TURKMENISTAN AND THE NEW YEAR'S HOLIDAY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001666 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV SOCI PHUM TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN AND THE NEW YEAR'S HOLIDAY ASHGABAT 00001666 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for Internet distribution. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent by the city of Ashgabat each year to decorate the Turkmen capital for New Year's celebrations. Locals have observed that this year there are more lights, trees, and other New Year's decorations in Ashgabat than in previous years. Although the mostly Muslim country does not officially celebrate Western and Orthodox Christmas, the Soviet-introduced custom of celebrating the New Year has grown in popularity, years after the country gained independence in 1991. While Turkmen have added their own ethnic and religious flavors to the holiday, New Year's remains a colorful, popular, secular occasion that shows no sign of losing its prominence. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) The city of Ashgabat and other government offices have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to decorate the already well-lit Turkmen capital with New Year's trees, lights, and other bright and shiny decorations. Many of the evergreen trees planted in the city by order of former President Niyazov and current President Berdimuhamedov have been trimmed with lights. In addition, this year, some of the lawns in front of government buildings have been decorated with rows of multicolored lights, which give the impression of rows of gems on a green background. On the Presidential square in downtown Ashgabat, the 108-foot faux pine tree is topped with a crescent moon and five stars, in lieu of a traditional star. Images of Father Frost (Ded Moroz in Russian and Ayaz Baba in Turkmen) and his granddaughter (Snegurichka in Russian and Garpamyk in Turkmen) abound throughout the city. The Turkmen version of Father Frost and his granddaughter are dressed in traditional Turkmen clothes, unlike the Russian Father Frost with a long red coat (similar to Santa Claus) and his granddaughter's long blue coat. Since Turkmen independence in 1991, Ayaz Baba and Garpamyk have become more visible, especially in rural areas, but the Russian versions remain very popular. In Ashgabat, the Turkmen version predominates. ¶4. (SBU) President Berdimuhamedov recently repeated his wish that the New Year be "elegantly" celebrated throughout the country, and cities throughout the country continue to don New Year's paraphernalia. When former President Niyazov died on December 21, 2006, Berdimuhamedov ordered no break in New Year's festivities, despite the traditional Muslim forty days of mourning. It was reported that the celebrations that year were unusually colorful. During Niyazov's latter years, decorated trees and other New Years' paraphenalia were discouraged. Turkmen generally mark the coming of the new year by giving gifts to family, friends, and associates. In addition, many households will gather around a decorated tree on New Year's Eve at tables flush with food and often alcohol. Some Turkmen Muslims recite traditional Islamic after-dinner prayers as part of their New Year's celebration, even if alcohol has been served. ¶5. (SBU) Nonetheless, some devout Muslims in Turkmenistan strictly avoid celebrating the holiday, condemning the New Year (or Christmas) tree as a non-Islamic, pagan symbol that is, moreover, unrelated to Jesus Christ. In 1999, Turkmen Muslim cleric Hoja Ahmet Orazgylych (clerical name - Hojaahmet Ahun),in an interview with Radio Liberty, tried to discourage Turkmen from including a New Year tree in their New Year celebrations. Hojaahmet was known as the last officially educated Ahun in Turkmenistan (a clerical rank similar to a professor of theology). In 1988, he graduated from the only open madrassa in the former Soviet Union in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Most Soviet Turkmen clerics, in contrast, were self-taught and never studied or taught outside of Turkmenistan. ¶6. (SBU) During his 1999 radio interview, Hojaahmet Ahun reportedly stated that, during twenty four years of studying the Quran, he never saw anything that permitted the celebration of the New Year. Shortly after the interview, ASHGABAT 00001666 002.2 OF 002 the GOTX reportedly charged Hojaahmet Ahun with fraud and threatened to sentence him to twenty five years in prison. Before a trial was held, former President Niyazov pardoned Hojaahmet Ahun, but exiled him to his home village of Gowky-Zeren in Tejen (located 230 km south of Ashgabat), where he reportedly remains in exile. ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: In the mostly Muslim country of Turkmenistan, the Soviet-introduced New Year holiday remains arguably the most celebrated holiday. Streets in Ashgabat are buzzing with shoppers picking up gifts and food in order to welcome the New Year. Turkemn TV is rife with scenes of kids in toy stores or of New Years' parties with Ayaz Baba. To date, the holiday remains mostly non-religious, and is viewed as an opportunity for families and friends to gather. Given that a well-known Muslim cleric remains in internal exile for criticizing how the New Year is celebrated, it seems likely that the New Year's celebrations in Turkmenistan are here to stay. END COMMENT. CURRAN