State Department UAP Cable 004, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, November 5, 2004

UNCLASSIFIED
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UFOiogists of Turkmenabat has established a reputation as
a reliable NGO partner for a variety of activities from
assisting with small and medium businesses, to
distributing humanitarian assistance, to assisting NGOs
with registering under the 2003 NGO law. The UFOiogists
have developed a good rapport with local authorities,
they say, and are able to accomplish their tasks because
"everyone is interested in UFOs." The UFOiogists next
initiative is to publish an independent newsletter, the
first in independent Turkmenistan.
2. ~ In the appearances-are-deceiving world of
Turkmenistan, it almost seems fitting that one of the
USG's most reliable implementers is equally committed to
looking for life on another planet. End Summary.
UFOs in Turkmenabat
3. ~ On November 5, DCM and USAID Director met with
the Board and interested members of the Union of
UfOlogists (UOU) of Turkmenabat, Lebap Welayet
(province). The Union of UFOiogists is working on an
$8,532 grant to assist other local NGOs navigate the NGO
registration process of the new NGO law (reftels). The
UOU was the first NGO to register after independence in
1992 and was the first independent NGO to reregister
successfully under the new 2003 NGO law.
4. ~ Though the Union first was established to
pursue the study of life on other planets, over time its
activities became more "practical," Board members told
the DCM. Members of the Union have attended
international UFO fora and published on the subject, but
most members assured the DCM, they had limited or no
interest in the subject at all. UOU President Ovezberdy
Muradov said the Turkmen military and government
authorities had consulted him about mysterious
occurrences in Turkmen airspace, but he said there had
been no confirmed sightings of UFOs in Turkmenistan.
Peace on Earth
5. ~ Instead, the Union has attracted a local brain
trust of lawyers, scientists, computer experts,
accountants, teachers and others who had joined together
to "do good things." Pointing to their mission statement
in English, Russian and Turkmen hanging on the wall of
their office, members assured the DCM that any assistance
they provided would fit their mission. According to
their statement, the UFOiogists "help spread the ideas
about the struggle for peace and human coexistence on
Earth and in the Universe." Because of their diverse
activities, the UOU has become an umbrella organization
with at least nine member organizations running
IReleased in Fulll
UNCLASSIFIED
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