Three weeks without a leader

The Turkmens were promised a train to Russia

Exactly one month later, on February 11, citizens of Turkmenistan will go to the polls, where they will face a historic test: participation in the first alternative presidential elections in the country's history. All six contenders for the seat vacated after the untimely death of Turkmenistan's President for Life Saparmurat Turkmenbashi the Great on December 21 launched an active election campaign. They compete fairly with each other, publishing their programs in newspapers. The program of only one candidate stands out noticeably among them, acting. President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. Not only in volume - it is three times larger than the programs of other competitors - but also in content.

The former Minister of Health , and now the head of state, albeit temporary, accurately guessing the most painful problems of his fellow citizens, promises to begin to solve them immediately. Mr Berdymukhamedov has already ordered a re-examination of the pension system reforms undertaken a year ago by the late leader to save the budget. Then this decision backfired with the death of many old people who instantly lost their livelihood. Acting The president promised to restore the duration of secondary education to 10 years, and higher education to 5 years. They also promised to open free access to the Internet for citizens and even resume railway traffic from Ashgabat to Saratov. If things go like this, then in Turkmenistan they will again allow ballet and wearing gold crowns on the teeth, so beloved in Central Asia...

Of course, Turkmen citizens understand that only one person can change their lives in this way, and they learned his name the very morning of the day their serdar died. They did the same in the rest of the world, for example in Washington. US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher welcomed Berdymukhamedov's election statements. "Education, access to information, economic opportunity, entrepreneurship - these are the foundations for creating a more inclusive society," Mr Boucher said on 8 January. At the same time, the diplomat added, “Berdymukhamedov should also think about political reforms...”

Moscow is in no hurry to publicly evaluate the actions of the new Turkmen leadership. The main criterion for such assessments remains the stability and predictability of supplies of Turkmen gas flowing through Russian territory to Ukraine. Since the death of Turkmenbashi, Ashgabat has fulfilled its contractual obligations flawlessly. The situation is worse, as, indeed, before, with the humanitarian aspect of Russian-Turkmen relations.

The new Turkmen authorities do not react to Moscow’s attempts, which have not yet been very publicized, to clarify the fate of the famous environmentalist Andrei Zatoka, who has dual Russian-Turkmen citizenship. 50-year-old Mr. Zatoka was detained on December 17 in Tashauz when he flew through Ashgabat to Moscow for the congress of the International Social-Ecological Union ( see “Vremya Novostei” dated December 21, 2006 - Ed .). A few days later, he was accused of “disturbing public order,” and then even criminal offenses, “illegal possession of weapons and ammunition,” and “illegal trafficking in potent or poisonous substances.” From trustworthy sources, our newspaper learned that the request twice sent by the Russian Foreign Ministry to Ashgabat regarding the detention of Andrei Zatoka remained unanswered. But today, according to VN, during Vladimir Putin’s meeting with members of the Presidential Council for Promoting the Development of Civil Society Institutions, he will be presented with a letter from the Russian public, concerned about the fate of the environmentalist.

In September 2006 , Radio Liberty correspondent Ogulsapar Muradova, detained in Ashgabat on similar charges, died as a result of beatings in a Turkmen prison.

The two-day conference “Turkmenistan after Niyazov,” organized by the International League for Human Rights, the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights and the Russian Memorial, ends today in Vienna. The statement adopted at the conference calls on the Turkmen authorities for the immediate release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and on Russia and the United States to support democratic reforms in Turkmenistan. The appeal to the UN contains a requirement to ensure visits to Turkmenistan within the framework of special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council. Human rights activists also hope for the OSCE's assistance in establishing a dialogue between the Turkmen authorities, on the one hand, and the opposition and civil society, on the other.

Arkady DUBNOV