WRITTEN QUESTION P-0627/03 by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Council. Political persecution in Turkmenistan.
Date: 2003-02-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: OSCE, Turkmenistan, dictatorship, human rights, political opposition, repression, the EU's international role

C 280 E/72

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

21.11.2003

it was concluded that in the present
In the case of the Lisbon Summit, planned for 5 April 2003,
circumstances it would not be possible to achieve the broadest participation at the highest level in the
Summit by both sides, which would affect the outcome. It would therefore be in the best interest of EU-
Africa relations to postpone the Summit.

The Council has not debated the question of a moratorium for any element of the sanctions.

(2003/C 280 E/075)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0627/03

by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(25 February 2003)

Subject: Political persecution in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan has developed into a harsh dictatorship in which the political opposition is systematically
repressed. Even relatives and friends of opposition figures are punished with imprisonment, torture and
internal exile.

One example of such repression is the reprisals suffered by the relatives of Sapar Yklimov. Sapar Yklimov
was previously forced to leave Turkmenistan because of his criticism of the dictatorship in the country.
He now lives in Sweden and is a Swedish citizen. Sapar Yklimov’s relatives are being persecuted in
Turkmenistan and are refused permission to leave the country. Among those being persecuted is Sapar
Yklimov’s daughter, who was previously in Sweden as a refugee.

What action has the Council taken against the persecution in Turkmenistan? Has the question of the
persecution of Sapar Yklimov’s relatives, among them his daughter, been taken up directly with the regime
in Turkmenistan or does the Council intend to do so in the future?

Reply

(22 July 2003)

The difficult situation in Turkmenistan is a matter of grave concern to the European Union. In its
declaration of 20 January 2003, the EU expressed its unequivocal support for a full and transparent
investigation into recent events in Turkmenistan.

The Council would recall
that seven EU Member States, and three other OSCE members, have
implemented with regard to Turkmenistan the OSCE ‘Moscow mechanism’, which was adopted at the
1991 meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension in Moscow. More generally, the EU has
supported this process since the start and actively monitored its implementation in Turkmenistan. The EU
backs the efforts made by the Netherlands in the context of its OSCE Presidency to engage the authorities
in Ashgabat in dialogue. The talks held by the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Affairs on 3 March 2003
were particularly useful in this respect.

The situation in Turkmenistan was the subject of considerable discussion at a meeting of all EU Heads of
Mission in Central Asia on 5/6 March 2003. In the course of this and other Council discussions, various
individual cases have been highlighted for attention.

Over the past weeks, EU Heads of Mission in Ashgabat have made strenuous efforts to communicate the
EU’s concerns to the Turkmen authorities, but have met with considerable difficulties.
In these
circumstances, the main priority has been to urge the Turkmen authorities to change their attitude, rather
than to focus on individual cases.

Nonetheless, the EU will continue to seize every opportunity, including in the context of the 59th UNHCR
meeting, to raise concerns, both general and specific, about the situation in Turkmenistan.