The government of Turkmenistan in Central Asia is expected to adopt a new constitution this year. A draft announced by a commission chaired by President Berdimuhamedow would extend the presidential term from five to seven years and abolish the age limit for presidential candidates (currently 70 under the existing constitution), further consolidating presidential power. The parliament is formally expected to approve it within the year.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan became independent in 1991. Its first president, President Niyazov, ruled the state with an authoritarian grip centered on a cult of personality. He strictly suppressed political and speech freedoms and even decreed that he would serve as president for life. He also erected giant statues of himself in the capital and elsewhere. In addition, he introduced numerous bizarre policies: he banned opera, ballet, broadcasts of recorded music, and the use of the internet, and he renamed the “months” and “days of the week” after members of his family and other terms. In 2005, he ordered the closure of hospitals outside the capital.

Statue of former President Niyazov (Photo: Velirina / Shutterstock.com)

When Niyazov died of illness in 2006, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, then health minister and the official responsible for implementing the hospital-closure policy, assumed the presidency. He lifted the extreme policies introduced by the late President Niyazov that had drawn criticism and began dismantling the cult of personality surrounding Niyazov. However, signs of a new cult of personality around himself began to appear, and in 2015 a massive statue of President Berdimuhamedow was erected in the capital.

President Berdimuhamedow (Photo: Deepspace / Shutterstock.com)

Harsh repression of politics and speech remains strong. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) (2015), which assesses and ranks the state of democracy around the world each year, Turkmenistan is an “authoritarian regime” and ranked 162nd out of 167, near the bottom. The NGO Human Rights Watch considers the human rights situation in Turkmenistan to be “abysmal,” and numerous cases of torture and enforced disappearances have been documented.

However, there is little visible attention or criticism from foreign governments regarding democracy and human rights issues in Turkmenistan. The European Union (EU) is moving forward with negotiations toward a trade agreement with Turkmenistan after removing conditions tied to improvements in human rights. In 2015, Japanese Prime Minister Abe visited Turkmenistan and concluded agreements to facilitate further expansion by Japanese companies.

Oil drilling rig in the Caspian Sea By www.dragonoil.com. [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Behind this lies Turkmenistan’s abundant natural gas and oil. More than half of its GDP comes from the energy industry, and in particular, its natural gas accounts for 9.3% of the world’s proven reserves, the fourth largest in the world. The routes for transporting natural gas and oil out of landlocked Turkmenistan have drawn the attention of many countries and become the subject of competition. The calculation is that by maintaining good relations with the Turkmen government, foreign countries can secure opportunities to access resources and to enter related projects such as infrastructure.

In 2009, a pipeline connecting to China was completed, and China surpassed Russia and Iran as Turkmenistan’s primary export destination. A pipeline traversing Turkmenistan from east to west and connecting to the Caspian Sea was completed in 2015, and gas is scheduled to reach Europe by 2019. Furthermore, construction of a pipeline linking Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India has been proceeding in earnest since 2016.

Foreign interest is not only economic and strategic but also military. In the war in Afghanistan that has continued since 2001, neighboring Turkmenistan has served as one of the United States’ rear support hubs, handling refueling for the Air Force. The U.S. Air Force is stationed at the airport in the capital, Ashgabat, and it has been suggested that a base could also be provided.

The neighboring countries of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are also rich in oil, natural gas, and other mineral resources, but like Turkmenistan they face serious problems regarding democracy and human rights. In Uzbekistan in 2005, more than 700 people are said to have been killed in a massacre by the national army. In September 2016, President Karimov, who had maintained a dictatorial regime for many years, died of illness, but it is unclear whether the political environment will improve. Across Central Asia as a whole, as long as the entanglements of natural resources remain, it seems unlikely that foreign governments will genuinely push for improvements in the current state of democracy and human rights.

Turkmenistan has strong isolationist tendencies, and it is difficult for journalists to enter the country and carry out reporting, but to improve the situation it will be important to draw the attention of disinterested third parties.

Writer: Virgil Hawkins
Graphics: JT-FSD