Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10USOSCE14
2010-01-21 07:20:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Mission USOSCE
Cable title:  

OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: DECEMBER 22, 2009 -

Tags:  MARR OSCE PGOV PREL GG KZ RU AF IR MD TI 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 USOSCE 000014 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2019
TAGS: MARR OSCE PGOV PREL GG KZ RU AF IR MD TI
TX, UP, HR, MK, KV
SUBJECT: OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: DECEMBER 22, 2009 -
JANUARY 15, 2010

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Carol Fuller for reasons 1.4 (B) and (
D)

Iran As An OSCE Partner for Cooperation?

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 USOSCE 000014

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2019
TAGS: MARR OSCE PGOV PREL GG KZ RU AF IR MD TI
TX, UP, HR, MK, KV
SUBJECT: OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: DECEMBER 22, 2009 -
JANUARY 15, 2010

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Carol Fuller for reasons 1.4 (B) and (
D)

Iran As An OSCE Partner for Cooperation?


1. (C) Kazakhstani DCM Suleimenov told A/DCM December 22 that
Kazakhstan had received preliminary inquiries from Iran
regarding the possibility of becoming an OSCE Asian Partner
for Cooperation. We note that Suleimenov was previously
posted to Iran, speaks the language, maintains ties there,
and likely has promoted this ostensible interest. The
Kazakhstanis have speculated about other possible new
Partners for Cooperation and are, at least at the delegation
level, seeking to enhance participation from their region.
Suleimenov said he was expecting a formal approach from Iran
in January. We underscored that any state seeking
association with the OSCE should be willing to abide by its
norms and principles and pointed out that any application by
Iran would be closely scrutinized by capitals.

Kazakhstanis Back Away from Proposal for ODIHR Office in
Georgia


2. (C) Kazakhstani Ambassador Abdrakhmanov insisted January 4
that the Kazakhstani proposal to establish an ODIHR office in
Tbilisi was floated only on an informal, unofficial basis.
As described to several delegations December 22, the office
would have operated in a not-further-defined "Georgia," dealt
exclusively with human rights and democratization issues, and
regularly sought access to the South Ossetia and Abkhazia
regions. Abdrakhmanov said that while the Chairmanship must
thoroughly consider all proposals for an OSCE presence in
Georgia, in the future it needed to be more "precise" and
attuned to the situation on the ground.

ODIHR Says Croatia's Second-Round Elections Compliant With

Standards


3. (U) On January 11 ODIHR released its statement of
preliminary findings and conclusions on the second round of
Croatia's presidential elections, held January 10. The
statement said the election generally complied with OSCE
commitments and international standards, added that the
process confirmed positive developments noted during the
first round, and declared that voting was calm and orderly.
It also highlighted consolidation and harmonization of the
legal framework, continued reform of election administration,
and enhanced voter education as issues that deserve continued
attention. In particular, it noted that the legal framework
for complaints and appeals was not fully compliant, pointing
to the failure of the Constitutional Court to render a
decision on a complaint from a first-round candidate that the
media had not provided equal conditions for all candidates.

Kazakhstan Urged to Facilitate ODIHR/OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly Cooperation


4. (SBU) CDA Fuller urged Ambassador Abdrakhmanov January 12
to actively facilitate cooperation between the Parliamentary
Assembly and ODIHR election monitoring teams ahead of the
January 17 elections in Ukraine. She pointed out that Greek
Ambassador Marinaki took an active role in 2009 and helped
secure a workable arrangement for Albania's elections last
June. We provided Abdrakhmanov with a copy of the 1997

USOSCE 00000014 002 OF 005


memorandum outlining cooperation between the two OSCE
institutions.

Moldova Mission Head Expects No Progress in 2010 on TN
Region's Status


5. (SBU) Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova Remler told CDA
Fuller January 12 that ongoing political instability on both
sides of the Nistru River would likely preclude formal
negotiations on the status of the Transnistrian region this
year. He noted, however, that the sides could make progress
building confidence, in part through continued meetings
between Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Osipov and
Transnistrian Lead Negotiator Yastrebchak. Remler also
mentioned that the Kazakhstani Chairmanship had proposed an
informal 5 2 meeting in mid-February or early March, but
noted that the meeting's objectives were not yet clear.
Remler said he had stressed the importance of having clear
goals ) in part because the United States would demand them
) but suggested to CDA Fuller that meetings in and of
themselves might serve a purpose, if they helped the sides
build trust and solve problems.

CPC Seeking to Advance Central Asia Border Assessment Project


6. (SBU) Conflict Prevention Center (CPC) staff told PolOffs
January 13 that they planned to re-open discussions with
Turkmen officials on a previously proposed assessment of the
Turkmen border, in hopes of building on the positive momentum
generated by the successful completion of two pilot programs
involving Turkmen customs officials and border guards. CPC
staff likely will travel to Ashgabat in mid- to late February
to discuss the matter. Staff added that border assessments
completed in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan between 2006 and 2008
had provided a solid foundation for OSCE activities. In
Tajikistan, staff will continue to support the Border
Management Staff College in Dushanbe; consider ways of
continuing or building on a border patrolling project due to
end in June; push the Tajik government to formally adopt an
OSCE-supported national border strategy; and continue an
existing customs training program.

OSCE Engagement in Afghanistan Under Discussion


7. (SBU) In a subsequent conversation January 13, CPC staff
said the Secretary General's office had taken the lead in
exploring ways to expand the OSCE's engagement in Afghanistan
but had made no real progress, in part because Russia and
other participating States continued to object to OSCE
activities inside Afghanistan. Nevertheless, staff are
"floating" ideas for work inside Afghanistan and have taken a
cursory look at revising, updating, or re-framing projects 15
and 16 (proposed by the Secretariat in 2008 as part of a
comprehensive package of activities). CPC staff do not
expect to develop formal proposals in the near future but
believe they could present modified projects relatively
quickly if change occurred at the political level, in part
because the basic goal ) building the capacity of Afghan
border personnel ) remains the same. In the meantime, staff
intend to try to include Afghans as often as possible in
training activities outside Afghanistan (through the Border
Management Staff College in Dushanbe, for example) and
encourage coordination with Central Asian states on a range
of issues, including borders, counter-narcotics, and customs.

USOSCE 00000014 003 OF 005


Staff note, however, that historical animosities and poor
organization often hinder effective regional cooperation.
USOSCE will continue to stress the USG's ongoing interest in
OSCE activities inside Afghanistan and will encourage the
Secretariat, institutions, and field missions to consider
creative ways of expanding OSCE engagement with Afghanistan.

A Russian Opening on the OSCE Inside Afghanistan?


8. (C) During their weekly bilateral meeting January 13,
Russian Ambassador Azimov reminded CDA Fuller of their
December discussion about the possibility of joint
U.S.-Russian training in Central Asia. The idea would be to
provide concrete follow-up to the 2009 Ministerial decision
on trans-national threats (terrorism, narcotics,
cyber-security, etc.),which the United States and Russia
co-sponsored. Azimov suggested that joint training, perhaps
in conjunction with the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, could be an
excellent first step. He added that it might help convince
Moscow to change its mind on OSCE projects inside Afghanistan
and consider a similar joint training project in Kabul,
perhaps on counter-narcotics. Asked if he had raised the
joint training idea with Moscow, he replied that he had done
so only informally. USOSCE 11 provides additional
information.

Germany Warming Up on OSCE Training Inside Afghanistan?


9. (C) The German ambassador told CDA Fuller January 15 that
Berlin, which, along with Moscow, has been opposed to OSCE
training inside Afghanistan, appeared to be changing its
position. Although he did not pinpoint the London
conference, he stated that there could be a positive
announcement of this change within the next two weeks.

Secretariat Seeking Afghan Participation in Econ/Environment
Forum


10. (U) At the January 12 Economic and Environmental
Committee meeting, Kazakhstan formally presented the agenda
for the first segment of the Economic and Environmental Forum
(EEF),to be held February 1-2 in Vienna. The EEF focuses on
the facilitation and security of land transport and the
promotion of good governance at border crossings, and
includes a session focusing on Central Asia and Afghanistan.
In an aside, members of the Secretariat told PolOff they were
inviting a representative of the Afghan Ministry of Trade to
participate. The Secretariat also said they could fund the
participation of up to three Afghans and asked for U.S.
assistance in encouraging participation. USOSCE has
encouraged the Afghan mission in Vienna to respond positively
to the invitation and has worked with Embassy Kabul to
identify an appropriate participant from the Afghan Ministry
of Commerce.

Kazakhstan,s Chairmanship and the Zhovtis Case


11. (SBU) On the margins of the Kazakhstani Chairmanship's
inaugural events the week of January 11, Kazakhstani
Ambassador-at-Large Madina Jarbussynova expressed frustration
to CDA Fuller that the Zhovtis case would continue to hang
over the Chairmanship. She confided that after the October
Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, she had worked hard
to convince Kazakhstani government officials that the courts

USOSCE 00000014 004 OF 005


needed to review procedural inadequacies in the trial and
give the case another hearing, but had been overruled.
Jarbussynova was not convinced anyone had truly explained the
details of the case to President Nazarbayev or stressed the
real import for the Kazakhstani Chairmanship of a lack of due
process in following Kazakhstani laws. She noted the human
rights committee (which she chairs) of the Kazakakhstani OSCE
Task Force would soon hold an interagency meeting in Astana
and said she intended to raise the Zhovtis case again.

Head of Mission in Skopje Likely to Propose Restructuring and
Reductions for 2011


12. (SBU) The head of the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to
Skopje, Jose Luis Herrero, told CDA Fuller January 13 that
proposed changes for 2011 included restructuring, some
reductions, and the potential closure of the Tetovo field
office. Herrero said Macedonia was an "unfinished success
story," citing recent instances of progress such as the 2009
elections and the positive EC report, but warned that not all
risks had disappeared, especially with the indefinite waiting
period for joining NATO and the EU. He said the GoM was
looking for recognition of its progress and argued that his
proposed changes would both give them that progress and
introduce operational changes that would allow the mission to
do as much or more with fewer resources. Depending on the
circumstances closer to the date, the Tetovo field office
would be closed in 2011, with its monitoring functions in the
NW continued out of Skopje. Herrero argued that
participating States must recognize that the situation is not
like it was in 2001, and asserted that the dependency on the
OSCE and other internationals to resolve all disputes has to
be reduced eventually. CDA Fuller emphasized the importance
of caution in proceeding with any of these changes and said
the push from the GoM needs to be balanced with reality on
the ground. In response to the CDA's question about ethnic
Albanian buy-in for closing Tetovo, Herrero said the initial
reaction from an ethnic Albanian DPM had been positive, but
he needed to consult more with other ethnic Albanian
political leaders.

OMIK Head of Mission on Plans for 2010


13. (SBU) In a January 13 meeting, Head of the OSCE Mission
in Kosovo (OMIK) Werner Almhofer told CDA Fuller he was
working on implementing the budget for 2010, which in the
immediate term meant the difficult process of letting go of
some 120-130 local staff. When questioned about a rumored
Kazakhstani extra-budgetary project related to the Belgrade
proposal for reception centers, Almhofer said only that he
had heard a similar rumor. He said there might also be
expectations that 400,000 euro added back to the Human Rights
and Communities department from unspent 2009 funds would be
used to work on returnee issues, but that Belgrade's
obsession with the mission doing more "outreach" to
non-Albanian communities was unwarranted given the amount of
work the mission is already doing with non-Albanian,
including Serb, communities. Almhofer acknowledged that the
mission potentially could do more on returnee issues by
working with UNHCR, relevant ministries, and receiving
municipalities on related projects, such as shelters, but
recalled that the mission's own study had found the Belgrade
proposal generally infeasible for an OMIK project. CDA
Fuller reiterated U.S. concerns about the Belgrade proposal,

USOSCE 00000014 005 OF 005


noting its potential for sidestepping Kosovar institutions,
and reminded Almhofer that OMIK's study had found the project
not just infeasible, but outside the mission's mandate.

Initial Feedback Positive on U.S. DHoM for OMIK, but Work
Remains


14. (C) Consultations with a variety of stakeholders on the
prospect of a U.S. seconded deputy head of mission (DHoM) for
OMIK have elicited positive feedback, but we still have
further steps before the Kazakhstani Chairmanship can appoint
the U.S. candidate. CDA Fuller has raised the issue with the
Chairmanship, OMIK HoM Almhofer, the SG, and the Serbian and
Russian ambassadors, emphasizing that the point is to put
forward a highly qualified candidate with management and
leadership skills, since many delegations recognize the need
for better management in the OSCE's largest field mission.
Serbian Ambassador Beham agreed there are management issues
in OMIK, saying it was in disarray, and said Belgrade's
positive experience with U.S. seconded DHoMs in the OSCE
Mission there would be a helpful factor. Her personal view
was that it would not be a problem. She added that she was
pleased with the prospect of a female candidate but said she
would need to consult with Belgrade. Russian AMB Azimov said
he did not think it would be a problem for Moscow. The
incumbent is Finnish, and in consultations before the
holidays, Finnish Ambassador Turunen also said he did not see
it as a problem. However, USOSCE recently has learned that
the incumbent may be granted a six-month extension in order
to help him bridge to his next assignment, as he is competing
for a number of ambassadorships. OMIK HoM Almhofer appeared
ready to go with the flow, but did not take a definite
position. The SG, who originally encouraged us to propose a
U.S. candidate, is currently consulting further with the HoM
and with the Finns regarding potential timing issues,
including the possibility of creating a temporary position to
allow an overlap. Continuing to shepherd all these
stakeholders to support a U.S. candidate will be crucial to
giving the Kazakhstani Chairmanship the necessary level of
comfort to make the appointment.
FULLER