VZCZCXRO7628
RR RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDBU #0521/01 1060731
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 150731Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0399
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0132
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0070
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0105
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0078

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DUSHANBE 000521 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ECON KPAO TI
SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN'S CIVIL SOCIETY AND BUSINESS LEADERS NEED RULE 
OF LAW, NOT RULE OF THE JUNGLE 
 
REF: DUSHANBE 512 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive But Unclassified - Not for Internet Distribution. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Summary. Tajikistan's business advocates and civil leaders 
cited corruption and the lack of coherent laws and policies as the 
greatest impediments to business or reforming social institutions. 
In separate open and free-wheeling discussions with A/DAS Pamela 
Spratlen April 1 about civil society and the business climate, they 
said that in Tajikistan success or progress depended on personal 
relationships with influential officials, rather than institutions 
and a reliable regulatory framework.  In a Soviet-style 
contradiction, they shared the sense that President Rahmon supported 
them, but believed that without rule of law, corrupt or ignorant 
mid-level officials had too much latitude to interfere with their 
work.  Civil society leaders noted the significant role that 
Russia's media dominance plays in undermining support for an open 
civil society, especially among young people.  Business and civil 
society leaders believe that continued engagement on the issues from 
foreign missions is a lever that can get the GOTI to implement 
necessary reforms.  End summary. 
 
"Blat" Thrives in Absence of Policy 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The directors of nine human rights and capacity building 
organizations assessed the operating environment for Tajikistan's 
civil society with Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Pamela Spratlen 
on April 1 at the embassy.  The overarching complaint was that the 
government had no policy framework for managing civil society 
activity; instead, individual officials defined the terms of 
engagement with society.  For the Soros Foundation this meant 
memoranda of understanding with the ministries of health and 
education inhibited rather than facilitated public access to medical 
professionals and educators.  The head of a capacity building NGO 
said mid-level officials demanded that Soviet-style activity results 
be published in national newspapers.  A women's rights advocate said 
that because the president appointed new ministers and advisors each 
year, NGO leaders had to build new relationships and re-justify 
programs continually, which prevented them from reaching program 
goals. 
 
NGO = Color Revolution 
---------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The director of a legal aid and human rights NGO said that 
since the "political upheaval" in Kyrgyzstan in March 2005, the 
government has scrutinized human rights advocacy closely.  She noted 
that the public associations law passed in 2007 required NGOs to 
re-register with the Ministry of Justice to monitor NGO activities 
more closely, and that of the 3,000 NGOs previously registered, only 
1,600 subsequently re-registered.  (Note: The chairman of a business 
association said the number was even lower, only 1,040 had 
re-registered. End note.)  Some organizations lacked funding to 
continue, while others operated without registration. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Participants said that the degree of government involvement 
- whether interference or cooperation - depended on the NGO's 
mission.  A human rights defender said "misunderstandings" were more 
likely when organizations shone a spotlight on issues such as 
unlawful confiscation of property or inconsistent enforcement of 
laws.  A lawyer for the American Bar Association/Rule of Law 
Initiative (ABA/ROLI) said that the government refused even to 
discuss its priorities for reforming the criminal procedure code. 
Qdiscuss its priorities for reforming the criminal procedure code. 
Nevertheless, she said her organization had no difficulties 
registering, although articles maligning its activities sometimes 
appeared in the Russian media. 
 
Good Czar, Bad Apparatchiks 
--------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The NGO leaders felt the government selectively supported 
their efforts, at least in principle.  The director of a development 
foundation said that the trend was incremental but positive, and 
that there was an understanding "at the highest levels" of the need 
for civil society.  His organization prepared analyses on a national 
development program and a code of conduct currently being discussed 
by NGO, government, and parliamentary representatives.  He is 
hopeful the government will adopt both.  The women's rights advocate 
said government officials have quoted passages from a shadow report 
on Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination 
against Women (CEDAW) prepared by her organization. 
 
Tajik Youth - "We Don't Want No Civil Society" 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
 
 
DUSHANBE 00000521  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) When asked whether young people are interested in civil 
society, an activist with 17 years experience in conflict resolution 
said young people do not understand their role in the country's 
future nor do they have an interest in civil society, a concept 
understood only by the elite in Dushanbe and Khujand.  Several 
issues undermine civil society development.  First, he said 
education is collapsing, literacy is falling, TV and radio provide 
no useful information to citizens.  Second, poverty is so severe 
people can't afford newspapers.  Third, there are few outlets for 
building institutional change.  The women's rights advocate said 
students who study abroad find no open doors when they return; the 
establishment is not interested in their ideas or changing the 
status quo.  The best educated who do not work abroad end up working 
for international organizations, many as lawyers. 
 
¶8. (SBU) A major outside source also depletes public support for 
civil society development.  The director of an Internet policy 
initiative agreed that the public had a negative impression of NGO 
work, but it came not from bad experiences with local groups, but 
from negative reporting in Russian media.  He said that with young 
people being interested in business, NGOs should serve as bridge. 
They could provide analyses of market trends, employment 
opportunities, and recommended income levels. 
 
Businesses Operate by Law of Jungle, Not Rule of Law 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Business advocates and private sector representatives 
described a treacherous business environment where survivors follow 
the law of the jungle.  The participants said that excessive 
interest rates, an incomprehensible tax code, and the lack of a 
sound legal structure hinder the growth of private enterprise in 
Tajikistan.  Just starting a business is difficult because no 
information about registration procedures is available.  Banks offer 
no short term credit, and the interest rate on longer term loans is 
18 to 40 percent.  Those that manage to register have to deal with 
twenty different ministries that issue decrees which they rarely 
share with business leaders.  Businesses like the Orima supermarket 
chain that prevail despite overwhelming odds are at risk of having 
their leaders falsely accused of crimes and/or being taken over by 
rivals connected to powerful officials (reftel). 
 
¶10. (SBU) An expatriate on the board of an investment bank said that 
the most successful international investors were the Chinese, 
Russians or Kazakhstanis, who knew how to "move through the gaps," 
that is, had the cash to pay off the right people.  He said there 
was "no political will" to improve the investment climate and no 
transparency.  The culture of corruption works both ways, he noted; 
government officials, who clearly don't understand that a rule-based 
world exists outside their experience, tried to bribe 
representatives of rating organizations Moody's and Standard and 
Poor's to get a higher rating for the GOTI. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Agribusinesses, which account for 70 percent of small and 
medium sized enterprises (SME), are especially vulnerable because of 
poor government regulation, according to the chairman of the 
beekeeper's association.  The chairman charged that the government 
has never understood how to regulate agriculture and simply copied 
Russian and Kazakh laws posted on the Internet.  He said farmers 
QRussian and Kazakh laws posted on the Internet.  He said farmers 
can't buy their own land and are required to file onerous reports 
about their crops and harvests.  He blamed the "futurists," the 
agents who loan cotton farmers cash to buy seeds, for the cotton 
debt crisis.  Echoing the "Good Czar" sentiments voiced by civil 
society, business leaders said President Rahmon alone cared about 
the plight of farmers, because the president froze their debts and 
ordered banks to loan directly to them.  Despite advocacy from 
"dozens" of international organizations, he said the "clan system" 
of influence over business still prevails; parliament refuses to act 
on any recommendations about adherence to international standards. 
 
Tax 'Em Dead 
------------ 
 
¶12. (SBU) One industry that is booming is the mobile phone business, 
in response to strong demand.  The chairman of the Mobile Phone 
Operator's Association said "so far" his own business was 
profitable.  In 2007 he said cell phone companies paid $60 million 
in taxes of their $200 million profit into government coffers. 
However, the government is using the profitable mobile sector to 
prop up the state telecom service.  A few months ago, when the 
mobile operators announced a new system of payment, "calling party 
pays," the national telecommunications company Tajiktelekom demanded 
9.6% of all payments to the mobile operators. 
 
¶13. (SBU) An internet service provider said that despite all the 
obstacles, business was nevertheless developing.  He himself managed 
to accumulate savings to start his own business without a loan.  The 
 
DUSHANBE 00000521  003 OF 003 
 
 
biggest problem in his opinion was a lack of expertise in business 
management.  He said corruption was still a significant problem 
impeding progress and that anti-corruption efforts had yielded no 
results. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) All participants, who have benefited from foreign 
assistance or are alumni of USG programs, had a stake in persuading 
a high-level American official that the USG should continue its 
support for civil society and economic reform.  They highlighted 
corruption, incompetence and their government's impulse to monitor 
and control as major hindrances to their attempts to build 
successful organizations and make Tajikistan a more prosperous and 
open society.  Some noted Russia's media dominance as a factor that 
negatively affects attitudes toward civil society organizations. 
Both business and civil society leaders share the conviction that 
continued engagement on the issues from Western officials, embassies 
and missions is a lever that can bring essential expertise and get 
the GOTI to implement necessary reform.  End Comment. 
 
¶15. (U) A/DAS Spratlen cleared this message. 
 
JACOBSON