MOSCOW ACCUSED OF SACRIFICING RUSSIANS FOR OIL AND GAS IN TURKMEN UN VOTE
Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moscow
23 Apr 04
Moscow abstained in a recent UN vote condemning human rights abuses in
Turkmenistan, even though the Russophone community is among those
being persecuted. It has thus placed oil and gas deals with President
Nyyazow’s resource-rich country above the interests of its own people,
a national newspaper commented. The following is an excerpt from a
report by the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta on 23 April:
The UN Human Rights Commission recently passed a toughly-worded
resolution in Geneva, condemning the violation of human rights in
Turkmenistan, with 25 countries voting for, 11 against, and 17
abstaining. The document cites unacceptable “discrimination in
education and employment of ethnic Russians, Uzbeks, and other
national minorities”, “arbitrary arrests, incarceration, and curtailed
freedom to obtain information and self-expression”.
The abstaining countries included Russia, whose citizens living in
Turkmenistan are considered people of second quality and know
first-hand what discrimination is. It seems that a hypothetical
opportunity to take part in the development of Turkmenistan’s energy
resources looks much more attractive to Moscow than the protection of
its own citizens.
The official position of Moscow was voiced by Russian Deputy Foreign
Minister Yuriy Fedotov, who declared: “Basically, we proceed from the
fact that so-called ‘country-specific resolutions,’ particularly those
made by the UN Human Rights Commission, can hardly improve the real
situation.”
It is unclear how much attention Moscow paid to the fact that in
appreciation of the support he received from Russia, Turkmenbasy
(President Nyyazow) ordered yet another fountain in place of the
recently demolished Russian Theatre of Drama in Asgabat. It seems that
the Russian-speaking people have become accustomed to absolute
indifference displayed by their historical homeland to their problems
and do not count on help from bureaucrats from the Russian foreign
ministry or the Kremlin.
Russia’s indifference unties Nyyazow’s hands, and as a result the
discrimination of ethnic minorities in Turkmenistan is worsening. In
particular, specialists who graduated from higher education
institutions after 1993 outside Turkmenistan are to be dismissed by 22
May of this year. Members of national minorities are not allowed to
hold positions in financial and military authorities, the judicial
system, or the police and other security services. Teachers and
doctors have been dismissed as well. In an overwhelming majority of
cases, those are Russians, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Armenians, and people of
mixed parentage. Even if one of the parents is Turkmen, more lenient
treatment should not be expected.
Naturally, Nyyazow has not reacted in any way to yet more criticism
from the international community. (Passage omitted)
Notably, Ukraine proved one of the 11 countries sympathizing with
Turkmenbasy. Similar to Moscow, Kiev hopes to sign a gas contract for
25 years. It is unclear, however, whether Turkmenistan has enough gas
for everyone who wants it. (Passage omitted)