UZBEKISTAN: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS PRESS BLITZ CONTINUES

UNCLAS TASHKENT 000563

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D COPY ADDED ADDEE
G/TIP FOR MEGAN HALL
SCA FOR BRIAN RORAFF AND JESSICA MAZZONE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KTIP KCRM KWMN UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS PRESS BLITZ CONTINUES


1. (U) Summary: Regular trafficking in persons
(TIP) articles continue to be published in the state-controlled
press, and public service announcements are prevalent in all forms
of mass media. Uzbekistan's extensive efforts on raising public
awareness and highlighting its powerful new criminal code
demonstrate that it remains serious about combating the issue. The
recently established national inter-agency commission also lashed
out at two of its provincial-level counterparts for not doing
enough, a sign that the new coordinating body is taking its mission
seriously. End summary.

This Message is Brought to You by the Uzbek Government
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2. (U) On his April 22 commute to work, poloff noticed a radio
advertisement in Tashkent warning citizens against the dangers of
trafficking in persons. Resisting the urge that Uzbek officials
sometimes have to advise citizens to stay put and that the grass is
not greener abroad, this radio announcement informed Uzbeks that
their government is available to help them if they get into trouble
overseas. It noted that, in the event of trouble or if they become
victims of TIP, they should "seek help at the nearest Embassy or
Consulate of Uzbekistan." It proceeded to note that the Government
of Uzbekistan can facilitate any necessary travel documents and
help make arrangements to return home. At that moment, poloff
looked out the window and noticed one of many full-size billboards
on the streets of Tashkent warning against the dangers of TIP. The
taxi driver commented "yes, these ads about trafficking in persons
have been everywhere lately, and I see them at home on television,
too." (Note: The number of reported TIP cases is up and yet the
main local anti-TIP NGO Istiqbolli Avlod noted it is serving fewer
numbers of victims, which it attributed to increasing public
willingness to turn to the government for help. Radio promotions
such as described above are an example of how this outreach can
help build public confidence. End note.)

Inter-Agency Commission Gets Tough with the Provinces
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3. (U) On April 8, the official Uzbekistan National News Agency
website reported that the national inter-agency anti-TIP
commission, which was established in 2008 in accordance with new
legislation, convened a meeting to discuss the work of the
corresponding prQincial level anti-TIP commissions in Bukhara and
Andijon Provinces. The article noted thatQthe national commission
criticized the work of the territorial commissions in these two
provinces and defined measures to improve their activities." A
separate article on UzReport.com, also published on April 8,
reported that the national commission "harshly criticized" Andijon
and Bukhara's efforts to date, and noted that the chairmen of the
two provincial committees were present for the drubbing from the
high-ranking national inter-agency committee members, which
convened at the Office of the Prosecutor-General in the capital in
the presence of journalists. (Comment: With a national
inter-agency committee and 12 provincial ones established almost
simultaneously, it was inevitable that some provinces would get off
to a faster start than others or take it more seriously. This sort
of public shaming sends a powerful message to all provincial hokims
that Tashkent wants them to take the anti-TIP efforts seriously.
End comment.)

Justice Ministry Publishes Account of Tashkent City Anti-TIP
Commission
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4. (U) On April 7, the Ministry of Justice published a report about
a meeting of the capital district's recently formed inter-agency
anti-TIP commission, which is separate from the 12 provinces. It
offered a glimpse into how such gatherings are organized and noted
that "all of the district prosecutors, their deputies, and the
heads of all internal affairs departments, their deputies, and
officials from other relevant organizations" were in attendance.
The agenda included an analysis of how the prosecutors supervise
TIP investigations based on the operational plan for the first half
of 2009 set by the city prosecutor's office. Significantly, the
report also mentioned that the Tashkent mayor's office, in
cooperation with law enforcement officials, made appearances in the
media and held events at educational institutions and influential
neighborhood (mahalla) committees. The meeting also discussed
"mistakes and shortcomings" in the work of some sub-districts in
this field, and noted the need "to pay particular attention to
protecting victims." (Comment: This demonstrates the inter-agency
committees seem to be earnestly playing the coordinating role on
anti-TIP efforts as the 2008 legislation envisioned. End comment.)

Andijon TIP Cases
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5. (U) On March 26, the prominent national paper "Narodnoe Slovo"
(People's Word) named four residents of the eastern city of Andijon
as having been trafficked to Kazakhstan for labor exploitation
after a Tursunpolat Xolmatov promised them a job "for at least USD
400 per month." The four men suffered hardships but managed to
come back to Uzbekistan, where they alerted authorities. Citing a
separate Andijon Province case, the same report named two female
traffickers - Mavjuda Pirmatova and Mavluda Mominova - as having
promised six people "great jobs" in Kazakhstan but then "sold" the
victims for USD 1,700 to accomplices north of the border. These
victims - all men - also managed to return home and report the
incident. (Comment: The more people learn about these types of
incidents, the more they are willing to report them to authorities,
which has contributed to the rise of TIP complaints and
investigations. End note.)

Namangan Statistics
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6. (U) On March 4, the "Namangan Haqiqati" (Truth) published a
report by Abdurahim Dadaboyev, a senior lawyer of the provincial
internal affairs department responsible for protecting human
rights, documenting various anti-TIP measures being undertaken.
Dadaboyev included data that there were 131 TIP crimes in Namangan
Province in 2008, and investigations established that there were
343 victims, of whom 318 were men, 25 were women, and 11 were
children. It also documented that there were 85 offenders against
whom criminal proceedings were launched. (Comment: Namangan is in
the populous and more conservative Ferghana Valley, and the data
indicates that the vast majority of victims from this part of the
country are males. End comment.)

TV Broadcast on Kashkadarya Province Cases
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7. (U) On February 19, Uzbek TV broadcast a program entitled
"Tracing a Crime," which documented several TIP cases in
Kashkadarya Province. It named a female offender from the town of
Kitob, Dilfuza Gofurova, who allegedly took several local women
abroad and forced them into prostitution. The television report
included interviews with victims, and Kitob District Prosecutor
Bohodir Erkayev stated that Gofurova sold the women to a Turkish
national for USD 4,000 and that an investigation was underway. The
same television report described another case in Kitob in which a
Gayrat Rahmonov and his brother Golibjon Rahmonov allegedly
deceived local residents and took them to the Chelyabinsk Region of
Russia for labor exploitation. A third story in the broadcast
described victims who were trafficked to Almaty, Kazakhstan by
suspects Rustam Alixonov and Jora Soatov for labor exploitation.
Significantly, Qamashi District Prosecutor Shodiyon Jumaqulov
commented that the prosecutor's office helped the victims collect
damages for lost wages of 13 million soum (about USD 9,000),which
is an example of government efforts to facilitate restitution for
victims. (Note: It is becoming more common to see the names of
the accused published in press reports about TIP cases, which is
significant in an Asian culture that highly values "face." End
note.)

Prosecutions
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8. (U) On April 7, a report appeared in "Inson va Qonun" about
three convictions - including two female offenders - with prison
terms of eight or nine years each for trafficking Uzbek women to
the UAE for sexual exploitation. A March 23 article in the paper
"Ma'rifat" reported that several young women from central Samarkand
Province were trafficked to foreign countries and forced into
prostitution, but that the offenders "have stood trial and were
punished accordingly." On March 5, "Noviy Vek" (New Century)
quoted Iskander Usmanov, Deputy Head of the Prosecutor's Office for
Tashkent Province (which excludes Tashkent City),as saying that
"53 people were convicted and sentenced for TIP crimes in the past
two years" in this province. On February 25, "Tashkent Mahalla"
reported the prosecution of Khorezm Province resident Ismoil
Rozmetov for trafficking 12 men to Kazakhstan after promising them
jobs with salaries of USD 300-350 per month; they were actually
forced to work at a construction site.
Comment:
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9. (U) The accounts above illustrate how the state-controlled mass
media in Uzbekistan has become a useful source of information on
TIP cases as well as a means of raising public awareness. Long
after our annual TIP submission cable was transmitted, the
Government of Uzbekistan is still ensuring that TIP is a regularly
recurring theme in the press. The stories also demonstrate that
the recently established inter-agency anti-TIP commissions -- both
at the national and provincial level - are capable of playing an
effective coordinating role as envisioned by 2008 legislation and
the national action plan. Singling out lagging provinces for
national criticism is a not-so-subtle encouragement for all 12
provinces to focus on further efforts to combat trafficking in
persons.
BUTCHER