REACHING OUT TO THE TURKMEN DIASPORA: A WORK IN

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001247

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN; S/GPI; S/P

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: BEXP BTIO EAID OEXC OIIP PGOV PHUM PREL SCUL
SMIG, TSPL, TX
SUBJECT: REACHING OUT TO THE TURKMEN DIASPORA: A WORK IN
PROGRESS

REF: STATE 86401


1. (SBU) Officially, there is a clear recognition within
Turkmenistan that there is a Turkmen diaspora beyond the
borders of the country, including both descendants of groups
long departed from Turkmenistan and more recent emigrants.
Efforts to reach out to this diaspora began only during the
early 1990s after Turkmenistan became an independent country.
Apart from purely governmental contacts through entities
such as the Ministries of Trade, Foreign Affairs, and
Education, the only official instrument of the Turkmen
government to reach out to ethnic Turkmen abroad is the
Humanitarian Association of Turkmen of the World ("HATW").
The HATW has been at the forefront of this outreach effort,
convening annual conferences in Ashgabat with delegates from
Turkmen communities abroad and working to establish local
groups in other countries. The HATW currently has groups in
all the Central Asian countries, as well as in Saudi Arabia,
Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Germany and several groups in Russia.
It appears to be the only Turkmen organization focused on
developing contacts with persons of Turkmen ethnicity abroad.
HATW Vice President Annagurban Ashirov was not able to
estimate the size of the Turkmen diaspora, noting that there
are no reliable census figures from countries such as
Afghanistan and Iran that have significant ethnic Turkmen
communities.


2. (SBU) In addition to its annual conference, the HATW also
sponsors academic conferences about Turkmen heritage and
culture that are open to foreign participants, including
overseas Turkmen. The HATW supplies its overseas sections
with Turkmen language publications, including its own
journal. Some ethnic Turkmen from Afghanistan study in
Turkmenistan. Members of the Turkmen diaspora play no role
in the educational or scientific development of Turkmenistan,
nor in the building of such institutions. Turkmen government
preoccupation with control over national institutions and
suspicion about the motives of and/or effect of input by
outsiders would limit any role that overseas Turkmen could
play in shaping such institutions. The same applies to
Turkmen citizens who complete Western education and return
home, only to be excluded from government sector employment.


3. (SBU) The HATW deals only with humanitarian and cultural
matters; it does not address economic and commercial matters.
The Turkmen diaspora, especially the largest groups living
in neighboring Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, are neither
well-organized as communities with a Turkmen identity, nor
are they generally affluent enough to invest in Turkmenistan.
There are, however, ethnic Turkmen-run companies from
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey and Iran doing business in
Turkmenistan. They operate on a strictly commercial basis,
receiving no preferential treatment in their competition for
business. As in the other areas already discussed, the
Turkmen diaspora is on the receiving end of the country's
limited humanitarian largesse. Ethnic Turkmen refugees
fleeing the civil war in Tajikistan were settled and
eventually granted citizenship in Turkmenistan, however, the
government has no policy of encouraging members of the
diaspora to return. Turkmenistan's assistance to Afghanistan
has focused on its ethnic Turkmen population, building
medical facilities and schools, sending relief supplies and
providing subsidized electricity.


4. (SBU) HATW Vice President Ashirov noted the presence of
ethnic Turkmen in the United States, Canada, and China,
although to date no formal sections of the HATW have been
established in those countries. The presence of Turkmen in
China, Syria and Iraq dates back centuries, but some members
of these communities reportedly remain able to speak Turkmen.
The HATW's future plans include opening sections in Europe
and America, as well as locating where ethnic Turkmen live in
Syria, Iraq and China.



5. (SBU) COMMENT. Given Turkmenistan's modest population of
five million, the image of a widespread Turkmen diaspora
serves the government's aim of elevating the country's
significance in the world community. In reality, ties with
most ethnic Turkmen overseas remain largely symbolic. Such
ties are also largely a one-way street, since Turkmenistan's
relative wealth, its largely state-controlled economy and its
autocratic political structure provide little opportunity for
the Turkmen diaspora to contribute to the development of the
country. Post-Soviet Turkmen migrs who would like to be
involved in reforming the country's political structure are
not welcome. END COMMENT.
CURRAN