IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 486 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the Government of Turkmenistan 
should take immediate steps to improve its respect for human rights 
and democratic practices, in keeping with its international commitments 
and obligations. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2006 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. PITTS, and Mr. MCINTYRE) sub-
mitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee 
on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the Government of 
Turkmenistan should take immediate steps to improve 
its respect for human rights and democratic practices, 
in keeping with its international commitments and obli-
gations. 
Whereas Turkmenistan became independent after the fall of 
the Soviet Union in 1991, and became a participating 
State of the Organization for Security and Cooperation 
in Europe (OSCE) when President Saparmurat Niyazov 
personally signed the Helsinki Final Act in 1992; 
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Whereas Turkmenistan is also a signatory to the United Na-
tions International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
(ICCPR), which obliges Turkmenistan ‘‘to promote uni-
versal respect for, and observance of, human rights and 
freedoms’’, as well as with the United Nations Conven-
tion Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or De-
grading Treatment, which declares ‘‘that no one may be 
subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading 
treatment or punishment’’; 
Whereas the Constitution of Turkmenistan declares the 
Turkmen people to be the ‘‘only source of the govern-
mental power’’, and lists the basic rights and freedoms 
to include, inter alia, freedom of movement, protection 
from arbitrary interference into personal life, freedom of 
expression and political conviction, freedom to gather and 
hold protest, and the freedom to practice any religion, 
alone or in association with others, and to express and 
disseminate religious beliefs; 
Whereas the Government of Turkmenistan violates or se-
verely restricts a broad range of civil and political rights, 
in breach of its Constitution and international human 
rights obligations; 
Whereas, in April 2006, Global Witness reported that reve-
nues generated by natural gas sales are kept out of the 
Turkmenistan state budget and retained by President 
Niyazov, held mostly in accounts at Germany’s Deutsche 
Bank, allowing him to personally control an estimated 
$3,000,000,000; 
Whereas the Government of Turkmenistan has implemented 
numerous severe budget cutbacks due to a lack of state 
funds, thereby causing great damage to the education 
system, leaving the health care system severely under-
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funded and nearing collapse, and causing the closings of 
cultural facilities and libraries; 
Whereas Turkmenistan is a one-party state with all three 
branches of government as well as all state revenues 
under the sole control of President Niyazov; 
Whereas after a rubber-stamp decision in 2003 by the Peo-
ple’s Council, Niyazov is effectively the country’s ‘‘presi-
dent-for-life’’ and is anticipated to dominate the political 
scene indefinitely; 
Whereas opposition parties are outlawed and only the state- 
backed Democratic Party of Turkmenistan can nominate 
candidates in local, regional, and federal elections; 
Whereas the state promotes a cult of personality around 
President Niyazov, the self-proclaimed ‘‘Turkmenbashi’’, 
the father of all Turkmen, by placing his likeness on 
every public building and currency and requiring the 
teaching of his self-styled spiritual guide, the Rukhnama, 
in all schools, mosques, and places of work and where re-
fusal to do so has resulted in criminal penalties; 
Whereas the Government of Turkmenistan continues to raze 
entire neighborhoods to construct lavish buildings and 
monuments at great public expense; 
Whereas security officials have physically abused, tortured, 
and forced confessions from individuals involved in the 
political opposition or human rights advocacy, and con-
tinues the barbaric Soviet practice of using psychiatric 
hospitals to jail dissidents; 
Whereas Turkmen state authorities restrict access to all 
sources of news and information other than the state-con-
trolled and heavily censored media, thereby depriving citi-
zens of a basic civil right, and denying domestic and for-
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eign reporters the freedom to carry out their work, such 
that Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkmenistan as 
the third worst offender in its 2005 Worldwide Press 
Freedom Index; 
Whereas, on August 25, 2006, Radio Free Europe/Radio Lib-
erty 
correspondent 
Ogulsapar 
Muradova 
and 
Turkmenistan 
Helsinki 
Foundation 
members, 
Sapardurdy Khajiev and Annakurban Amanklychev, were 
sentenced to six and seven years of imprisonment, respec-
tively, for their involvement in a documentary about 
Turkmenistan; 
Whereas relatives learned on September 14, 2006, that 
Ogulsapar Muradova died while in prison under highly 
suspicious circumstances; 
Whereas the Government of Turkmenistan continues to jail 
Mukhametkuli Aimuradov, imprisoned since 1995, for his 
political views; 
Whereas a 70-year-old pensioner, Kakabai Tedjenov, was ar-
rested and detained on January 4, 2006, and placed in 
a psychiatric hospital for criticizing government policies; 
Whereas political activist Gurbandurdy Durdykuliev was im-
prisoned in a psychiatric hospital for over two years until 
54 Members of Congress wrote President Niyazov in 
April 2006 insisting he be released; 
Whereas the Government of Turkmenistan routinely restricts, 
through blacklists and document seizures, the right to 
freedom of movement for thousands of its citizens, pre-
venting these individuals from traveling or emigrating, 
notwithstanding provisions of the Jackson-Vanik amend-
ment to the Trade Act of 1974; 
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Whereas numerous government officials may not leave the 
country without special permission and are categorically 
barred from leaving with close relatives; 
Whereas the education system is in shambles due to required 
schooling being reduced to nine years, the use of child 
labor in agriculture, the denial of employment for foreign 
accredited teachers, and the study and knowledge of the 
Rukhnama becoming mandatory for access to higher edu-
cation; 
Whereas numerous arrests and show trials have occurred in 
connection to the November 2002 attack on President 
Niyazov’s 
motorcade, 
including 
those 
of 
Boris 
Shikhmuradov and Batyr Berdyev, and has denied unfet-
tered access to the accused by the International Com-
mittee of the Red Cross or the international community; 
and 
Whereas the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious 
Organizations allows freedom of religion, government au-
thorities in Turkmenistan continue to harass registered 
and unregistered religious groups, unregistered religious 
activity is ‘‘illegal’’, religious speech is severely limited, 
conscientious objection to military service is criminalized, 
and Hare Krishna devotee Cheper Annaniyazova and the 
former Chief Mufti Nasrullah ibn Ibadullah remain 
jailed: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the Government of Turkmenistan should— 
(A) immediately and unconditionally re-
lease from prison and psychiatric institutions, 
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all prisoners of conscience and political pris-
oners, including Mukhametkuli Aimuradov, 
Sapardurdy Khajiev, Annakurba Amanklychev, 
Kakabai Tedjenov, Cheper Annaniyazova, and 
Nasrullah ibn Ibadullah; 
(B) provide unfettered access for the Inter-
national Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to 
all detained persons, including Batyr Berdyev 
and Boris Shikhmuradov, in compliance with its 
mandate; 
(C) conduct a thorough and transparent 
investigation 
into 
the 
circumstances 
sur-
rounding the death in custody of Ogulsapar 
Muradova; 
(D) provide fair retrials of all those impris-
oned for the alleged 2002 assassination attempt 
of President Niyazov according to international 
fair trial standards; 
(E) provide thorough and independent in-
vestigations into allegations of torture, ill-treat-
ment and, in some cases, deaths in custody; 
(F) register and permit the normal func-
tioning of opposition political parties and move-
ments, as well as independent nongovernmental 
groups and religious communities, and allow 
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peaceful groups to participate freely in the lead 
up to the December regional elections; 
(G) cease the practice of collective punish-
ment of relatives and associates of perceived 
dissidents, including the demolition of family 
dwellings without commensurate compensation; 
(H) allow those critical of the regime, as 
well as the family members and relatives of 
those implicated in the 2002 attack on Presi-
dent Niyazov’s motorcade, to travel abroad or 
to emigrate should they desire; 
(I) allow the unrestricted import and sale 
of foreign press and free access to the Internet, 
permit international journalists to work freely 
and without surveillance in the country, end 
censorship of state-owned media, and facilitate 
the establishment of nonstate, independent 
media outlets; 
(J) end the punitive use of psychiatric hos-
pitals and the use of house arrest and forced 
displacement of dissidents and their relatives, 
including politically motivated internal exile and 
deportation; 
(K) end the diversion of state funds into 
President Niyazov’s personal offshore accounts, 
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and adopt international best practices as laid 
forth by the International Monetary Fund re-
garding the disclosure and management of oil 
and gas revenues; 
(L) improve the transparency of the For-
eign Exchange Reserve Fund (FERF), the Oil 
& Gas Development Fund (OGDF), and any 
other presidentially controlled state revenue 
funds, making them fully transparent, inde-
pendently audited entities; 
(M) reintroduce full-term (4-year) sec-
ondary education and allow foreign-language 
schools to operate freely; 
(N) invite United Nations thematic mecha-
nisms and special rapporteurs who have re-
quested access to Turkmenistan; and 
(O) support increased OSCE activities in 
Turkmenistan and continue to utilize the OSCE 
as a forum to discuss human rights and democ-
ratization in Turkmenistan; and 
(2) the United States should consider— 
(A) appropriate bilateral responses if the 
Government of Turkmenistan continues to ban 
the free participation of peaceful independent 
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political parties in the upcoming December elec-
tions; 
(B) designating Turkmenistan a ‘‘Country 
of Particular Concern’’ for particularly severe 
violations of religious freedom under the Inter-
national Religious Freedom Act of 1998 unless 
unregistered religious activity is legalized, police 
raids on peaceful religious activities end, and 
the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Reli-
gious Freedom is allowed to undertake a coun-
try visit; 
(C) withholding Turkmenistan’s waiver 
under the Jackson-Vanik amendment until the 
right to freedom of movement is demonstrably 
ensured; 
(D) encouraging companies which trans-
port Turkmen gas to transparently account for 
revenues and make public the identities of all 
their shareholders and beneficiaries; 
(E) raising with the European Union, as 
well as transit and purchasing countries, the 
importance of not entering into agreements 
with Turkmenistan concerning trade until the 
government demonstrates a commitment to im-
plementing basic norms of fiscal transparency; 
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(F) issuing a report on the personal assets 
and wealth of President Niyazov; and 
(G) working with other United Nations 
Member States to introduce and consider a res-
olution denouncing human rights violations in 
Turkmenistan. 
Æ 
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