US embassy cable - 05DUSHANBE1742

Disclaimer: This site has been first put up 15 years ago. Since then I would probably do a couple things differently, but because I've noticed this site had been linked from news outlets, PhD theses and peer rewieved papers and because I really hate the concept of "digital dark age" I've decided to put it back up. There's no chance it can produce any harm now.

TAJIKISTAN: MOJ COMES A BIT MORE CLEAN ON REGISTRATIONS

Identifier: 05DUSHANBE1742
Wikileaks: View 05DUSHANBE1742 at Wikileaks.org
Origin: Embassy Dushanbe
Created: 2005-10-28 12:23:00
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Tags: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM TI
Redacted: This cable was not redacted by Wikileaks.
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 001742 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, TI 
SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN:  MOJ COMES A BIT MORE CLEAN ON REGISTRATIONS 
 
REF: DUSHANBE 1596 
 
1.  (U)  The weekly Tajik-language newspaper, "Zindagi," 
published excerpts October 27 from a recent Ministry of Justice 
press conference in which a Tajik official noted that some 
foreign NGOs had activities "beyond the framework of their 
charters."  Isroil Shoyev, Chief, Department of Legal Entity and 
Judicial Entity, offered that as a reason why the U.S. NGOs, 
Freedom House and National Democratic Institute (NDI), remained 
unregistered. 
 
2.  (U)  In addition to NGO issues, the press conference 
addressed political party and other registration issues. 
Sumangul Taghoeva, Chief, Department on Registration of Public 
Associations, stated the Ministry had received registration 
papers of two new parties: the Party of Economic Reforms and 
Agrarian Party and anticipated registering the Progressive Youth 
Party (reftel).  (NOTE:  There was no mention of another party 
seeking registration for the second year, Vadhat or "Unity". 
END NOTE.) The ministry also announced it had registered and 
licensed the activities of eight unnamed publications, and two 
unnamed radio and TV stations. 
 
3.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  All conventional wisdom to the contrary, 
previous official explanations about Freedom House and NDI's 
registration woes have always focused on technical issues, not 
their activities in Tajikistan.  That an MOJ official is now 
publicly questioning NDI and Freedom House's projects fits into 
the trend of increased government scrutiny of any 
pro-democracy-read "Western"-activities.  As usual, the 
government is using legalism to justify political decisions. 
END COMMENT. 
 
HOAGLAND 
 
 
NNNN 

Latest source of this page is cablebrowser-2, released 2011-10-04