07.09.2019

Akhal-Teke

Racketeers, cotton-picking, a Russian consultant

Igor Makarov (photo) — is a colorful figure with a knack for arriving on the scene when Turkmenistan is most in need.

Cotton-picking season is beckoning, and the message is more “white gold” and less grain.

In four of Turkmenistan’s five provinces, picking will begin on September 11. One week later, the campaign will begin in Dashoguz. The target is to harvest around 1 million tons of cotton across 5,500 square kilometers (2,100 square miles) of land.

Since the government owns all land in Turkmenistan, all the cruelty that this exercise involves — including forced labor, child labor and the arbitrary suspension of land leases to farmers unable to meet production quotas — is easily attributable… >> подробнее

07.09.2019

Sam Bhutia

Lousy decisions more than geography explain the ongoing crisis

An overvalued manat favors someone wanting to buy dollars and send them abroad – exactly the kind of pursuit often attributed to senior Turkmen officials.

Turkmenistan is tremendously rich in natural resources, with around 10 percent of the world’s total gas reserves.

But the news trickling out of the isolated country does not paint a rosy economic picture. For more than two years, inflation has been stubbornly high (jumping to almost 300 percent by one estimate last year). There have been consistent reports of food shortages and breadlines. This year the government scrapped free utilities, breaking a decades-long social contract. Public sector wages are going unpaid.

So what has gone wrong?

Turkmenistan suffers because… >> подробнее

31.08.2019

The Prove They Are Alive! Campaign

Statement by the Prove They Are Alive! Campaign on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

Since 2002, hundreds of enforced disappearances have occurred in Turkmenistan, and the campaign has documented over 120 specific cases over the past six years. Of these, at least 27 individuals have died in custody. The true number of people forcibly disappeared and who have died in custody is, no doubt, much higher.

The prison terms of fourteen individuals on the Prove! campaign’s list have already expired or will expire in 2019-2020. This makes the issue of enforced disappearance more urgent than ever. The fate of these 14 individuals is unknown, except that of civic activist Gulgeldy… >> подробнее