ORIGINAL CABLE ==== http://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/01/10DUSHANBE82.html


Reference ID		10DUSHANBE82 

Created			2010-01-15 11:18 

Classification		CONFIDENTIAL

Origin			Embassy Dushanbe 
  
VZCZCXRO8937
RR RUEHDBU
DE RUEHDBU #0082/01 0151118
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 151118Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1144
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0389
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 2523

 C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 000082 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  1/15/2020 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM TI
SUBJECT: MAYOR MEETS AMBASSADOR, CONFIRMS EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Ken Gross, Ambassador, EXEC, DoS. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
¶1. (C) Summary:  In a platitude-ridden meeting, Dushanbe Mayor 
Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloev said upcoming elections would be free and 
fair, that contributions to the Roghun Dam were voluntary, and 
that the losses suffered by the United States in Afghanistan 
were felt by Tajiks as their own.  Ubaidulloev asked for help in 
getting Tajik students admitted to Harvard University, but 
effectively declined to help find a new location for an American 
Corner in Dushanbe.  He asserted the existence of life on other 
planets, caveating this by noting that we should focus on 
solving our problems on Earth.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
AFGHANISTAN 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) On January 13 Ambassador called on Dushanbe Mayor and 
Chairman of the upper house of Parliament Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloev 
at his parliamentary office.  The Mayor began the meeting with a 
lengthy discourse on Afghanistan, thanking the United States for 
its contributions and sacrifices there, and saying that U.S. 
activities there were very important "as we enter the third 
millennium and the 21st century."  Ubaidulloev thought the main 
task there was to build a sense of national identity among 
ethnically disparate groups, and said the United States was an 
example for this.  He noted that "war is very dangerous", and 
said "we know there is life on other planets, but we must make 
peace here first." 
 
 
 
 
 
ELECTION RESULTS ARE LIKE EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI - UNPREDICTABLE 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Ambassador asked for the Mayor's prediction on the 
results in the upcoming election.  Ubaidulloev said predicting 
the results was as hard as "predicting the earthquake in Haiti." 
 He assured Ambassador that the elections would be free, 
transparent, and fair, noting that President Rahmon had insisted 
on this at the last PDPT congress.  He commented that political 
parties in Tajikistan were not proactive enough in contesting 
elections, but "thanks God we have independent media" which gave 
all parties and candidates public exposure. 
 
 
 
THE OTHER CAMPAIGN - ROGHUN 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Ubaidulloev said despite the low salaries of most 
Tajiks, they supported Roghun's construction, as they had 
suffered from the lack of electricity.  He claimed the health, 
education, and cultural sectors did not contribute to Roghun, 
and all other contributions were voluntary.  Ubaidulloev said 
wealthy businessmen were eager to buy shares of Roghun as it was 
a profitable investment. 
 
 
 
CYBERCAFE, AMERICAN CORNER, AND EDUCATION 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Ambassador told the Mayor that the Dushanbe cybercafe, 
built by the city of Boulder, Colorado, as part of its 
sister-city relationship, still did not have water or power 
except for a few solar panels.  These power some of the Internet 
computers, but were inadequate for the cafe's full operation. 
He asked the Mayor to help get water and power connected to the 
cafe.  Ubaidulloev averred that he was hearing of this problem 
for the first time and said it would be no problem to connect 
power and water.  (Note:  the Cybercafe supervisor has raised 
these problems with the Mayor's office several times.) 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Ambassador then asked for Ubaidulloev's help to find a 
location for a second American Corner in Dushanbe.  The Mayor 
quickly suggested that the cybercafe would be the ideal location 
for the American Corner since it was in a densely populated area 
of the city. 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ubaidulloev said the parliament had declared 2010 the 
Year of Education.  He raised his interest in seeing Tajik 
students attend U.S. universities, repeatedly mentioning Harvard 
 
DUSHANBE 00000082  002 OF 002 
 
 
University as an example.  The Tajik government and the 
administration of Dushanbe were ready to fund studies at 
Harvard, but needed the embassy's guidance on what training 
courses and level of English were required.  Ambassador offered 
to put Ubaidulloev's staff in contact with Embassy Public 
Affairs staff to explore this issue. 
 
 
 
¶8. (C) Comment:  The Mayor has for long been a difficult, 
unpredictable, and sometimes hostile interlocutor.  In deference 
to the Ambassador's language preference, Ubaidulloev spoke for 
the most part in Tajik, though he readily admitted that he would 
make many mistakes.  His monologues confirmed this, and 
understanding him in Tajik was made doubly difficult by some of 
his nonsensical statements.  Embassy staff have heard that the 
Mayor opposes unfettered public Internet access and has told 
city businesses and government agencies not to rent space for an 
American Corner if it involved Internet facilities.  His quick 
suggestion that we colocate the American Corner in the cybercafe 
was unhelpful and in accord with our longstanding impressions of 
him.  However, what we found most striking in this meeting was 
his strict adherence to obvious, and tired, lies about free 
elections, voluntary contributions to Roghun, and free media.  A 
right painful 90 minutes.  End Comment. 
GROSS