SCA DAS KROL'S MEETINGS WITH OSCE INSTITUTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USOSCE 000280

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KZ
SUBJECT: SCA DAS KROL'S MEETINGS WITH OSCE INSTITUTION
OFFICIALS AT ATHENS MINISTERIAL

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Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Carol S. Fuller for reasons 1.4 (b) an
d (d).

SUMMARY
--------------

1. (C) In a December 1 meeting on the margins of the OSCE
Ministerial Council in Athens, OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Director Janez Lenarcic
expressed concern to SCA DAS Krol that incoming Chair in
Office of the OSCE, Kazakhstan, aimed to solve the "problem"
of negative ODIHR election reports in former Soviet
countries. Krol stressed the U.S. was sending a consistent
and strong message to Kazakhstan that there should be no
meddling with the autonomy of ODIHR. In a separate meeting
the same day, outgoing OSCE Representative for Media Freedom
Miklos Haraszti summarized for Krol the retrenchment in
freedoms in Central Asia over the past decade. He expressed
guarded optimism that a good candidate would succeed him,
perhaps before the end of the Greek Chairmanship. End
Summary.

ODIHR'S CONCERNS ABOUT NEXT YEAR
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2. (C) Lenarcic told Krol that he was "not entirely
comfortable with the prospects for next year" after seeing
recent statements from Kazakhstani officials alleging that
ODIHR has taken a disproportionate and negative approach to
elections in CIS countries. Lenarcic said Kazakhstani
statistics about ODIHR's reports were wildly inaccurate and
he stressed there was no OSCE decision giving any mandate
over ODIHR's work to the Chairmanship. Lenarcic said he
would not allow any interference. He appealed for U.S.
support in underscoring this message for Kazakhstan, arguing
that the U.S. voice carried more weight in Astana than any
other. Lenarcic said he told Kazakhstani Foreign Minister
Saudabayev and others that when someone complained to them
about an ODIHR assessment, they should reply they have
nothing to do with it and blame Lenarcic. Lenarcic said
Saudabayev's response was that he would like to create a
situation in which they complain to neither Kazakhstan nor
ODIHR. Lenarcic said it was clear to him the talking points
were coming from the very top in Astana, and he thought many
Kazakhstani officials understood ODIHR's reports were not
biased - but had to keep their opinions quiet.


3. (C) Krol said that U.S. officials consistently told
Kazakhstan that ODIHR's autonomy and mandate must be
preserved, with no meddling from the Chairmanship. He agreed
there was still need to reinforce this message. Krol asked
Lenarcic about the case of jailed Kazakhstani journalist
Evgenii Zhovtis. Lenarcic said ODIHR's information clearly
demonstrated that Zhovtis had been denied his rights under
Kazakhstani law, in both the original trial and the appeal.
On Afghanistan, Lenarcic said ODIHR was finalizing its
election report (note: subsequently presented to the OSCE
Permanent Council December 10),which he said was "not a
positive report" but it tried to focus on the future. He
predicted ODIHR would conduct a similar exercise for next
year's parliamentary elections in Afghanistan. Krol
encouraged ODIHR to engage as much as it could with
Afghanistan in order to increase familiarity with
international standards. On Uzbekistan, Lenarcic noted there
seemed to be some opening. He said ODIHR would observe the
February presidential election in Tajikistan, and hoped the
government would not try to place restrictions on the number
of observers.

HARASZTI SEES TEN YEARS OF DETERIORATION
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4. (C) Coming to the end of his tenure as Representative on
Media Freedom, Haraszti lamented to Krol that he did not know
how to deal with the last "ten years of deterioration" in
human rights in Central Asia. He opined that this
"counter-reformation" followed Putin's intervention to target
civil society and free media in order to prevent another wave
of liberalization. Haraszti said one possible basis for
progress was governments' desire to be part of something
westward - "to drink champagne in Vienna, not just vodka in
Vladivostok." He expressed regret that Kazakhstan had passed
a number of new restrictive laws, and said that civil society
representatives in Kazakhstan held the international
community - including the U.S. - responsible for not putting
more pressure on Astana. Krol noted that he met with
Kazakhstani NGOs and they gave him similar messages about the
deterioration in freedoms and the growth of fear and
self-censorship.


5. (C) Krol asked if the incoming Kazakhstani Chairmanship
had given Haraszti any indication on his successor. Haraszti
said no, and added that he never believed Kazakhstan would

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interfere with his office or be willing to provoke the harsh
criticism that would come with choosing a Russian
representative. He expressed cautious optimism that a good
candidate would be chosen, perhaps even before the end of the
year depending on maneuvering. Haraszti spoke favorably of
both the Bosnian and British candidates. He said, if asked,
he might be willing to stay on for a defined period of time,
but in any event it was essential to avoid the situation that
existed for the three months prior to his assuming the job -
when objections from Russia and others made the office unable
to make any interventions. Haraszti said he would make a
"farewell trip" to Washington in February, and his plans for
the longer term remained undefined. He said he would like to
combine academic and human rights work, perhaps helping
European institutions to deepen their human rights activities.
FULLER