Cablegate: November 06 Tajik Border Wrap-Up
VZCZCXRO8975
RR RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDBU #2191 3411245
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071245Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9203
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 1895
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1933
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1924
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 0715
UNCLAS DUSHANBE 002191
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
FOR SCA/CEN AND INL
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL SNAR PGOV PINR TI AF
SUBJECT: NOVEMBER 06 TAJIK BORDER WRAP-UP
REF: DUSHANBE 2153, DUSHANBE 2109, DUSHANBE 1945
1. (U) This cable summarizes Post's border security,
counterterrorism and counternarcotics activities for November
2006.
2. (SBU) Border Guard Training Center Visit: EmbOffs visited
Dushanbe's Leninsky Training Center, where the Russian military
trains the Tajik Border Guards. Decorated with propaganda
pictures and monuments commemorating Soviet World War II battle
victories, the Russian-run training facility for Tajik troops
has some modern conveniences, but the training program relies on
Soviet educational methods to teach under-educated Border Guards
the basics. This Soviet-style facility provides acceptable
living conditions with working heat and electricity, but the
fact that new recruits fire only nine shots over a 40-day
training period suggests a weak curriculum, larger funding
shortages and an alarming lack of preparedness for actual combat
(Dushanbe 2153).
3. (SBU) BIWG: EmbOffs attended a November 22 Border
International Working Group (BIWG) meeting, a monthly forum of
donors and implementers to discuss border-related issues. At
this meeting, International Law Enforcement and Narcotics (INL)
announced that an INL-funded Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
mobile training team would visit Tajikistan to conduct
counternarcotics training as part of a NATO-Russia Council
Project December 4-14. Neither Russia nor European NATO
partners planned to provide any trainers. Post requested that
both sides reconsider these decisions, and Russia and Greece
subsequently agreed to provide one trainer each.
4. (SBU) Drug Detecting Dogs: In late 2005, INL funded a
program to provide the Tajik Border Guards with drug-detecting
dogs. The Border Guards cannot account for all the dogs
provided, and post has previously suspected that local Border
guards sold the pups of these dogs for personal profit. During
October and November visits to the Bog and Bakhorat border
posts, EmbOffs observed other INL-donated dogs posted outside in
sub-zero temperatures to serve as watchdogs, which adversely
affects their intended purpose of detecting narcotics. COMMENT:
Post is deeply disturbed by the misuse of INL-provided dogs.
While this project is designed to help fortify the border from
the illicit narcotics transit, the Border Guards have made no
sincere effort to integrate the dogs into their work program.
Post's Senior Law Enforcement Advisor attended an unproductive
National Canine Strategy Interministerial Subcommittee meeting.
The Interministerial group has failed to come up with government
resources to maintain the dogs. As a result, Post has decided
that until the National Canine Strategy is finalized with clear
delineation of responsibilities among the Tajik law enforcement
agencies, we will not conduct any dog-related program. Nor will
we agree to provide additional dogs, unless they are first
neutered and spayed to preclude breeding for sale. END COMMENT.
5. (U) Uniforms: In November, INL awarded a contract to a local
company to provide 10,000 winter uniforms to the Border Guards.
This is the first time that Post has awarded a contract to a
local company. While there were initial issues with the fabric
quality the contractor used, the situation is resolved for the
time being. At first, the fabrics were mis-matched and of
extremely cheap quality. The women making the uniforms had also
not been paid for their work. INL has worked to correct these
problems with the contractor and the work has improved.
6. (U) Vehicles: INL is providing five KAMAZ and five UAZ
vehicles to the Shurabod and Muskovski border posts.
7. (U) Japan: The Japanese International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) has a supplemental budget to spend in Central Asia by
March 2007. The agency plans to spend $220,000 to provide
equipment to the Tajik Customs authorities and hopes to receive
additional funding in the future.
8. (U) EXBS: Post's Export Control and Border Security (EXBS)
office recently donated CT30 drug and radiation detecting kits
to the Tajik Border Guards. EXBS is also funding a biologist to
Tajikistan December 11-14 to conduct additional training on
these items.
9. (U) New Bridge: His Highness the Aga Khan officially opened
a bridge between Tajikistan and Afghanistan at Ishkashim
November 14, financed and constructed by the Aga Khan
Development Network. The bridge is one of five supported by
AKDN in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region along the Afghan
border.
JACOBSON