Translated material
Turkmenbashi Second
The new president of Turkmenistan promises reforms in the name of the old one
As expected, former Deputy Prime Minister Kurbanguly Berdimuhammedov became the new president of Turkmenistan . Yesterday in Ashgabat, the inauguration ceremony of the second president of the only country in the post-Soviet space that has the status of a neutral state, huge gas reserves and considerable oil reserves took place. The Russian delegation was headed by Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.During the elections last Sunday, 89.23% of voters voted for Berdymukhammedov , according to the Turkmen Central Election Commission. At the same time, the turnout, according to the same official data, amounted to a completely “Niyazov” figure - more than 98.6% of the country's residents who have the right to vote.
It was simply impossible to expect any of the five other candidates to win in the first alternative presidential elections in Turkmenistan. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health, 49-year-old Berdymukhammedov, has been acting as deputy prime minister and health minister since the death of the great leader of all Turkmen, Saparmurat Niyazov, on December 21 last year. In addition, he was the only candidate for a high post whose nomination as a presidential candidate was voted unanimously by the People's Council of Turkmenistan (Halk Maslahaty). As a result, from 1.31 to 3.23% voted for the remaining candidates in the elections.
The results of Sunday's voting were announced by the head of the Central Election Commission, Murad Karryev, at the presidential inauguration ceremony, held at a meeting of the Halk Maslakhaty. According to local journalists, the national council hall has never seen so many correspondents, mainly foreign ones. It was extremely difficult for the hall workers “in plainclothes” to place about two dozen television cameras, about the same number of photographers and newspapermen on the balconies and in the passages of the far from small hall. During the election campaign, Murad Karryev noted, “all candidates competed in an atmosphere of complete openness and competition, all candidates worked together in the name of the people, helping each other.”
The announcement of Kurbanguly Berdymukhammedov's victory was greeted by the audience standing and, as was customary to write in the Soviet press, accompanied by applause turning into a standing ovation.
Together with 2,487 members (the authorities explained why 20 more were absent) of the People's Council, the new Turkmen leader received a standing ovation from high-ranking guests who had specially come to Ashgabat for the inauguration. The Russian delegation at the celebrations was headed by Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. The organizers gave him a seat in the hall between the presidents of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai and Tajikistan Emomali Rakhmonov. On the other side of Mr. Rakhmonov sat the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Further across the chair (it remained empty until the very end of the ceremony, until Mr. Berdymukhammedov took it before the festive concert) sat the presidents of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, and Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, who were constantly whispering to each other. Considering that the chair to their left was also empty for a long time, it seemed that they deliberately isolated themselves from the rest of the guests, including their CIS partners. Which, however, is not far from reality.
Let us note that Azerbaijan, like Russia, was represented at the inauguration by the Prime Minister, Armenia and Uzbekistan by the heads of parliament, and Belarus by the chairman of the House of Representatives of the People's Assembly.
Non-CIS countries were also represented very widely. The Prime Minister came from Turkey, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher came from the United States, and Deputy Chairman of the National People's Representative Council with a completely un-Chinese name and surname, Ismail Mamach, came from China. International organizations were represented by OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichampeau and EU Special Representative for Central Asia Pierre Morel.
In the speech from the throne, which followed the taking of the oath to the constitution and kissing the national flag, Kurbanguly Berdimuhammedov announced what he intended to do in the near future , what changes awaited the country. To begin with, he promised that the Turkmen population would continue to use gas, electricity and salt free of charge. Prices for gasoline will remain unchanged (in terms of rubles, it costs today in Turkmenistan, according to the driver whom the Vremya Novostei correspondent encountered, about 35 kopecks per liter), bread, transport, and housing. It is planned to improve tax legislation. Schoolchildren will be given back a ten-year education, replaced by Turkmenbashi with a nine-year education. At the same time, special attention will be paid to the study of three languages - Turkmen, Russian and English.
Mr. Berdymukhammedov also promises to build a mother and child center in each of the five regions of the republic, and textile mills that will create new jobs. Particular attention is expected to be paid to the problem of providing the population with housing. According to the new president, residents of Turkmenistan will be given the opportunity to receive preferential loans for the construction and purchase of private houses. Among the president's other promises are to completely install telephones in the country and provide Internet access to every citizen. (Note that the current apparent informational secrecy of the country in Ashgabat looks somewhat deceptive; many residential buildings are simply studded with satellite dishes, which, according to those who accompanied Russian journalists from the prime minister’s pool, are capable of receiving at least 100 channels, including Russian and non-CIS ones .)
As Kurbanguly Berdimuhammedov emphasized, Turkmenistan will fulfill all its international obligations regarding the supply of energy resources. Of course, first of all we are talking about gas. “The one who walks will master the road,” Mr. Berdymukhammedov concluded his speech with Saparmurat Niyazov’s favorite saying.
“The inaugural speech is encouraging,” one local journalist told a Vremya Novostei correspondent. He identified three problems, the solutions of which he especially expects. The first is improving the quality of education, including in universities (previously, Mr. Berdymukhammedov promised to return to five-year education in higher educational institutions), the second is the return of pension payments canceled by Turkmenbashi (this promise was also made during the election campaign), the third is - communication with the outside world via the Internet. Then, after thinking a little, he said that it would be good to release many of those who were imprisoned under the previous president. “Many were imprisoned completely undeservedly,” says a local journalist.
Mikhail Fradkov is expected to hold the first negotiations with the new Turkmen leader today; yesterday there was only a brief meeting. As a government source told Vremya Novostei, it is important for Russia to establish “good and strong relations with the new leadership of Turkmenistan and consolidate the positive results of interaction in the fuel and energy sector.” Without a doubt, the topic of the gas sector will be touched upon during the negotiations. Gazprom, as is known, annually purchases 40-42 billion cubic meters of blue fuel from Turkmenistan for supplies to Ukraine through the Rosukrenergo company. The issue of increasing supplies to 50 billion cubic meters is currently being discussed, however, for this the parties will have to create appropriate gas transportation capacities.
The head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, who arrived in Ashgabat as part of the Russian delegation, will assist the Russian prime minister in the negotiations. “We count on continuity in trade and economic relations,” a government source told Vremya Novostei.
Yesterday evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Kurbanguly Berdymukhammedov by telephone on his election as President of Turkmenistan and assured that Russia has always been and remains a reliable friend of Turkmenistan. “Your convincing victory in the elections is evidence of the high trust placed in you by the Turkmen people,” says the text of the congratulations distributed by the Kremlin press service. Putin expressed confidence that Russian-Turkmen relations will continue to develop successfully in the interests of the peoples of our countries, peace and stability in the Central Asian region.