TURKMENISTAN: BERDIMUHAMEDOV REPLACES INTERIOR,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001088 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2017 TAGS: PGOV PINR TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: BERDIMUHAMEDOV REPLACES INTERIOR, SECURITY MINISTERS REF: ASHGABAT 1036 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: President Berdimuhamedov replaced two power ministry heads during an October 8 meeting at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Interior Minister, who is taking the blame for the fire in the Russian bazaar as well as other crimes, will likely be arrested for abuse of office, and his replacement is a young, relative unknown. The MNB chief is stepping down for health reasons, but there is no evidence right now that his departure, long-rumored, is anything but planned. His replacement is also young, and is shifting from leadership of the Presidential Protective Service to the larger task of managing the security service. It seems clear that the MVD chief's removal and lossible future arrest is unfolding in a public context to quiet popular concerns about rising criminal activity in the commercial sphere, and also puts the commission that reviews complaints about law enforcement activities somewhat back into the spotlight. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) During an October 8 meeting at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD),President Berdimuhamedov fired MVD Minister Khodjamurat Annagurbanov for corruption and abuse of office. In a tough session in which he accused the MVD of contributing to the breakdown of the rule of law, he criticized the work of the MVD and accused the Ministry of hiding accurate national crime statistics. The president cited the recent doubling of MVD-related cases under review by the State Commission on Citizen Complaints on Law Enforcement Agencies activities, and the Ministry's inability to cope with the recent fire at the Russian bazaar (reftel). Noting that he had told Annagurbanov that nobody, including even the president's own relatives, should be exempt from punishment, the president explicitly accused Annagurbanov of protecting his nephew who was accused of committing a crime, and engaging in a cover-up of the crime. He also expressed his displeasure in the rumors that became rampant as a result of the fire, including suggestions that a "mafia" might be emerging in Turkmenistan. Annagurbanov, who was believed to have been close to Berdimuhamedov, had been in office only since April. The new MVD chief is Orazgeldy Amanmuradov, 37, who had been Rector of the Military Academy (bio below). ¶3. (SBU) Simultaneously, Berdimuhamedov announced Lt. Gen. Geldimuhammet Ashirmuhamedov, the Minister of National Security (MNB),had stepped down due to poor health. (Ashirmuhamedov was reassigned to a deputy directorship of the Military Academy.) Ashirmuhamedov had been in office since Niyazov appointed him in 2004, on the heels of a major purge of MNB. The official government press had released a statement on May 15 about his dismissal, which the presidential administration denied several days later. The new MNB Chief is Charymurat Amanov, 41, who reportedly comes from the president's home region of Geok Depe of Ahal Province. He had been Chief of the Presidential Protective Service, and was also a migration policy official in the past, according to Western press. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: While Berdimuhamedov's decision to fire Annagurbanov may have something to do with his efforts to strengthen his own position vis-a-vis the power ministries that are believed to have helped his rise to the presidency, the MVD chief's firing is all the more interesting because of the reference the president made to the increase in MVD-related cases put before the commission that reviews complaints against law enforcement. The president fired the Chief of the Supreme Court, Esenov, back in August because of his inability to adequately review cases before the commission. It is possible that Berdimuhamedov, who heard an earful about Turkmenistan's human rights problems while he was in New York last month, is putting the MVD on notice that it will be held more accountable for its actions in the near term that it has in the past, though more transparency regarding the commission's case review process would convince ASHGABAT 00001088 002 OF 002 observers that rule of law is taking on more importance within this government. END COMMENT. ¶5. (U) Amanov, Charymurat Kakaliyevich - Born in 1966 in Geok Depe district. In 1990 graduated from Turkmen State University with a degree in mathematics. After graduation, he worked as a middle-school mathematics teacher in Geok Depe. In 1991-92 he was a student at the KGB academy in Russia. Beginning in 1992 he worked in various capacities in the MNB of Turkmenistan. In February 2007, he was named deputy representative of the State Service for the Registration of Foreign Citizens. ¶6. (U) Amanmuradov, Orazgeldy - Born in 1970 in the village of Dostluk in Tejen region of Ahal Province. In 1992 he graduated with a history degree from Turkmen State University. After graduation he continued his studies as a graduate student at the history faculty. In 1994-95 he worked as a scientific secretary, deputy director for scientific work of the National Museum of History and Ethnography. In 1997-98 he studied at the FSB Academy in Russia. In 2007 he was appointed Rector of the Military Academy. HOAGLAND