USCIRF Annual Report 2004 - Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is among the most repressive states in the world today and engages in particularly severe, ongoing violations of freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief. Since 1985, the country has been ruled by President Saparmurat Niyazov, who, since Turkmenistan gained independence in 1991, has assumed total control of the country through a "cult of personality." Niyazov's all-pervasive authoritarian rule has effectively prevented any opposition from operating within the country. The Commission continues to recommend that the Secretary of State designate Turkmenistan as a "country of particular concern," or CPC. Despite the fact that religious freedom is severely proscribed in Turkmenistan, the Secretary of State has not yet named Turkmenistan a CPC. There is no evidence that the situation for religious freedom has improved in the past year.

The overall human rights situation in Turkmenistan deteriorated significantly after November 2002, when, in response to an alleged assassination attempt, Niyazov began arresting hundreds of relatives or associates of dissidents. Many have been sentenced to as many as 25 years in prison. The status of religious freedom declined further after the passage of a new law on religion in November 2003. This law further codifies the Turkmen government's already highly repressive policies that effectively ban most religious activity in Turkmenistan and calls for criminal penalties for those found guilty of participating in "illegal religious activity." According to reports, the law also requires religious groups to coordinate any contacts with co-religionists abroad with the Turkmen government. Contradicting this law, Niyazov issued a surprise decree in March 2004 that religious communities may register "in the prescribed manner" and will no longer have to meet the requirement of 500 members in order to register. However, the decree only amends those portions of the law relating to the numerical requirements for registration and not the penalties for violating it. Turkmen officials have noted that this apparent easing of registration requirements does not mean that religious communities will be able to meet in private homes to conduct services. To date, no religious communities have been registered under the lower numerical requirements for registration.

President Niyazov has promoted a state-controlled version of Islam as part of Turkmen identity. His monopoly of power and absolute control over Turkmen society renders any independent religious activity impossible and is treated as a potential threat to that control. Since independence in 1991, religious groups must register with the government in order to engage in religious activities. The earlier 1997 version of the religion law effectively banned all religious groups except the state-controlled Sunni Muslim Board and the Russian Orthodox Church, though religious instruction even for these two communities is severely limited. Niyazov has allowed only one madrassa, or Islamic school, to remain open. In late March 2004, he proclaimed that no new mosques should be built. Imams have been instructed by the government to repeat an oath of loyalty to the "fatherland" and to the President after each daily prayer. Niyazov bolstered his personality cult with the publication of a three-volume work, Ruhnama, containing his "spiritual thoughts," which is required reading in all schools. Copies of Ruhnama are now reportedly required in mosques and Russian Orthodox churches, and given equal prominence with the Koran and the Bible. Opposition on religious grounds to this requirement is considered a grave affront to Niyazov's power. Indeed, on March 2, 2004, the country's former chief mufti, Nazrullah ibn Ibadullah, who had opposed the requirement to elevate the Ruhnama, was sentenced in a closed trial to 22 years in prison, reportedly on charges of treason for purported involvement in the alleged November 2002 assassination attempt against Niyazov.

Even before the passage of the new law on religion, the 1997 version of the religion law made it all but impossible for religious minorities to register and function legally. Turkmen security forces routinely interrogate and intimidate believers, especially those attempting to fulfill the registration requirement. Members of unregistered religious communities – including Baha'is, Baptists, Hare Krishnas, Jehovah's Witnesses, Pentecostals, Seventh-day Adventists, Shi'a and other Muslims operating independently of the Sunni Muslim Board – have been arrested, detained, imprisoned and reportedly tortured, deported, harassed, and fined. In addition, they have had their congregations dispersed, services disrupted, religious literature confiscated, and places of worship destroyed. Members of some religious minority groups in Turkmenistan have reportedly been forced to renounce their faith publicly, swearing an oath on a copy of Ruhnama. Security officials regularly break up religious meetings in private homes, search homes without warrants, confiscate religious literature, and detain and threaten congregants with criminal prosecution and deportation. Family members of detained religious leaders have been subjected to harassment and internal exile. Even the registered Russian Orthodox community has been affected by the repressive policies of Niyazov, who in September 2003 issued a decree banning residents of Turkmenistan from receiving Russian publications by mail, a ban that included the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate.

In January 2004, Commission Chair Michael K. Young met with Tracey Jacobson, U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan, to discuss bilateral relations, the status of human rights, including religious freedom, and possible steps the United States might take to ameliorate the situation. In December 2003, the Commission issued a statement outlining its concerns about the November 2003 passage of Turkmenistan's harshly repressive law on religion. The Commission has led or participated in bilateral meetings with official Turkmen delegations at human rights meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in July and September 2003. As recommended by the Commission, the UN Human Rights Commission passed resolutions in 2003 and 2004 condemning Turkmenistan for repression of religious and political rights, including through torture.

In the 108th Congress, the Senate and House of Representatives introduced resolutions on human rights in Central Asia that concerned Turkmenistan, S.J.Res. 3 and H.Con.Res. 32. S.J.Res 3 calls upon the government of Turkmenistan to permit "the free exercise of religious beliefs and cease the persecution of members of religious groups and denominations that do not engage in violence or political change through violence." H.Con.Res. 32 calls on the President, Secretary of State, and Secretary of Defense to follow the Commission's recommendation to designate Turkmenistan a CPC and includes additional provisions reflective of the Commission's other recommendations on Turkmenistan. Over 30 Members of Congress concurred with the Commission's recommendation on CPC status for Turkmenistan in a "Dear Colleague" letter, circulated by Representatives Christopher Smith and Ben Cardin and sent to Secretary Powell in October 2003.

In addition to recommending that Turkmenistan be designated a CPC, the Commission has recommended that the U.S. government should:

• suspend all non-humanitarian assistance to the government of Turkmenistan, with the exception of programs that serve specifically identifiable U.S. national security interests in connection with the current campaign against terrorism. This recommendation does not apply to U.S. assistance to appropriate non-governmental organizations, private persons, or cultural or educational exchanges;
• scrutinize all aspects of any remaining assistance programs in Turkmenistan to ensure that these programs do not facilitate Turkmen government policies or practices that result in religious freedom violations. The United States should also examine its programs in Turkmenistan to determine if opportunities exist within those programs to promote the development of genuine respect for human rights, including religious freedom, in that country;
• support efforts to facilitate Turkmenistan's sale of natural gas on world markets, including support for the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline, only if the Turkmen government takes definitive steps to improve substantially conditions for religious freedom in Turkmenistan;
• identify specific steps that the government of Turkmenistan could take in order to have its currently suspended assistance reinstated and to avoid triggering further restrictions on assistance programs, steps which should include, but not be limited to, the lifting of oppressive legal requirements on religious groups and allowing all such groups to organize and operate freely, the end to harassment and deportation of religious leaders, and the halting of unjust arrest, detention, imprisonment, torture, and residential and workplace intimidation of religious leaders and their adherents (including releasing those currently in detention or imprisoned);
• vigorously press the government of Turkmenistan: (a) to release immediately and unconditionally any persons who have been detained solely because of their religious beliefs, practices, or choice of religious association; (b) to ensure that all people in Turkmenistan are able to exercise their right to religious freedom without threat of harassment, detention, imprisonment, or torture; and (c) to permit all religious groups to organize and worship freely;
• suspend state visits between the United States and Turkmenistan until such time as religious freedom conditions in the country have improved significantly; and
• encourage scrutiny of religious freedom violations in Turkmenistan in appropriate international fora such as the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe and other multilateral venues and also raise the issue of religious freedom violations in Turkmenistan at those United Nations bodies that consider human rights questions, including the Commission on Human Rights.