WRITTEN QUESTION E-1343/00

by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(4 May 2000)

Subject: Turkmenistan

Will the Commission inquire about the fate of Mrs Artykgul Atakova of Turkmenistan, a young woman with five children who is under serious threat on account of her conversion to Christianity?

Is the Commission aware that, although the Constitution of Turkmenistan provides for freedom of religion and freedom of expression, Christian evangelists are deported from there, gatherings of Christians are disrupted, and Christians are threatened, arrested and sentenced to prison or labour camps?

What are the European Union's relations with Turkmenistan, and what can the Commission do to bring pressure to bear to guarantee freedom of religion for Christians in Turkmenistan?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(22 May 2000)

The Commission has been informed that Mrs Artygul Atakova, a mother of five children, has been harassed by the authorities because she protested to her children's school about the requirement for all pupils to bow to the portrait of President Nyazov. No charges have been made against her but she has been questioned by the komitet nasionalniy bezopastniy (KNB) and her movements have been restricted.

Mrs Atakov is the wife of Shagildy Atakova who is at present in prison, serving a four year sentence on a charge of fraud. The true reason for the conviction is, however, believed to be that he has been a religious activist. Other relatives are reported to have been harassed in order to put pressure on the Atakov family. The Commission is seeking to check this information which has been reported by Amnesty International.

As for the government's general position on religion, although the constitution permits freedom of worship, in practice religious groups need to register. Under Turkmen rule, the official religions have flourished with their houses of worship increasing from two mosques in 1991 to 268 mosques and 11 Russian Orthodox churches today, but only the Sunni Moslem and Russian Orthodox religions have been allowed to operate unhindered. No other groups have been allowed to register and Christian Protestant groups, as well as Jehovah's Witnesses and others, have been harassed. The Roman Catholic church is allowed to have services only in the Apostolic Nunciature premises. President Nyazov has stated that in Turkmenistan, there never were nor will be fanatics. Therefore a number of pastors holding other nationalities have been deported. The destruction of the Seventh Day Adventist Church which took place in November 1999 in Ashgabat shows Turkmenistan's policy towards religion. The Commission is aware that there are increasing reports of confiscated religious literature, arrests, mistreatment in prison and of foreign missionaries being forced out of the country.

The Commission is taking into account these elements in its bilateral relations with Turkmenistan. The Union has concluded a partnership cooperation agreement (PCA) with Turkmenistan which is now subject to ratification in the parliaments of the Member States and the Parliament. As long as this PCA has not entered into force, bilateral relations are covered by a trade and cooperation agreement. Although this agreement does not allow for political dialogue, Union representatives used the last joint committee in November 1999 in Ashgabat to raise issues on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. A Union statement on Turkmenistan was made on 9 March 2000 in the Organization for security and cooperation in Europe (OSCE) permanent council stating that the EU urges the (Turkmen) authorities to reconsider the case of prisoners being in custody solely on political grounds.