Turkmen Leaders Unlikely to Heed EBRD's Reform Call

After the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, EBRD, set political reforms and observance of human rights as conditions for lending to Turkmenistan, NBCentralAsia experts said the government was unlikely to respond favourably.

The EBRD set out its conditions when it presented its country strategy in Ashgabat on April 22. It made it clear that its engagement was dependent on Turkmenistan achieving milestones in areas like greater political pluralism, reform of the political system, improvements in human rights and civil liberties, the release of political prisoners, and allowing the Red Cross unhindered access to prisons.

EBRD staff will monitor progress and report annually to the bank’s board.

"The bank has put its political mandate to good use by setting benchmarks for human rights compliance and linking its level of engagement to their fulfillment," Veronika Szente Goldston, advocacy director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "A key test of this commitment will be the bank's - and indeed its shareholders' - resolve in enforcing this linkage, which requires staying true to the reform demands, and engaging in a genuine effort to ensure they are carried through." "

The EBRD began laying the ground for lending to Turkmenistan in 2008, as the West became interest in the country as a source of natural gas. In April 2009, the European Parliament approved an Interim Trade Agreement with Turkmenistan, after a delay of 11 years because of lack of progress on human rights.

Also last year, the EBRD issued a 1.8 million US dollar loan to a the private Turkmen firm called Payhas, which makes ice cream, and announced that it would put about two million dollars into building the Ak Enar network of food shops.

While European institutions seek to establish dialogue with the Turkmen government and hope for positive changes, in reality there any progress has been insignificant, since the authorities have no plans to implement democratic reforms, commentators say.

This time, too, say NBCentral Asia analysts, the authorities are likely to be unresponsive.

“The authorities flatly refuse to admit human rights violations,” said Tajigul Begmedova, who heads the Turkmen Helsinki Fund for Human Rights based in Bulgaria.

Despite numerous calls for improvement made by the international community, and in spite of the reforms the government says it has launched, political prisoners have not been released, dissidents continue to be persecuted, independent media are not allowed to operate, non-government organisations are not recognised, and activists either work in great secrecy or leave the country.

“In this situation, it would be very unwise to suggest there are real prospects for future cooperation [with the EBRD],” said Begmedova.

Annadurdy Khajiyev, a Turkmen economic analyst and dissident based in Bulgaria, says the EBRD could find itself in an awkward situation if it holds Turkmenistan to account.

“If Ashgabat is unhappy with a critical report from the bank, or with an unsatisfactory assessment of the way the authorities are acting, the bank will be shown the door,” he said. “The bank will run up against this problem and will have to choose between sticking to its principles and caving in to Turkmenistan.”

Khajiev believes Turkmenistan will make the most of working with the EBRD for PR purposes, but will do little of substance.

“The only thing the bank will be able to do is occasionally call on Turkmenistan to respect human rights and build democracy,” he said. But it’s clear that it is pointless appealing to deaf ears.”

This article was produced as part of IWPR’s News Briefing CentralAsia output, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.