Table Of Contenti^
DEVELOPMENTS IN TAJIKISTAN
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Y 4. F 76/1: T 13/13
Developnents in Tajikistan^ 103-2 H. . .
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
SEPTEMBER 22, 1994
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
MAR
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U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
85-052CC WASHINGTON : 1995
ForsalebytheU.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice
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v^^ DEVELOPMENTS IN TAJIKISTAN
Y 4. F 76/1: T 13/13
Developnents in Tajikistan* 103-2 H. . .
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
SEPTEMBER 22, 1994
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
^»''OVi.
MAR
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
LEE H. HAMILTON, Indiana, Chairman
SAM GEJDENSON, Connecticut BENJAMIN A. OILMAN, New York
TOM LANTOS, California WILLIAM F. GOODLING, Pennsylvania
ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
HOWARD L. HERMAN, California TOBY ROTH, Wisconsin
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine
HARRY JOHNSTON, Florida HENRYJ. HYDE, Illinois
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
Samoa DAN BURTON, Indiana
JAMES L. OBERSTAR, Minnesota JAN MEYERS, Kansas
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York ELTON GALLEGLY, California
MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ, California ILEANA ROS-LEHTINRN, Florida
ROBERT A. BORSKI, Pennsylvania CASS BALLENGKR, North Carolina
DONALD M. PAYNE, Now Jersey DANA ROHRABACHER, California
ROBERT E. ANDREWS, New Jersey DAVID A. LEVY, New York
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART, Honda
CYNTHIA A. MCKINNEY, Georgia EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida
ERIC FINGERHUT, Ohio
PETER DEUTSCH, Florida
ALBERT RUSSELL WYNN, Maryland
DON EDWARDS, California
FRANK McCLOSKEY, Indiana
THOMAS C. SAWYER, Ohio
LUIS V. GUTIERREZ, Illinois
Michael H. VAi^j;iua|B||! Wm^sta/r
ofstaff
DEBORAir'BtliSNS, Sta/TAssociate
SUBCOMMITT IROPl THE Middle Ea^
LEE ILTON, Indiana, Chairman
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York BENJAMII^ A. OILMAN, New York
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York WILLIAM F: GOODLING, Pennsylvania
RROOBBEERRTT AE.. BAONRDSRKEIW,SP,enNneswy.l^viajnBigas'rUr-."« .•J'E^LTOMNEYGEAkLSL,EGKLaYn,sasCalifornia
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio DAVID A. LEVY, New York
ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
PETER DEUTSCH, Florida
TOM LANTOS, California
Martin SletzinGER, Subcomittee StaffDirector
Sally Newman, Professional StaffMember
DKBOUAII BODLANDKR, Republican Professional StaffMember
(II)
CONTENTS
WITNESS
PaKc
Mr. Joseph Prcsel, Coordinator for Regional Affairs, Office ofIhe Ambassador-
at-Large forthe New Independent States 3
Mr. Davlat Khudonazarov, former Presidential candidate in 1991, and fellow
ofthe UnitedStates Institute forPeace 18
Dr. Barnett Rubin, professor, Columbia University and director, Center for
the Study ofCentral Asia, and acting director, Center for Preventive Diplo-
macy, Council onForeign Relations 20
Mr. Anthony H. Richter, senior advisorto the president, Soros Foundation 22
Ms. Holly Burkhalter, Washington Director, HumanRights Watch 25
APPENDIX
Prepared statements:
Mr. Joseph Presel 37
Mr. DavlatKhudonazarov 40
Dr. BarnettRubin 44
Mr. AnthonyH. Richter 49
Ms. Holly Burkhalter 61
Mr. L.K. Kayumov, Permanent Representative of the Republic of
Tajikistan to the UnitedNations 71
Material Submitted for the Record
American Red Cross Situation Report onTajikistan 73
Analysisconductedby Internews, the Media in Tajikistan 89
Mr. Arthur Helton, director of migration programs. Open Society Institute,
prepared statement 97
(III)
DEVELOPMENTS IN TAJIKISTAN
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1994
HousK OK Rkpkksentatives,
COMMITTEK ON FOREIGN
AP'KAIRS,
Subcommittee on Euroi'e and the Middle East,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m. in room 2200,
Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Robert E. Andrews, presid-
ing.
Mr. Andrews. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We appre-
ciate your attention and interest. We are pleased to have assem-
bled such an outstanding panel of witnesses to be with us this
morning.
I am especially pleased to be joined by my colleague. Congress-
man Hastings from Florida. I would hope that other members of
the subcommittee will be joining us as the morning proceeds. I
know many of you here are veterans of the hearing process and
need not receive this explanation, but for those ofyou who are new
to it, please do not assume that the absence ofmembers of the sub-
committee indicates their lack of interest or concern. Members of
Congress serve on numerous committees and subcommittees, and
one thing Congress has not figured out how to do yet is to schedule
itself so you don't have to be three places at the same time. Many
of the members are involved in other hearings and other legislative
business. They may be coming in and out.
Let me also say that if they come in and out during testimony
or during a question period, the witnesses should not assume any
lack of respect or interest as well. It is simply a matter of the very
busy times that we have.
I would like to begin with a brief opening statement, but before
I do that, I will defer to my colleague from Florida and ask Con-
gressman Hastings ifhe would like to make a statement.
Mr. Hastings. I'll be even more brief than that, Mr, Chairman.
Thank you for organizing this hearing. I would only like to say
that I know very little about Tajikistan, but I do know that there
is a growing concern regarding human rights violations, and I have
a continuing interest in the subject of human rights violations
throughout the world, and I thought in the interests of this com-
mittee, as well as others that I serve on, that I be here so that I
can learn as much as possible.
Mr. Andrews. Thank you very much. Congressman Hastings.
(1)
WE ARK LIVING IN A TIME OF INCREDIBLE IRONY
I think we are living in a time of incredible irony, and the irony
is the contrast between what we feared in the past and what we
dread today. In the past ifyou would have told me, on the day that
I took office as a Member of Congress in 1990, that by the end of
my second term the Soviet Union would no longer exist on the map
of the world, that the debate about Central Asia or about Eastern
Europe or these parts of the world would be about how quickly to
democratize and move toward a capitalist system, if you would
have told me that we would have this hearing today involving an
Independent Republic of Tajikistan, I would have said that that
was impossible, that these were pipe dreams that could not pos-
sibly come true.
We are living in the midst of great revolutionary change in the
world. These are times that our children and grandchildren will
read a—bout as great moments in history. What w—e used to fear and
dread the threat of global superpower conflict ^has largely been
diminished and is not a topic of international concern today. Iron-
ically, however, new sources of dread and new sources of worry
confront us every day: old ethnic hostilities that once again bubble
up, the uncertainty of trying to organize or reorganize economies
that suffered in the period of transition, breaking new ground
every day in creating new democratic institutions in countries
around the world that have no democratic tradition, and finally,
the problems of consistent violations of human rights in parts of
the world that, as Congressman Hastings said, too often go unno-
ticed and untalked about.
There seems to be a proportionate relationship that the more
publicity a country gets, the more serious its human rights abuses
are considered. The less publicity a country gets, the less serious
its human rights abuses are considered. I believe, and I think I am
joined in this belief by virtually all Members of the House of Rep-
resentatives, that a human rights violation is inherently important,
no matter where it takes place, no matter under what kind of sys-
tem it takes place. If one person is suffering or persecuted because
of their religious beliefs, their political beliefs, their race, their eth-
nicity, their gender, ifone person suffers as a result ofthose points,
then it is worthy of our attention and concern, and that is why we
are here today.
We are going to hear from a panel of distinguished witnesses
about what has happened in Tajikistan in recent times, what is
happening today, what may happen in the future, what should
happen in the future, and we want to begin our testimony this
morning. We are very pleased to have with us from the U.S. De-
partment of State the Coordinator for Regional Affairs from the Of-
fice of the Ambassador-at-Large for the New Independent States,
Mr. Joseph Presel.
Welcome, Mr. Presel. We are happy to have you with us, and the
floor is yours.
STATEMENT OF JOSEPH PRESEL, COORDINATOR FOR RE-
GIONAL AFFAIRS, OFFICE OF TIDE AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE
FOR THE NEW INDEPENDENT STATES
Mr. Presel. Thank you, sir. I have a very short formal statement
which I would like to submit for the record, and while it is only
three pages, I will summarize it even more briefly.
Mr. Andrews. Without objection, your statement will become a
part ofthe record.
Mr. Presel. I would like to thank you, first ofall, sir, for holding
these hearings. It is a very good time, I think, to have these hear-
ings since things are in fact happening in Tajikistan. There is the
possibility ofelections and a constitutional referendum, a cease-fire
has been announced, and we hope it will soon be able to take hold.
THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF ASSISTANCE THAT THE SUFFERING PEOPLE
OF TAJIKISTAN REQUIRE
There is a great deal of assistance that the suffering people of
Tajikistan require. In a word, there is a lot of work for all of us,
I think it is probably fair to say that of all of the countries that
emerged from the debris ofthe Soviet Union, Tajikistan is probably
the least well provided for. Economically, it was probably the poor-
est. It has unfortunately a somewhat limited sense of self as a
country. It is a tremendous mixture. It is a sociologist's paradise,
a mixture of ethnic groups, a mixture oflanguages, it is geographi-
cally an improbability. It is easier to get from one part of
Tajikistan to another by way of a different country than going di-
rectly.
And unfortunately it is likely to remain poor. Its economic poten-
tial is in such things as electrogeneration and minerals, all of
which require tremendous amounts of capital. Its politics are likely
to remain clan based, perfectly sensible politics, but different from
ours, and unfortunately practically since it became an independent
country it has been riven by war, first by civil war, and now by a
kind of low level and occasionally higher level amount of violence
which has required the Russians, at the invitation of the Tajik
Government, to have fairly massive troops in there.
Its economy is insolvent. Its politics are, in a word, in a mess.
It is a great shame.
THERE ARE FEW POSITIVE SIGNS
There are few positive signs. One sign is that there seems to
have been reached an agreement between the government and the
opposition for the postponement of Presidential elections and the
holding of a constitutional referendum. It is paradoxical that post-
poning elections may be a positive sign. In this case we think it
probably is. We think it probably is because it will allow, we hope,
for rather better preparation, for a better range of candidates and
it is meant now to be held on November 5.
A cease-fire has been agreed. Its implementation is contingent on
several factors. It is meant to run, if implemented, through the
elections. We hope that the elections will take place. It would be
idle to pretend that these elections were going to resemble elections
in Sweden which happened over the weekend. It is a different polit-
ical system with different political customs, but the fact of an elec-
tion, an election providing choice is in itselfa remarkable feat.
American involvement, official American involvement in the
Tajik economy, has been limited to a very active embassy, very
close coordination with the international CTOups that are there,
both the NGO's and the representatives of the U.N., and of the
CSCE. We are engaged in an aid program, a small aid program de-
voted almost exclusively to humanitarian assistance because that
is what the situation most requires.
We hope that the political and economic situation will be such
that we will be able in the future to offer more traditional forms
of economic assistance. We feel that there is some reason for hope
We
in Tajikistan. hope that the situation, the dreadful situation
economically, sociologically, politically has bottomed-out.
I can't say that we are excessively confident, but we very much
hope that that is the case, and we certainly are doing what we can
with our somewhat limited resources to help it, and I think that
is all I would like to say at the beginning.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Presel appears in the appendix.]
Mr. Andrews. Thank you, Mr. Presel.
We will begin with questions from Congressman Hastings.
Mr. Hastings. I will be again, very brief, Mr. Chairman.
AMERICAN PRESENCE IN TAJIKISTAN
Mr. Presel, to what extent is the American presence felt in
Tajikistan?
Mr. Presel. If I say what I would like to say. Congressman, it
will probably sound like puffery on the part of the executive
branch.
Mr. Andrews. We are used to it. Go ahead.
Mr. Presel. There is an exceedingly active embassy. It is very
small. It is exceptionally well-qualified and professional, and per-
haps because ofthe isolation I think the Dunkirk spirit reigns.
Access to all levels of Tajik society is, to the extent the security
situation allows, perfectly natural. The Ambassador and his staff
see people all the time. I think it probably is fair to say that Am-
bassador Escudero is one of the most well known and most easily
recognized political figures in Tajikistan. If he walks down the
street, I have seen this, the number of people that know who he
is is astonishingly large.
They travel a lot. They see all sectors ofsociety. There is, I think,
an unfocused feeling that somehow the U.S. presence is itself an
earnest ofour willingness to help.
There are tremendous expectations inevitably as to what more
we can do for them. In a country in which there is not a large num-
ber of foreign embassies, the very fact of an American Embassy
staffed by people who speak either Russian or the dialect of Per-
sian spoken in Tajikistan or both is a matter of some importance.
HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION
Mr. Hastings. Very recently. Ambassador Escudero protested
the closing ofthe one newspaper, and I guess it was a Russian lan-
guage newspaper, and human rights organizations continue to re-
port that Tajik journalists are regularly arrested, and I am sure
