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C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 000439 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/26/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KZ RS UP TX
SUBJECT: GOTX DRAFTING STUDENTS STUDYING ABROAD INTO ARMY 
 
 
Classified By: Amb. Tracey A. Jacobson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) The GOTX has ordered male Turkmenistani citizens of 
Kazakh ethnicity studying in Kazakhstan to return home for 
military service, according to information from a Kazakh 
Diaspora contact.  The contact provided Post with a copy of a 
letter sent by the Turkmen Embassy in Astana to South 
Kazakhstan State University asking for the University's 
assistance in informing Turkmenistani citizens studying there 
that they must return to Turkmenistan.  In a letter to the 
Ambassador, the contact said that the Kazakh University of 
International Relations and World Languages had received a 
similar request.  Military service is compulsory for all 
Turkmenistani men when they reach 18 years of age; however, 
students typically are allowed to defer their service until 
after graduation.  According to the Turkmen Embassy letter, 
"competent" military authorities would consider the 
educational deferment issue on a case-by-case basis once each 
individual had appeared and presented proof of his student 
status.  (Comment: Kazakh Em 
bassy Counselor Askar Tazhibayev told Poloff that 
approximately 20 Turkmenistani students of Kazakh descent 
study in Kazakhstan each year as part of a Government of 
Kazakhstan-sponsored exchange program.  Tazhibayev said that 
the GOTX is generally unhelpful, but has not actively opposed 
the program in the past; he was not aware of any efforts to 
force these students to return home.  End Comment.) 
 
¶2. (C) Ukrainian First Secretary Igor Roman told poloff on 
April 21 that he is unaware of a similar request to Ukrainian 
educational institutes.  However, a number of Turkmenistanis 
studying in Ukraine and Russia also have been prevented from 
returning to school.  Roman said that Turkmen border guards 
have a list of students provided by the Ministry of Defense. 
If a student on the list tries to exit Turkmenistan, the 
border guards turn him back and instruct him to contact 
military authorities.  When the student does so, he is 
drafted.  Roman said that his unofficial advice to the 
estimated 1,000 plus Turkmenistani students studying in 
Ukraine is that they should consider not returning to 
Turkmenistan until they complete their education. 
 
¶3. (C) Comment: Turkmenistan continues to refuse to recognize 
diplomas from foreign educational institutions, despite 
agreements with several countries, including Kazakhstan and 
Ukraine, to do so.  Because the individuals in question are 
students at "unrecognized" universities, the GOTX likely 
would argue that the student deferment does not apply to 
them.  These latest actions are in line with past GOTX 
actions, including efforts to discourage Turkmenistanis from 
studying at the American University of Central Asia in 
Bishkek, and represent just the latest obstacle thrown up in 
front of Turkmenistanis trying to obtain a quality education 
and to interact with the outside world.  End Comment. 
JACOBSON