SAN FRANCISCO -- A tour operator is claiming that the U.S. State
Department "overreacted" by calling her clients to tell them their
upcoming trip to the west central Asia republic of Kyrgyzstan was
"extremely ill-advised."
Gretchen Stark, owner of Safari Outfitters of Cody, Wyo., said
she was shocked when she got a call from the State Department
asking her for the names of clients booked on a sport hunting trip
to Kyrgyzstan. "They stepped over the line," said Stark, who has
operated the sport hunting and fishing tour specialty firm for 40
years.
The State Department on Oct. 14 took the unusually strong step
of issuing a statement by chief spokesman James Rubin, saying that
the department "has learned that some U.S. citizens continue to
plan for and travel to southern Kyrgyzstan and the area of the
ongoing civil war in Tajikistan. We consider such travel to be
extremely ill-advised."
The department "advised all U.S. citizens to avoid travel in
southwestern Kyrgyzstan or anywhere near the Kyrgyz-Tajik
border."
The department's actions were triggered when some of Safari
Outfitters' clients preparing for an Oct. 28 trip contacted the
State Department to inquire about the latest information on travel
to the area, said Stark.
The State Department then contacted Safari Outfitters for the
names of the other trip participants.
Stark said she did not cooperate with the request because she
felt it was her job, and not that of the government, to inform her
clients of the safety of an area.
The department obtained the names and phone numbers of the other
trip participants by contacting those who had called, who handed
over the trip participant list routinely issued by Safari
Outfitters before departure, Stark learned.
Stark said she believes her company had more up-to-date
information about the situation on the ground in Kyrgyzstan than
the State Department.
The group of six leaving for Kyrgyzstan planned to visit the
southeastern part of the republic and not the southwestern area in
which armed rebels had taken a group hostage, including four
Japanese tourists.
The department's announcement specifically stated that the
"security situation in southwestern Kyrgyzstan remains fluid and
potentially dangerous."
Safari Outfitters' ground operations staff in Kyrgyzstan
provided information on the situation there and informed the firm
that the rebel group was contained by the Kyrgyz military. "We know
this area very well and are monitoring the situation closely,"
Stark said.
Stark said not only was the hunting group planning to visit a
different part of the country than where the trouble was located,
but also that the capital of Bishkek was "filled with foreigners"
for the World Kick Boxing Championship taking place there.
"We made our decision that the area was safe based on a lot of
experience and reports from our people on the ground," she
said.
"I believe our information was more accurate than the State
Department's. If we feel an area is not safe, we cancel the trip
and give clients a full refund. In 48 years of business, we have
not had any problems."
She added that her clients are well traveled and adventurous --
and none canceled the trip after the State Department contacted
them.
A spokeswoman for the State Department said it takes the step of
calling travelers in circumstances "in which we are concerned that
they have not heard the most recent public announcements. We are
worried that individuals have not heard and believe they need the
information in order to make their own decisions."
She said it is often unclear whether a tour company "has
provided the information" that clients may need to make a travel
decision. But Stark said her company had provided State Department
advisories to the clients when they booked the trip.