Turkmenistan Local Politics - The Times Of Central Asia

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Turkmenistan’s Public Sector Employees Pay Up to Care for Mulberry Silkworms, Cotton Fields

To cover the costs of silkworm care and the weeding of cotton, money is being collected from employees of state institutions in the Mary region, according to a report by Radio Azatlyk. According to a verbal order issued by the authorities, 100 manat is being collected from each government employee for the cost of silkworm care - and 30 manat for weeding. Many workers at state institutions are dissatisfied with yet another example of extortion, but say they have no choice but to comply. According to an employee of one local state organizations, if any employee refuses to hand over the money, a report will be written on him or her. Employees who don't agree with the collection of money are accused of opposing public policy, which can lead to their dismissal under various false pretexts. "It is already very difficult to find a job now. Therefore, the majority of public sector workers are forced to agree to submit to the authorities' next levies. If you write a report on one worker, the rest of them immediately agree to any demands," the anonymous government worker said. According to a presidential decree signed in February, Turkmenistan plans to produce 2,100 tons of silkworm cocoons this year. Meanwhile, cotton sowing projects also continue.

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Strapped For Cash: Officials in Turkmenistan Have to Buy Watches With the Berdymukhamedovs’ Faces on Them

In Turkmenistan's Balkan province, heads of government agencies are being forced to buy wristwatches with the current president Serdar Berdymukhamedov and his father, the previous president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on the face. They cost from 1,500 to 3,000 manats ($430-$860 at the state exchange rate or $75-$150 at the black-market rate), according to a report by Radio Azatlyk. The heads of all departments -- including healthcare, education, law enforcement, transport and communication companies -- at the velayat (regional) and etrap (district) levels are required to buy wristwatches with portraits of the Berdymukhamedovs elder and younger. The heads of higher-level offices were obliged to buy a commemorative watch with double portraits costing 3,000 manats, while the heads of small budgetary organizations will have to shell out 1,500 manats for the watch. According to Azatlyk, several different watches are available. The most expensive one has a portrait of Serdar Berdymukhamedov in a black tie on the left and his father Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, now chairman of the Halk Maslahaty (People's Council), in a red tie on the right. The flag of Turkmenistan is placed at the top of the face, and there is a map of the country at the bottom. Other watches have only the portrait of Serdar Berdymukhamedov and a map, while the third watch has him with the flag and map. During the reign of independent Turkmenistan's first leader Saparmurat Niyazov, watches with his portrait were also produced and given as gifts to schoolchildren and employees of state-run and government agencies. A government worker from the town of Turkmenbashi told Azatlyk's correspondent: "We used to see watches with the president's image during Niyazov's time. It is not surprising that Serdar Berdymukhamedov has also started producing gift watches with his portrait on them. Now all that's left is for him to start installing statues to himself all over the country." "We already can't make ends meet because of constant extortions to buy books and [attend] various events," the frustrated worker added.

Central Asia Justice Turkmenistan Turkmenistan Local Politics

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 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 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.

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Turkmenistan Stops Selling Tickets to Russia for Migrant Laborers

In a number of regions of Turkmenistan, the sale of air tickets to citizens who have received an official offer to work in Russia has been suspended, according to news portal Turkmen.news. The halting of ticket sales is related to the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall near Moscow on March 22 of this year. Following the attack on March 22, the departure of labor migrants from Turkmenistan to Russia suddenly stopped. Those who have received invitations to work and applied for visas have learned that they cannot purchase tickets for the time being. Recently, twelve undocumented workers from Turkmenistan, who worked in one of the markets in Domodedovo near Moscow, were arrested. Four were released after being fined, and eight were transferred to a special detention center in the city of Yegoryevsk, Moscow region, for deportation. According to Chronicles Turkmenistan, there are 47 citizens of Turkmenistan being held at a pre-trial detention center in Vidnoye who are awaiting deportation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and the Russian Government has begun discussing the possibility of suspending the issuance of visas for Turkmens for at least one and a half years. An exception will be made only for diplomats and representatives of large businesses, according to a report.