enforcement Donor Coordination meeting in Ashgabat. The event opened with a speech by Ercan Saka, UNODC International Project Coordinator. In his speech, Mr. Saka mentioned Turkmenistan's increasing cooperation with the international community on counter-narcotics and the importance of Central Asian countries from the security standpoint. Mr. Saka said the purpose of the Law Enforcement Donor Cooperation meeting was to keep cooperation and communication channels open between different entities of international community, to provide an updated information regarding ongoing projects and accomplishments, as well as information on new developments, projects, and agendas. ¶4. (SBU) During the UNODC opening presentation, Mr. Saka said that currently in Turkmenistan there are over 32,000 registered drug users and over three tons of drugs being seized annually by the Turkmen law enforcement agencies. Mr. Saka also underlined operational status of the State Counter Narcotics Service (SCNS) and its active involvement in the counter-narcotics activities in Turkmenistan. He said the existing drug problem in Turkmenistan was one of the most important security priorities in the country. According to Mr. Saka, first steps were made to bolster the country's counter narcotics activities such as the replacement of heads of various agencies including SCNS, Customs, and Border �0A;Guards; increase in bilateral cooperation in enforcement fields by signing several agreements of bilateral cooperation with Uzbekistan and Russia, active enforcement of Agreement of Establishment of CARICC on March 22, 2009, and funding of the Blue Hearth Campaign against human trafficking in Central Asia. ¶5. (SBU) Following the closing statement of Mr. Saka's presentation, Mr. Batyr Geldiyev, a representative from UNODC in Turkmenistan, provided additional information regarding ongoing projects in Turkmenistan. Mr. Geldiyev briefly talked about Automated Donor Assistance Mechanism (ADAM),an internet based system designed to collect, complete, and validate the data shared between different agencies. Also, Mr. Geldiyev spoke about the Container Control Project (GLOG-80),designed to provide technical assistance for container control at seaports. The next GLOG-80 training is scheduled to take place in May/June of 2009 at the Turkmen seaports and in Ashgabat. ¶6. (SBU) A representative from UNDP spoke regarding several ongoing Border Management/Drug Action Programs (BOMCA/CADAP) projects. Some of the projects were directly involved in counter narcotics activities including the renovation of Yanbash Training Center (TC) for Border Guards (BG). The renovation has been divided into two phases. Phase one was completed on March 19, 2009 and consisted of the completion of renovation of TC, which cost UNDP approximately $123,000 in U.S. Currency. Phase two is scheduled to be completed in April 2009 and consisted of designing and construction of K-9 Center. Also, several other BOMCA projects included training regarding the drug profiling at airports, drug epidemiology monitoring, and implementation of the Atlantis rehabilitation center for drug abusers. ASHGABAT 00000429 002 OF 002 ¶7. (SBU) A representative from Turkish Embassy underlined past and current contributions from the Turkish Government in Turkmenistan. He mentioned ongoing projects reQing training and financial assistance to different Turkmen agencies including bilateral cooperation with SCNS and allocation of $100,000 in U.S. Currency to the construction of a Border Check Point in Farap. ¶8. (SBU) A representative from Afghanistan mentioned an ongoing project regarding bilateral cooperation with the Customs Service funded by the Norwegian Government in the sum of $100,000 in U.S. Currency. ¶9. (SBU) COMMENT: This, the first of four meetings this year, was, more of a recap of achievements accomplished in the last six months by different organizations than an opportunity to learn details about Turkmenistan's Qer-narcotics efforts. Although UNODC provided broad information regarding the total amount of drugs being seized and several ongoing projects being conducted in Turkmenistan, information about drug seizures and drug-related statistics was outdated. DEA Special Agent was one of the few attendees who had actually provided specific information on INL/DEA activities to the officials hosting the event. The meeting proved to be an opportunity to reinforce the U.S. Government's commitment to support Turkmenistan's counter-narcotics efforts. END COMMENT. MILES