VZCZCXRO9793
RR RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0059/01 0170946
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 170946Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8239
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1771
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0570
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0514
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0063
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 0093
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI 0062
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 0022
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 0015

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000059 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY) 
INFO SCA/PPD (VAN DE VATE), IIP/G/NEA-SA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO PREL TX US
SUBJECT: SCA DAS FEIGENBAUM VISIT REINFORCES U.S. COMMITMENT TO 
EDUCATION, OPENNESS IN U.S.-TURMENISTAN RELATIONSHIP 
 
ASHGABAT 00000059  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (U) Building on a three and a half hour meeting with Foreign 
Minister Meredov that included discussion of education, SCA Deputy 
Assistant Secretary Evan Feigenbaum sent a clear message to 
Turkmenistan officials of U.S. support for educational development 
in Turkmenistan, with a visit to a FLEX testing site outside the 
capital on February 13.  He also reinforced to U.S. exchange 
programs alumni, in a roundtable discussion on February 12, the high 
priority the U.S. Government places on expanding bilateral 
engagement on education and development issues.  DAS Feigenbaum 
further explored post's fruitful cultural outreach with the host 
government, with a tour of its first cultural preservation site. 
End Summary. 
 
MEETING WITH ALUMNI OF USG PROGRAMS 
------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Twenty alumni of U.S. Government professional and academic 
exchange programs gathered for a lunch discussion with DAS 
Feigenbaum on February 12 at the Public Affairs Section.  A mix of 
high school and university-aged young people and seasoned 
professionals, the alumni wanted to know about DAS Feigenbaum's 
meeting with Foreign Minister Rashit Meredov and the prospects for 
the U.S.-Turkmenistan relationship.  Foremost on their minds was 
whether DAS Feigenbaum thought that the domestic policies of the 
Turkmenistan government would improve or worsen the education system 
and employment opportunities. 
 
¶3.  (U) Of those gathered, the younger alumni seemed to have the 
fewest prospects either for continuing education or jobs -- but 
still expressed great optimism for Turkmenistan's future.  One UGRAD 
alumna has been trying since summer 2006 to gain readmission to her 
local university -- and pledged to continue trying.  Three jobless 
FLEX students teach their peers English and debate and leadership 
skills at the American Center; although among the best educated 
young people in Turkmenistan -- and with highly developed English 
skills -- these young people have limited prospects for a university 
education in Turkmenistan.  One FLEX alumna gathered the funds to 
apply to several U.S. universities and is hoping to obtain a 
scholarship so that she can attend. 
 
¶4.  (U) By contrast, an alumna of the International Visitors 
Leadership Program on secondary education had jumpstarted several 
extracurricular youth activities at a local state school.  A 
Fulbright alumnus and lawyer was called to be legal counsel to Akja 
Nurberdiyeva, the new Speaker of Parliament, and to the Mejlis 
(parliament).  He is weighing this opportunity against the less 
personally and professionally risky possibility of conducting 
research in Estonia with an Estonian Fulbright alumnus. 
 
¶5.  (U) As DAS Feigenbaum explained to the alumni, his meeting with 
Meredov on January 10 -- the first substantive contact between the 
United States government and that of Turkmenistan since Niyazov's 
death -- was positive, wide-ranging, and opened the possibility for 
an expanded bilateral relationship.  In a rare hint of skepticism 
from local youth, a UGRAD alumnus pressed DAS Feigenbaum to compare 
the U.S. interest in energy deals versus its commitment to 
educational development.  He seemed pleasantly surprised when 
embassy Public Affairs staff revealed that they eagerly awaited the 
day when Public Affairs programming could blossom in Turkmenistan 
unhindered -- or at least with less obstruction than post currently 
experienced.  At the end of the lunch, alumni expressed gratitude 
for being invited to speak with DAS Feigenbaum and seemed energized 
by the chance to hear what might be brewing in the minds of 
Turkmenistan's current leadership. 
 
CENTRAL ASIAN ISLAM AND TRADITION MIX 
------- 
 
¶6.  (U) DAS Feigenbaum, the Acting Public Affairs Officer and PD LES 
joined the project manager of post's first Ambassador's Fund for 
Cultural Preservation for a tour of sites in Anew, on February 12. 
Ruslan Muradov, a director of the Government of Turkmenistan's 
cultural sites preservation efforts and a specialist in Islamic 
architecture, first led the group to the excavation site of an 
ancient Turkmen settlement.  U.S. archaeologist Fred Hiebert has 
been leading the excavation under sponsorship from National 
Geographic.  In 2000 the site yielded a stone stamp dated to the 
 
ASHGABAT 00000059  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
seventh millennium BC with unidentified writing that is thought to 
pre-date the Chinese writing system.  Findings from the site also 
indicated a possible connection between settlements in Anew and 
those of similar antiquity found along the Indus Valley in India. 
 
¶7.  (U) Muradov then led the group to the nearby ruins of the 
15th-century Seit Jemmalatdin Mosque.  The 1948 earthquake that 
killed nearly 90 percent of Ashgabat's population (including 
Niyazov's mother and siblings) also destroyed this mosque, which is 
still a major Turkmen and Sufi pilgrimage site.  Post's 2001 
Ambassador's Fund project strengthened the base of the ruins and 
restored a large tile mosaic of a dragon, which now lies in the 
National Museum in Ashgabat.  As Muradov explained, early proponents 
of Islam incorporated symbols from local tradition or mythology into 
the mosque architecture, perhaps in order to make Islam more 
palatable to the local population -- and the dragon was a symbol of 
mythological significance to Turkmen.  As Muradov spoke, local 
pilgrims filtered through the site, praying at the foot of a major 
Sufi saint located at the center of the mosque.  In the past two 
years, the host government has sponsored construction of a building 
behind the site where pilgrims can prepare sacrificial meals, 
further supporting visits to the site. 
 
FEIGENBAUM SENDS MESSAGE TO GOTX OFFICIALS ABOUT IMPORTANCE OF FLEX 
PROGRAM IN TEJEN 
------- 
 
¶8.  (U) DAS Feigenbaum and a small embassy delegation visited Tejen 
School Number 5 on January 13 to observe Round I retesting for the 
FLEX program and meet the Tejen participants of Round III (who 
passed Rounds I and II in December before post requested retesting 
at several sites).  The Ahal Welayat Deputy Governor and several 
officials from his office, including the head regional 
representative of the Ministry of Education and school officials, 
greeted the delegation at the school and followed DAS Feigenbaum 
closely, conspicuously taking notes.  The delegation and officials 
provided a dramatic welcome to participating students as all filed 
into the Round III and Round I testing rooms.  DAS Feigenbaum 
congratulated the five Round I testers and nine Round III 
interviewees, and noted that simply participating in the FLEX 
testing process was a courageous act.  Continuing to speak to the 
students but directing his message to GOTX officials who had 
obstructed earlier rounds of testing, Feigenbaum stressed that the 
United States welcomed the participation of all groups in U.S. 
Government sponsored exchange programs -- regardless of gender, 
ethnicity and economic opportunity.  Every student in Turkmenistan, 
he said, should have the same opportunity to participate in 
educational programs such as FLEX. 
 
¶9.  (U) In a subsequent meeting with the delegation, the Deputy 
Governor (Hakim) -- once the director of School Number 5 --  claimed 
that FLEX rolls were increasing annually (even though rolls in Tejen 
this year had dropped by over 50% because of government harassment 
of participants), and that local Peace Corps Volunteers were working 
with the school's teachers to create a physical education 
curriculum.  In response to A/DCM's question about how Ahal Welayat 
might cope with an extension of the years of secondary schooling -- 
to 10 years -- the Deputy Hakim was evasive, stating that the 
welayat (province) had already identified teachers previously 
employed at state schools who could be rehired.  He stated that the 
school curriculum would not be adjusted -- that only the hours of 
individual courses would be increased.  The school, which serves up 
to 9th grade, currently enrolls 2500 students, but a new school will 
accommodate 1100.  DAS Feigenbaum thanked the Deputy Hakim, 
stressing the importance of the FLEX program and similar exchange 
programs to the U.S.-Turkmenistan bilateral relationship.  He 
emphasized the U.S. Government's desire for increased engagement in 
education, health, economics and security -- and that the rich 
cultural, educational and linguistic exchange embodied in the FLEX 
program could be of enormous benefit to both Turkmenistan and the 
United States. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10.  (U) DAS Feigenbaum's interaction with USG Alumni and soon-to-be 
USG-sponsored exchange students demonstrated the positive outcomes 
of U.S.-sponsored educational programming and highlighted the need 
to expand such programs.  Post outreach to alumni and current 
students provides hope and support for those eager to reach beyond 
 
ASHGABAT 00000059  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
the suffocating walls of Turkmenistan's current educational system. 
As news of FLEX testing harassment rises again from Turkmenabat, 
post welcomes this opportunity to emphasize to host government 
officials and to the public its firm commitment to educational 
development in Turkmenistan.  End Comment. 
 
¶11.  (U) DAS Feigenbaum has cleared this message. 
 
BRUSH