US embassy cable - 05DUSHANBE1826

C O N F I D E N T I A L  DUSHANBE 001826 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  11/18/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, TI 
SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN'S NGOS TIRED OF CORRUPTION AND VISA DELAYS, BUT 
SOLDIER ON 
 
REF: A)  DUSHANBE 1766  B)  DUSHANBE 1806 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Richard Hoagland, Ambassador, State, State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  At the monthly NGO Forum meeting, the only 
surprise was 
that a handful of NGOS had not experienced visa problems or been 
forced to 
pay bribes for airline tickets or continuous electricity.  The 
November 17 
meeting underscored the Dushanbe development community's 
increased 
frustration and confusion over visa and registration problems, 
as well as 
the hidden "fees" for getting things done in Tajikistan.   All 
but one NGO 
declined to respond to the MFA's recent request for information 
about local 
staff.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (SBU)  No particular pattern has emerged to pinpoint whether 
the growing visa 
delays and complications are due to a policy shift, or simple 
bureaucratic 
ineptitude (reftel a).  Of the 25 Forum attendees, many 
complained that 
despite the MFA Consular Section's stated policy of 15 days to 
issue a 
Letter of Invitation or renew a visa, in practice most visas are 
taking 
close to a month.  In some cases, Italian, French and American 
NGO staff 
worked without valid visas for several weeks. 
 
3.  (C)  International organizations (including the U.S. 
Embassy) are frequently 
resorting to high-level government intervention on routine visa 
issuances. 
The Italian NGO CEVSI had two refusals overturned only after a 
deputy 
foreign minister got involved.  The EU representative told an 
anecdote about 
a consultant not getting a visa until the Foreign Minister 
himself inquired 
of the consular section. "If we had known this was important to 
you, we 
would have issued it right away," was the response. 
 
4.  (C)  Aga Khan Foundation reported many of its Pakistani 
visitors were denied 
visas, particularly if they identified themselves as Ismaili 
scholars.  Save 
the Children noted similar problems for its Pakistani, 
Bangladeshi and 
Afghan staff. 
 
5.  (C)  Corruption chafed more than usual, as several NGOs 
expressed frustration at 
additional "fees" for purchasing airline tickets.  The head of 
CEVSI noted 
that without 10% on top, she was told she would not get a seat 
on any 
flight.  "Rudaki is a toll road," quipped Mercy Corps Director 
Gary 
Burniske, referring to the capital's main artery.  Traffic 
police positioned 
every few hundred meters frequently wave cars to the side of the 
road, but 
for a few somoni ($1-2), most drivers continue.  About half the 
participants 
admitted they paid extra each month to ensure that basic 
utilities-phone, 
gas, water, electrical-continued uninterrupted. 
 
6.  (C)  With the exception of German Agro Action, all NGOs 
present had refused to 
provide the MFA with information about their local staff (reftel 
b). 
Several noted their lawyers had advised that the MFA had no 
legal basis to 
request the names, addresses and passport numbers of Tajik 
citizens employed 
by their organization.  Burniske related that Mercy Corps had 
received the 
same request three years running, and had never replied. 
 
7.  (SBU) COMMENT:  The NGOS, while concerned about the 
tightening work conditions in Tajikistan, showed no signs of 
pulling up their tent pegs or even altering 
their activities.   They welcomed a U.S.-proposed roundtable 
with donors and 
government officials, planned for late November, to clarify visa 
and 
registration procedures.  Meanwhile, the verdict is still out as 
to why 
there have been so many visa delays. END COMMENT 
HOAGLAND 
 
 
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