US embassy cable - 05DUSHANBE1751

UNCLAS  DUSHANBE 001751 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, ECON, SOCI, KISL, KDEM, TI 
SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN:  PROVINCIAL LIFE CHANGES SLOWLY 
 
 
1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Please handle accordingly. 
Not for public Internet. 
 
2.  (U) SUMMARY:  On October 27 in the southern city of Kurgan 
Tyube, EmbOffs met with a sampling of community leaders.  Change 
comes slowly in the provinces, old habits die hard, and the 
bureaucracy retains its power to interfere in business.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
THE BUSINESSMAN 
 
3.  (SBU) Azim Aliyev, director of Open Stock Company ALI, a 
cannery privatized since 1996, intimated the local government 
still controls the management of the plant.  He suggested it is 
universally understood if a company fails to comply with the 
local government, it would be threatened with higher taxes, a 
cut in the electricity supply, or other measures of coercion. 
Somewhat reticent in offering specific examples, Aliyev admitted 
such actions have been taken against him in the past.  He echoed 
the familiar Tajik view that "Only stability leads to freedom." 
Aliyev declined PolOffs' request to tour the factory, saying 
that it was not fit to present.  He expressed interest in 
learning more about the United States' private sector, and 
accepted an application for the Special American Business 
Internship Training program. 
 
THE ISLAMIC POLITICIAN 
 
4.  (SBU) The local head of the Islamic Revival Party of 
Tajikistan (IRPT), Hoji Qalandar Sadriddinov, conforms to the 
conciliatory message from IRPT leaders at the national level. 
He stressed, unlike other political parties that draw negative 
attention, the IRPT has a good relationship with the government. 
 Even so, he cautiously cited some examples of the government 
cracking down on IRPT members and unfair representation at the 
polls in February's elections as areas needing improvement.  The 
growth of political pluralism, according to him, would depend on 
each party's leadership and popularity.  He listed the top three 
issues of concern to Kurgan Tyube as jobs and salaries, 
corruption, and freedom of speech.  There are no madrassas in 
Kurgan Tyube, and new construction of Friday Mosques, which 
typically attract a large number of worshipers, has not been 
permitted.  In addition, he admitted that drug trafficking has 
posed a problem in the region since 1995.  He argued the 
government uses the pretext of drug interdiction to stop certain 
shipments of goods throughout the region, detering trade and 
economic activity. 
 
THE FAMILY DOCTORS 
 
5.  (SBU) Embassy PolOffs visited the new family medicine clinic 
in Kurgan Tyube and met with USAID-funded Family Medicine 
Manager, Dr. Farida Asadova, and several other doctors.  The 
Ministry of Health initiated a program to retrain specialist 
doctors in family medicine in response to a shortage of family 
practitioners in Tajikistan.  Tajik State Medical University 
graduates only about 36 family physicians each year.   Having 
more family doctors available to treat patients would save time 
and money for patients used to a system where they shuttle 
between specialists, paying each an under-the-table "gift" in 
exchange for services.   In an effort to avoid these unofficial 
payments, fees are stated up front at the clinic.  However, 
according to the doctors, patients are reluctant to pay such 
clearly stated fees, fully engrained with the Soviet-style 
mentality of medical care.  We have also heard that some of the 
doctors themselves are resisting the change.  The $16 they 
receive each month as a salary forces them to work for 
under-the-table donations.  The family doctors in Kurgan Tyube 
were optimistic the system will even itself out eventually and 
transparent payments will become the norm. 
 
6.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Change comes slowly in post-Soviet countries 
like Tajikistan, and even more slowly when the government itself 
is selective and ambivalent about reforms.  We suspect our 
 
interlocutors were reserved, at least in part, because they were 
meeting with U.S. Embassy officers without prior authorization 
from local authorities.   We had attempted to schedule a meeting 
with the Mayor of Kurgan Tyube, but did not go through the 
standard diplomatic-note routine.  Since Dushanbe had not 
authorized Kulyob to authorize Kurgan Tyube, the mayor was "not 
available."    END COMMENT. 
 
 
HOAGLAND 
 
 
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