US Should Encourage Democratic Reform in Turkmenistan
“Democracy in Turkmenistan Needs US Push”
By Robert Arsenault
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In an op/ed piece to the Baltimore Sun, Robert Arsenault, president of the International League for Human Rights (ILHR), calls upon the United States to help guide Turkmenistan into an era of democracy.  With February’s elections to succeed former president for life Saparmurat Niyazov, Arsenault says the US should take this opportunity to encourage democracy in the formerly autocratic state by calling for liberal reform.

Arsenault asks the US to “take the lead, starting with a strong public statement calling for the interim government to swiftly end the retrograde policies of the Niyazov regime.”  Interim leader and presidential frontrunner Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has already publicly pledged to increase schooling opportunities for Turkmen youth, allow more Internet access, end drug trafficking, and provide better health care and access to Western medicines.  A Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty analysis states that “these reforms seem eminently probable for the simple reason that they are aimed at reversing the deceased president's most onerous initiatives and reducing social tension.”

In addition, Arsenault encourages the US to “urge Russia not to meddle in Turkmenistan’s politics and to call on Turkmenistan to live up to the international human rights agreements it has signed.”  He warns that “Russia’s energy interests must not compromise Turkmenistan’s development into a stable and democratic state.”

The upcoming elections will be crucial in Turkmenistan’s path towards democracy and Arsenault urges the U.S. to pressure the government to free political prisoners, refrain from voter intimidation or detainment of dissident voices, and promote free and fair elections to ensure a success transition. 
 
Sources:
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/01/10f9476b-2d29-42ec-82ca-634bcbbd0ae8.html
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/01/dba0af77-0ca9-422a-9bac-7064a5de5626.html
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/01/24ea45cc-62fb-4b5d-80ae-c7d61203a29a.html