The State of Democratization and Human Rights in Turkmenistan
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE STATE OF DEMOCRATIZATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN TURKMENISTAN HEARING BEFORE THE COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION MARCH 21, 2000 Printed for the use of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe [CSCE 10626] Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.csce.gov 64-372PDF U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 2001 COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS HOUSE SENATE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado Chairman Co-Chairman FRANK R. WOLF, Virginia KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas MATT SALMON, Arizona SPENCER ABRAHAM, Michigan JAMES C. GREENWOOD, Pennsylvania SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania TIM HUTCHINSON, Arkansas STENY H. HOYER, Maryland FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland BOB GRAHAM, Florida LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER, New York RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin MICHAEL P. FORBES, New York CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS HAROLD HONGJU KOH, Department of State EDWARD L. WARNER III, Department of Defense PATRICK A. MULLOY, Department of Commerce COMMISSION S TAFF DOROTHY DOUGLAS TAFT, Chief of Staff RONALD J. MCNAMARA, Deputy Chief of Staff ELIZABETH M. CAMPBELL, Office Administrator OREST DEYCHAKIWSKY, Staff Advisor JOHN F. FINERTY, Staff Advisor CHADWICK R. GORE, Communications Director ROBERT HAND, Staff Advisor JANICE HELWIG, Staff Advisor MARLENE KAUFMANN, Counsel KAREN S. LORD, Counsel for Freedom of Religion MICHELE MADASZ, Staff Assistant/Systems Administrator MICHAEL J. OCHS, Staff Advisor ERIKA B. SCHLAGER, Counsel for International Law MAUREEN T. WALSH, General Counsel (ii) THE STATE OF DEMOCRATIZATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN TURKMENISTAN MARCH 21, 2000 OPENING STATEMENTS PAGE Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Chairman .......................................................... 1 Hon. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Co-Chairman ............................................ 2 Hon. Steny H. Hoyer, Ranking Member ........................................................ 3 Hon. Sam Brownback ...................................................................................... 4 Hon. Joseph R. Pitts ........................................................................................ 5 WITNESSES Testimony of John Beyrle, Principal Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large and Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for New Independent States ........................................................................................................... 7 Testimony of Avdy Kuliev, Turkmen Opposition in Exile .......................... 22 Testimony of Pyotr Iwaszkiewicz, formerly of OSCE Office in Ashgabat .. 26 Testimony of Firuz Kazemzadeh, Member, U.S. Commission on Interna- tional Religious Freedom ......................................................................... 30 Testimony of Cassandra Cavanaugh, Research Assoicate, Human Rights Watch/Helsinki ......................................................................................... 33 Testimony of E. Wayne Merry, Director, Program on European Societies in Transition, Atlantic Council of the United States .................................. 36 APPENDICES Prepared Statement of Hon. Christopher H. Smith .................................... 49 Prepared Statement of Hon. Ben Nighthorse Campbell ............................. 52 Prepared Statement of Hon. Steny H. Hoyer .............................................. 53 Prepared Statement of Hon. Joseph R. Pitts ............................................... 54 Prepared Statement of Sen. Sam Brownback .............................................. 56 Prepared Submission of Avdy Kuliev ........................................................... 57 Prepared Submission of Piotr Iwaszkiewicz ................................................ 61 Prepared Submission of Firuz Kazemzadeh ................................................ 71 Prepared Submission of Cassandra Cavanaugh ......................................... 74 Prepared Submission of E. Wayne Merry .................................................... 79 Statement of Ramil Galimov ........................................................................ 82 Statement of Yazmammed Annamammedov .............................................. 88 Statement of Nurbibi Annamammedova ..................................................... 91 Russian Evangelistic Ministries Report to the Helsinki Commission on the Persecution of Christians in Turkmenistan .................................... 94 Notes on the Video Destruction of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Ashgabad, Turkemnistan, November 1999 ........................................... 99 Known Prisoners of Conscience in Turkmenistan ..................................... 100 (iii) THE STATE OF DEMOCRATIZATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN TURKMENISTAN TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2000 COMMISSION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE, WASHINGTON, DC The Commission met at 2:00 p.m. in Room 334, Cannon House Office Building, Washington DC, Hon. Christopher Smith, Chairman, presid- ing. Commissioners present: Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Chairman; Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Co-Chairman; Hon. Joseph R. Pitts; Hon. Steny Hoyer; Sen. Sam Brownback Witnesses present: John Beyrle, Principal Deputy to the Ambassa- dor-at-Large and Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for New Inde- pendent States; Avdy Kuliev, Turkmen Opposition in Exile; Pyotr Iwaszkiewicz, formerly of OSCE Office in Ashgabad; Firuz Kazemza- deh, Member, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; Cassandra Cavanaugh, Research Associate, Human Rights Watch; and E. Wayne Merry, Director, Program on European Societies in Transi- tion, Atlantic Council of the United States. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, CHAIRMAN Mr. SMITH. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this hearing on de- mocratization, human rights, and religious liberty in Turkmenistan. This is one in a series that the Helsinki Commission has held on Cen- tral Asia. Last May we examined the political and human rights situation in Kazakhstan. In October we turned our attention to Uzbekistan. Our next Central Asia hearing will probably examine the situation in Kyr- gyzstan. Our focus today is on Turkmenistan. Under the leadership, or should I say misrule, of Mr. Niyazov, the country has become a worse-case scenario of post-Soviet development. Human Rights Watch Helsinki does not shrink from calling Turkmenistan one of the most repressive coun- tries in the world. Alone of the post-Soviet bloc countries, Turkmenistan remains a one- party state, but even that party is only a mere shadow of the former ruling Communist Party. All the real power resides in the countrys dictator, who savagely crushes any opposition or criticism. Not only are all political and civil rights ignored or abused in Turk- menistan, freedom of religion is violated. The law, the most restrictive in the former USSR, requires 500 people to register a religious commu- 1 2 nity. Only Islam and Russian Orthodoxy are registered and the au- thorities have intimidated, arrested, and otherwise persecuted individu- als and groups trying to practice their faith. Last November Turkmen authorities demolished a Seventh-day Ad- ventist Church in Ashgabad having previously torn down a Hare Krishna temple. Except during the Bosnian hostilities, I cannot recall another incident of an OSCE participating State destroying a house of worship since Romania in the 1980s. In fact, much about Turkmenistan today recalls Nicolae Ceausescu. Niyazovs cult personality has taken increas- ingly extreme forms. On December 28 delegates to the Peoples Council, ostensibly the most authoritative representative body in the country but actually a rubber stamp for Niyazov, gave him the right to remain in office permanently. His virtual coronation as president for life flagrantly violates OSCE commitments which call for regular and competitive elections. This move, which many had expected, not only offends our sensibili- ties, it is a serious challenge to the OSCE. If there is no appropriate response, other Central Asian leaders might be tempted to follow Niyazovs example, and the region, which might be described as a black hole for human rights, will sink even deeper into the mire. Last December, Helsinki Commission staff visited Turkmenistan and spoke at length with Ambassador Mann and embassy personnel about conditions in the country. Moreover, to judge by the State Departments annual reports on human rights observance, the Clinton Administra- tion has no illusions about Niyazov or his regime. However, Washing- ton wants its cooperation in building a Trans-Caspian gas pipeline to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan and Turkey under the Caspian Sea, as opposed to transporting the gas through Rus- sia or, even worse, through Iran. The Administration has invested considerable time, effort, and pres- tige in this initiative so U.S. policy toward Turkmenistan offers an excellent case study where U.S. economic and strategic interest con- flicts with human rights concerns. I would like to yield to my very distinguished co-chairman and good friend Ben Nighthorse Campbell for any opening comments that he might have. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, CO-CHAIRMAN Sen. CAMPBELL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The series of hearings on Central Asia launched by the Commission is a very significant and important contribution to our understanding of the trends in this