HEAD OF KYRGYZ SECRETARIAT CLAIMS RFE/RL FOSTERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 000096 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (GORKOWSKI) E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2020 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KG SUBJECT: HEAD OF KYRGYZ SECRETARIAT CLAIMS RFE/RL FOSTERS INTOLERANCE REF: A. 09 BISHK... C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 000096 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (GORKOWSKI) E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2020 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KG SUBJECT: HEAD OF KYRGYZ SECRETARIAT CLAIMS RFE/RL FOSTERS INTOLERANCE REF: A. 09 BISHKEK 1296 ¶B. 09 BISHKEK 1274 ¶C. 09 BISHKEK 1201 BISHKEK 00000096 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador Tatiana C. Gfoeller, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: In a friendly lunch at the Ambassador's residence, Oksana Malevanaya, the Head of the Presidential Secretariat, reiterated her opposition to RFE/Radio Azzatyk, claiming that their programs are anti-government, anti-Christian, and promote intolerance to the edge of anti-Semitism. She said that the Uzbeks told her that Secretary Clinton plans to visit in April, and pleaded that if that is true, the Secretary "must" visit Kyrgyzstan as well. She promised that the Drug Control Agency would soon begin operations in its new institutional home under the Ministry of the Interior, and confirmed rumors that the Ministry of Defense would be abolished, replaced by a Council structure with the current Minister of Defense at its head. End Summary. ¶2. (C) The Ambassador hosted Oksana Malevanaya, the Head of the Presidential Secretariat, for a lunch at her residence on February 3. The discussion was friendly, and covered several topics, including pressing for a visit by Secretary Clinton, the future of the Drug Control Agency, and the abolishment of the Ministry of Defense. The tenor of the discussion changed, however, when Malevanaya introduced the topic of Medet Sadyrkulov, and described her perspective on his political activities and the nature of his death (septel). This is Part I of two cables describing the Ambassador's discussion with Malevanaya. A Visit From the Secretary? -------------- ¶3. (C) Malevanaya said that the Uzbeks told the Kyrgyz that the Secretary would be visiting them in April. Displaying some nervousness, Malevanaya insisted that if the Secretary visits Uzbekistan, she must visit Kyrgyzstan as well. Malevanaya added that perhaps the Women's Rights Conference (ref A),planned for Bishkek in May, could be changed to coincide with the Secretary's visit, or perhaps the Secretary's visit could be changed to May. Regardless, Malevanaya said that she strongly supported the Secretary's attendance at the conference, and welcomed Foreign Minister Sarbayev,s intention to send the Secretary a letter of invitation. ¶4. (C) The Ambassador raised the issue of pressure on the American University in Central Asia (AUCA) to vacate their current building. She told Malevanaya that AUCA is willing to move, but they need high-level support to ensure that they have a suitable new campus for relocation. Malevanaya replied that she is familiar with the sources of the pressure on AUCA, and that hosting the Women's Conference might provide a solution. If they were to host a high-level conference that the Secretary attended, they would be relatively invulnerable to pressure: "If Hillary comes, AUCA is golden." Government Reorganization -------------- ¶5. (C) Following up on their last meeting, the Ambassador asked about the status of the Drug Control Agency, noting that we have contributed $22 million towards its development, and that it is currently inactive. Malevanaya agreed that things were proceeding too slowly, but noted that only the day before, the President had signed a law reestablishing the Drug Control Agency under the Interior Ministry. It will soon begin operations again, she said. ¶6. (C) The Ambassador asked Malevanaya if it was true that BISHKEK 00000096 002.2 OF 002 the Ministry of Defense would be abolished. Malevanaya confirmed it, and said that all Defense functions, including the Border Guards, would be placed under a Military Council. The President of the Council will play a role analogous to the Minister of Defense, and in fact the position will be filled by the current Minister of Defense, Bakytbek Kaliyev. The President of the Council will not be Commander-in-Chief, however -- that role will be retained by President Bakiyev. Echoing prior cautions (ref B),the Ambassador warned Malevanaya that mixing police and military units under a single command structure might pose legal constraints on the ability of the U.S. to provide security assistance. ¶7. (C) Malevanaya also raised Maxim Bakiyev's proposal to develop a counter-terrorism training center in the South, in Batken Province (ref C). She said that it was very important, and they want to proceed with it as soon as possible. Malevanaya Says RFE Anti-Government, Promotes Intolerance -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) On the issue of RFE/Radio Azzatyk, Malevanaya said that she had reviewed the issue, as the Ambassador had requested in their last meeting, and her conclusion that RFE had an anti-government bias was if anything strengthened. Malevanaya said that she recently had met with an RFE official from Prague , and had shown her some egregious examples of RFE's anti-government bias. According to Malevanaya, the RFE official agreed that the pieces did not represent objective journalism. ¶9. (C) Malevanaya said that her greater concern with RFE is that it is contributing to undermining Kyrgyz traditions of religious and cultural tolerance. She cited an RFE program in which a participant said that it is outrageous that Maxim Bakiyev is his father's heir, because he is the wrong color (i.e., has a Russian Jewish mother, and therefore is not sufficiently Kyrgyz),and he wears a cross. She said that RFE appears to her to be anti-Christian, if not actually anti-Semitic, and it feeds into the Kyrgyz nationalist chauvinism that already exists in the opposition press:. In this context, she cited an opposition newspaper article that claimed President Bakiyev was surrounded by (a derogatory Russian term for Jews),and said that as a Russian Jew raising children in Kyrgyzstan, she is acutely sensitive to the prospect of anti-Semitism. ¶10. (C) Continuing on the theme of anti-Russian sentiments, Malevanaya raised the issue of a photography display by Amcit Sergei Melnikoff, who, according to Malevanaya, said in an interview with a Chechen media outlet that "the only good Russian is a dead Russian." She asked, "Why are there such outrageous Americans running around Kyrgyzstan?" The Ambassador said forcefully that sentiments of that kind against any group of people, including Russians, are reprehensible, and that the Embassy had nothing to do with his exhibit. Mollified, Malevanaya said that the pro-Russian camp in the government is trying to use Melnikoff as a lever to separate Kyrgyzstan and the United States. The Russians are offended that the Kyrgyz would give his work a venue, and "we're already out on a limb with them as it is," (implication: because of hosting the Transit Center at Manas.) Malevanaya said that she has spoken several times with the Russian Charge in an attempt to smooth things over. (Note: The Embassy had earlier declined a request to sponsor Melnikoff's display. Later that day, the Government canceled the exhibit, and fired the Director of the Culture Agency in charge of it. End note.) GFOELLER