Germany is in line to assume the rotating EU Presidency in the first half of 2007 and has already announced that it will work hard to develop a European Central Asia strategy. Last week’s travel of foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier took him to all five Central Asian countries within five days. Quite brief to come up with a cohesive strategy. Let’s have a look at what the German press has written about Mr. Steinmeier’s trip to Turkmenistan.

“Travel to Absurdistan” - the header of the article appearing in the tabloid Bild says it all, and the surreal aspects of the Turkmen dictatorship listed in the brief article are well-known to the Central Asia enthusiast, but now also to the wider German public. “In Turkmenistan, the way towards democracy is evidently being followed too hesitantly”, Steinmeier told the press after a rather long talk with President Niyazov. According to Reuters, the discussion between the German foreign minister and the Turkmen president apparently became quite heated at some point, with Niyazov justifying the country’s bleak human rights record in the light of terrorism and Steinmeier threatening less EU engagement.

However, as an example, German-Turkmen relations are already quite far-reaching: German (not Turkmen, thanks Nathan) doctors are healing Niyazov, Lufthansa flies almost daily to Ashgabad, Daimler-Chrysler has translated the Rukhnama into German and Deutsche Bank allegedly administers Turkmenbashi’s fabled riches. But, apparently, Germany is keen on extending its relations, especially in the framework of a new EU energy directive aimed to diversify the Union’s gas supplies. So, the Turkmen side can largely ignore the criticism of its human rights situation, argues Nathan on The Registan, also in the light of Steinmeier’s rather different tone in Uzbekistan. In an interview with Tagesschau.de, Central Asia expert Dr. Andrea Schmitz echoes the same sentiment:

Wenn man so offenkundig an Geschäftsbeziehungen mit einer Diktatur interessiert ist - und dies ganz unabhängig von Menschenrechtserwägungen, dann darf man nicht erwarten, dass Ermahnungen, die Menschenrechtssituation zu verbessern, sonderlich ernst genommen werden. Möglicherweise wird man über das Thema reden, aber am Ende des Tages zählen nicht Worte, sondern Taten - und in diesem Fall werden diese von der Handelsbilanz diktiert.

If one is so obviously interested in business relations with a dictatorial regime - and all this separate from human rights considerations - one shouldn’t expect that warnings to improve the human rights record are taken very seriously. Probably they will talk about it, but at the end of the day not words, but deeds count - and these are being dictated by the trade balance.