The Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) is being held in Warsaw from 10 to 21 September, 2018.
In the course of the meetings civil society activists and the OSCE participating States will be reviewing the implementation of OSCE human dimension commitments.
In the morning of 14 September a group of Turkmen activists participating in the session, held a meeting with the US delegation headed by Harry Kamian, Deputy Head of the U.S. Mission to the OSCE.
The meeting, which addressed the human rights situation in Turkmenistan, political and humanitarian problems, lasted for about an hour.
The appeal below, which was signed by the activists, was handed over to Harry Kamian.
Dear Mr. Secretary of State!
Turkmenistan continues to be the most closed country with the authoritarian system of government and takes one of the last places in the ratings of the prestigious international human rights organizations.
The inability, most probably unwillingness, of the President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow (Arkadag) to promote democratic reforms is obvious.The declarations on the democratic reforms, the government makes, are very much a populism.
Since 2007, when Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow came to power, the world has been still waiting from Ashkhabad for transparent and honest democratic elections of the president and parliamentary deputies in the country.
It was mentioned in the last OSCE Mission report that there were no conditions provided for true democratic elections during Parliamentary Elections 2018.There were no political alternatives offered, the fundamental human rights and freedoms were limited, the credibility of the elections and the results raise serious doubts.
Consequently, the power in Turkmenistan is not legitimate and is usurped by one person Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.
The fundamental rights and freedoms of the citizens, including freedom of thought, freedom of assembly and association, freedom of speech, freedom of movement, are threatened on a daily basis.
Only those who have power or are members of the pro-governmental parties have a right to organize meetings and demonstrations that immediately become a platform to glorify the president.
You will not find free mass media in the country, freedom of speech is under a ban.The UN Commission recently found Ashkhabad responsible for the death of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist, Ogulsapar Muradova.
Nonetheless, the journalists of the Free Europe radio continue to work under high pressure. 12 years after the death of Ogulsapar Muradova, the journalists Soltan Achilova, Saparmamed Nepeskuliev, Rovshen Yazmuhamedov, H.
Allashev and other are persecuted by the government and are threatened with detention because of their professional activity.
Every day dozens of passengers in Ashkhabad airport willing to leave Turkmenistan to look for a job, to study or to take a treatment course in another country are denied boarding. Dozens of relatives of Turkmen dissidents are in the “black list” of unreliable persons and are deprived of their freedom of movement.
The Constitution of Turkmenistan guarantees freedom of religion, however, the authorities continue the policy of the former dictator that aimed at persecution of any dissidence, including freedom of religion. This fact is annually reflected in the reports of the US Department of State.
There is no transparent judiciary in Turkmenistan, the law enforcement authorities use power as a mechanism for repressions.The practice of forced detention is still applied, there are no fair judicial examinations, however, there are forced disappearances, humiliating tortures, slave-like treatment and punishments.
The campaign “Show them alive!” documented over 120 cases when people were kept in Turkmen prisons in absolute isolation.
After Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow came to power, no positive changes occurred in the format of communication between the official power on the one side and the opposition, human rights activists and dissidents who try to contribute to the development of democratic society in Turkmenistan, on the other side.
The official power not only considers the opposition, the activists and dissidents the enemies of the people, but also uses the mechanisms of government to make people in Turkmenistan share this erroneous belief.
Corruption flourishes in the country, while nepotism reached overwhelming proportions.Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and his relatives own both real and shadow economies of the country.This is why people in the country with very rich energy resources have one of the lowest per capita income in the world.
The situation got worse in the recent years: galloping inflation, mass unemployment, poverty, hunger, and the growing number of seriously ill people is a usual situation.According to the data of the independent correspondents, even militaries and prisoners in penitentiaries are financially supported by their relatives.
The policy of the Turkmen government leads the country to the humanitarian disaster.Taking into account the above-mentioned facts, we are to address you with a kind request to initiate the creation of the international commission to visit Turkmenistan, to study the real situation in the country and to report the results within the frameworks of the UN or OSCE meetings.
The initiative group of Turkmen activists:
Begmedova Tadzhigul
Berdyyev Shahnazar
Fomin Anatoliy
Hanamov Nurmukhammet
Khadzhiev Annadurdy
Mamedov Vyacheslav
Misrikhanov Timur
Myatiyev Ruslan
Khudayberdy
Shikhmuradov Bayram
Farid Tuhbatullin