Turkmenistan introduction
Turkmenistan has some of the world’s largest oil-and-gas reserves – as well as some of the worst records on human rights and free speech. Western companies have long supported the country’s dictator, Saparmurat Niyazov, through translating and praising the Ruhnama, his book of social and political propaganda. The Ruhnama has become an infamous symbol of the way that western companies ignore corruption in order to gain access to the country’s resources.
Translating and praising the Ruhnama are actions with serious consequences for the people of Turkmenistan. The government relies on western support for the Ruhnama as one of the key ways of legitimizing its power. Important diplomats and political figures seldom come to Turkmenistan, and never make statements of public support for the regime. So when western companies assert their admiration and support for the Ruhnama, their statements are widely broadcast to the Turkmen people. This allows the government to create the illusion that the government is taken seriously by the outside world. The leadership generates the illusion that the entire western business world wants the regime to remain in control, regardless of its record on free speech and human rights.
Furthermore, now that Niyazov has died, the influence of the Ruhnama remains as strong as ever. The new regime is led by one of Niyazov’s former cronies, Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov. Berdymuhammedov has already continued to award foreign companies contracts related to the Ruhnama, and has made it clear that, at least for now, he will go on using the Ruhnama as an important part of the government’s propaganda and power structure. The shadow of the Ruhnama thus continues to stretch beyond Niyazov’s grave
Berdymuhammedov’s leadership started under suspicious circumstances in December 2006, when hopes for serious political change still seemed probable. Niyazov’s long and gloomy period of rule had finally ended and the selection of a new president offered a fresh opportunity for democracy to take root in the country.
Berdymuhammedov has promised many reforms in Turkmenistan, as well as steps towards democratization. So far the changes have been small, closer to window-dressing than to substantive improvements. The human rights and free speech situation has remained the same as before – that is, one of the worst situations in the world. Political prisoners have not been released from jail, and political refugees have not been allowed to return to their homeland.
With the consolidation of the new regime, Turkmenistan is on the verge of a crucial tipping point. It still has the chance to make major changes, but there is also a grave risk that it will experience a complete regression to the worst practices of the former dictatorship. The decisions that Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov makes will have a significant effect on how the situation will develop throughout all of Central Asia – as well as on the way that the entire area deals with the political approach to human rights.
We encourage Turkmenistan’s government, and the companies operating there, to show greater openness and to take stronger and more substantial steps towards democratic reforms. The distortions of the Ruhnama book should be denounced, and the Turkmenistan government as well as international companies should clearly and openly give up their support for the book. For Turkmenistan to develop and move on, it is important to admit the legitimate grievances of the nation’s people and to give them a genuine voice in the developments of the days to come. Continuing along the present path—a path of denial and indifference to the nation’s problems and its people’s concerns—will undoubtedly lead to a grim future, both for the Turkmen citizens and for the international political and business establishment currently involved in the country.
We hope that Berdymuhammedov’s Turkmenistan, as well as the international companies doing business in the country, will make a proper effort to avoid this grim future and lead Turkmenistan in a direction that will better serve everyone’s interests in the long-run.
Comment article 'Turkmenistan introduction'
