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Security Watch - breaking news from around the world and intelligent analysis of the key issues (http://www.isn.ethz.ch) |
23 January 2003
Tajikistan and Turkmenistan appear to be forging an alliance that may help them resist the influence of their more powerful neighbor, Uzbekistan.
By Zafar Abdullaev for IWPR
The Tajik authorities are keeping negative stories about Turkmenistan out of the headlines in a bid to build an alliance with its Central Asian neighbor. Sources in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, have told IWPR that the media is now adopting a policy of "if you can't say something nice about [Turkmen] President Saparmurat Niazov, don't say anything at all". As a result of this self-censorship, the Tajik people know little or nothing about the alleged attempt on Niazov's life last November, which was followed by a series of controversial imprisonments and accusations of human rights abuses. Analysts believe that Tajikistan is now flattering President Niazov - who likes to be called Turkmenbashi, or "Father of all Turkmen" - as a result of Tajikistan's uneasy relationship with Uzbekistan. Tajik political analyst Rashid Abdullo told IWPR that Uzbekistan has placed a number of obstacles in the way of both Tajikistan and Turkmenistan as they seek to expand bilateral trade. The Tajik government now sees Turkmenistan as an alternative to Uzbekistan, he said. Uzbekistan currently has the upper hand in dealings between the former Soviet republics and commands prices of US$48 per thousand cubic meters for the fuel it sends to Tajikistan. Tajikistan is now eager to import its natural gas from Turkmenistan, which is asking only US$35 for the same amount. But the gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Tajikistan goes through Uzbek territory and would need a certain amount of upgrading - and Uzbekistan has refused to provide any assistance. Relations between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan deteriorated further after the Turkmenbashi accused Uzbekistan of aiding an opposition leader who has since been accused of masterminding the attempt on his life.
US-Uzbek alliance irritates
Independent political scientist Alisher Kurbonov also believes that the burgeoning relationship between Uzbekistan and the US in the wake of the 11 September attacks on the US has also irritated Turkmenistan. While Turkmenbashi's insular, and often bizarre, policies have alienated the other Central Asian states, his country now needs an ally. As Tajikistan and Turkmenistan do not suffer from the border tensions currently plaguing neighboring states, Abdullo believes that the time is right to build stronger relations between the two. The Turkmenbashi-friendly media policy looks set to continue as a result. One Tajik journalist, who wished to remain anonymous, told IWPR that the editors-in-chief of all newspapers - even the privately-owned Asia Plus - are now practicing a form of self-censorship. The process began as far back as last spring, after a series of articles appeared in the media criticizing Turkmenbashi and the cult of personality that he has encouraged. One, which appeared in Asia Plus, provoked a letter of protest from the Turkmen embassy in Dushanbe. After the editor-in-chief was invited to the Tajik foreign office, the Turkmen ambassador wrote an article in which he called for the authorities to investigate why anti-Turkmen reports were being published in the media. Since that time, there has been a marked change in the media's view of Turkmenistan. In the last issue of Asia Plus, the Tajik ambassador in Ashgabat, Todjiddin Mardonov, gave his own anodyne assessment of the latest events in the country, saying the bid to kill Niazov had come as a terrible shock to his loyal subjects. "Turkmenistan is a stable and calm country, which has good economic growth compared to other CIS countries. That is why [the assassination attempt] stirred up the public," he said. This rash of good publicity has had a downside for the Tajik public - they've been forced to look at Russian and Turkmen opposition websites to get the full story.
Zafar Abdullaev is an independent journalist in Dushanbe.
This article originally appeared in Reporting Central Asia, produced by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.
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