On January 3rd Islam Karimov signed a law “On guaranties of activities of the non-state non-profit organizations”. I found it on the official website of the agency Uzreport. It also can be found on the press agency Press-UZ. As the articles there will only be for paying customers I copy the English text here at the end of the posting.

The law read quite nicely. I will use NGO for the term ‘non-state non-profit organizations’ used in the law. The text stipulates in Article 2 that international agreements of Uzbekistan might be stronger than Uzbek law in case of discrepancy. Article 4 mentions that state bodies may provide support to NGOs in different ways. It continues in Article 5 that NGOs are allowed to have activities according to their objectives if they are in-line with Uzbek law. NGOs have the right to access information from state bodies (Article 6). One of the most interesting articles is number 8. There NGOs are protected from any kind of discredit and allows them to appeal at court to obtain compensation for the damage. Article 10 protects NGOs from actions of state bodies.

These articles are most enlightening because in the past NGOs in Uzbekistan (mainly international) experienced problems exactly based on allegations that their activities are not according to their objectives, that they were victim of rumors or that they were victim of actions from state bodies. Another example are sayings from last year that different state bodies (universities, local authorities…) received letters from “above” prompting them not to cooperate in any way with international NGOs.

The point is that this law explains and actually contradicts many activities that NGOs in Uzbekistan witnessed last year. This law seems to be just a façade that is presented to the outside. From what is going on in the country the situation did not change, as Tolkun described in his posting some days ago.

Text of the law (taken from the official website of the agency Uzreport):
Law of Uzbekistan “On guaranties of activities of the non-state non-profit organizations”
16.01.2007 11:46:16
The law was adopted by the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis on 11 October 2006 and approved by the Senate on 1 December 2006.

Chapter 1. General provisions Read the full story »

According to Naryn Ayip in 2006 Kyrgyz diplomacy proved to be ineffecient and idle. For the whole year there have been no high ranking diplomatic delegations willing to attend Kyrgyzstan. Naryn Ayip in his livejournal also quotes the president of the country, who recently announced that the main diplomatic achievement was the fact that Kyrgyzstan received 1200 wheeled tractors from China in 2006.

Edil Baysalov keeps on discussing international relations. He writes : “Have you heard that our Ministry of Foreign Relations cadged $ 5 million to renovate its office building.”According to Baysalov, this money were than paid to… Chinese construction workers who were hired to repair the ministerial building. Discussing this issue, Baisalov point out at the fact that in spite of formal adherence to the policy of sticking to equidistance in relations with all foreign nations Kyrgyz minister of foreign affairs keeps trading his political impartiality off.

Kyrgyz Report also touches upon the issue of foreign relations. This post quotes Kurmanbek Bakiev’s decision to strengthen relations “neighboring states, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan” as well as with Russia. Analyzing this announcement of the Kyrgyz president, authors of the Kyrgyz Report claim:

“Since coming to power in 2005, Bakiyev has set Kyrgyzstan’s relations with Russia the highest priority at the expense of distancing from the United States. Troubles related to the U.S.-led coalition base in Kyrgyzstan have also led to increased tensions between Kyrgyzstan and the United States.More than 500,000 Kyrgyz citizens currently live and work in Russia and Kazakhstan. Good relations with these two regional economic powers have obviously become an obligation for Bakiyev. He seems to believe that Russia will back him politically if there’s any serious political crisis in Kyrgyzstan.”

Interestingly enough, this topic is echoed by the Russian Interfax agency that quotes Russian minister of foreign affairs Sergey Ivanov. According to Interfax, he confirms that Russia will support all efforts of Kyrgyz Authorities aimed at preserving stability in the country.

Turning to the issues of internal politics Mirsulzhan Namazaliev in his life journal shares some rumors about possible nominations for the vacant position of the promi minister of Kyrgyzstan. In his version options are the following: Felix Kulov, Danyar Usenov, Kubatbek Baybolov, Maksim Bakiev, Ishak Masaliev. Or… as Mirsulzhan himself concludes : “someone else”.

Recently President Nursultan Nazarbayev presented his new book, “The Kazakhstan Way”, in Astana. The book was released in December 2006 in 10.000 copies, reported the news agency REGNUM:

“Real facts, objective analysis, and mainly, non-official details of the past events – will be of great interest for a reader”, said the organisers of the presentation. The book has nine chapters, each devoted to different stages of independent Kazakhstan, including the preparation of Development Strategy 2030, the process of adoption of the Constitution, the discovery of hydrocarbon resources, the introduction of national currency, tenge, and the creation of the bank system”. Special attention was paid to Astana in a chapter called “New capital of a new era”: “I was thinking about the transfer of the capital for a long time, already back in 1992, but I felt it would be too early to voice it as the economy was too weak”, wrote the President. The author hopes that the book will be instrumental for young people, the future leaders of Kazakhstan.

In 15 years of his presidency, Nazarbayev was quite productive and published more than ten books: “The Steel Profile of Kazakhstan”, “Kazakhstan: Without Right or Wrong”, “Market, Social and Economic Development”, “The Epicentre of the World”, etc. Not only does he write prose, but also composes music. Nazarbayev’s official website of has a special page for “creative work of the President”, where one can download chapters of his selected books and listen to the music. The insiders say that several people assisted Nazarbayev in writing his works: Lev Tarakov, a deputy director of “Liter-Media” and former “Otan” journalist, Muhtar Kul-Muhammed, a 42-year old governor, and Marat Tazhin, a new Minister for Internal Affairs (former Secretary of the Security Council). Read the full story »

Yesterday, Kyrgyzstan was shocked by the news about the traffic accident in Saudi Arabia with 43 pilgrims who were returning in the bus from Mecca after performing Hajj, fifth pillar of Islam. Two buses crashed leaving 23 people dead, and others, most of whom were deadly injured, were taken to the hospital. Gulfnews states that the accident occurred in Al Bathah area, about a kilometre inside Saudi territory from the UAE’s Al Ghuwaifat border. It is also said that the main reason for the accident was poor visibility.

Almost all died pilgrims were from Osh oblast of Kyrgyzstan, mainly from provinces of Aravan, where I am from, and Kashkarkyshtak. They were on their way to United Arab Emirates, from where they were to fly to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. I personally knew two people who died in the accident. It was really heartbreaking news for me, and especially for the relatives of dead, because they were waiting for pilgrims to come safe and secure, as this year pilgrimage to Hajj from Kyrgyzstan was done only by air traveling, which is faster and safer, in contrast to previous years when pilgrims used buses. Today, relatives of dead are waiting for bodies of pilgrims to be transferred to Kyrgyzstan. According to GulfNews,

Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the UAE Red Crescent Authority, was praised yesterday by the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Awqaf for his initiative to swiftly transfer the bodies of Haj pilgrims. Shaikh Hamdan instructed authorities to facilitate the speed transfer of the bodies and the 25 injured pilgrims.

Addition to the article, Jan. 15, 2007
Chief mufti of Kyrgyzstan Murataly Jumanov has told to Fergana.ru that

“According to the decision of Saudi Arabia and Religious Department of Kyrgyz Republic our dead compatriots are announced shaheeds [a title that is given to a Muslim after his death, if he died during the fulfillment of a religious commandment]. Besides, according to the laws of Saudi Arabia Muslims died during hajj should be buried on the grounds of Saudi Arabia. It was a will of Allah, therefore we ask all to accept this and to be patient”.

According to chief mufti, relatives of all victims of the accident have agreed with this decision, and some have expressed desire to bury their died relatives in Mecca and this question is under consideration of the parties. The government of Saudi Arabia is also considering a question on creation of conditions for visiting graves of dead by their relatives.

After the collapse of the Soviet regime, like other Central Asian countries, Uzbekistan chose democracy as the principal political system according to which people would establish the government and rule the country. Many actions had been done in Uzbekistan on the path to democracy, including accepting foreign investment to establish international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) the main functions of which were to work in human rights promotion, independent mass media, and small and medium size business development. A few years later, the power over government was centered in the hands of the president Islam Karimov and the conception of democracy was reinterpreted.

Today NGOs are under growing pressure from the Uzbekistani government, and cannot conduct any actions independently but only after official permission from government institutions. The Andijan events on May 13, 2005 made the situation even worse. The government authorities claimed that it was a reflection of the so called “colored� revolutions that took place in Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan. They used this fact as an effective tool to eradicate NGOs, and justified their actions by stating that those revolutions were results of the activities of NGOs that were sponsored by foreign donors who were trying to influence the countries policy for their own profits. In reality, the government was eliminating NGOs in order to prevent information about the real situation in Uzbekistan leave the country as well as to keep “information vacuum� in the country. More than a hundred NGOs were forced to stop operation and were closed down. The government got rid of more than a hundred NGOs, among which were Human Rights Watch, IREX, Open Society Institute, Soros Foundation, Internews, and Radio Freedom.

Today, another NGO, Agricultural Cooperative Development International / Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA), is being pressed by the government of Uzbekistan. The State Tax Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan told to Regnum.ru that:

Investigation showed that during realization if the micro-crediting program in 2004-2005 years, Andijan office of ACDI/VOCA hid the unreasonable expenditure of big amount of cash in total sum of $3 million.

According to the representative of the Tax Committee, ACDI/VOCA has fully accepted its guilt and all required paper were signed. At the moment, government is going to charge the NGO to pay fees for its wrongdoings.

NGOs play a large role in building a democratic state, and civil society taking part in the activities of NGOs helps to make the country able to choose its form of rule. Today’s situation in Uzbekistan is a real challenge for NGOs, as all the time there is a great possibility of being caught by the government for wrongdoing like giving people micro-credit to develop their farms. Most people are risking their freedom by working for such nongovernmental organizations.

Nongovernmental organizations are one of the few tools that can be used by the society as a counterbalance to the government. I again state that the roles of NGOs in building a democratic state and developing civil society are very significant. I will keep my fingers crossed for ACDI/VOCA and other NGOs for their bright future and success in promoting the concept of democracy.

Yesterday I watched a news program on TV channel “Mir”. This channel covers all the CIS countries. All the news programs are made of small reports from the CIS countries. Usually, the news programs are very positive. I like watching these programs when I have a delirious mood.

The report on Tajikistan was about imbalance in the number of male and female population. It was interesting to watch because it was about Tajikistan and it made me angry because the Tajik men were shown as sly dogs which try to get married only to girls from wealthy families making use of imbalance in numbers.

The number of men in Tajikistan is much less than that of women, so there is big demand in men. Taking into consideration the demand in men families usually try to marry their daughters to anyone just to make them avoid the disgrace of being an old maid. The reporter said that the female population in Tajikistan gets in trouble when it reaches the age of 21, because at that age girls are already considered as old maids.

The reporter also said that families that have sons are aware of the current state of things and try to find wives for them from wealthy families. There was shown a woman who went to a fancy house like a castle which does not coincide with the general trend of economic development in Tajikistan. She thought she could find a good wife for one of her sons but she was very much disappointed when she found out that all the girls in this family are already married.

There was also shown a guy who commented on the advantageous position of male population who enjoy a “good demand”. That guy said that he would get married to any girl whose father could buy him a car. He meant that though he did not look like a prince at all.

One expert said that in Tajikistan for each 100 girls are born 106 boys but due to some circumstances the number of male population becomes less than the number of female at the age of 20. There are many reasons for that and one of them is the Civil War. However, most of the people think that the main reason is the massive migration of male population of Tajikistan to Russia and other countries in search of living.

I also support the argument about the labor migration which has already become a great problem for our country. It is especially true for the rural areas, where most of the male population is gone.

Of course, the mercenary marriages take place in Tajikistan as in the rest of the world but I think it is not the general trend as it was shown in the program.

As Ben has reported recently January 9 was the last day of Islam Karimov’s term as the president of Uzbekistan – at least according to the Uzbek constitution. And Constitution clearly states that “The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall be elected for a term of seven yearsâ€?. According to the Constitution and the date of last Presidential elections, taking into account the term was extended for two more years, the next presidential election date must be January 9 2007, which already is a part of history. The reason for that is the Uzbek parliament, which decided in 2002 that presidential elections are only to be held “in the year of the expiry of constitutional term of his power – on the first Sunday of the third ten-day period of Decemberâ€? (Constitution, article 117), which makes presidential term 7 years and 11 months.

So, no doubt that current year is going to be decisive period of Uzbekistan’s history, even if the country meets the next New Year’s Eve with the same president. So many possible scenarios are being discussed by different analysts that it is really difficult to predict which of them is the most possible one.

Uznews.net referring to a reliable source in the Uzbek government reports that Uzbekistan will hold a referendum on strengthening the role of political parties in April 2007.

This will be carried out in the following sequence:
First, the Oliy Majlis, the Uzbek parliament, will propose constitutional laws relating to parties for discussion.
Later, on the basis of the referendum results amendments will be introduced to the Uzbek constitution. The matter, most likely, is in a number of chapters of the constitutions, including, of course, Chapter XII “Public Associations�, Chapter XXI “Basics of State Power� and others.

Uznews.net also predicts that approximately in September 2007 one of the political parties (presumably, the Liberal Democratic Party) will put forward Karimov’s candidacy for the post of president. In that case, it is possible that a new party will be introduced short before elections, as it was with “Fidokorlar� and Liberal Democratic Party.

The most important that referendum can be a good possibility to amend article 90 of the Constitution, particularly the provision about limit of two consecutive terms. Since it is rather easy to pass any new law in the parliament and even approve it in referendum, an amendment to the Constitution is not a big issue for Uzbek elite.

Of course, all of the discussed above is a guess-work, but it is in a way being confirmed by authorities. Ferghana.Ru news agency reports that census is under way in Uzbekistan. It began in early January as an element of preparations for the forthcoming presidential election. Local self-government bodies helped by school teachers were put in charge of the census campaign. Who knows may be the results of population census come in handy when referendum is initiated by the parliament.

Cross-posted on Global Voices

“The Government resigned… It was expected for so long that I am not even surprised…”, wrote Slavasay in Livejournal community on Kazakhstan politics.

On 8 January Kazakhstan Prime-Minister Danial Akhmetov resigned, as did the whole Government. Not much change was expected though: “In Kazakhstan’s autocratic presidential system, changes of prime minister usually signal a change of tone rather than a change of direction, and the change in prime minister will not bring about a more liberal political landscape or less interventionist economic policies”, wrote the Economist.

Ben of neweurasia has put together the responses of English-language bloggers here. For Russian-language bloggers, whose reactions you will see in this roundup, the news was an opportunity to bet on possible changes in the government, gossip about personalities and connections between them, and talk about the new Prime-Minister Karim Massimov, the first ethnic Uighur PM, born in China. Read the full story »

This is a translation of the article that Inga posted on the Russian version of neweurasia-Kyrgyzstan

“Our population could have doubled by this time. But today abortions are becoming more fashionable, and women choose to kill their unborn kids. I think it’s because our life conditions are really tough”,- comments Zoya Yakovlevna- a gynecologist in a private medical center in Bishkek. Her earnings today are growing because women are eager to get rid of their unwanted children.

Today various hospitals in Bishkek offer a wide range of “services”: starting from medical abortions, that can be prescribed to women late in pregnancy to mini and homoeopathic abortions. There are also ways to have an abortion using special medications during early months of pregnancy. To cut the long story short, abortions today are available for everyone, poor and wealthy can choose something that fits their pockets.

It is one of normal working days in the big gynecological hospital in the capital. Women cue here every day early in the morning to have an abortion. Those, who leave 2 hours later after surgery is performed (2 hours is a recovery period here), are followed by envious glances – her pain is over for today.

“I remember the time when women would start queuing for an abortion at 6 o’clock in the morning”,- an elderly woman, who used to have 14(!) abortions, recollects. “At that time”, – she says, -“doctors were really cruel with us. They would even scream at us. There were also lots of complications. Now everything is different. All conditions are almost ideal. You can have this surgery and forget about it the very next day”

The majority of women who come here to have an abortion don’t hesitate that they need to use this method of “late contraception” again and again. Many of them think, that regular contraception is too complicated and still think that abortions are much easier.

“When you take pills you need to stick to a certain time-table. You can’t drink alcohol or smoke. It’s difficult to control yourself all the time. Condoms are supposed to be handy in those cases, but my husband doesn’t like them. That’s why it’s better for me to have an abortion now since I already have a child.” This is an opinion of Aselya who is 26.

Aselya is not alone in her approach. Many young women share the same opinion and don’t think that there is anything wrong with having an abortion. May be it is how the society has trained them.

At the end of 2006 the medical report was released. According to this document, 70% of pregnant women in Kyrgyzstan tend to choose abortions as a way to control their fertility. Medical doctors claim ,that the women in the age of 19 year old and below keep contributing to this statistical data.Every year 200 abortions are performed on the girls below 14.

“About 4% of women in Kyrgyzstan don’t want to have children and use abortions as a family planning tool. On average, every woman of a reproductive age tends to have 1,5 medical abortions in her life. Mainly social and economic problems are among factors, forcing women to have abortions,”- says the head of the department of gynecology of the Kyrgyz State Medical Academy Natalia Kerimova.

Thus, abortions in Kyrgyzstan have become almost a routine for many women.

“It’s better to have an abortion than to give birth to an unwanted child,”- claims the nurse of one of the maternity hospitals in Bishkek. “Even if they deliver those kids, they normally abandon them. Do you think someone needs these children? Look at our orphanages! The state allocates less than a dollar per day to feed and provide clothes for the children there. Stuff treats them awfully bad. What kind of generation can be produced in such conditions? ”

“If we want to decrease the number of abortions, we need to explain children what responsibility really means. Both girls and boys should be taught in this manner. I think, that, in part ,we can blame our men, who don’t think that they also need to carry this burden of responsibility when their wives or girlfriends become pregnant,”- says Raisa Abdrahmanova- a general practitioner in Bishkek.

Talking to different people about abortions as a popular trend, I realized, that it was a vicious circle and that there was hardly a way out of it. Abortions are perceived as a social phenomenon, as a consequence of our difficult social conditions. No one seems to be willing to speak or even to acknowledge the fact that abortion can cause lots of harm to women’s health. It is taken for granted, that women in Kyrgyzstan can go through this painful procedure as long as it is “necessary”.

It goes without saying, that women themselves should have a right to choose, whether they want to have children or, alternatively, whether they want to have an abortion. The only problem is that women in Kyrgyzstan are not always on the position of having any choice even when it comes to their own health issues. It is also a well-known fact that the industry of abortions keeps making colossal profits nowadays, so no one is really interested in discouraging women-clients from having yet another painful and dangerous experience.

If there is one thing that unites the official candidates for the Turkmen presidential elections that is that they have all stated their commitment to pursuing a continuation of the policies of the country’s late leader Saparmurat Niyazov.
Other than that, the candidates have already been setting forward their own proposals for how to build on Niyazov’s legacy. Interim president, and the only likely winner of the Feb. 11 polls, Kurbanguly Berdymuhammedov, has already been meeting with voters in some Turkmen cities and focused his electoral campaign on education and pension reform. He has also committed to developing an intensive city-building program, including a scheme to build a leisure, and ecological reserve complex in the Balkan velyat in western Turkmenistan.
Among some of the promises covered in Western press were his calls for greater Internet access, which has led some to speculate on whether his future government might augur a new season of relative openness. Given that the country has some of the lowest Internet penetration figures in the world, however, the promise seems neither revolutionary nor problematic to achieve, although Berdymuhammedov has vowed to execute his program on a grand scale, saying that “Internet should be accessible to every one of our citizens.”
These comments cannot but have been intended for international consumption, as the United States begins to make more audible demands about the need for some semblance of democratic transition. Similarly, his own electorate was probably not first in mind when Berdymuhammedov stated that the presidential elections would be “just, honest and open.”
The interim regime is obviously concerned for the right image to be projected to the outside world, although they may not be going about it in the best way possible. As Deutsche Welle has already reported, international journalists will be limited to those countries considered friendly to the former and emerging regimes:

Turkmen authorities have decided not to extend the list of accredited international reporters in the run-up to the elections. Already a number of friendly countries, including China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and a number of Arab states, have been issued the necessary documentation. However, the Turkmen Ministry of Foreign Affairs is reportedly not prepared to widen the number of nationalities eligible for journalist visas.
“We are awaiting an order from the interim President Berdymuhammedov, and if we get it, we will carry it out,” a source in the foreign ministry said.
A source in the military services also revealed that some ten journalists will connections to foreign media organizations have been placed under strict surveillance by the special services. Their phones have been disconnected, they have been summoned by the authorities, had their passports confiscated and threatened if they continue to pursue their reporting activities.

Berdymuhammedov also vowed to rid the country of drugs being trafficked into the country from neighbouring Afghanistan, the Associated Press reported on Thursday. The assurance was announced as part of his latest comments on the campaign trail.

“It’s a big problem, and the only lucky thing is that drugs are not produced here, but imported illicitly,” deputy Prime Minister Kurbanguly Berdymuhammedov said in comments broadcast on state television.

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Berdymuhammedov promised to strengthen border protection and toughen legal punishment for drug dealers. He called on the country’s only political party, youth organizations and trade unions to fight drug use “on the spot.”
“In villages, people usually know who uses drugs,” he said in televised remarks.

A second candidate, deputy Minister for Oil and Gas and Mineral Resources Ishankuly Nuriyev has also toured Ashgabat and Turkmenbashi (formerly Krasnovodsk) on his campaign trail. He has opted to place emphasis on the need to further develop the economy and the need to reform the agricultural sector, healthcare, education, and social welfare. While in the Balkan velyat, where Turkmenbashi is situated, he promised to facilitate the development of cattle breeding and to build an agro-industrial complexes in the Magtymguly and Etrek etraps specializing in the growth and processing of subtropical vegetation. Nuriyev also hinted at the need to enhance the tourism potential of the Caspian coastal region and for the building of health facility for children.
The hakim of Abadan etrap in the Ahal velyat, Orazmurat Karajayev, visited the Mary and Ahal provinces in the southeast of the country, two of the politically most crucial areas of Turkmenistan. His electoral program has stressed the importance of scientific progress, education, further development of the energy sector, improvement in the agricultural sector, transport and communications, and private enterprise. He has also been mindful to underscore the importance of pursuing the orderly execution of the course undertaken in Saparmurat Niyazov’s lifetime to modernize the economy.
Governor of the Karabekaul etrap in Lebap velyat, Mukhammednazar Gurbanov, met with voter in Turkmenabat (formerly Chardjou), in northeastern Turkmenistan, where he stated that a priority of government led by him would the development of education and culture, and the furthered cultivation of economic ties with international partners.
Speaking in Ahal, Gurbanov cited the vital importance of attracting foreign investment, reform of the agricultural sector, and the creation of social welfare structures.
The parameter of his efforts in government, Gurbanov said, would be founded on the UN-sponsored ” Strategy of Economic, Political and Cultural Development of Turkmenistan for the Period of Up to 2020.” He also stated that their would be no move to reversing the policy already under way.
The mayor of Turkmenbashi, Ashirniyaz Pomanov, placed particular importance on the regeneration of the spiritual and moral values of the Turkmen people and the creation of conditions that will enable the “harmonious development of the younger generations.”
Pomanov also asserted his belief in the need to protect socially vulnerable categories of the population and promised that he would not overlook the needs of young families, disabled pensioners, war veterans and invalids.
At a meeting with voters in Ahal, Pomanov said that he was committed to paying particular attention to the development of modern communications, namely the improvement of postal and telegraphic services and intensive expansion of wireless networks, particularly in rural areas.”
Agriculture is need of a radical overhaul, Pomanov said, in particular as far as concerns production, processing and livestock breeding.
First deputy Governor of the Dashoguz velyat Amanniyaz Atajikov met with voters in his province’s capital, where he vowed that his domestic and international policies would reflect the course undertaken by Niyazov.
Among his priorities as potential president, he cited the improvement of social welfare among all segments of the population, the development of science and education, and the cultivation of national devotion among young people.
In the sphere of international relations, he stated his determination to maintain the preeminence of neutrality. In agriculture, he spoke of the importance that daikhan (farmers) become “the genuine masters of their own land,” a promise that has been interpreted by observers as a commitment to introduce the concept of private land ownership into the country.
The geography of electoral campaigning will be interesting to note in view of the decision to nominally select candidates from all of the countries five velyats. As ferghana.ru reported some days ago, Turkmen authorities have contrived to place the Mary velyat under the scrutiny of the security services until the election takes place.
The province’s candidate to the election was Berdymuhammedov, who evidently picked himself for the task although he is not even from that region. As ferghana.ru notes, “even in the Khalk Maslahaty Berdymuhammedov represents the Cabinet and not the Mary velyat.”
Moreover, it is believed that “Berdymuhammedov’s self-nomination from the Mary velyat was deliberate because the authorities fear that some other candidate may be nominated from the down-trodden region.” The area poses particular distress to parties determined to pursue continuity against all odds as it is the most populous, culturally developed, and political region in the entire country.
Karajayev and Berdymuhammedov has been the only candidate reported to have visited the region so far, although others may soon follow. What the individuals have to say in these places, granted it is almost certainly from an approved script, may be worth paying close attention to.
On a related issue, the government has passed a decree ensuring that all candidates spend an equal amount of funds on their campaigns, Russian news agency Interfax has reported. The ruling, published on Friday in the official Turkmen press, has responsibility doe overseeing the decree is enforced with the Central Elections Commission. Once again, this can only serve to give an unfair advantage to the interim president, who has benefited from all the free publicity afforded to him by state television broadcasts of his executive decisions.
One such example of free public exposure was the televised ceremony on Friday to plant 16,000 trees in memory of Niyazov, as reported by the Associated Press. This follows on an order from Berdymuhammedov to built yet another gigantic monument to the late president. As the Associated Press reported:

People walked to the Presidential Path of Health, a recreation area in the capital Ashgabat, to plant the fir and cypress trees to “immortalize the grandiose deeds of Saparmurat Turkmenbashi,” television reported.

Not that the interim president has been the only one to resort to riding Niyazov’s coattails. All six candidates jointly visited Niyazov’s grave in Kipchak on Friday, RIA-Novosti reported.
For its own part, the United States has been remarkably restrained in its calls for democratic reforms in the country. For instance, while calling for political change in the country, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher told Voice of America that decisions on reforms will have to be ” made in the end in Turkmenistan.”
This sentiment was an almost verbatim repetition of a remark by State Department spokesman Sean McCormack during a press briefing on Jan. 3, in which he said that the “Turkmenistan Government is going to have to moderate their own political process” in answer to a question about whether the U.S. government would offer support to exiled political activists.
Notably, Boucher was reported McCormack during Wednesday’s State Department press briefing as being “on the road,” possibly in the Central Asian region. McCormack could not confirm which countries Boucher would indeed be visiting over this period.
Meanwhile, as the Associated Press reports, there has been some concern voiced by international nongovernmental organizations, who already signs of renewed despotism in Berdymuhammedov’s governing style

Noting that Berdymukhamedov had hinted at greater openness for the reclusive ex-Soviet state, U.S. democracy rights organization Freedom House, meanwhile, called on the United States and the European Union to push Turkmen leaders toward more democracy.
“The United States and the EU should use this unique moment in history following Niyazov’s death to push for democratic reform while the window is still open,” Executive Director Jennifer Windsor said in a statement. “Otherwise we may be looking at another 15 years of darkness and repression for the people of Turkmenistan.”