MAY 6 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Turkmenistan arrested Rovshen Yazmuhamedov, a reporter for the US-funded media group Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Human rights groups said Mr Yazmuhamedov could potentially be tortured in detention. The Turkmen authorities have not responded or specified the charges against Mr Yazmuhamedov.
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(News report from Issue No. 135, published on May 20 2013)
MAY 11 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and his Kazakh counterpart, Nursultan Nazarbayev, opened a rail link that bypasses the Soviet network in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is often regarded as an awkward neighbour because of its unilateral tendencies. The rail link is designed to link up with Iran.
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(News report from Issue No. 135, published on May 20 2013)
MAY 6 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov understands the value of symbolism.
Since coming to power in January 2007 he has introduced various public promotions. One of these is a national Horse Day to celebrate Turkmenistan’s Akhal-Teke, a local thoroughbred that is famed worldwide for its speed, strength and beauty. It is also a national Turkmen emblem.
Horse Day is celebrated on the last Sunday in April and the apex of the event is a race with prize money of $11m. This being Turkmenistan and Mr Berdymukhamedov being a man-of-action, though, the race can only have one outcome.
Videos of the race, held on April 28, have emerged showing Mr Berdymukhamedov galloping clear of the pack. The crowd roars as My Berdymukhamedov, gloriously, crosses the finishing line in first place. That’s where the official video, aired on national television, cuts.
Other videos, though, showed the president’s horse stopping abruptly, throwing Mr Berdymukhamedov to the ground. Dark suited security agents then jump over the barriers and run towards their stricken president. The crowd goes quiet as their leader is carried away.
Mr Berdymukhamedov recovers to collect his prize and the incident is quietly air-brushed from official history but not before it has provided an insight into Turkmen image management.
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(News report from Issue No. 134, published on May 6 2013)
APRIL 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan has doubled its foreign trade figures in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2012, media quoted the Turkmen ministry of economy as saying. Since becoming president in 2007, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has pushed to increase the country’s client base for its huge gas supplies.
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(News report from Issue No. 133, published on April 29 2013)
MARCH 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – The leaders of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan signed a deal in Ashgabat to build a 400km extension to link up their railway networks, media reported. The deal marks another step to integrating Afghanistan into the regional economy. Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov asked international lenders to help pay the $2b cost of the railway.
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(News report from Issue No. 128, published on March 22 2013)
MARCH 16 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan plans to start gas production at its Galkynysh gas field by July, media quoted the Turkmen minister for oil and gas, Mukhammednur Halylov, at a conference in Dubai. Galkynysh is the world’s second largest gas field and the start of production will underline Turkmenistan’s status as a major energy supplier.
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(News report from Issue No. 128, published on March 22 2013)
MARCH 16 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – State-owned TurkmenGas supplies 20b cubic metres of gas to China a year, media quoted the company’s chairman, Kakageldy Abdullayev, telling the Dubai conference. Mr Abdullayev said that by 2020 Turkmenistan would supply China with 65b cubic metres of gas a year, more than Russia and Kazakhstan combined.
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(News report from Issue No. 128, published on March 22 2013)
MARCH 10 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Nearly 500,000 public sector employees in Turkmenistan picked up shovels and headed out to the desert to plant trees as part of their annual anti-desertification strategy. Turkmenistan has been pursuing an anti- desertification programme since the late-1990s.
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(News report from Issue No. 127, published on March 15 2013)
MARCH 6 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan has agreed a deal with Iran to receive goods and produce in lieu of fees owed for gas, Bloomberg reported quoting the state-run Iranian Students Agency. Turkmenistan is an important supplier of gas to northern Iran, reportedly supplying up to a third of its imports. US sanctions have hit Iran’s cash flow.
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(News report from Issue No. 126, published on March 8 2013)
FEB. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked the head of the national equine association live on television for not sufficiently promoting the horse industry, media reported. Mr Berdymukhamedov has set much weight in promoting various aspects of the Turkmenistan’s culture since becoming president in 2007.
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(News report from Issue No. 125, published on Feb. 22 2013)