Turkmenistan - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 1 - 6 of 113

Turkmenistan’s Policy of Suppressing Public Criticism, Dissent Continues, Says Amnesty

Amnesty International has published its annual report entitled, The State of the World’s Human Rights: April 2024. The document includes articles on 155 countries with AI-tracked human rights records through 2023, with the section on Turkmenistan stating that the government there has continued its policy of suppressing any form of public criticism and dissent both within and outside of the country. Under the pretext of preserving national traditions, discrimination continued against girls, women and LGBT+ representatives, whose rights were arbitrarily infringed upon. In June, the United Nations (UN) Committee for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) expressed particular concern that patriarchal attitudes to gender-based violence persist. The Committee raised concerns that women and girls are being forced to conform to gender stereotypes under the pretense of preserving national culture, and that their basic freedoms are being curtailed, including through the imposition of dress and appearance codes and other discriminatory practices. Internet access is still very limited and heavily controlled by the government. Any coverage of negative events - including economic hardship, shortages of basic foodstuffs, the effects of climate change, and forced labor - is censored. In April, a study of global internet censorship by two U.S. universities found that more than 122,000 domains are blocked in Turkmenistan, as well as dozens of news sites and social networks. The government-managed internet connection has become the slowest and most expensive in the world. Authorities have tightly controlled the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and have attempted to suppress small-scale spontaneous protests over social and economic issues such as food shortages, access to justice, and healthcare. In March, police arrested about 30 women who gathered in front of the presidential palace in Ashgabat to air their grievances directly to President Serdar Berdymukhamedov. In April, police arrested 15 people following a spontaneous protest by hundreds of citizens against a bread shortage at local bakeries in the city of Mary. Furthermore, thousands of employees of state organizations are still forced to go out to pick cotton, or have to pay others to go in their place.

Central Asia Turkmenistan Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan

Group of Central Asians Charged in Germany on Terrorism Offenses

Germany's justice system has charged seven Central Asians, aged 20 to 46, with preparing terrorist attacks on behalf of the Islamic State - Khorasan Province (ISIS-K). The suspects were arrested back in July 2023 in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. The citizens of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are accused of creating a terrorist organization. According to the German prosecutor's office, they intended to carry out terrorist attacks in Western Europe, but at the time of their arrest they did not have any specific plan. In March of this year, ISIS-K took responsibility for the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall near Moscow, which killed 145 people. German law enforcement authorities believe that some of the attackers entered Germany via Ukraine after Russia's February 2022 invasion, while others came from the Netherlands. Before their arrest, the suspects are alleged to have periodically met to discuss potential locations for a terrorist attack. According to police information, they were also engaged in fundraising for terrorist activities. German law enforcement agencies have been on constant alert since the terrorist attack in December 2016, when radical Islamist Anis Amri drove a truck into a crowd of people in Berlin's Breitscheidplatz Square.

Central Asia Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy

Central Asians Not Bananas About Bananas

According to the agricultural trade publication East Fruit, Central Asians have little taste for bananas. Kazakhstan has the highest consumption rate but with an average of 4.5 kg of fresh bananas eaten per person, per year, comes nowhere near Uganda where each year, individuals enjoy a whopping 270 kg of bananas. Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are fast catching up with Kazakhstan whilst in Tajikistan, the annual banana consumption per head is only 2.3 kg. In Turkmenistan, it appears that many citizens never touch the fruit. Lagging far behind its neighbours, a very modest 160 grams are consumed per head, per year; a figure which according to East Fruit analysts is even lower than that recorded for North Korea. Not surprisingly, countries with the highest banana consumption tend to be those where the fruit is grown and exported and by way of explaining the above data, Andriy Yarmak, an economist in the investment department of the Unites Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated, "Such a low consumption of bananas in Central Asian countries is due to the distance of the countries from the port infrastructure, which makes logistics very expensive. In addition, many countries in the region have high tariff and non-tariff barriers that prevent the import of exotic fruits into these regions. The third factor is the relatively low prices of local fruits, especially in the season of their mass production.”

Central Asia Uzbekistan Environment Uzbekistan Turkmenistan International Affairs Turkmenistan Local Politics Uzbekistan Local Politics

Turkmen Dissidents Mark Anniversary of Deadly Storm With Government Protest

On April 27 activists from the Warsaw Post-Soviet Dissident Alliance will hold a protest in Warsaw, Poland, against the Turkmen government. The event is being organized in memory of the dozens of victims of the 2020 windstorm in the city of Turkmenabat. The protest will mark the fourth anniversary of the April 27 storm that brought hurricane-force winds to Turkmenabat. The storm claimed dozens of lives, but authorities in Ashgabat have never mentioned it -- nor have they offered any support to the victims' families. Rather, criminal cases were opened against the volunteers who tried to help people in the city on their own, the Warsaw Alliance have claimed in a statement. The Alliance is demanding that Turkmen authorities acknowledge the storm as a historical fact, disclose the number of dead and injured, pay compensation to the injured citizens and their families, and declare April 27 as a day of mourning. On 27 April 2020 there was a severe windstorm in Turkmenistan. The gales damaged a number of settlements in the Turkmenabat region, leaving hundreds of people homeless. Electricity, gas and drinking water were cut off for several days in places like Lebap, Turkmanabat (partially), Kerki and Farob (completely). Turkmen state television made no mention of the storm. The windstorm also crossed into Uzbekistan, where one death and 41 injuries of various degrees were reported. In contrast to the response of the Turkmen government, Uzbekistan's president Shavkat Mirziyoyev immediately flew to the city of Bukhara, where there was the most damage, to meet with residents.

Central Asia Environment Home Tajikistan International Affairs Uzbekistan Turkmenistan International Affairs Turkmenistan Tajikistan Business Economy International Affairs Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan International Affairs Kyrgyzstan Turkmenistan Business & Economy Uzbekistan Business & Economy Kazakhstan International Affairs Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy Kazakhstan Business & Economy Features Uzbekistan International Affairs

Central Asian Countries Set 2024 Quotas for Amu Darya, Syr Darya River Water Usage

Last week in Kazakhstan, delegates came together for the 87th meeting of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC) of Central Asia, where they discussed the potential and limitations of regional water reservoirs ahead of the 2023-2024 agricultural growing season. According to the ICWC, some of the more pressing questions focused on confirming limits of water usage for the 2024 growing season for the Syr Darya and Amu Darya river basins and the prognosis for water release from the reservoirs in those basins. There's still no information on how much water will be sent to the Aral Sea basin. In accordance with the quota, the draw on water from the Amu Darya watershed will be 56 billion cubic meters for the year, with about 40 billion cubic meters to be used in the April-to-October growing season. As stated in the ICWC agreement, Uzbekistan will receive 16 billion cubic meters, Turkmenistan 15.5 billion cubic meters, and Tajikistan will get 6.9 billion cubic meters. The Syr Darya's water use quota for this year's growing season is around 11.9 billion cubic meters, with 8.8 billion cubic meters going to Uzbekistan, 1.9 billion cubic meters for Tajikistan, 920 million cubic meters for Kazakhstan, and 270 million cubic meters for Kyrgyzstan. According to the ICWC, the totals for irrigated lands by Central Asian country are 4.3 million hectares in Uzbekistan, 2.5 million hectares in Kazakhstan, 1.9 million hectares in Turkmenistan, 1 million hectares in Kyrgyzstan, and 680,000 in Tajikistan.

Central Asia Turkmenistan Turkmenistan Local Politics Local Politics

Turkmenistan’s Government Employees Should Know President’s Biography in Order to Pass Certification

According to a report by the Chronicles of Turkmenistan, the main questions asked to employees of state bodies in Turkmenistan during the attestation period are related to the president and his relatives. This year, employees of the Transport and Communications Agency, the Health and Medical Industry, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, the Ministry of Public Education, and the Turkmen Oil Concern were certified in Ashgabat. Reportedly, employees of these institutions were warned about the need to pass the certification, and people were prepared for questions about their profession and job responsibilities, with those who had bought a diploma and didn't have a deep understanding of their specialty especially worried. However, the examiners were not interested in the civil servants' professional knowledge, but in the biography of President Serdar Berdymukhamedov. People were asked where he was born and educated, what positions he held, his family members and the books he has purportedly written. Not all civil servants passed the certification. Managers have threatened to demote or cut their salaries of those who failed, whilst encouraging their employees to apply for recertification, the report stated.