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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BISHKEK 000679 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM MARR KG
SUBJECT: DAS KROL'S MEETINGS IN KYRGYZSTAN 
 
REF: BISHKEK 655 
 
BISHKEK 00000679  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
Classified By: DCM Lee Litzenberger, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  During a June 19-22 visit to Kyrgyzstan, 
Deputy Assistant Secretary George Krol met with Security 
Council Secretary Isakov, Prime Minister Chudinov, 
Presidential Chief of Staff Sadyrkulov, and Foreign Minister 
Karabayev.  Krol also held roundtable discussions with 
political opposition figures, with civil society activists, 
and with representatives of international financial 
institutions and donor organizations.  Krol also made opening 
remarks at the embassy's "Doing Business with the U.S." 
seminar, organized with Department of Commerce support. 
Charge Litzenberger accompanied Krol in all meetings. 
 
¶2. (C) Prior to Krol's arrival, the Kyrgyz press was filled 
with stories asserting that the purpose of his visit was to 
negotiate a major expansion of the Manas Coalition Airbase in 
Bishkek.  In his meetings and press interviews, Krol 
successfully quashed the rumors about base expansion and 
clarified the U.S. proposal to build an aircraft parking ramp 
on land already leased for the base.  In his meetings with 
government officials, Krol discussed projections of a 
deteriorating economic and energy situation, and he heard 
requests for additional U.S. assistance focused on economic 
support and food security.  Kyrgyz officials reiterated the 
government's commitment to the presence of the airbase, but 
also warned that the civilian population was upset over 
"unresolved issues" connected to the base.  Opposition 
figures asked for U.S. support to create "independent" 
television, and civil society leaders expressed concern about 
a rise in religious extremism.  End Summary. 
 
Security Council:  Supportive of Cooperation 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) DAS Krol met June 20 with recently appointed Security 
Council Secretary (and former Minister of Defense) Lt. Gen 
Ismail Isakov.  Isakov said that he supported all aspects of 
the bilateral relationship, and he appreciated U.S. economic, 
humanitarian, and especially security assistance.  He said 
that the government was fully committed to the Manas Airbase 
and the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan.  Isakov said 
that the government had not yet taken a decision on the 
proposed parking ramp.  He understood that the parking ramp 
would improve safety at the airport, but there were political 
complications.  Isakov noted that the base itself was 
controversial due to concerns over its impact on the ecology 
and the Ivanov shooting, and Kyrgyzstan had commitments to 
other organizations.  Isakov also raised the prospect of 
serious economic and energy problems for Kyrgyzstan, with 
rising food, fuel, and transportation costs, and he said that 
additional assistance would be needed in order to avoid a 
crisis. 
 
PM Chudinov:  Looking for Economic Assistance 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Prime Minister Igor Chudinov thanked Krol for 
continued U.S. support to Kyrgyzstan.  He said that 
Kyrgyzstan was making progress on important issues, and he 
cited the recent opening in Bishkek of the UN's regional 
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as an 
endorsement of Kyrgyzstan's commitment to human rights. 
Chudinov asked for support to arrange an official visit for 
President Bakiyev to Washington, which he said would have 
"major significance" for bilateral cooperation.  He ran 
through a list of other issues, including seeking U.S. 
support for Kyrgyzstan to be OSCE Chair in 2013, establishing 
Kyrgyz consular services in New York, and the Yasynov case (a 
nine-year-old traffic accident case in which a Kyrgyz citizen 
was allegedly permanently injured by a vehicle driven by an 
embassy officer). 
 
BISHKEK 00000679  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
 
¶5. (C) DAS Krol asked Chudinov about the economic situation, 
and Chudinov outlined Kyrgyzstan's vulnerability to "imported 
inflation" because of its dependence on imports of wheat and 
fuel.  Chudinov said that the central bank was taking 
measures, but these measures would not be enough to control 
inflation.  He said that the government was taking steps to 
provide support to farmers and improve the social safety net, 
but Kyrgyzstan would need additional outside support. 
Chudinov delivered a letter, addressed to the Secretary, 
requesting $10 million in U.S. assistance for food security 
projects, including formation of a state "Agrofood" 
corporation, establishment of a development fund, and opening 
a fund to provide subsidies to vulnerable people (Ref A). 
 
¶6. (C) Chudinov also noted shortfalls in electricity 
production, due in part to the cyclical water shortages.  He 
said that he understood the irrigation needs of downstream 
users in neighboring countries, but added that such users 
should be willing to pay for the value of the water.  He said 
that Kyrgyzstan's main Toktogul reservoir had been built in 
the Soviet era as part of a regional system, with water in 
the summer traded for gas and mazut in the winter.  Now, 
however, that system had broken down, with Kyrgyzstan having 
to pay "more and more" for gas and mazut, but downstream 
users not paying for water. 
 
¶7. (C) Turning to the parking ramp proposal, Krol said that 
the numerous press reports about base expansion were 
completely incorrect.  He explained that the parking ramp 
would be built on land already leased by the airbase, and the 
ramp would improve safety at the airport by reducing 
congestion in front of the passenger terminal.  In addition, 
construction of the ramp would provide substantial economic 
benefits to Kyrgyzstan.  Acknowledging some earlier confusion 
over the scope of the project, Chudinov listened closely to 
the points.  He said that the decision whether to go forward 
with the project was still open, and the next step would be a 
meeting of government experts to discuss the proposal. 
 
Sadyrkulov:  Progress Step-by-Step 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Presidential Chief of Staff Medet Sadyrkulov claimed 
that Kyrgyzstan was trying to settle water and energy issues 
with its neighbors.  He said that President Bakiyev had been 
unsuccessful so far in discussing these issues with President 
Karimov of Uzbekistan, but he hoped that they would talk 
again at the SCO summit in Dushanbe.  Sadyrkulov said there 
would be a full government meeting with Bakiyev in July to 
discuss the energy and water situation. 
 
¶9. (C) On the proposed airport parking ramp, Sadyrkulov told 
Krol that there was necessary "political will" to go forward 
with the project, and he said that the U.S. should meet with 
the Kyrgyz "experts" to explain the proposal clearly, as 
there had been a lot of "disinformation" in the press about 
the proposal.  Sadyrkulov said that the meeting would occur 
the following week.  (Note:  As of June 30, the Kyrgyz have 
not organized the promised "experts" meeting.  End Note.) 
 
¶10. (C) When questioned by Krol about problems with recent 
legislation and court cases against opposition newspapers, 
Sadyrkulov defended the legislation that kept the state 
television channel under the control of the president, saying 
that this was important to stability.  He maintained that 
Kyrgyzstan still had a free press, as there were other 
broadcast channels and numerous newspapers.  He said that the 
opposition "De Fakto" newspaper had published a "completely 
false" letter, with a fake name and address, alleging 
corruption, and now the matter was properly with the courts. 
Sadyrkulov criticized the current opposition, saying that 
they only stood "against things, rather than offering a 
positive platform."  He said there was a serious problem with 
 
BISHKEK 00000679  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
growing religious extremism, but he assured that the new 
draft law on religion would protect religious freedom and any 
problems (such as the 200-member threshold for registration) 
would be worked out.  Sadyrkulov said that the new 
legislation was all part of the process of development, with 
steps toward democracy. 
 
Karabayev:  More Economic Cooperation Needed 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (C) Foreign Minister Ednan Karabayev told DAS Krol that 
the two sides should deepen cooperation, especially on trade 
and investment projects.  Karabayev complained of the lack of 
results from the "concrete" investment projects he had 
proposed last year, and said that if we moved forward on 
these proposals, other issues (i.e., base issues) would go 
away.  DAS Krol pointed out that investment depends on the 
conditions in the country.  The U.S. can help facilitate 
connections, as we were doing with the Trade and Investment 
Framework Agreement council meeting in Dushanbe earlier in 
the week, as well as with the "Doing Business with the U.S." 
seminar in Bishkek earlier that day, but private sector 
investors make decisions based on the risks and returns in a 
particular market.  Construction of the airport parking ramp, 
Krol said, would represent a major investment project in 
Krygyzstan.  Karabayev said that the Kyrgyz government paid 
serious attention to improving the country's ranking on 
investment climate surveys, and he pointed out that the new 
tax code had considered the input of the business community. 
 
¶12. (C) Karabayev raised a number of other issues, including 
asking for the results of the investigation into the Ivanov 
shooting.  He raised the nine-year-old Yasynov case, 
complaining that there were "no results" despite many 
meetings.  Karabayev asked for a response to the Kyrgyz 
request to open a consular office in New York.  Karabayev 
also defended recent legislation, asserting that Kyrgyzstan 
was the leader in legal reform and democracy in the region. 
 
Opposition:  Help Us with Independent Media 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶13. (C) Opposition leaders and former MPs Azimbek Beknazarov, 
Temir Sariyev, and Omurbek Tekebayev each relayed a negative 
outlook on Kyrgyzstan's democratic development, asserting 
that the upcoming municipal and the next presidential 
elections would be neither free nor fair.  Beknazarov said 
that Kyrgyzstan was simply following examples set by Russia 
and Kazakhstan, with a one-party system already in place and 
additional restrictions coming.  The group focused on support 
for establishing an "independent" nationwide television 
station, as a counterweight to the "heavily controlled" state 
TV channel, from which most Kyrgyz get their news.  They also 
suggested opening an independent printing press in southern 
Kyrgyzstan.  Both Sariyev and Tekebayev concluded that, 
despite their shared mistrust of the electoral process, they 
would continue to focus on the local elections in the fall. 
They said that "people are tired of public demonstrations," 
adding that "change brought about by force sets a bad 
precedent for the future." 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶14. (C) Prior to DAS Krol's arrival in Bishkek, Kyrgyz 
newspapers ran stories claiming that Krol was coming to 
Bishkek to negotiate a 300-hectare expansion of the Coalition 
Airbase at Manas.  In his meetings and in his interviews with 
local media, Krol was able to dispel the rumors of base 
expansion, and he explained clearly that the proposed parking 
ramp, which would be built on 10 hectares already leased for 
the base, would be a long-term asset for the airport.  DAS 
Krol's discussions also highlighted the seriousness of the 
current water deficit for both electricity production and 
 
BISHKEK 00000679  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
food security, and the Kyrgyz government will continue to 
seek additional support from the U.S. and other donors to 
address the problems expected by the fall and winter. 
 
¶15. (U) DAS Krol has cleared this cable. 
YOVANOVITCH