Party Time In Ashgabat
Interim President Kurbanguly Berdymuhammedov made his boldest statement to date about the possibility of moving Turkmenistan in a slightly more pluralistic, Russian news agency RIA-Novosti reported late Wednesday.
“Our governments must take all measures to ensure the development of democracy, and on that basis [political parties can develop”
Talking at a meeting with voter in the Ahal velyat, he emphasized that the process should take place artificially. But like the previous occasions in which he spoke about the importance of political reform, he was mindful to recall the “secular and democratic” legacy of former President Saparmurat Niyazov.
“And we absolutely must follow this course.”
Berdymuhammedov also noted that in concordance with democratic norms all Turkmen people should have freedom of speech and professional choice.
This rhetoric falls in line with a well-publicized series of pronouncements that has relatively successfully trodden the fine line between momentarily appeasing Western policymakers and offering a glimpse of an alternative future to a potentially restive population, while indisputably conveying the notion of cultural, if not strictly political, continuity with Niyazov’s leadership.
As yet, however, not even the slightest nominal gesture has been made to demonstrate genuine conviction towards wishing to engage with the exiled opposition, which has consequently cast doubt on the new order readiness to shed its legacy. The reasons for this reluctance may, however, less simplistic than outside observers account for.
Notably, during a recent seminar in Moscow, the son jailed Niyazov opponent Boris Shikhmuradov and opposition Republican Party representative Bayram Shikhmuradov suggested that his father, who has not been seen or heard of since 2003, would easily win the presidential election.
There is absolutely no reason to give such an assertion the slightest bit of credit in view of the fact that most of the Turkmen population would only probably recognize Boris Shikhmuradov as either Niyazov’s formerly devoted servant or, subsequently, as his demonised attempted assassin.
Where the influence of the most high-profile Turkmen opposition figures might be felt is within some sections of the elite itself. Whatever the intentions of the interim government, democratic or otherwise, they realize that the presence of opposition figures in the country could not but have a destabilizing effect.
The tentative regional diplomacy of the United States has tacitly proceeded in line with these calculations and cleared taken the position that the election on Feb. 11 is only a precursor of more challenging times if reform is truly in store for Turkmenistan.
on January 25th, 2007 at 4:15 am
Boris Syhmyradow is a terrorist and an Armenian*. He has no right to manage Turkmenistan. So don’t put this dish on our table. It is out of date and it smells and tastes awful.
I think Shyhmyradovs` suit very well as a puppy of Russia or any “put some black on Turkmenistan and Turkmens” side character.
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* Turkmen constitution states that the president must be an ethnic Turkmen and must know Turkmen language as well.
on January 25th, 2007 at 8:53 am
I think that in a year or two, just like it happened after Stalin’s death, the new Turkmen gov’t will free all people arrested by Turkmenbashi. Shikhmuradov indeed, after so man years being in captivity, drugged, cannot physically run a country…
on February 11th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Many countries have serious doubts about the integrity and validity of the Turkmenistan elections. First of all, in a real democracy - candidates nominate themselves as candidates. Second, any party can be established and support a candidate or even several candidates. Third, the candidates choose their own platforms on which to run and they are not restricted in their speech. There would be no blackmail about voting and no scrutiny of an individual’s vote. The election board is supposed to be unbiased and independent and would never favor a single candidate.
This has all not happened in Turkmenistan. The candidates were chosen and pre-approved by the current government - a conflict of interest. All parties but the party in power were banned from participating - this is totalitarianism (not democracy I am afraid). The candidates were forced to swear allegiance to the former dictator and his policies - more totalitarianism and a prevention of free speech. The platforms were screened, dictated and monitored daily by the secret police - in no democracy would the police, and never a secret police, be allowed to interfere in an election. There would be no blackmail of the voters, saying they would not receive flour rations if they did not vote. That means the government was personally checking on the votes of every single eligible voter in the country. This election board early came out in favor of a single candidate. Anyone from an election board in a democracy who did this would be fired immediately.
The ballots are not expected to be officially counted for ten days. But already the Berdymukhammedov regime is planning to install itself before the votes have even been officially tallied. Is this a democracy? The answer is clear: the elections were rigged, unfair, biased, interfered with the civil rights of the citizens and predetermined from the start.
If I were asked to give this election a grade, it would have to be: F (for flunk, not passing, unsatisfactory ). It appears to have been another propaganda exercise staged at the expense of the People of Turkmenistan.
on February 12th, 2007 at 10:35 am
Fuck Peter! Bayram Shikhmuradov never said his father would win elections. Just read full transcript of his speech in Moscow Carnegie center at www.carnegie.ru
on May 7th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Good news
thank you for infos