TURKMENISTAN CAN BE A TOUGH ENVIRONMENT FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 000514

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2019
TAGS: PGOV EAID SOCI TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN CAN BE A TOUGH ENVIRONMENT FOR
INTERNATIONAL NGOS

Classified By: Charge Richard Miles, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Visiting Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia
representatives recently met with UNICEF's acting
Representative, Abdul Alim, to discuss the prospects for an
international NGO seeking to initiate a program in
Turkmenistan. Alim said the first step is to assess
government interest in the proposed program. The government
lays out the parameters before an international organization
is invited to operate in Turkmenistan. Regardless of whether
the local partner(s) would be from the private or public
sector, projects would still need to be vetted through the
Foreign Ministry. In UNICEF's own experience, it elected to
forgo working with the corporate sector in order to not
jeopardize its other cooperation. The organization has only
two corporate partners, Turkmenistan Airlines and
Turkmentelecom, with whom they deliver public service
messages via inflight information and SMS messages.


2. (C) Speaking more broadly, Alim remarked that he had not
seen a great deal of change in how the government operates in
the post-Niyazov era, although he said it was "certainly more
open." The penitentiary and penal codes and the justice
system all need to be changed in order to make the system
more "child-friendly." Alim pointed out that for Turkmen
officials, there are "safe" and "unsafe" options, and that
they always opt for the "safe." The Turkmen Government focus
is on preserving stability and security -- "everything is
seen as it relates to stability."


3. (C) In Turkmenistan, all international organizations work
with the Foreign Ministry. In this way, the country's
overall geopolitical strategy is factored into the work of
these organizations. Alim cited UNICEF's experience in other
countries, where UNICEF might deal directly with ministries
of health, education, or social welfare, in contrast to the
Turkmen practice of the Foreign Ministry handling all UN
agencies. He suggested that such an approach gives the
working relationship "a different spin." Therefore, for
example, the UNICEF representative will be invited to attend
the reception of a visiting head of state, completely
unrelated to its programmatic responsibilities.


4. (C) Alim mentioned UNICEF's successful immunization and
salt iodization programs, both of which are now fully
implemented by the Ministry of Health. Its new areas of
focus are addressing child mortality and implementation of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Alim thought the
Turkmen Government is "keen on legislative reform," but then
takes implementation slowly in order to make sure that
nothing threatening is involved. In the sphere of education,
he cited the substitution of the Ruhnama with some of the
current President's writings and the continuation of a
largely Soviet curriculum as examples of a failure to
implement reform. While the government is good at building
infrastructure such as schools, what happens inside in not
moving ahead. Alim said UNICEF has tried hard on that front,
but has not seen any progress.


5. (C) COMMENT: If there was any doubt, the UNICEF chief
painted a clear picture of the controlled way in which the
Turkmen Government engages with international organizations.
Requiring the Foreign Ministry to serve as the government's
interface injects policy considerations into projects that,
if handled exclusively by subject matter specialists, could
well make significant strides unhindered by excessive
bureaucracy. Perhaps that is the value of the Foreign
Ministry's intermediary role in the minds of Turkmen leaders.
END COMMENT.
MILES