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Turkmenistan by Annette Bohr Turkmenistan by Annette Bohr Capital: Ashgabat Population: 5.0 million GDP/capita: US$6,130 Source: The data above was provided by The World Bank, World Bank Indicators 2010. Nations in Transit Ratings and Averaged Scores 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Electoral Process 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 Civil Society 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 Independent Media 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 Governance* 6.75 6.75 6.75 7.00 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a National Democratic Governance n/a n/a n/a n/a 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 Local Democratic Governance n/a n/a n/a n/a 7.00 7.00 7.00 6.75 6.75 6.75 Judicial Framework and Independence 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 Corruption 6.25 6.25 6.25 6.25 6.50 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 Democracy Score 6.83 6.83 6.83 6.88 6.93 6.96 6.96 6.93 6.93 6.93 * Starting with the 2005 edition, Freedom House introduced separate analysis and ratings for national democratic governance and local democratic governance to provide readers with more detailed and nuanced analysis of these two important subjects. NOTE: The ratings reflect the consensus of Freedom House, its academic advisers, and the author(s) of this report. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author(s). The ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 representing the highest level of democratic progress and 7 the lowest. The Democracy Score is an average of ratings for the categories tracked in a given year. 530 Nations in Transit 2010 Executive Summary n 2009, during the third year of his presidency, Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov made a visible effort to project himself to both Ithe domestic and international public as a youthful, energetic reformer. He could be seen on state media behind the steering wheel of a race car, in the cabin of a fighter jet, on horseback, riding a bicycle, and even performing surgery in a newly equipped clinic. Yet, although Turkmenistan’s state news agency went to great lengths to portray the president as a progressive leader with a new ideology, by 2009 it had become clear that the reform process under the new regime was lacking in substance, despite the initial high hopes for meaningful change. Turkmenistan under Berdimuhamedov still retains many of the distinguishing features of former president Saparmurat Niyazov’s rule, including the frequent purging of senior officials, a one-party system, tight control of the state-run mass media, and severe restrictions on civil liberties. There has been no revival of civil society under the new president, the vast majority of political prisoners remain behind bars, and the cult of personality around President Berdimuhamedov has significantly strengthened. The leadership even embarked on regressive steps that demonstrated its unwillingness to allow the general public exposure to a variety of world views or to tolerate independent activism. On the other hand, mobile telephony expanded rapidly in 2009 and Internet access increased, albeit modestly. National Democratic Governance. Turkmenistan is a police state where the activities of its citizens are carefully monitored by oversized internal security and law enforcement agencies. Since his formal election in February 2007, President Berdimuhamedov has largely maintained the structure of government and the command-administrative methods of rule employed by former president Niyazov. Following the adoption of a new constitution in 2008, the government reverted to one legislative body rather than two; although the expanded parliament was accorded greater formal powers, the legislature remains a presidential appendage and the country continues to be run primarily by presidential decree and instruction. The president appoints the members of government, the country’s governors at all levels, high-ranking judges, and the Central Election Commission. Turkmenistan suffers from an acute lack of expertise in all spheres of civil service, given that the majority of experienced managers, educators, and specialists were purged under Niyazov, while the new generation was trained under the Ruhnama-dominated education system. The gradual phasing out of Niyazov’s quasi-spiritual guidebook for the nation, the Ruhnama (Book of the Soul), continued in 2009, while its replacement national ideology, the “Era of Great Revival,” was steadily promoted. Turkmenistan’s national democratic governance rating remains at 7.00. Turkmenistan 531 Electoral Process. During Turkmenistan’s 18-year history of independent rule, electoral officials have declared near 100 percent voter turnout for all elections and referendums. To achieve this, electoral officials have engaged in irregular procedures, such as stuffing ballot boxes and making door-to-door visits where voters were urged to cast their ballots. Elections to gengeshes (local legislative councils) were held in July 2009. According to official reports, 12,450 candidates contested for 6,220 seats. Voter turnout was reported at 95.7 percent and no violations were documented by the state-approved observers. No parties or movements were legally registered in the country other than the government-sponsored Democratic Party of Turkmenistan and the National Revival Movement (Galkynysh). Unrelenting harassment by the authorities has driven the relatively small opposition either underground or into exile. Turkmenistan’s local council elections in July were multi-candidate, but could not be deemed free and fair given that the minimal media coverage was state-controlled and candidates who were not officially vetted by the government were barred from participation. Turkmenistan’s electoral process rating remains at 7.00. Civil Society. Under President Berdimuhamedov’s rule, civil society groups without official sanction continue to be stymied. Since the prospects for registration are considered remote, some groups have chosen to forgo the bureaucratic process and operate covertly, although the penalties for unregistered activity can be severe. In October 2009, the government’s propensity to persecute civil society activists was demonstrated by the arrest of the internationally respected environmentalist Andrei Zatoka on trumped-up charges, likely prompted by his links to Turkmenistani dissidents living abroad. The government also denied entry to a group of United States Peace Corps volunteers scheduled to begin their service, although a larger contingent was already operating in the country. Religious activity is tightly controlled by the state; in 2009, citing fears concerning the spread of swine flu, authorities barred Muslims in Turkmenistan from making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, urging them instead to sojourn to designated sacred sites across the country. Additionally, for the first time since 2007, several Jehovah’s Witnesses and other conscientious objectors were sentenced to imprisonment in labor camps for refusing to participate in compulsory military service on the grounds of religious conscience. Turkmenistan’s civil society rating remains at 7.00. Independent Media. Turkmenistan’s media organizations continue to uphold the ideological line of the government, which maintains control over all forms of state-run mass media through the State News Agency of Turkmenistan (TDH). While President Berdimuhamedov criticized the state broadcast and print media as “lacking creativity,” all journalists of the official mass media were required to approve their materials with the TDH or designated officials and engage in self- censorship to avoid government reprisals. Internet access increased modestly in 2009, although Turkmenistan still had one of the world’s lowest rates of Internet penetration. In October 2009 the government announced its intention to acquire 532 Nations in Transit 2010 the country’s first-ever communications satellite with the aim of accelerating Internet connectivity. By contrast, mobile telephony expanded rapidly. In a positive development, the advent of a small Turkmen-language online community, or “Turkmenet,” allowed the expression of a surprising amount of dissenting views on topics ranging from underground popular music to Islamism. Despite modest gains in Internet access, a substantive improvement in information liberalization is unlikely without changes in the government’s censorship policy and rigorous training for journalists. Turkmenistan’s independent media rating remains at 7.00. Local Democratic Governance. Despite the official allocation of US$4 billion to develop the country’s rural infrastructure, the majority of planned projects outside the capital city Ashgabat remained unimplemented by the end of 2009. Projects undertaken tended to be of a showcase nature, such as 10,000-seat stadiums, while little public revenue was spent to improve basic amenities like sewer systems, piped water supply networks, and electricity grids. Many of President Berdimuhamedov’s changes to the decaying education system have lacked substance, and students are still required to demonstrate knowledge of Niyazov’s Ruhnama in state entrance examinations to higher educational establishments. In 2009, President Berdimuhamedov’s leadership prevented some students from pursuing an education in U.S.-affiliated universities, belying its declared willingness to bring Turkmenistan’s educational system up to international standards. State media reported on the “hundreds of millions of dollars” allocated for the construction of new medical facilities across the country, although most are neither accessible to the majority of the population nor staffed with qualified personnel. The international organization Doctors Without Borders Médecins( Sans Frontières) was not allowed to conduct a program to treat multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and, as a result, left Turkmenistan in December 2009, marking the departure of the last international NGO operating in the country.
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