VZCZCXRO9661
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0531/01 1191225
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281225Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0689
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1513
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 3695
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1380
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1949
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2462
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUETIAA/NSA FORT MEADE MD
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000531 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, EUR/ACE, DRL 
AID/W FOR EE/EA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL EAID KDEM TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: PARLIAMENT REQUESTS INPUT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT 
LAW 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  Representatives from USAID's local governance 
implementing partners met with the Parliament and the Institute of 
Democracy and Human Rights on April 23-24 to discuss potential areas 
for cooperation.  In a significant breakthrough for cooperation with 
the Mejlis, the head of the Committee on Intergovernmental and 
Interparliamentary Affairs requested USAID's commentary on the 
existing law on local governance.  The director of the Institute 
indicated its willingness to organize joint activities related to 
reviewing legislation in this area once a new Constitution is 
approved, and specifically requested support for improving the 
functions of the Citizens' Appeal Commission.  Noting the growing 
number of USAID partners that have either proposed or already 
established joint activities with the Institute, the director 
suggested that USAID consider developing a framework cooperation 
agreement similar to the United Nations' Development Assistance 
Framework (UNDAF).  END SUMMARY. 
 
MEJLIS FINALLY ACCEPTS AN OFFER 
 
¶3.  (U) On April 23, visiting experts from USAID's Community 
Empowerment project and USAID Country Representative met with the 
parliamentary committee heads responsible for Local Government and 
Intergovernmental and Inter-parliamentary Affairs.  A representative 
from Urban Institute described its USAID-funded worked in support of 
local government reform in countries ranging from Eastern Europe to 
Central Asia.  Counterpart International's Azerbaijan Country 
Director described its ongoing work with Urban Institute that 
focused on municipal development issues in cooperation with 
Azerbaijan's parliament and local government structures. 
 
¶4.  (U) Parliament representatives were interested in the experience 
of other countries, and asked numerous questions about how finances 
were allocated from the center to the local levels.  Stopping short 
of accepting opportunities for training local officials on a range 
of financial and managerial issues, the deputies nonetheless 
acknowledged its importance and the critical need for such 
activities.  Noting that the role of parliament was to develop or 
improve legislation, the committee chairman on Intergovernmental and 
Interparliamentary Affairs requested that Urban Institute review 
existing legislation for conformity with international standards. 
Closing by saying "Let's start our cooperation this way," he agreed 
to submit copies of the law(s) for review to USAID through the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
 
INSTITUTE WANTS SUPPORT WITH APPEALS' COMMISSION 
 
¶5.  (U) On April 24, the same delegation met with the director of 
the Institute of Democracy and Human Rights, Shirin Ahmedova, to 
discuss potential areas of cooperation.  After listening to the 
experts' remarks, Ahmedova identified three areas for possible joint 
activities.  First, without duplicating the role of Parliament, 
USAID could organize a seminar with international experts examining 
the role of local government officials, similar to an event recently 
undertaken by USAID-partner the International Center for 
Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL).  Ahmedova noted that this should not 
include the Constitution, since a draft Constitution must be 
submitted by July in response to President Berdimuhamedov's recent 
announcement regarding updates to the existing Constitution. 
According to Ahmedova, it was not possible for Counterpart or Urban 
Institute to work in this area due to the time necessary for 
approvals, and the fact that reviewing local governance legislation 
will take time. 
 
¶6.  (U) Next, Ahmedova asked for assistance in streamlining the work 
of the Citizens' Appeal Commission.  If local government structures 
worked well and problems were resolved on the local level, most 
complaints would never rise to the level of the commission.   To 
this end, she suggested the training of local officials with the 
goal of increasing the effectiveness of their work. 
 
ASHGABAT 00000531  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7.  (U) Saying "it's not a big problem," Ahmedova also suggested 
that support in developing instructions and regulations for local 
officials would be useful in ensuring their understanding of 
responsibilities under local and national-level laws.  Indirectly 
acknowledging a much greater problem, she said that there was an 
urgent need to ensure correspondence between national and local 
laws.  This, however, was a long-term issue for which the head of 
government was responsible.  Still, the Institute was prepared help 
arrange training seminars for local officials in this area. 
 
¶8.  (U) Finally, in response to the increasing opportunities for 
USAID's partners to cooperate with the Institute, Ahmedova proposed 
that USAID consider developing a framework plan for cooperation 
similar to the UN's Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).  She 
suggested that such an approach would help identify a range of 
partners for USAID's programs and activities in this sector.  After 
developing this framework, it should be submitted to the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs for approval. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) COMMENT:  The request by parliament for commentary 
represents a breakthrough in USAID's engagement with this 
institution.  Past meetings had never progressed beyond a general 
request for more information on USAID's programs and their results. 
The request could be a recognition of the potential value of the 
proposed assistance -- or possibly the result of intergovernmental 
competition with more assertive structures like the Institute. 
Regardless, USAID will await the official versions of the laws and 
will supply the requested commentary.  After that, we will see if 
any doors to further cooperation open wider. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) COMMENT CONTINUED:  As in past meetings, the Institute 
continues to request assistance related to the Citizens' Appeals 
Commission.  From the director's reference to a growing number of 
complaints, it appears that citizens continue to use this mechanism 
as a way to connect with the government, and possibly that actions 
meriting complaint are on the rise.   Displaying an appreciation for 
the skills necessary for appropriate functioning of local 
government, Ahmedova rightfully acknowledged that local officials 
need more training in order to be able to properly do their jobs. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) COMMENT CONTINUED:  Regarding the development of an 
UNDAF-type framework, the USG and the Government of Turkmenistan are 
already in discussions about developing a new Cooperation Agreement 
that covers USG assistance programs.  Ms. Ahmedova is probably not 
aware of these ongoing efforts, and the suggestion did not appear to 
be an effort to bureaucratize USAID's growing relationship with the 
Institute.   Regardless, her request highlights the importance of 
developing more formal relations with government structures as a 
result increased the bilateral engagement.  END COMMENT. 
 
CURRAN