US embassy cable - 05DUSHANBE1947

C O N F I D E N T I A L  DUSHANBE 001947 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR EUR/CACEN, EUR/ACE, SA, DRL, S/P 
NSC FOR MERKEL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  12/6/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PINR, EAID, KDEM, RS, TI 
SUBJECT: TAJIK GOVERNMENT-WESTERN NGO ROUNDTABLE:  ATTENDANCE HIGH, 
EXPECTATIONS RESTRAINED 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Richard E. Hoagland, Ambassador, EXEC, Embassy 
Dushanbe. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
1.  (SBU) What looked like a routine meeting was a small 
breakthrough for Tajikistan's development community.  The 
December 2 roundtable discussion of donors, NGOs and government 
was the first time all three groups came together on any 
subject, let alone the sensitive issues of NGO intentions, 
registration and visa issuance.  The dialogue remained 
relatively benign and predictable but the event demonstrated a 
good faith effort on the part of the Tajik government, sending 
eight representatives including Deputy Minister of Justice 
Rustam Mengliyev, and showed the Tajiks that a united front of 
donors and the NGO community expect more transparent, consistent 
visa and registration procedures. 
 
2.  (SBU) The turnout for the event was exceptional, with an 
overflow crowd that could not be accommodated with enough 
headsets for translation.  Government turnout was gratifyingly 
strong.  As expected, the government held the party line about 
visa issuances, repeating that the normal time frame was 14-30 
days, but technical difficulties (read: sloppy paperwork) can 
lead to longer waits.  Despite having an open floor and myriad 
individual complaints about the visas process, the NGOs kept 
relatively quiet on the visa front.  Only the EU representative 
pressed the consular representative about the inconsistent 
issuances for EU consultants and NGO workers.  Bakhram 
Kholnozarov, consular department head, demurred, claiming that 
Tajik law dictated visa policy but they followed those 
regulations precisely.  Later, the Tajiks admitted there were 
some "negative cases," referring obliquely to the politically 
charged cases like NDI which have dragged on for months. 
 
3.  (SBU) NDI seized the opportunity to make their case publicly 
when the discussion turned to registration.  NDI Country 
Director Gegham Sargsyan asked why designated Ministry of 
Justice (MoJ) points of contact had refused their calls. 
Mengliyev acted surprised and said his door was always open when 
issues arose.  The Director would not back down until he had a 
fairly firm assurance of a meeting with a decisionmaker.  Other 
NGOs reported successfully re-registering within one month.  The 
MoJ reviewed the laws that required many NGOs to re-register, 
and acknowledged that there were at times conflicting 
regulations and requirements.   The Tajiks would not comment on 
the draft law that would require all NGOs to re-register (based 
on the similar Russian draft law), although ABA/CEELI raised the 
question.  Another Tajik official from the Presidency's Aid 
Coordination Unit (ACU) agreed that the NGOS reporting 
requirements to the government could be streamlined. 
 
4.  (SBU) More than 60 people crowded the UN conference room for 
the 90-minute discussion.  On the Tajik side, four 
representatives from the MFA, including the head and deputy of 
the consular sections, Deputy Minister of Justice Rustam 
Mengliyev, representatives of the Ministry of Customs and State 
Revenues and ACU.  From the donors, the EU, UN, British, French 
and German embassies attended, as did a large number of USAID 
and State Embassy officers. Dushanbe's NGO forum, a 
representative body of 40 international NGOs turned out in 
force, and their Chairman, Mercy Corps Director Gary Burniske, 
gave introductory comments highlighting the role of NGOs and the 
significant and varied projects they carried out, both 
humanitarian and developmental across all sectors.  Meg Luckins, 
project team leader for the British-funded Supporting the 
Development of Third Party Arbitration Courts moderated the 
 
 
discussion and skillfully drew the Tajik participants into the 
discussion without backing them into a corner. 
 
5.  (SBU) Although some non-Tajik participants privately 
expressed frustration about the futility of such a meeting, many 
NGOs were grateful to come to the table with the government for 
the first time.  At the conclusion, the government agreed to 
coordinate with the NGO forum to form two working groups to 
address visa issues and registration procedures.  There was also 
some time after the meeting for individual NGOs to work their 
issues "offline." 
 
6.  (SBU) COMMENT:  In a country where government officials 
regularly dodge phone calls and avoid meetings, having officials 
available to answer unscripted questions was a gratifying step 
forward.  No one could expect the government to admit to willful 
delays on visas or intentional interference on registration, no 
matter what the truth behind the recent problems.  Whether or 
not the pledges of cooperation, communication, and open doors 
were sincere, several well-connected government officials made 
such offers in front of a large audience, and Post intends to 
work to hold them to their word.  However, convincing the 
leadership of NGOs' good intentions for Tajikistan remains an 
ongoing challenge for all donors.   When queried about the 
meeting several days later, North America desk officer 
Nasredinov said it was a good step forward for a first meeting, 
and he encouraged further working group interaction. 
 
7.  (C) COMMENT CONTINUED:  As pleased as we were with this 
meeting, we know smoothing the path for Western NGOs in 
Tajikistan will be an uphill battle.  The Ministry of Security, 
in cahoots with hard-line, anti-Western Russian intelligence 
advisers, is determined to limit the Western presence and 
influence in Tajikistan to the greatest extent possible.  At the 
same time, we have reformists in the various parts of the 
government who are rooting for the West and doing what they can 
to help.  In fact, the idea for this roundtable came from one of 
the best young reformers.  Atop it all sits President Rahmonov 
whom we still believe is generally a reformer at heart, but who 
has to work hard not to fall off his high-wire while he tries to 
keep both the Kremlin and the West relatively satisfied.  END 
COMMENT. 
HOAGLAND 
 
 
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