neweurasia’s Annasoltan has obtained photographs of “advertisements” for Turkmenistan’s upcoming presidential electino (12 February). These are actually relatively difficult to come by, so check them out!
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Translator’s Note: Translated from Jamil’s post (RUS).
On March 14, 2011, Mukhiddin Khojimuradov suggested to his compatriots Khairulla and Sunatullo Yuldashevs from Chinaz region of Tashkent oblast that they move to Kazakhstan’s city of Turkestan, where they could earn decent money. When the four young men reached the place, the only job they were offered was at the car washing station; their employer refused to pay for their labor, reports the Initiative group of independent rights activists of Uzbekistan (IGIRAU). They never signed contracts and their passports had been taken away; they had effectively become slaves, who were constantly beaten and forced to work each day from 7am to 10pm.
Berdimuhammedov riding an Ahal-Teke breed. Photograph found on a Turkmen social network.
Editor’s note: Is Turkmenistan’s upcoming presidential election really just a totalitarian ploy for false legitimacy, or is it something much more… pitiful? neweurasia’s Annasoltan gives her thoughts.
Speaking as a Turkmen, this upcoming presidential election makes no sense. Really, it doesn’t. I’ve been trying to think: maybe Berdimuhammedov wants to project an image of “modernization” to both international and domestic audiences? The Registan’s Joshua Foust has written:
The only real question [is]: By what margin will tyrant Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov rig the vote? [...] Inexplicably, Berdimuhamedov seems determined to proceed with the trappings of a normal election no one will acknowledge as such. At this point, the only question is what percentage of the vote he will choose to accept. Other Central Asian dictators have not shied away from impossible margins, such as Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan (95 percent) and Islom Karimov in Uzbekistan (88 percent). Will Berdimuhamedov meet or beat his 89 percent from 2007? Will he go higher, to lend the appearance of inevitability to his oppressive regime? Or will he go lower, to try to create the false sense of political dynamism?
Foust’s a sharp thinker, and earlier in January, I also had the same logic as him, but now I’m not so certain. That’s because — and it’s hard to describe why — there’s something crazy about this election.
What was happening in Kyrgyzstan about a year ago from now? neweurasia’s Marat Sartpaev takes a look back. “Well, today we’ve passed through our first-ever peaceful transfer of power at the presidential level,” he writes. “Yes, it’s just the same old elite I suppose, but hey, at least this time there weren’t snipers on the roof.”
Dodojon Atovulloev, according to Wikileaks, is:
“One of the foremost journalists from Tajikistan, Atovulloev has fearlessly sought to get the news out on his native country, where violence and state authoritarianism have been the norm for …
Uzbekistan is having its seventh-annual National Journalism Prize Oltin Qalam (Golden Pen), with awards from several state ministries, the UN, UNESCO and the World Bank. The contest’s aim: to award the best achievements in journalism. Celebrating press freedom… in Uzbekistan… seriously? neweurasia’s Tomyris reports.
“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thy own eye?”
Matthew 7:3
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“The play ‘s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” — Hamlet, Act II, Scene II.
Even fake elections can give strongman dictators a headache when ordinary people actually expect them to mean …
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With the presidential elections “fever” over and the president inaugurated, it is now time in Kyrgyzstan to appoint a new government. The incumbent president, Almazbek Atambayev, ascended to presidency from the post of the prime …
This work by Neweurasia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
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