OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: JULY 27 - 31, 2009

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 USOSCE 000184

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/04/2019
TAGS: MARR OSCE PGOV PREL RU KZ GG KG MK BK
SUBJECT: OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: JULY 27 - 31, 2009

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Hugh Neighbour for Reasons 1.4(B)&(D)

Below are highlights from the Daily Digest of the U.S.
Mission to the Organization of Security and Cooperation in
Europe. These and other articles can also be found on
Intelink at
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Orga nization_for_Se
curity_and_Cooperation_in_Europe

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Election Support Mission to Afghanistan Deployed
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1. (U) A team of election experts from the OSCE/ODIHR
Mission arrived in Kabul July 26 to support conduct of the
August 20 presidential and provincial council elections in
Afghanistan. The 20 experts from the mission will assist
election stakeholders in Afghanistan, including election
administration bodies and domestic observer groups. The
experts will follow the campaign, pre-election preparation,
the media situation, election day proceedings, the count
and tabulation of results and the complaint and appeals
process. Short field visits will be made to the provinces,
security situation permitting. There will be no public
statement issued immediately after election day, but a
report with the experts? findings and recommendations for
improvement will be made several weeks later. (POL:
Raschka)

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Kyrgyz Elections Hammered at OSCE
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2. (SBU) In OSCE/ODIHR?s July 27 Statement of Preliminary
Findings and Conclusions for Kyrgyzstan?s Presidential
Election, the OSCE Election Observation Mission (EOM) in
the Kyrgyz Republic found that the July 23 presidential
election failed to meet key OSCE commitments for democratic
elections, including the commitment to maintain a clear
separation between party and state. There were some
positive elements, like distinct choice of presidential
candidates and continuing engagement of civil society, but
election day was marred by many problems and irregularities
such as evidence of ballot box stuffing, inaccuracies in
the voter lists, and some evidence of multiple voting.
Counting and tabulation processes were also not up to
standards for a fair and transparent election. (POL:
Flitcraft)

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Clear Divisions on Election Assessments
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3. (SBU) In the July 30 Permanent Council meeting, the
U.S., EU, Norway, and Canada raised strong concerns about
the July 23rd presidential elections, citing extensively
from the OSCE Election Observation Mission?s (EOM)
preliminary assessment. The EU took the strongest stand,
urging the Kyrgyz to use the final EOM report as a basis
for a "serious overhaul" of how elections in Kyrgyzstan are
conducted. Russian Ambassador Azimov jumped to Kyrgyzstan?
s defense by applauding President Bakiev?s "impressive"
victory, that it met "CIS standards" for election, and
praised the many improvements in the country?s election
system, despite "isolated cases of shortcomings." Azimov
used the EOM report to highlight how, in Russia?s view,
ODIHR?s election assessments are "excessively politicized"

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and to push for the CSTO?s proposal to reform ODIHR?s
election monitoring. Kyrgyz Ambassador Imanalieva responded
politely but firmly to our concerns, highlighting positive
elements of the election. (POL: Kaufman)

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CiO Plans for Special Reps Office in Tbilisi
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4. (C) At the July 28 CiO meeting, Ambassador Marinaki
told us they intend to move ahead with plans for a small
office in Tbilisi to support the work of Special
Representative Christopoulos. The Georgians are reportedly
"ecstatic" at the prospect, although the Greeks are still
awaiting a formal MFA response. The Office will be headed
by British secondee Steve Young, former head of the
Military Monitoring Operation, and would support the
Special Representative and help manage the Joint Incident
Prevention and Response Mechanism. The Greeks said the
Office would also liaise with the EUMM; they requested
unspecified U.S. Embassy involvement as well. They
stressed once again that they are aiming to open the Office
by August 1, and hope it will only be a temporary
arrangement until a normal OSCE field mission can be
re-opened. At the same meeting, the CIO also reported that
Ambassador Tagliavini will be delaying the publication of
her report on the origins of the August 2008 conflict in
South Ossetia until September because of pending interviews
with key participants now scheduled in Vienna for
mid-August. (POL: Flitcraft)

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Russia Insists Agreement by South Ossetia, Abkhazia
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5. (SBU) At the July 30 Permanent Council meeting, Russian
Ambassador Azimov reiterated Russia?s readiness to come to
agreement on an OSCE field office in Tbilisi. He recalled
previous Russian proposals within both the UN and OSCE,
which were "less politicized and more practical" than the
Greek Chairmanship?s proposals, and took into account the
new realities in the region. Azimov cautioned that any
attempts to deploy a presence in the region, including by
the Chairmanship, must be conducted with the full agreement
of all parties to the Geneva discussions, to avoid
undermining those discussions. (POL: Raschka)

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Georgia Tells Russia to "Stop Lying"
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6. (SBU) Russia and Georgia traded accusations at the July
30 Permanent Council meeting over responsibility for the
August 2008 conflict. Russian Ambassador Azimov condemned
the "reckless military gamble" and "boorish aggression"
perpetrated by the "Saakashvili regime" against innocent
civilians and Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia.
Azimov also criticized the OSCE?s inability to prevent the
August conflict or speak out against the Georgian
"aggressors", and called on the organization to help secure
Georgian agreement to non-use of force agreements with
South Ossetia and Abkhazia. In response to Russia?s
exhortation to explore the lessons learned from the
conflict, Georgian Ambassador Gaprindashvili stated that
one of the main lessons is that Russia is a destabilizing
force in the entire Caucasus region, including the North
Caucasus. He flatly called on the Russian representatives

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to "stop lying" and start behaving more responsibly. Other
delegations, including the EU, Canada, Norway and the U.S.,
reiterated full support for Georgia?s sovereignty and
territorial integrity and called for a renewed OSCE
presence throughout Georgia on the basis of the Greek
Chairmanship?s status-neutral proposals. (POL: Raschka)

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EU Skeptical About Five-Sided Meeting on Security
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7. (C) At our July 29 meeting with the EU, Swedish
Ambassador Bard-BringQus shared our concerns about Russian
ideas for a meeting, possibly following the Athens OSCE
Ministerial of the five regional organizations dealing with
European security (OSCE, NATO, CIS, CSTO, EU). The
Russians, she pointed out, referenced the Istanbul
agreement that established the ten-year old Platform for
Cooperative Security (PCS),but it was a false analogy as
the PCS set a number of ground rules that the CIS and CSTO
can?t meet and some of which the Russians no longer respect
for NATO. Bard-BringQus also worried that a five-sided
meeting would raise doubts about the centrality of the OSCE?
s Corfu Process in discussions about European security and
possibly allow the Russians to play one off against the
other. She concluded the discussion by stating that some
countries were keen on keeping open dialogue about this
issue only as a bargaining chip. (POL: Flitcraft/Hyde)

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Head of Mission in Skopje Reports
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8. (U) At the July 30 meeting of the Permanent Council,
Jose Luis Herrero, Head of the OSCE Spillover Monitor
Mission in Skopje, delivered his first report to
participating States since assuming this position five
months ago. He highlighted progress in the municipal and
presidential elections held in March and April 2009 as
compared to flawed elections in 2008 and said that the
overall mood in Macedonia had improved as a result. He
sounded notes of caution on inter-ethnic tensions still
present in the country, saying they require continued
attention. He does not envision any major changes to the
mission?s structure or staffing in 2010; beyond 2010, the
status of EU integration processes would be the main factor
to consider in looking for any needed adaptations. The
Macedonian delegation?s reply called Herrero?s report
balanced and perceptive, and while not explicitly rebutting
any of the report?s more critical aspects, focused on
progress. (POL: Atkinson)

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HR/EUSR in Bosnia Reports
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9. (SBU) On July 30 Valentin Inzko, HR/EUSR in Bosnia
reported to the PC. He praised cooperation with the OSCE,
including on joint initiatives in rule of law, good
governance and long-term security. He was downbeat on
developments in Bosnia, saying it was abundantly clear that
institutional and political progress in the past two years
had lagged, as measured by failure to achieve EU visa
liberalization. He explained the rationale for recent use
of Bonn powers, called on the international community to
speak with one voice, and emphasized that OHR transition is
conditional on progress on reforms and stability and not a

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goal in and of itself. The RF said focus should be on
implementing the 5+2 for rapid transition, and called the
recent use of the Bonn powers counterproductive. Bosnia?s
reply reaffirmed commitment to Euro-Atlantic integration,
said constitutional reform would be an opportunity for
elected officials to demonstrated leadership, and
recognized the needed international role for coordinating
and supporting elections. (POL: Atkinson)

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Greeks Cool New Mediterranean Partners
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10. (C) Also in the July 28 CiO meeting, the Greeks noted
suggestions at last week?s Helsinki Commission (HC) seminar
in Washington to include Syria, Lebanon, and Libya as OSCE
Mediterranean Partners. The CiO reported, however, that
reaction by some participating States was lukewarm in part
because the Partnership first needs to resolve the
stalemated question of Palestine?s inclusion. Ambassador
Marinaki, noting these suggestions, along with the
HC-inspired push to include Pakistan in the Asian
Partnership, asked for an official USG position. She
confirmed that the Mediterranean Partner Conference is now
scheduled for December 14-15 in Egypt, which hopefully will
be ratified in a PC decision as early as this week. She
added that while the conference would touch upon all three
dimensions, Human Dimension issues would be downplayed out
of "respect for Egyptian sensitivities." (POL: Flitcraft)

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Med Conference Location Still Undetermined
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11. (C) Contrary to assurances given by Greek Ambassador
Marinaki and the Kazakh Chair of the Med Partners Group
earlier this week, Egypt failed to formally extend an offer
to host the Med Conference in time for approval at the last
Permanent Council before the August break. Although the
draft agenda was tentatively agreed by delegations on July
21, the Egyptians were unable to make a decision to host
the Conference, ostensibly because the Egyptian Foreign
Minister has not had a chance to review the agenda due to
his heavy travel schedule. The Greeks and Kazakhs are
still hopeful that the Egyptians will extend an offer at
some point during the August holidays, allowing the
participating States to take a decision on the agenda,
location and dates in early September. (POL: Raschka)

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