TURKMENISTAN: MEJLIS COMMITTEE CHAIRS FOCUSED ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000201 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN; DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: MEJLIS COMMITTEE CHAIRS FOCUSED ON REVISING OLD LAWS -- AND LITTLE ELSE ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A recent meeting with two Parliamentary Committee Chairmen revealed that the socioeconomic and international relations committees will be revising the laws on labor, customs, citizenship and emigration, but the timing for completing the revisions remained unclear. Little else appeared to fall inside their areas of responsibility. The two men generally described plans to revise laws and the process by which Government entities propose additions and changes to legislation. They also recited statistics about the Mejlis and the Government's foreign policy activity in ¶2008. The most disappointing element of the conversation, however, was the way in which the Chairmen appeared to be completely isolated from the individuals and agencies who implement policies and programs that lie entirely within their committees' areas of responsibility. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) On February 6, Political Officer met with two of the five Mejlis (parliamentary) Committee Chairmen to learn more about the activities and the leadership of the committees. Bashim Annagurbanov was appointed Chairman of the Committee on socioeconomic issues in January, and is one of a handful of Mejlis veterans reelected to office in December 2008. From 2004-2008 he was a member of the same committee. Speaking from prepared notes, Annagurbanov recited a statement on the recent history of the Mejlis, and generally outlined the body's responsibilities. Its mission, he said, was to revise and adopt laws, and assure that all of the country's laws conform to international standards. IMPROVING LEGISLATION TO SUPPORT BUSINESS A PRIORITY ¶3. (SBU) Regarding the duties of the Committee on Socioeconomic Issues, Annagurbanov said the Committee was focused on revising the labor code, and would also consider revisions to the customs code in coming months. He said President Berdimuhamedov had tasked the Mejlis to play a role in facilitating reform that would improve socioeconomic conditions for the people. He had also directed that the Mejlis improve national legislation to enable it to support the growth and prosperity of small- and medium-sized businesses, Annagurbanov said. Beyond the labor code, the customs code would also be under review this year. He did not consider that the laws on housing and on family would be priorities in the near term. When asked if his committee had any role in the national rural development or socioeconomic development programs that were currently being undertaken around the country, he expressed no knowledge of the programs and said his committee played no role in their development or implementation. EFFORTS FOCUSED ON UPDATING EXISTING LAWS ¶4. (SBU) Describing the process by which the committees work, Annagurbanov said there was little need to draft new laws from scratch, and his committee had no plans to do so. Turkmenistan's laws, most of which are still largely based on old Soviet laws, are still relevant, and need only modest revision to ensure that they fulfill the needs of a modern state, he said. When a decision is made to revise a specific law, the various relevant ministries and government agencies are tasked to suggest changes and additions to the existent law. The Committee, in coordination with a working group comprised of academics, lawyers, and experts then studies the various suggestions and assembles a working draft. (NOTE: None of our interlocutors in the Mejlis have ever been clear regarding the path from working draft to working document ready for adoption. Additional approvals within the Government may be required before a piece of draft legislation is ready for adoption by the full parliament. END NOTE.) FORMER TAX OFFICIAL IN CHARGE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE ASHGABAT 00000201 002 OF 002 ¶5. (SBU) Batyr Berdiyev was appointed Chairman of the Committee on International and Inter-Parliamentary Relations in January. He is apparently new to the Mejlis. Berdiyev said he was elected in a district in Dashoguz Province, and has worked in government service for more than 20 years, most recently with the state tax service in Dashoguz. When asked about his international experience, he said he had studied at an economics institute in Ukraine, and had done his military service in Siberia. Berdiyev, speaking from notes that he appeared to have memorized, recited recently published statistics on the number of foreign delegations that visited Turkmenistan, the number of countries with whom it has relations, the number of foreign embassies here, and so on. He expounded on the President's 2008 doctrine of "government for the people," and said that fulfilling the terms of the doctrine would be the role of the Mejlis. ¶6. (SBU) According to Berdiyev, his committee would oversee revision of the national citizenship law, and would possibly look at the law on emigration further down the road. When asked about activities the committee would undertake to promote inter-parliamentary communications, he described various foreign delegations with whom he and other deputies had met since January. He could not identify any specific programs that would bring foreign parliamentarians here, nor did he know of any specific plans for Turkmen deputies to travel or study abroad. ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: Both men appeared to have planned out in advance what information they were going to share with Political Officer, and avoided most specifics. Further, as a freshman Deputy, Berdiyev was deferential to Annagurbanov, allowing him to frequently cut in on Berdiyev's time as he described the activities of his own committee. It was clear that Annagurbanov was in charge. Both men had little to say in regard to the details of the work they are doing, and appeared to be convinced that revising old legislation was the primary task of both the Mejlis and its committees. The most disappointing element of the conversation, however, was the way in which the Chairmen appear to be completely isolated from the individuals and agencies who implement policies and programs within their subject matter areas. END COMMENT. MILES