[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 69 (Tuesday, June 7, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 7, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                    UNITED STATES AID TO TAJIKISTAN

  Mr. DeCONCINI Mr. President, I have heard reports that the Agency for 
International Development [AID] is considering limiting assistance 
programs for Tajikistan to multilateral humanitarian aid. I believe 
this would be a big mistake, and would also run counter to what the new 
management at AID hopes to achieve.
  The poorest of the former Soviet republics, Tajikistan has had a 
dismal post-independence history. Reform efforts by a coalition of 
Democratic and Islamic forces brought armed repression by the Communist 
leadership, aided by Russian and Uzbek forces. The civil war that 
erupted there in mid-1992 ravaged the country. Estimates of the dead 
range between 20 to 50,000, and about half a million inhabitants became 
refugees and internally displaced people.
  Today, though crossborder incursions from Afghanistan by Tajik-Afghan 
fighters continue, Tajikistan is fairly stable. The best indicator of 
this welcome development is that most internally displaced people and 
many refugees have returned home. The Communists have reestablished 
control over Tajikistan, but negotiations have been underway with 
Democratic and Islamic groups, and these offer prospects of creating 
workable relations between the government and the opposition.
  In these circumstances, with a ray of hope on the horizon, precisely 
what Tajikistan needs is development aid. Humanitarian assistance has 
created a modicum of stability. But there is massive unemployment, and 
unless people can feed themselves and earn a living, social discontent 
will erupt again, and the stability that has been gained risks being 
lost.
  I do not have in mind increased aid for Tajikistan, but moneys 
already allocated should stress development. The basic idea of such 
programs is helping Tajiks to help themselves, rather than depend on 
outside humanitarian assistance. For example, the Aga Khan Foundation 
has submitted a proposal to teach people how to generate sufficient and 
sustainable food production. Obviously, this would be preferable to 
sending massive food aid for the West on a long-term basis. There are 
many other similar projects for creative assistance. Skin diseases have 
afflicted the population because of the absence of soap. The 
International Rescue Committee has asked for money to rebuild a soap 
factory, which would not only use locally available materials to 
produce a desperately needed commodity, but would also provide jobs.
  The new leadership of AID has often spoken about restructuring aid so 
as to foster self-reliance, rather than to prolong dependence. This is 
a welcome change from past practices, and I am therefore puzzled by 
reports that AID would not consider funding developmental programs in 
Tajikistan. The result would be the exact opposite of what AID says it 
wants to accomplish.
  Mr. President, a recent spate of newspaper stories have focused on 
dissatisfaction with the conceptualization and implementation of United 
States assistance to the Newly Independent States. Tajikistan, where 
humanitarian efforts have brought solid results, could be a success 
story for foreign aid, if it is administered with imagination and an 
eye toward the future.

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