Cablegate: National Endowment for Democracy in Tajikistan: No

VZCZCXRO2157
OO RUEHDBU
DE RUEHDBU #0785 1520558
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O P 010558Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0340
INFO RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT PRIORITY 0808
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ASTANA PRIORITY 0268
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK PRIORITY 0799
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT PRIORITY 0457
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 2044

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 000785

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/ACE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PGOV PHUM KDEM TI
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY IN TAJIKISTAN: NO
OVERSIGHT COULD LEAD TO NO PERFORMANCE

REF: (A) KRYSTEL-HUSHEK E-MAIL 5-30-2007

1. Summary: Embassy Dushanbe strongly opposes granting
National Endowment for Democracy funds in Tajikistan to the
"Center of Democratic Transformation" to open a Women's
Leadership School, as included in the June 2007 list of project
proposal (ref A). This local non-governmental organization has
a history of non-performance and hostility toward Embassy
officers; and post recently had to terminate a Democracy
Commission grant because of non-performance and lack of results.
End Summary

2. The Center of Democratic Transformation received a Democracy
Commission grant in August 2006 to strengthen Tajikistan's
multi-party political system through the creation of a website
for political parties and organization of discussion roundtables
in northern Tajikistan. After months of inactivity,
particularly in the critical period leading to Tajikistan's
presidential election in November 2006, the grant was terminated
in May 2007.

3. When the embassy began exercising oversight on how the funds
were used, organization representatives began accusing the
embassy of "spying," and threatened to "tell the world" about
embassy corruption. The Center for Democratic Transformation
failed to create a functional website and falsified the
attendance lists for the few seminars conducted. As a result of
the non-performance, the embassy refused to pay the final grant
funds. When EmbOffs flew from Dushanbe to visit the
organization's office in early May for a pre-arranged meeting,
the office was padlocked and the staff refused to communicate
further with EmbOffs. During the extensive e-mail and phone
communications with the organization's director, Fatemah
Ahmedova, we learned she resides in England, and her brother
Akhmed Kadirov nominally runs activities in Khojand.

4. ACTION REQUEST: Embassy Dushanbe requests confirmation that
this project will not/not receive NED funding.

5. Comment. Our own experience with the Center for Democratic
Transformation is instructive for Washington-based organizations
who try to fund projects in Tajikistan without an in-country
presence or direct oversight. Post has previously raised these
concerns about National Endowment for Democracy funded grants.
In general, NED too seldom consults with the Embassy and has
provided very little information on the activities and results
of its grants here. The versions of the proposals which we do
see are typically written with generalized language and contain
no detailed breakdowns of budgets or proposed activities. With
these limitations and in a country permeated by corruption, the
Embassy on its own can do very little to ensure accountability
for taxpayers' dollars. The Embassy strongly supports NED's
goal of promoting democratic reform, which is also a top mission
priority. However, we recommend NED consider how to exercise
more oversight and work more closely with the Embassy in order
to ensure its programs actually promote progress toward this
goal. End Comment.

JACOBSON

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