The authoritarian Muslim leader died of a heart attack. In the 20 years he was in power he installed a repressive regime that denied respect for all human rights and promoted an exasperating personality cult. It is not certain who will succeed him.
Ashgabat (AsiaNews) – The president of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, died yesterday after 21 years of authoritarian and repressive rule that denied respect for all human rights. The official cause of death of the 66-year-old leader was “a heart attack” after he admitted to having heart problems last month. The news was broadcast on state television that screened a portrait of the president in a black frame while a presenter read a long list of his accomplishments and merits as head of state. But in the eyes of the international community, Niyazov was notorious for having installed one of the world’s most repressive regimes with a dismal record of respect for freedom of the press and religion and other political and civil rights and with one of the worst reputations for corruption.
A country having a Sunnite majority and 5.5 million inhabitants bordering Iran and Afghanistan, Turkmenistan is rich in natural gas and is the second most prolific producer among states of the ex-Soviet Union. The presidency had been in the hands of Niyazov since 1990, when the country was proclaimed independent for the USSR. Like Putin, he recycled his image. In the 1980s, he was actually head of the government and the first secretary of the Turkmeni Communist Party, in addition to being a member of the Communist Party Central Committee in Moscow.
Once in power, Niyazov revealed his Muslim identity and in his native village of Kypchak he had the largest mosque in Central Asia built. He also installed dictatorial regime defined by his exasperating "personality cult". Public propaganda glorified him as a “prophet”, his book “Ruhnama” (defined “Holy”) was made obligatory in school curricula and he was recalled and thanked in the “preface of all prayers”. He even changed the names of the weeks and months and decreed that that this reign be termed "the golden age". He had himself called Turkmenbashi, father and leader of all Turkmens. Independent information sources and political opposition do not exist in the country where a presumed assassination attempt against Niyazov in 2002 served as a pretext to get rid of remaining opponents who had survived his oppressive regime.
Niyazov's Turkmenistan was sadly known for its corruption and nepotism. After proclaiming himself president for life (1999), his son, Murat, was given privileged access to the business world and he was entrusted with control over exportation of the country's natural gas. The revenues – so it is said in Ashghabat, the country's capital – are held in "offshore" banks in Cyprus. Murat is suspected of accepting large "bribes" from foreign companies interested in drilling and extracting gas, without, however, realizing what he had gotten himself into. Even earnings gained through the sale of alcohol and cigarettes, is managed by Murat.
International news agencies in Ashghabat said the city was calm but workers were removing New Year decorations from the streets. The government will hold an emergency meeting in the late afternoon. A special committee has been set up to oversee the organization of the funeral of the leader. Analysts say Niyazov’s death has left the future of the country uncertain as there is no designated successor. However many believe the son Murat could become the new president.
.png)
