The father
of Turkmen literature is poet and thinker Fragi Makhtumkuli (1770-1840),
whose words are held in great reverence.
Born in an area of south-west Turkmenistan which now forms part of Iran,
Makhtumkuli was something of a tragic figure. Trapped in a loveless
marriage, he lost his two young sons to illness; later in life his whole
body of work was not only confiscated by the Persians but, as he stood
witness, the camel on which his precious manuscripts were loaded lost its
footing and fell into a river to be swept away. In his writing,
Makhtumkuli spurned classical forms for home-spun wisdom and a simplicity
of language that contributed greatly to his popularity with the travelling
bards. Such was his influence that Turkmen literature became a compendium
of mere copyists. Of those who managed to struggle out of the shadow of
the great scribe, the most noted are the 19th century writers Kemine,
whose satirical rhymes castigated the ruling circles, and Molapenes, the
author of popular lyrical poems.
For the nomadic Turkmen the only piece of
furniture worth having was a carpet or three. Easily transportable, the carpets
served not just as floor coverings, but as wall linings for the yurt, providing
a highly decorative form of insulation. Turkmen textiles artisans have gone
quite commercial over the last hundred years: most 'Bukhara' rugs, so called
because they were mostly sold, not made, in Bukhara - are made by Turkmen. These
days the swish Ashghabat Carpet Museum or the Tolkuchka market are good places
to see these mostly red, mostly geometric, entirely beautiful
rugs.
Though
Turkmenistan is predominantly a Sunni Muslim country, the religion is not
militantly or strictly enforced. Centuries-old tribal loyalties are at least as
important as Islam; even the most urbane Turkmen retains allegiance to his
tribe, while in the more remote regions tribalism dominates to such an extent
that each tribe is easily distinguished by dialect, style of clothing and
jewellery and the patterns woven into their carpets. Of all Central Asian
peoples the Turkmen have kept the most traditional dress. While under threat
from shell-suit pants and polyester jackets, it's still common to see men in
baggy blue pantaloons tucked into clumping knee-high bots, a white shirt under a
cherry-red and gold-striped heavy silk jacket, and topped by a shaggy wool hat.
Women are less showy and wear heavy, ankle-length silk dresses of wine red and
maroon hiding spangled, striped trousers beneath. A woman's hair is always tied
back and concealed under a kercheif or scarf.
Surprisingly for a
country that is mostly uncultivable desert, some of the more interesting Turkmen
dishes are vegetarian. Herb-filled pastries and cornmeal pancakes are common in
the markets. Porridges with mung beans, or of cornmeal and pumpkin, or of rice,
milk and yoghurt, can make a meal. The Turkmen also make a tasty meatless plov
(pilaf) with dried fruit. Economic and political stagnation has had a major
effect on Turkmenistan's food industry. Restaurants are scarce and the fare is
generally miserable.
Events
Turkmenistan isn't known for its jolly street parades. Public holidays include New Year's Day (January 1), Remembrance Day (anniversary of a 1948 earthquake on January 12), National Flag Day (February 19), International Women's Day (March 8), Labour Day (May 1), Victory Day (a commemoration of the end of WWII for Russia on May 9, 1945) and Independence Day (October 27).
The spring festival of Nauryz ('New Days') is one of Turkmenistans biggest holidays. It's an Islamic adaptation of pre-Islamic vernal equinox or renewal celebrations and can include traditional games, music and drama festivals, street art and colourful fairs. Important Muslim holy days, scheduled according to the lunar calendar, include Ramadan, the month of sunrise to sunset fasting; Eid-ul-Fitr, the celebrations marking the end of Ramadan; and Eid-ul-Azha, the feast of sacrifice, when those who can
afford to, slaughter an animal and share it with relatives and the poor .
Human Rights Report
Under the dictatorship of President Saparmurat Niyazov, the government of
Turkmenistan in 1998 continued to deny its citizensnearly every civil and political
right. With no political opposition, no freedom of assembly, no opportunity for public
debate, and a Soviet-style secret police, very little information on human rights
abuses was available. One of the poorest of the former Soviet republics, the Central
Asian nation worked to keep human rights off the agenda as it courted foreign
investors eager to exploit its untapped natural resources, especially oil and gas. On
two occasions, however, international pressure on President Niyazov forced the
release of a handful of high-profile political prisoners.
President Niyazov’s visit to the United States in April occasioned ten releases. On
the eve of Niyazov’s arrival in the U.S., police detained former foreign minister and
dissident Avdy Kuliev in the capital, Ashgabat, as he was attempting to return to
Turkmenistan from Moscow after five years in exile. Subsequent pressure from the
Clinton administration and others sources led Turkmen officials to release Kuliev and
Durdymurat Khoja-Mukhamedov. A leader of the banned Party of Democratic
Development of Turkmenistan, Khoja-Mukhamedov had been incarcerated since
February 1996 in a psychiatric hospital on medically unjustifiable grounds.
Six of the eight members of a group known as the “Ashgabat Eight” were also freed in
April. The eight were imprisoned after an ill-fated march in 1995 to protest wage
arrears and the lack of democracy. Begenchmurat Khojaev and Baytr Sakheliev, both
imprisoned since 1995 for their alleged participation in the rally, were released the
same day; two days later the government released Amanmyrat Amandurdyev,
Khudayberdi Amandurdyev, Charymurat Amandurdyev and Kakamurat Nazarov, also
members of the “Ashgabat Eight.” Also released were Mukhammetkuli Aimuradov and
Khoshali Geraev, convicted in 1995 of anti-state crimes and “attempted terrorism,”
for maintaining contact with Turkmen political activists abroad. Both men had been
serving time in strict-regime labor camps in the western city of Turkmenbashi.
Unfortunately, Charymurat Gurov, also of the “Ashgabat Eight,” died in custody in
January under suspicious circumstances. The government asserted that he died of
natural causes (heart aliments and tuberculosis), but according to eyewitness reports
his corpse was bruised and bore other evidence of mistreatment and torture. The
remaining member of the “Ashgabat Eight,” Gulgeldi Annaniyazov, remained in prison.
Mr. Kuliev, who saw Annaniyazov during his own imprisonment in April, reported to
Human Rights Watch that the latter was in such poor health that he could barely walk
or speak, and that he was extremely thin and pale.
While the government reneged on its promise to release additional political prisoners,
the president, did sign an amnesty decree in October freeing women, disabled
prisoners, those suffering from tuberculosis, juveniles, war veterans, and male
prisoners over the age of sixty. Individuals convicted of murder, rape, terrorism, or
drug-related crimes were not included in the amnesty. The decree did not appear to
reflect a real change in the government’s policy toward those it deemed a threat;
authorities continued to threaten, assault, and imprison perceived opponents. As of
this writing, there were no reports of prisoners having been released.
In early September, the Committee for National Security (KNB) arrested former
presidential spokesman Durdymuhammend Gurbanov on charges of embezzlement. He
was released a week later after some thirty people demonstrated in Ashgabat to
demand his release, an extraordinary event. As of September, the government had
taken no measures to punish or imprison the demonstrators. In April, Gurbanov had
given a series of interviews to Radio Liberty in Prague during which he severely
criticized President Niyazov and the government. Upon his return to Ashgabat in June,
the KNB repeatedly summoned him to their offices and kept him under constant
surveillance.
In early August, three assailants kidnapped and beat Durdymurat Khoja-Mukhamedov
as he was returning home from a meeting at the British Embassy.They drove him
outside Ashgabat, kicked and beat him until he lost consciousness, and left him.
Khoja-Mukhamedov was still bandaged and in pain one month after the attack.
November of 1997 also saw the arrest of Radio Liberty stringer Yovshan
Annakurbanov as he prepared to board a flight to Prague to attend a journalists’
seminar. Though Turkmen police later alleged that Annakurbanov possessed a
computer disc containing information on Turkmen opposition parties, no mention of the
disc was made at the time of his arrest. Annakurbanov was released about a week
later, on the eve of U.S. Secretary of Energy Federico Pena’s visit to Turkmenistan.
The death penalty cases of Andre Voronin and Kamal
Nepesov highlighted Turkmenistan’s arbitrary and capricious criminal justice
system. Amnesty International reported that the two men were sentenced to death
in April by a court in the Mary region for the murder of a Bayramali sanitorium
director. Voronin and Nepesov claimed they were tortured— their toes crushed
with pliers and electric shocks applied to the anus— and that their families
were threatened. Further, the men were allowed access to their lawyers only a
month after their arrests and only after signing confessions obtained under
psychological and physical pressure. While Human Rights Watch could not
independently confirm the men’s charges, according to the report, the men also
alleged that the authorities failed to investigate their claims of innocence.
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