Turkmen Government Replies to US Senators' Inquiry on Political Prisoners
The Turkmen government has replied to a US senators' inquiry about two Turkmen political prisoners made last year.
The question and answer section of the video of the April 5 nomination hearing of Ambassador Robert Patterson, posted here, is worth mining not only to learn that interesting tidbit, but to get a sense of what the Senate finds important about Turkmenistan. Patterson was confirmed April 14 unanimously by the Senate.
The hearing was chaired by Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), majority chairman of the Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs Subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee.
Late in the session, after hearing from another candidate for ambassador, Senator Casey returns to Turkmenistan to ask Patterson about political prisoners -- and learns of a reply made by the Turkmen government concerning the cases of Sapardurdy Khadjiev and Annakurban Amanklychev, arrested in 2006 for helping a French documentary crew. The cases were among those mentioned in a letter in May 2010 led by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and then-Senator Richard Brownback (R-KS), also signed by Senator Casey and others, to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
At 69:02, Senator Casey asks: "What steps would you take to persuade the government to free these prisoners, and in the interim, to allow access to independent monitors, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)"?
Patterson replies at 70:53:
We saw today perhaps a little bit of very modest progress on that agenda. We received -- our Embassy in Ashgabat received -- from the government, [news] about the status of two of the prisoners that you had mentioned that you had signed a letter about, Mr. Amanklychev and Mr. Khadjiev. The information we got from the government of Turkmenistan provided information about the medical care they received and the visits they had from their families, etc. This is modest, as I said but perhaps a sign that the kind of dialogue that we have is beginning to bear some fruit.
As for the ICRC visits, Patterson says these would be a “tough nut to crack,” as the conditions offered by the Turkmen government were not acceptable to the ICRC but that he would work towards this goal. Senator Casey noted, “The earlier you can move on that the better."
Other highlights:
On Iran --
At 36:42, Sen. Casey asks Patterson about the "ongoing challenge of the Iranian regime" and US sanctions against Iran. He notes a strategy to "do everything to isolate the regime," which he believes to be making progress, but implies could be eroded if the US does business with Turkmenistan, which in turn does business with Iran. Iran is among Turkmenistan's main gas customers now, and is also involved in various joint projects such as building a railroad to Iran.
Patterson says the State Department has "gone out of its way" to make sure Ashgabat is aware of the sanctions, with demarches on a number of a occasions to keep the Turkmen leadership aware of US policy. He reveals that in late March, a small delegation from the State Department traveled to Ashgabat and met with American companies represented in Turkmenistan to brief them on the sanctions regime, "to make sure that in the course of doing business in Turkmenistan, and in the region, that they didn't inadvertently do anything to contravene the sanctions regimes in place."
Patterson noted that the Turkmen-Iranian border was "long a place of trading," as people of the same "nationality" (i.e. ethnicity) resided on both sides of the border. At 43:39, Casey notes the importance of having the Turkmen leaders "compartmentalize," to understand the US strategic objective regarding Iran, and yet have a "constructive relationship" with the US.
On diversification of the Turkmen economy and US companies --
At 43:55, Casey asks about natural gas, and what efforts will be made to encourage Turkmenistan toward alternative exports. At 44:20 Patterson says that Ashgabat has already taken a few steps of diversification, starting with the pipeline to China built in 2009, and mentions the Turkmen-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline:
We have made it clear to the government of Turkmenistan that American companies are able and have the the skills necessary to help the government overcome technical challenges as it considers going forward with that project. We've also been been encouraged by recent statements that have been made supporting the Trans-Caspian pipeline and the Southern Corridor...Again, we believe there are challenges to the completing of that pipeline, but American companies are in place in Ashgabat..and are more than eager to get involved in that project.
At 46:04, Senator Casey asks for an assessment of Turkmenistan’s economy. Patterson replies that Turkmenistan “remains heavily dependent on natural gas resources,” and notes that while it is “difficult to find authoritative economic statistics, those we have purport to show a measured growth." Patterson comments that “much of the basic purchases of the population are subsidized by the government in one form of another as a result of the natural gas income.”
“American companies have played a role in some of the sectors of the economy that have been explored by the government of Turkmenistan -- in agriculture, there are companies like Case and Caterpillar, and construction and others in place there," Patterson adds, pledging to facilitate increasing American involvement in Turkmen markets.
On restrictions on Turkmen NGOs --
At 73:20, Senator Casey asked about restrictions on NGOs, and how Patterson would approach this issue. At 73:35, Patterson noted that the Turkmen parliament has been considering changes to the public organizations law:
We'll have to see what those changes might produce; if some changes that are contemplated, if implemented, that might mean a somewhat better environment for NGOs to operate in.
Patterson said he plans to focus on people-to-people exchanges, Fulbright scholar exchanges, etc. and noted that the US Peace Corps now had 31 members in Turkmenistan. He expected that there would be “incremental changes” and that the Turkmen government could be made to understand that allowing civic groups to act would be “in the interest of stability."
On Patterson's applicable past experience --
At 75:43, Casey asked Patterson what experiences he thought would be helpful in this assignment.
Patterson noted that much of his career had been spent in the former Soviet Union, and “working with NGOs attempting to move their agendas forward in that difficult environment."
"I feel that I understand -- although this might be a little bit optimistic before going there -- the kind of environment that awaits me in Turkmenistan,” he commented, based on his experiences both before and during the Soviet perestroika era and in Russia after the USSR fell apart.
To be sure, Turkmenistan is not Russia, and I don't mean to imply that it is, but it was part of the Soviet Union for some time and there is a certain legacy that it shares. That legacy is fading with time, as all things do, but I think that nevertheless, some of the ideas that I had in working with the people there, and some of the practices that I saw might be useful as I approach this new assignment.
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