A New Chance for Turkmenistan?

The death on December 21 of Turkmenistan’s president-for-life Saparmurad Niazov offers the Turkmen government a chance to reverse years of repression and start a new chapter for human rights in this gas-rich Central Asian country. Niazov’s 21-year rule created one of the most isolated and oppressive states in the world. Niazov tolerated no opposition or civil society, and imprisoned or drove into exile members of the political opposition, human rights defenders, journalists, and their family members. His frequent political purges and grotesque cult of personality were reminiscent of the Stalin era. His social and economic policies put the country on a backwards course of development. Human Rights Watch is calling on the Turkmen government to immediately release all political prisoners, end travel restrictions within the country and at Turkmenistan’s borders, and institute free and fair presidential elections.