TURKMENISTAN: DAYS OF (PRESIDENTIAL) FOLDERS AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000490

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2019
TAGS: PGOV PINR EIND TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: DAYS OF (PRESIDENTIAL) FOLDERS AND
ROSES

Classified By: Charge Richard Miles, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Special documents must be presented to
the Turkmen President in a green velvet folder bearing his
photo and with a gold national emblem on the cover.
Documents must be inserted in this folder -- which costs
$77.46 -- in a particular way. Twenty-five long-stemmed
white roses costing $250 should also accompany these
documents. Some locals think that this practice originated
either with a minister or within the Presidential Apparat.
From an American perspective, these onerous requirements seem
over the top, but they are also an example of the emphasis
that Turkmen place on form over content. Turkmenistan
continues to seek out international recognition, and they see
sometimes boroque protocol routines are a part of this. END
SUMMARY.

PRESIDENTIAL FOLDERS


2. (SBU) According to a former Brisith Embassy employee,
Special invitations to President Berdimuhamedov must be
presented in a thick folder covered in green velvet, with a
national emblem on the cover and a photo of the president on
the inside left side. The folder costs 220 redenominated
Turkmen manat ($77.46) and can be bought at Orbi Printing
House. Invitations that are on A4-size paper should lie on
the right side, while A3-sized paper can be folded and
inserted inside of the folder. Each folder should contain
only one document. These folders are meant for special
invitations, thank you letters, and other important documents
only, and ministries and state agencies might have three or
four occasions in a year during which they would want to send
the president an invitation in this manner.

PRESIDENTIAL ROSES


3. (SBU) In addition, those presenting special papers and
requests should include 25 long-stemmed white roses, which
cost $14 per stem ($350 total) at either of two flower shops
at Teke Bazaar. The purchaser should ask the vendor for the
"white roses for the President." Post had heard anecdotes
about the President's requirements to see white roses
"everywhere he went" during his visit to Belgium and Germany.

WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?


4. (C) Our contact said in a meeting on April 16 that there
are two theories about the origins of this practice.

-- One minister started the practice, and the other ministers
didn't want to be different, so they joined in.

-- It originated with staff in the Presidential Apparat who
thought that it would serve some protocol purpose.

FORM VERSUS CONTENT: DIFFERENT PRIORITIES THAN IN THE U.S.


5. (SBU) Our contact explained that Turkmen pay more
attention to form than to content, and added that the U.S. is
more pragmatic and pays more attention to content than form.
He said that the marble architecture and fancy refurbishments
of old Soviet-built buildings, and also careful interior
design, and even the close attention people pay to their
appearance in public are a reflection of the importance of
form to content in Turkmen culture. He added that the
receiver of an invitation or guest is also looking for these
details, and suggested that Americans might find more success
if they come to meetings bearing gifts, because this is
expected. He explained that President Berdimuhamedov
typically gives horses and carpets to heads of state because
"he is as generous to his counterparts as his ministers are
to him."

PRESSURE FOR PERFECTION IN EVERYDAY LIFE IS NOT ALWAYS
APPRECIATED

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6. (C) He hypothesized that the pressure to put on elaborate
parties for weddings and other important celebrations were so
great that some people would probably be relieved by a ruling
similar to one passed in Tajikistan that barred lavish
wedding receptions. He also said that it takes "extreme
rudeness" to get a host to stop continually offering food to
guests, and explained that it would also take extreme
rudeness on the part of the President to stop ministers and
officials to discontinue these frivolous practices, which
would not go over well.


7. (SBU) COMMENT: Turkmenistan continues to look for
protocol rituals that equal and surpass those in other
countries. It is important to all Turkmen officials that
they feel respected and recognized in the international
community, and because of the country's isolation for so many
years, they tend to find creative ways of identifying
protocol routines that will lend gravitas to official
practices. END COMMENT.
MILES