Turkmenbashi Targets NGOs

The Turkmen authorities’ heavy-handed crackdown on non-governmental organisations has been greeted with dismay by human rights activists.

Under new regulations, the state exercises total control over the funding, activities and even the property of non-governmental organisations, NGOs.

NGO workers now claim that since the legislation came into effect at the end of November, those who run independent organisations have been harassed and threatened by operatives from the justice and security ministries.

The authorities have also banned all public events - even those which received official permission - and are believed to have suspended a number of NGOs.

Turkmenistan currently has around 300 registered and unregistered public organisations - a tenth of the number in neighbouring Kazakstan.

The former Soviet republic has become increasingly isolated under the authoritarian rule of eccentric president-for-life Saparamurat Niazov - who likes to be called Turkmenbashi, or Leader of the Turkmen - and this latest move is seen as a further blow to civil society.

As NGOs supporting democracy and human rights are not allowed to operate in Turkmenistan, only those dedicated to environmental protection or supporting students or certain minority groups are visible.

Analysts believe that the new law is intended to break this independent network of public organisations, leaving only state-sponsored groups such as the Women’s Union, the Youth Association and the Veterans’ Association in place.

Unregistered NGOs, which were set up under a previous law guaranteeing the right of assembly for all citizens, are the most vulnerable. Their property is now subject to confiscation, while repeat offences can be punished with up to two years imprisonment.

The manager of one small dry cleaning business, which was set up with a grant from the Dutch embassy in Ashgabat and provides support for poverty-stricken pensioners, told IWPR, “They [security service men] visited me at home, took down all the information [regarding the business] and ordered me to shut it down.”

Activists also allege that, having gathered details of all organisations supported by the United States funding agency Counterpart Consortium, justice ministry officials have visited local workers at their homes.

“The aim of these visits was to force them to sign a paper declaring that they are aware that unregistered organisations are illegal, and working with them is a criminal offence,” one activist told IWPR.

He also claimed that several doctors and teachers have been removed from their posts after officials discovered that they did voluntary work with various NGOs.

The oldest environmental NGO in the republic - the Dashoguz Ecology Club, which was first registered in 1992 - has ceased to exist following the introduction of the law.

The crackdown on the organisation appears to have begun earlier this year, with the imprisonment of leading member Farid Tukhbatullin on charges of conspiracy.

Analysts believe this was a politically motivated case, linking it to Tukhbatullin’s participation in a Russian human rights conference shortly before his arrest. He was later released after pressure from international community.

Western human rights groups have been vocal in their opposition to the law, claiming it violates standard legislation on civil and political rights, and directly contradicts a number of international agreements that Ashgabat is already signatory to.

Many analysts and activists believe the crackdown on NGOs is merely the latest step in a government campaign to eradicate any dissent in the wake of the attempt on President Saparamurat Niazov’s life in November 2002.

Opposition leader Boris Shikhmuradov was named as the mastermind behind the group which allegedly planned the assassination, and received a hefty prison sentence, as did many other former high-ranking officials who were accused of being involved.

A recent comment by Niazov - in which he claimed that dissenters were being given a free rein in Turkmenistan because they were being bankrolled by foreign funders - has added to speculation that the authorities are specifically targeting NGOs.

“Don’t be afraid of anything,” Niazov reportedly told the new security minister in charge of implementing the new regulations. “It doesn’t matter what [Westerners] say about human rights violations and democracy - be tough.”

This reported stance offers little hope for those who work with NGOs in the increasingly isolated republic.

The founder of one sports group for disabled teenagers in Ashgabat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told IWPR that closure was inevitable after security ministry officials threatened his staff with imprisonment.

He believes that the only way around the law would be for his organisation to refuse charitable funding and operate on a commercial basis - which would completely change the nature of their work.

Students’ club activist Rustam - who did not reveal his full name for fear of reprisals - told IWPR that they had been told to stop all activities, including their popular student theatre and shows, and alleges that his family was threatened by security forces.

“We were told that if we wished to continue, we should join the Youth Association, where all they do is sing songs about the president and participate in official parades,” he said.

Local activists say that the crackdown will have dire consequences for Turkmenistan, as the bulk of the population will be too scared to become involved with public organisations.

“This will jeopardise what little efforts to create civil society have taken place so far,” said one NGO worker, who did not want to give his name. “It will also make some people even more hostile towards the authorities.”

Ata Muradov is the pseudonym of an independent journalist in Ashgabat. Saule Mukhametrakhimova is IWPR’s Central Asia project director in London.