Moradov says foreign election observers will be allowed (epa)
January 21, 2007 -- Turkmen television today quoted Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov as saying that Turkmenistan will allow international observers to monitor next month's presidential elections.
The move would make the February 11 vote to replace autocratic President Saparmurat Niyazov the nation's first-ever election monitored by outside observers. Niyazov died in December.
Meredov told a cabinet meeting on January 20 that agreements were reached to invite election observers from Russia, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and some other unspecified organizations.
(AP)
LIFE UNDER NIYAZOV: On July 21, RFE/RL's Prague broadcasting center hosted a presentation by TAJIGUL BEGMEDOVA, chairwoman of the Bulgaria-based Turkmenistan Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (THF). Begmedova discussed the human rights situation in Turkmenistan under President Saparmural Niyazov, focusing on the arrests in June of THF activists and RFE/RL Turkmen Service correspondent Ogulsapar Muradova. Begmedova, who graduated from the Institute of Economy in Moscow in 1987, fled Turkmenistan in 2002 and lives in exile in Sofia.
Meredov told a cabinet meeting on January 20 that agreements were reached to invite election observers from Russia, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and some other unspecified organizations.
(AP)
Human Rights In Turkmenistan
Human Rights In Turkmenistan
LIFE UNDER NIYAZOV: On July 21, RFE/RL's Prague broadcasting center hosted a presentation by TAJIGUL BEGMEDOVA, chairwoman of the Bulgaria-based Turkmenistan Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (THF). Begmedova discussed the human rights situation in Turkmenistan under President Saparmural Niyazov, focusing on the arrests in June of THF activists and RFE/RL Turkmen Service correspondent Ogulsapar Muradova. Begmedova, who graduated from the Institute of Economy in Moscow in 1987, fled Turkmenistan in 2002 and lives in exile in Sofia.
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Listen to the complete presentation (36 minutes; presentation in Russian with consecutive translation into English):Some RFE/RL Coverage Of Human Rights In Turkmenistan:
Media Coverage Of Leader Distracts From Real Problems
Authorities Cast Wide Net In Conspiracy Allegations
Embattled Turkmen Writer Honored Abroad
RFE/RL Correspondent Recounts Arrest
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