| U.S. Department of State Background Note: Turkmenistan November 2003 PROFILE OFFICIAL NAME: Turkmenistan Geography Area: 229,060 sq. km. (188,417 sq. mi.). Cities: CapitalAshgabat. Other citiesTurkmenabat (formerly Chardjou), Dashowuz, Mary, Turkmenbashi. Terrain: 80% covered in subtropical, sandy Karakum Desert, with dunes rising to the Kopet Dag Mountains in the south along the border with Iran; borders the Caspian Sea to the west and the Amu Darya River and Uzbekistan to the east; borders Afghanistan to the southeast, Kazakhstan to the north. People Nationality: Turkmen. Population (2003 est.): 5 million. Annual growth rate (2003 est.): 1.82%. Ethnic groups: Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6%. Religions: Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%. Languages: Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%. Education: Literacy98%. Work force (1996 est.): 2.34 million. Government Type: Republic. Independence: October 27, 1991 (from the Soviet Union). Constitution: May 18, 1992. Branches: Executivepresident. LegislativeParliament; People's Council. JudicialSupreme Court. Administrative subdivisions: 5 Velayat (provinces)Ahal Velayat (Ashgabat), Balkan Velayat (Nebitdag), Dashowuz Velayat (formerly Tashauz), Lebap Velayat (Turkmenabat, formerly Chardjou), Mary Velayat. Political parties: Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (opposition parties are outlawed). Flag: Green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon and five white stars appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe. Economy GDP (2002 est.): Purchasing power parity$26 billion. Real growth rate (2002 est.): 6%. Inflation rate (2002 est.): 5%. Per capita income (2002 est.): Purchasing power parity$5,500. Unemployment rate (2003 est.): 40%. Agriculture: Productscotton, grain, livestock. Industry: Typesnatural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing. Trade: Exports (2002 est.)$2.97 billion: gas 57%, oil 26%; cotton fiber 3%; textiles 2%. PartnersUkraine, Iran, Turkey, Russia, U.S., Italy, Switzerland. Imports (2002 est.)$2.25 billion: machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15%. PartnersTurkey, Ukraine, U.S., Russia, U.A.E., France. Debtexternal (2001 est.): $2.3-$5 billion. PEOPLE AND HISTORY The territory of Turkmenistan has been populated since ancient times, as armies from one empire to another decamped on their way to more prosperous territories. Tribes of horsebreeding Turkmen drifted into the territory of Turkmenistan from ancient times, possibly from the Altay Mountains, and grazed along the outskirts of the Karakum Desert into Persia, Syria, and Anatolia. Alexander the Great conquered the territory in the 4th century B.C. on his way to India. One hundred fifty years later the Parthian Kingdom took control of Turkmenistan, establishing its capital in Nisa, an area now located in the suburbs of the modern-day capital of Ashgabat. In the 7th century A.D. Arabs conquered this region, bringing with them the Islamic religion and incorporating the Turkmen into Middle Eastern culture. It was around this time that the famous "Silk Road" was established as a major trading route between Asia and Europe. In the middle of the 11th century, the powerful Turks of the Seldjuk Empire concentrated their strength in the territory of Turkmenistan in an attempt to expand into Afghanistan. The empire broke down in the second half of the 12th century, and the Turkmen lost their independence when Genghis Khan took control of the eastern Caspian Sea region on his march west. For the next 7 centuries, the Turkmen people lived under various empires and fought constant intertribal wars amongst themselves. From the 16th century on, Turkmen raiders on horseback preyed on passing caravans, pillaging and taking prisoners for the slave trade. After kidnapping Russians from the expanding Tsarist Empire, the Turkmen fell into trouble. Russia sent forces to Turkmenistan, and in 1881 fighting climaxed with the massacre of 7,000 Turkmen at the desert fortress of Geok Depe, near modern Ashgabat; another 8,000 were killed trying to flee across the desert. By 1894 imperial Russia had taken control of Turkmenistan. The October Revolution of 1917 in Russia and subsequent political unrest led to the declaration of the Turkmen Republic as one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union in 1924. At this time the modern borders of Turkmenistan were formed. The Turkmen Republic was under full control of Moscow, which exploited its raw materials resources for the purposes of the Soviet Union. Sovereignty was only a formality, since Russia ultimately ruled all Soviet states. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS Following the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan declared its independence on October 27, 1991. Saparmurat Niyazov became the first president of the new republic and still remains the supreme decisionmaker. On December 28, 1999, Niyazov's term was extended indefinitely by the Mejlis (parliament), which itself had taken office only a week earlier in severely flawed elections that included only candidates hand-picked by President Niyazov. Independent political activity is not allowed in Turkmenistan, and no opposition candidates are allowed. The Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (DPT) is the only legal political party. Political gatherings are illegal unless government sanctioned, and the citizens of Turkmenistan do not have the means to change their government democratically. While the constitution provides for freedom of the press, there is virtually no freedom of the press or of association. The government has full control of all media and has recently moved to restrict foreign newspapers. International satellite TV is available. On November 25, 2002, an armed attack against President Niyazov's motorcade was made. The Government of Turkmenistan moved quickly against perceived sources of opposition. There were widespread reports of human rights abuses committed by officials investigating the attack, including torture and punishment of families of the accused. The Government of Turkmenistan denied the charges, but refused to allow independent observers at trials or to accept a mandatory OSCE fact-finding mission. It has instituted new measures to stifle dissent and limit contact with the outside world. The population is 89% Sunni Muslim. The constitution provides for freedom of religion and does not establish a state religion; however, in practice, the government continues to restrict all forms of religious expression. A law on religious organizations requires that religious groups must have at least 500 members in each locality in which they wish to register in order to gain legal status with the government. The only religions that have registered successfully under the law are Sunni Islam and Russian Orthodox Christianity, which are controlled by the government. The law has prevented all other religious groups, of which there are many, from registering. The government severely limits the activities of nonregistered religious congregations by prohibiting them from gathering publicly, proselytizing, and disseminating religious materials. The government's interpretation of the law severely restricts the freedom to meet and worship in private. A Soviet-style command economy greatly limits equality of opportunity. Industry and services are almost entirely provided by government or government-owned entities, while agriculture is dominated by a state order system. Women face particularly strong discrimination in all social aspects, and their freedom is restricted due to traditional social-religious norms. All citizens are required to carry internal passports, noting place of residence, and movement into and out of the country, as well as within its borders, is difficult. Corruption continues to be pervasive. Power is concentrated in the president; the judiciary is wholly subservient to the regime, with all judges appointed for 5-year terms by the president without legislative review. Little has been done to prosecute corrupt officials. Principal Government Officials PresidentSaparmurat Niyazov Prime MinisterVacant Foreign MinisterRashid Meredov Ambassador to the United StatesMeret B. Orazov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Turkmenistan maintains an embassy at 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; tel: (202) 588-1500, fax: (202)588-0697 ECONOMY Turkmenistan was an important supplier of raw materials, especially cotton, oil, and natural gas, during the Soviet era. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it at one time the world's 10th-largest producer. However, poor crops in recent years have led to a decline in overall cotton production. Turkmenistan possesses the world's fifth-largest reserves of natural gas as well as substantial oil resources. Until 1993, Turkmenistan experienced less severe economic decline in comparison with other former Soviet states because it was able to sell its natural gas and oil at world prices. In 1994, the Russian Government refused to allow exported Turkmen gas to pass through Russian pipelines to hard currency markets. Industrial production of gas fell sharply, putting the budget into deficita deficit which has since continued to rise sharply. Currently, Turkmenistan is heavily dependent on Russian pipelines to reach markets in Europe. After Russia's refusal to transport Turkmenistan's gas, a difficult investment environment, high rates of inflation, and heavy government regulations made further economic progress unlikely. In the absence of gas revenues, Turkmenistan turned to the export of cotton, but poor harvests have had weak economic returns. In 1996 the economy bottomed out, and inflation rates continued to climb. Although the government avoided privatization, it attempted to fix the situation by creating a stabilization program aimed at a unified and market-based exchange rate, the allocation of government credits by auction, and strict limits on budget deficits. However, partial price liberalization, the end of subsidies from Moscow, and poor control over fiscal and monetary aggregates contributed to the high rates of inflation and significant drops in living standards. With an authoritarian post-communist regime in power, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. Between 1998 and 2002, Turkmenistan has suffered from the continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, the value of total exports has risen sharply because of higher international oil and gas prices. Prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, and the unwillingness of the government to adopt market-oriented reforms. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are closely held secrets, and published GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. Turkmenistan has cooperated with the international community in transporting humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. FOREIGN RELATIONS Turkmenistan s declaration of permanent neutrality was formally recognized by the United Nations in 1995. Although the Government of Turkmenistan favors purchases from the United States, it has significant commercial relationships with Turkey, Russia, and Iran. The government worked closely with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan until September 11, 2001, and until that time had a growing cross-border trade with the regime in Afghanistan. Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources and regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea. Multilaterally accepted Caspian Sea seabed and maritime boundaries have not yet been established. Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries. U.S.-TURKMENISTAN RELATIONS For several years, Turkmenistan was a key player in the U.S. Caspian Basin Energy Initiative, which sought to facilitate negotiations between commercial partners and the Governments of Turkmenistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey to build a pipeline under the Caspian Sea and export Turkmen gas to the Turkish domestic energy market and beyondthe so-called Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline (TCGP). However, the Government of Turkmenistan essentially removed itself from the negotiations in 2000 by refusing all offers by its commercial partners and making unrealistic demands for multimillion-dollar "prefinancing." The United States and Turkmenistan continue to disagree about the country's path toward economic reform. The United States has publicly advocated industrial privatization, market liberalization, and fiscal reform, as well as legal and regulatory reforms to open up the economy to unhindered foreign trade and investment, as the only way to achieve prosperity and stability. U.S. criticism of the Government of Turkmenistan s crackdown against perceived sources of political opposition after the November 25, 2002, has led to a marked downturn in bilateral relations between the Governments of the United States and Turkmenistan. Diplomatic missions from various countries and international organizations have joined together to persuade the Government of Turkmenistan to improve its human rights practices, but their efforts have been poorly received. Principal U.S. Officials AmbassadorTracey A. Jacobson Deputy Chief of MissionRobert J. Tansey Political-Economic ChiefJohn T. Godfrey Public Affairs OfficerShannon E. Runyon Consular OfficerJennifer Hall Godfrey Administrative OfficerGary L. Anderson USAID DirectorBradford Camp The U.S. Embassy is located at 9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street), Ashgabat, Turkmenistan; tel: [993](12)35-00-45; fax: [993](12)51-13-05. TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides Consular Information Sheets, Travel Warnings, and Public Announcements. Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on entry requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Public Announcements are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas which pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau of Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system: 202-647-3000. Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings also are available on the Consular Affairs Internet home page: http://travel.state.gov. Consular Affairs Tips for Travelers publication series, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad are on the internet and hard copies can be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, telephone: 202-512-1800; fax 202-512-2250. Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained from the Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (202) 647-5225. For after-hours emergencies, Sundays and holidays, call 202-647-4000. Passport information can be obtained by calling the National Passport Information Center's automated system ($.35 per minute) or live operators 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) Monday-Friday ($1.05 per minute). The number is 1-900-225-5674 (TDD: 1-900-225-7778). Major credit card users (for a flat rate of $4.95) may call 1-888-362-8668 (TDD: 1-888-498-3648). It also is available on the internet. Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A booklet entitled Health Information for International Travel (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800. Information on travel conditions, visa requirements, currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your departure from a country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (for this country, see "Principal Government Officials" listing in this publication). U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling in dangerous areas are encouraged to register at the Consular section of the U.S. embassy upon arrival in a country by filling out a short form and sending in a copy of their passports. This may help family members contact you in case of an emergency. Further Electronic Information Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes; daily press briefings; Country Commercial Guides; directories of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. National Trade Data Bank (NTDB). Operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the NTDB contains a wealth of trade-related information. It is available on the Internet (www.stat-usa.gov) and on CD-ROM. Call the NTDB Help-Line at (202) 482-1986 for more information. *********************************************************** See http://www.state.gov/r/pa/bgn/ for all Background notes ************************************************************ To change your subscription, go to http://www.state.gov/www/listservs_cms.html | |
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