Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BISHKEK921
2009-08-13 11:53:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bishkek
Cable title:
KYRGYZSTAN: AMBASSADOR OPENS BATKEN BORDER POST,
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 000921
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL ETTC KG
SUBJECT: KYRGYZSTAN: AMBASSADOR OPENS BATKEN BORDER POST,
PART I
REF: A. BISHKEK 488
B. BISHKEK 380
BISHKEK 00000921 001.2 OF 002
Classified By: Ambassador Tatiana C. Gfoeller for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 000921
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL ETTC KG
SUBJECT: KYRGYZSTAN: AMBASSADOR OPENS BATKEN BORDER POST,
PART I
REF: A. BISHKEK 488
B. BISHKEK 380
BISHKEK 00000921 001.2 OF 002
Classified By: Ambassador Tatiana C. Gfoeller for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d).
1. (SBU) Summary: On August 11, the Ambassador opened a
U.S.-funded border post along the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan
border in the volatile southern Batken Oblast. During the
event, a senior Border Service officer expressed concerns
about incursions into the country by foreign militants
fleeing the conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
This is Part I of two cables describing the Ambassador's trip
to the Batken Oblast. Part II, highlighting discussions on
the war in Afghanistan and the current economic situation in
the region, will follow septel. End Summary.
ON THE DUSTY ROADS OF SOUTHERN KYRGYZSTAN
--------------
2. (SBU) On August 11, the Ambassador traveled from Osh to
the Kadamjai border crossing in the volatile southern Batken
Oblast. The route to the Batken outpost wound through small
towns and villages seemingly forgotten by the rest of
civilization. The Ambassador's motorcade passed small farms
drying tobacco leaves in the front yards and barns, in
preparation for export to Kazakhstan or Russia. Also drying
on the side of the road were piles of animal dung, to be used
as an inexpensive alternative to firewood for heating and
cooking in the winter.
3. (SBU) The landscape of eastern Batken Oblast was barren
and peppered with small hills and rock formations. The only
sources of water were small streams and irrigation canals,
which were often filled with swimming children trying to beat
the summer heat. In a bleak, windswept Muslim cemetery, a
throng of men conducted an Islamic burial service. They were
still at it when the Ambassador took the same road to return
to Osh hours later.
OPENING CEREMONIES
--------------
4. (SBU) The Ambassador, together with Border Service Deputy
Chairman Colonel Rysbek Mirzamatov, opened the new "Green
Border Post" at the Kadamjai crossing, on the
Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan border. The event, complete with
complimentary speeches by the Ambassador and the senior
Border Service official, the playing of national anthems, and
a ribbon cutting, marked the official handover of a building
and equipment funded jointly by the Export Control and
Related Border Security (EXBS) Program and U.S. Central
Command. This was the ninth out of 24 "Green Border Posts"
planned for erection along the Kyrgyz borders (Ref A and B).
The ceremony ended with a tour of the donated structure,
followed by a luncheon in a nearby garden.
THREAT OF INCURSIONS WORRIES BORDER SERVICE COLONEL
-------------- --------------
5. (C) The Ambassador engaged Colonel Mirzamatov in a
discussion of his concerns about rising Islamic
fundamentalism in Batken and the threat of incursions by
extremists. Mirzamatov told the Ambassador that, although he
has some ideological concerns about rising local Islamic
fundamentalism, his greatest worries involve the threat of
incursions by Islamic fundamentalists from Afghanistan and
Pakistan. He noted that the pressure inflicted on the
Taliban and other terrorist groups by the International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and the
Pakistan Army in Pakistan could drive the extremists into
Kyrgyz territory.
BISHKEK 00000921 002.2 OF 002
6. (C) Mirzamatov dismissed the idea that Kyrgyzstan might
become a refuge for Uzbek fundamentalists and terrorists
escaping Uzbek President Islam Karimov's tight security
controls. He claimed that, although there are tensions along
the borders that have yet to be demarcated and delimited, it
is in Kyrgyzstan's common interests with Uzbekistan to fight
terrorism. However, terrorists from Afghanistan and
Pakistan, he believed, could use Kyrgyzstan as a safe haven.
Colonel Mirzamatov asserted that he was "totally invested in
the fight" and that the Kyrgyz people unanimously supported
government efforts to combat terrorism. He expressed
gratitude to the U.S. for assisting Kyrgyzstan in these
efforts.
GFOELLER
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL ETTC KG
SUBJECT: KYRGYZSTAN: AMBASSADOR OPENS BATKEN BORDER POST,
PART I
REF: A. BISHKEK 488
B. BISHKEK 380
BISHKEK 00000921 001.2 OF 002
Classified By: Ambassador Tatiana C. Gfoeller for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d).
1. (SBU) Summary: On August 11, the Ambassador opened a
U.S.-funded border post along the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan
border in the volatile southern Batken Oblast. During the
event, a senior Border Service officer expressed concerns
about incursions into the country by foreign militants
fleeing the conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
This is Part I of two cables describing the Ambassador's trip
to the Batken Oblast. Part II, highlighting discussions on
the war in Afghanistan and the current economic situation in
the region, will follow septel. End Summary.
ON THE DUSTY ROADS OF SOUTHERN KYRGYZSTAN
--------------
2. (SBU) On August 11, the Ambassador traveled from Osh to
the Kadamjai border crossing in the volatile southern Batken
Oblast. The route to the Batken outpost wound through small
towns and villages seemingly forgotten by the rest of
civilization. The Ambassador's motorcade passed small farms
drying tobacco leaves in the front yards and barns, in
preparation for export to Kazakhstan or Russia. Also drying
on the side of the road were piles of animal dung, to be used
as an inexpensive alternative to firewood for heating and
cooking in the winter.
3. (SBU) The landscape of eastern Batken Oblast was barren
and peppered with small hills and rock formations. The only
sources of water were small streams and irrigation canals,
which were often filled with swimming children trying to beat
the summer heat. In a bleak, windswept Muslim cemetery, a
throng of men conducted an Islamic burial service. They were
still at it when the Ambassador took the same road to return
to Osh hours later.
OPENING CEREMONIES
--------------
4. (SBU) The Ambassador, together with Border Service Deputy
Chairman Colonel Rysbek Mirzamatov, opened the new "Green
Border Post" at the Kadamjai crossing, on the
Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan border. The event, complete with
complimentary speeches by the Ambassador and the senior
Border Service official, the playing of national anthems, and
a ribbon cutting, marked the official handover of a building
and equipment funded jointly by the Export Control and
Related Border Security (EXBS) Program and U.S. Central
Command. This was the ninth out of 24 "Green Border Posts"
planned for erection along the Kyrgyz borders (Ref A and B).
The ceremony ended with a tour of the donated structure,
followed by a luncheon in a nearby garden.
THREAT OF INCURSIONS WORRIES BORDER SERVICE COLONEL
-------------- --------------
5. (C) The Ambassador engaged Colonel Mirzamatov in a
discussion of his concerns about rising Islamic
fundamentalism in Batken and the threat of incursions by
extremists. Mirzamatov told the Ambassador that, although he
has some ideological concerns about rising local Islamic
fundamentalism, his greatest worries involve the threat of
incursions by Islamic fundamentalists from Afghanistan and
Pakistan. He noted that the pressure inflicted on the
Taliban and other terrorist groups by the International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and the
Pakistan Army in Pakistan could drive the extremists into
Kyrgyz territory.
BISHKEK 00000921 002.2 OF 002
6. (C) Mirzamatov dismissed the idea that Kyrgyzstan might
become a refuge for Uzbek fundamentalists and terrorists
escaping Uzbek President Islam Karimov's tight security
controls. He claimed that, although there are tensions along
the borders that have yet to be demarcated and delimited, it
is in Kyrgyzstan's common interests with Uzbekistan to fight
terrorism. However, terrorists from Afghanistan and
Pakistan, he believed, could use Kyrgyzstan as a safe haven.
Colonel Mirzamatov asserted that he was "totally invested in
the fight" and that the Kyrgyz people unanimously supported
government efforts to combat terrorism. He expressed
gratitude to the U.S. for assisting Kyrgyzstan in these
efforts.
GFOELLER