Ambassador Tatiana C. Gfoeller Interview with Azattyk Radio

September 27, 2010

Azattyk Radio: First of all, thank you for coming for the interview. The first question is, the President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, made a statement in General Assembly, the United Nations, that the events of June 2010 were made by external forces whose goal was to involve Uzbekistan into the war. What is your opinion on it?

Ambassador Gfoeller: Thank you for this question, and it’s a pleasure to be with you today.

I think that it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to speculate right now on what President Karimov said, because in the opinion of the international community and certainly in the opinion of the United States government there hasn’t been yet enough of an investigation of what actually happened.

That gives me an opportunity to call for an impartial investigation to be conducted, both a national investigation and an international one. I know there are a lot of conspiracy theories going about, and unless we actually have a true and impartial investigation, unfortunately these conspiracy theories are going to continue to gain credibility.

Also I strongly believe that it is individuals who commit crimes and not ethnic groups or communities, so it’s very important to have a thorough, impartial investigation to lay the blame at the feet of concrete individuals, as opposed to have this sort of amorphous feeling that entire ethnic groups or maybe communities are to blame.

I think that we are looking at a series of individual criminals who should be brought to justice, and they should be the ones to be blamed. No one else.

Azattyk Radio: Thank you.

Another question concerning investigations. The first conclusions and results, the investigations of the events June 2010 are already being published, released, so some international organizations are claiming that the majority of the arrested people are Uzbeks. Do you agree with the statement that judges are being biased in these arrests, the investigations?

Ambassador Gfoeller: First of all let me say that the embassy is following very closely all of these trials that are happening in the wake of the June events. We’ve publicly called for them to be conducted fairly and in accordance with the rule of law. We are particularly interested in the Askrarov case and other associated trials which according to your own ombudsman and a lot of other sources do not appear to have been fair. Numerous problems were cited, including lack of regular access by the defendants to their lawyers; threats and intimidations of the defense counsel and others at the trial; and things of that nature.

I do note that it appears from reading the press that most of those accused are ethnic groupists and what concerns me is not so much their ethnicity as the fact that so many of them appear to be human rights defenders and community leaders. What I’ve said repeatedly here on the radio and also in the press is I’ve been calling for justice and reconciliation. If it’s mainly Uzbeks who are being tried and condemned, I’m concerned that this will not lead to justice, or for that matter, reconciliation.

Azattyk Radio: Can you please tell what kind of cooperation is going on between Kyrgyzstan and the United States nowadays in terms of restoration of security in Kyrgyzstan and investigation of the events?

Ambassador Gfoeller: As you know, we’ve been cooperating very actively with the Kyrgyz Republic for many years, much before the April and June events, to assure stability in the country. And we’re continuing to do so. We have a very broad range of assistance programs that are focused on improving and strengthening the security of the Kyrgyz Republic.

In this context let me return again to the importance of an International Commission of Inquiry. We, the United States government, support the Commission of Inquiry which is being led by Finnish parliamentarian Kimo Kilionin which is planning to investigate the June events in the south. We believe, as I’ve said to your previous question, that it’s critically important for the truth to come out so that the reconciliation process can begin as soon as possible.

And let me say again that we are concerned that many of the trials in the south of ethnic Uzbeks are being carried out in a manner that at least some can say is not free and fair. So let me repeat again, and call for free and fair trials for all involved.

Azattyk Radio: Recently President Roza Otunbayeva and President Barack Obama met during the United Nations Assembly. A statement was made by Barack Obama that he will support democratic transition or transition to the parliamentary system. Nowadays do you see any weaknesses in our preparations to the parliamentary elections?

Ambassador Gfoeller: Let me say that of course the embassy is following very closely the campaign season. I personally have for the past several months been traveling around the country over every weekend -- north, south, east, west. I’ve been very impressed by the activity that before the campaign season started people were already exhibiting, trying to prepare themselves for the campaign season. And now that the campaign season is in full swing and there are posters everywhere and banners, I’m very impressed by that, by the activity of the Kyrgyz people.

We also of course followed the June constitutional referendum very closely. Both that referendum and the upcoming parliamentary elections we feel are very important steps on the Kyrgyz Republic’s road to build a successful and stable democracy and we’re very supportive of that and of all of your efforts to create a democratic country based on human rights values.

Azattyk Radio: During the World Political Forum in Yaraslov the President of Russia Dmitri Medvedev said that he is afraid the parliamentary system of government will be catastrophic for Kyrgyzstan. What do you think Medvedev is afraid of?

Ambassador Gfoeller: Personally I don’t know what concerns President Medvedev, but I can say that for the U.S. government, we believe that the Kyrgyz government is on the correct path towards democracy. As I said earlier, the upcoming parliamentary elections are a very important step in building a successful and stable democracy, and we are supporting your efforts to strengthen democracy and human rights here.

Azattyk Radio: Some observers write that Kyrgyz politicians turn Manas Transit Center into the political football game. So closing of the transit center is being one of the promises that some political parties are spreading in their ____. So how do you think what is the future of the transit center?

Ambassador Gfoeller: You know, the Kyrgyz Republic and the U.S. have been successfully cooperating in support of Operation Enduring Freedom now since 2001. We have a strong partnership and the Kyrgyz Republic has always been a very reliable partner in this. So I think this will continue. Specifically because it’s in both of our countries’ interests that we bring stability to Afghanistan.

Of course after the elections we’re always prepared to discuss the transit center with the Kyrgyz government and to discuss other ways of cooperating in bringing stability to Afghanistan as well.

Azattyk Radio: After April 7th events the Congress of the United States started an investigation on whether there were some machinations at Manas Transit Center or not. How did it end?

Ambassador Gfoeller: Actually it hasn’t ended yet. The investigation is ongoing. It is a congressional investigation led by the Congress, so once they were informed, the executive branch of government, of which the State Department, by the way, is a part, we will of course make their findings public.

Azattyk Radio: The last question, recently the International Herald Tribune published an article labeled “Afghanistan will only get worse” on September 14. It is written there that even though the United States are increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan, the influence of Taliban forces are increasing as well. The United States need to start facing reality and begin negotiating the Taliban before it’s too late. What’s your evaluation of the situation in Afghanistan?

Ambassador Gfoeller: I actually disagree with this article. I think that the United States has a crucial role to play in helping Afghanistan and the Afghan people to build a stable and democratic government. I think we’re playing it right now. And by the way, as I mentioned earlier, it’s both in American interests and in Kyrgyz interests that we have peace and stability in Afghanistan as well as in all of Central Asia. As I said again, we have a long partnership in working towards this and I think this will endure for many years to come.

Azattyk Radio: Thank you for the interview.

Ambassador Gfoeller: Thank you.