VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDBU #1772/01 3601124
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 261124Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0055
INFO RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 0001
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 0001
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ASTANA 0001
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT 0001
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0001
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0007

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 001772 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV TI
SUBJECT:  5000 Tajiks Made the Hajj; It Wasn't Cheap 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: This year, approximately 5000 Tajiks made the 
Hajj, accompanied by 100 interpreters, doctors, and expediters. 
Countries must apply to the Saudi authorities for spaces at the 
Hajj, and Tajik authorities initially underestimated the number of 
applicants they would have, creating bureaucratic confusion.  While 
the Hajj is supposed to be a deeply meaningful religious experience, 
the process in Tajikistan has not escaped the endemic corruption 
that dominates the country.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Over the past few weeks, we have spoken to a variety of 
individuals about the Hajj, including mid-level employees of the 
Ministry of Culture's Department of Religious Affairs; an inspector 
at the State Agency to Fight Corruption and Economic Crimes; 
opposition party members; a government-employed guide; and imams and 
worshipers at local mosques.  Each described a flawed, corrupted 
process that takes away from the religious meaning of the event. 
 
Government Control Means Plenty of Chances for Big Money 
 
¶2. (U) The Tajik government regulates who can go on the Hajj, and it 
strictly controls all aspects of the three week trip.  The Ministry 
of Culture's Department of Religious Affairs collects applications 
and all fees, and makes all flight and hotel arrangements.  The 
Department chooses participants based on a set of factors; those who 
are under 18 are excluded, and preferences are given to those who 
have not yet made the trip.  Most who apply are allowed to go. 
 
¶3. (U) From 1991 to 2000, Tajiks were able to travel to Saudi Arabia 
by any means they wished.  Since 2000, however, the Tajik Government 
gradually restricted Hajj travel, banning private arrangements and 
prohibiting private tour companies from participating.  While the 
Government's stated aim was to prevent unscrupulous companies from 
bilking Tajik pilgrims, taking control of the Hajj was consistent 
with the Government's overall effort to exert greater control over 
religious practice. 
 
¶4. (U) A corruption investigator described the many potential 
avenues for collecting bribes or kickbacks in the process.  First, 
ensuring that you are on the list of approved hajjis involves paying 
off the local representative of the Department of Religious Affairs. 
 Tajik Air is the exclusive carrier for the hajjis, and there is 
always potential to inflate the price of charter tickets, as well as 
to skim off some of the cash actually paid for the tickets.  There 
are kickbacks for the hotels, as well as for the sacrificial animal 
that each Hajji is supposed to receive in Saudi Arabia. 
 
Deputy Minister of Culture Shows How It's Done 
 
 
¶5. (U) In 2006, two newspaper articles criticized Murodullo 
Davlatov, the Deputy Minister of Culture for Religious Affairs, and 
his associates for allegedly defrauding Tajikistan's 3500 pilgrims 
of more than $1 million.  The newspapers asserted that the pilgrims 
each paid $100 for a sheep to be slaughtered; but Davlatov had 
arranged for the slaughter of only 100 sheep, pocketing $340,000. 
The articles also accused government officials of charging Hajjis 
higher rates for hotels than the hotels actually charged, pocketing 
the difference.  There were also accusations that Davlatov and Tajik 
Air conspired to inflate the cost of the flight to Saudi Arabia. 
Davlatov and Tajik Air officials then split the illicit profits. 
One newspaper published a letter from a Saudi citizen to President 
Rahmon complaining about the corrupt officials who led the Hajj 
QRahmon complaining about the corrupt officials who led the Hajj 
delegation. 
 
¶6. (U) Hundreds of Tajiks try to find ways around the government 
restrictions.  In 2006, some Tajiks from Ghaffurov and Isfara 
Districts bought Kyrgyz passports and traveled from Kyrgyzstan by 
bus.  Several of them were stopped and detained by Uzbek border 
guards, who quickly determined that they were not Kyrgyz. 
 
2007 - More People, More Opportunities 
 
¶8. (U) According to Department of Religious Affairs employees, 
Davlatov's role in the Hajj diminished this year in light of past 
accusations.  This does not mean, however, that the process has been 
cleaned up.  The employees described how the Government of 
Tajikistan initially applied to the Saudis for 4000 spaces, after 
the Department of Religious Affairs estimated that few people could 
afford the $2700 cost of the trip.  The regional and district 
offices of the Department of Religious Affairs failed to inform the 
head office in Dushanbe in a timely manner about the actual number 
of applicants.  By the time the late October deadline for 
applications rolled around, more than 5500 Tajiks had applied to go 
on the Hajj and paid their $2700. 
¶9. (U) Tajikistan requested 1500 additional places when government 
officials realized they had underestimated the number of hajjis, but 
the Saudis only granted 1000.  This presented yet another 
opportunity for enterprising government officials - accepting bribes 
from hopeful hajjis to ensure that they were among the chosen 1000. 
One Department employee told us that just before the hajjis departed 
this year, representatives of the Ministry of Economics and Trade 
informally told the Department of Religious Affairs to return the 
$120 fee for sacrificing a sheep to each hajji.  The Department has 
thus far not complied. 
 
You've Got The Job - As Long As you Play By the Rules 
 
¶10. (U) There are also kickbacks in choosing the 82 interpreters and 
guides for the hajjis.  Each Tajik escort will be paid more than 
$1000 for three weeks' work, which is several times the average 
salary in Tajikistan.  One of those chosen to be an interpreter said 
to us that many of the interpreters and guides will share their 
$1,000 with the employees of the Department of Religious Affairs if 
they want to be included in the hajj campaign of 2008. 
 
¶11. (U) Comment: The Department of Religious Affairs is as corrupt 
as any other part of the Tajik government.  Its dishonesty and 
mismanagement of the Hajj gives religious activists a sensitive 
issue around which to build opposition to the present regime. 
Compounding the unhappiness over the Hajj process is the 
Government's inadequate response to the corruption - our contact 
with the Anti-Corruption Agency told us that investigators have 
found numerous irregularities, but no criminal reports have been 
filed, highlighting the Anti-Corruption Agency's weakness and lack 
of purpose.  Lack of competence is one of the reasons why the 
Department of Religious Affairs failed to conduct an adequate public 
information campaign.  Another could be that Davlatov wanted to 
ensure disorder to keep the number of hajjis low and to create 
conditions fostering kick-backs.  In general, the administration of 
the Hajj in Tajikistan shows a government which cannot deal 
positively with religious practice, and which tends to exacerbate 
the problems (i.e., extremism) it aims to resolve.  End Comment. 
 
JACOBSON