He visited Kyrgyzstan on Saturday.
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What Kerry did experience, however, was a series of sometimes awkward encounters with long-ruling autocrats who tolerate little dissent and in a few cases cultivate idiosyncratic cults of personality.
Gulmurod Khalimov was not only the commander of an elite Tajik police unit, he had received US-funded counter-terrorism training in the United States. The stated reason was looming parliamentary elections in October but political opponents said President Almazbek Atambaev was also likely wanting to avoid upsetting Moscow.
Coinciding with the joint declaration, the U.S. State Department published a fact sheet on November 1 spelling out a wide range of new USA assistance programmes to the five Central Asian states.
Human Rights First last week called upon Kerry to speak “forcefully and directly” with Kyrgyz officials about the propaganda bill.
Although the five “Stans” vary significantly in development and openness, rights groups and Kerry’s own State Department say each routinely abuses human rights. “What he said was, well, these are technical issues and that we need to have conversations with the experts”, the official said.
But Kerry also sought more action from Kyrgyzstan to prevent its citizens from joining extremist groups overseas, noting their presence among the throng of foreign fighters who have sown chaos throughout the Middle East.
Already faced with a dramatic economic slowdown, Central Asian governments fear the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan will end Washington’s interest in the region. He earlier served as U.S. Ambassador to Georgia and Kazakhstan, and was a special assistant to the President for Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Eurasia at the National Security Council.
US officials are especially concerned about Tajikistan.
Cooperation in the global coalition against the Islamic State (also known as ISIS), ensuring stability in Afghanistan, and enhancing economic ties appear to be core parts of the agenda, as Secretary Kerry is set to meet foreign ministers at a regional security conference in Samarkand during the visit.
Like Tajikistan, Turkmenistan’s human rights record is widely criticized. Transparency worldwide lists Uzbekistan as one of the 10 most corrupt nations in the world.
Nazarbayev, a former provincial communist boss, has ruled Kazakhstan with an iron grip since 1989, two years before the demise of the Soviet Union.
Central Asia Trade Forum: The United States recently hosted the fifth Central Asia Trade Forum in Almaty bringing together more than 500 entrepreneurs, traders, businessmen and policy makers to discuss the regional trade environment and conclude trade deals.
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“Secretary Kerry’s trip comes at a time when Kyrgyzstan’s extremely harsh homophobic bill is on the precipice of becoming law, and presents a key opportunity to demonstrate US leadership in advancing human rights protections in Central Asia”, said Shawn Gaylord of the Washington-based advocacy group.
