Tashkent Tidbits - March 2, 2009

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TASHKENT 000231

SIPDIS
AMEMBASSY HELSINKI PASS TO AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG
AMEMBASSY ASTANA PASS TO USOFFICE ALMATY
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PASS TO AMCONSUL HYDERABAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2018-12-22
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM EFIN ICRC KCOR ECON KCRM UZ
SUBJECT: Tashkent Tidbits - March 2, 2009

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CLASSIFIED BY: Timothy P Buckley, Second Secretary; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)

Forensic Internship Proposal Denied

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1. (SBU) A successful ongoing INL-sponsored forensic laboratory
improvement program implemented by DOJ-ICITAP suffered a mild
setback when the Government of Uzbekistan delivered a diplomatic
note on February 17 denying a proposal to send an Uzbek forensic
scientist to the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office for a
month-long internship in the toxicology department. This proposal
followed numerous productive visits by U.S. experts to the Main
Forensic Laboratory in Tashkent, who installed sophisticated
equipment, conducted training sessions, and expanded professional
networks. As usual, no explanation was given for the denial,
although it suggests authorities remain suspicious of any
unescorted program for government employees on U.S. territory, no
matter how technical and benign it may seem to us. We expect other
elements of the project involving equipment and training sessions
in Uzbekistan to continue with the support of the government,
although efforts to expose Uzbek scientists to the mainstream
international academic community will be subjected to case-by-case
scrutiny. Currently, an Uzbek delegation is participating in a
USG-funded forensics event in the U.S., although the government
inexplicably cancelled the participation of the First Deputy
Minister of Health on short notice.



Convertibility Woes Deepening?

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2. (SBU) On February 23 we met with Aziz Khodjimatov, New Business
Development Manager at International Health Care Consulting AG, the
pharmaceutical branch of Janssen-Cilag, which in turn is a
subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson in the U.S. He told us that his
organization is now experiencing convertibility delays of as much
as 12-13 months, which greatly exceeds previous reports from
Proctor & Gamble of delays on the order of 270 days. Khodjimatov
continued that Russian pharmaceutical companies have gotten
convertibility relief after intervention by the Russian Embassy,
and he asked if we could do the same. AmCham met recently with
Minister of Foreign Economic Relations Ganiev but did not get any
traction; the GOU appears set in its policy of import substitution.




Italian Counternarcotics Interests

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3. (C) On February 22 poloff asked Raffaelle Ungaro, the Police
Attache from the Embassy of Italy, why his country chose to send a
police attache to its small mission in Tashkent. Ungaro noted that
Italy was a strong supporter of the project to launch the
counternarcotics-focused Central Asian Regional Information and
Coordination Center (CARICC) under the earlier stewardship of an
Italian UNODC regional director, and Italy still feels a sense of
responsibility for seeing the project succeed. Italy also wanted
to show leadership when it chaired the mini-Dublin group. He
conceded that most Afghan-origin narcotics actually reach Italy via
a westward route through Iran and Turkey rather than north through
Uzbekistan, which means Italy has less of a strategic interest in
the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. Ungaro also reported
the same access problems almost all foreigners experience, and
currently he is trying to overcome a lackluster response from the

TASHKENT 00000231 002.2 OF 003



National Security Service (NSS) to an offer for a training progra

m
in Italy.



Slovenes to Enter NGO Scene?

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4. (C) Mjusa Sever, the former Country Director of the U.S.-funded
NGO Institute for New Democracies (IND),returned to Uzbekistan on
February 20 and immediately met with Uzbek officials about the
possibility of "continuing our dialogue" under the auspices of a
new NGO she just registered in Slovenia. Sever told poloff on
February 22 that the Slovene Government may provide some limited
support for anti-corruption work and a conference, and she added
that the GOU has asked her to do media relations and civil society
development work. Sever built up impressive access to sensitive
government ministries after several years working in Uzbekistan,
and she may try to market that to seek funding support from
international donors for other projects. A key indicator of her
clout will be whether and how quickly the GOU registers her NGO.



ICRC Negotiations with Ministry of Internal Affairs

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5. (C) ICRC's Deputy Regional Director in Central Asia, Raffaello
Muller, told poloff on February 22 that the prisons directorate of
the Ministry of Internal Affairs (known as GUIN) remains open and
cooperative to working with ICRC in response to ICRC's recently
submitted report. However, Muller said working with the Ministry's
investigations division - which controls preliminary detention
facilities at police stations throughout the country - remains a
challenge partly due to fear. In a meeting last week with the head
of the investigations division, Muller noted the official was
"visibly trembling," which is probably a byproduct of the warnings
and preparation such officials in sensitive positions receive from
the security services before sitting down with international
organizations.



License and Registration, Please

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6. (SBU) Poloff has recently been commuting via a local driver and
his personal car, which inevitably provides a first-hand look at
traffic stops. On February 27 the driver was pulled over and
ultimately ticketed for a seatbelt violation. The officer accepted
a spot fine of about USD 2 worth of local currency and dutifully
wrote out a shabby-looking receipt; however, Uzbeks laugh this off
as just a flimsy way to make it look official and doubt that the
proceeds from fines emerges from the officers' pockets. Poloff
doubts that the officer could have determined the driver was not
wearing a seatbelt from his curbside position well in front of the
car but, to be fair, the driver was guilty - and stubborn - about
wearing his seatbelt. The law entered into force last year and,
perhaps much like the U.S. when the concept was new in the '80s,
there are many defiant skeptics. In a place where car safety
standards are low, drivers are reckless, and trauma care
nonexistent, compulsory use of seat belts is a good idea. With
enforcement in the hands of a vast, eager, and omnipresent traffic
police force, Tashkenters will be buckling up in no time.

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