MEPs in bid to block trade deal with Turkmenistan

By Andrew Beatty

Date: 27/04/06

MEPs hostile to a trade deal with Turkmenistan are scrambling to build further opposition ahead of a final vote on the issue, which has been delayed until May.

The proposed deal would pave the way for deeper trade with the country, after previous agreements were suspended in 1998.

But the proposal is controversial as Turkmenistan's President Saparmurad Niyazov is widely accused of authoritarian rule and overseeing gross human rights violations.

The deal was approved by the international trade committee on 21 March. The vote of a full Parliament plenary session was scheduled to take place in Brussels this week (26-27 April) but was then postponed.

Angry MEPs, many from the Green and Liberal groups, had called for the vote to be delayed until a full debate is held.

The Greens and human rights campaign groups accused the Parliament's two biggest groups, the Socialists and the centre-right EPP-ED, of attempting to push through the agreement without debate.

Once approved by the Parliament the interim deal would come into effect almost immediately.

Ona Juknevicieneú, a Lithuanian Liberal MEP and head of the Parliament's delegation to central Asia, said she would like more time to discuss the issue: "The delegation did not have time to discuss this."

"Generally speaking I am always in favour of dialogue. I think this would be a positive step," she added.

Juknevicieneú rejected allegations that the deal was simply about trade, as critics allege: "Any economic or trade agreement cannot be without a political dimension." She added that the agreement should be used as an opportunity to express the Parliament's concerns about the political and human rights situation in Turkmenistan.

Daniel Caspary, the German centre-right MEP in charge of the dossier, also rejected allegations that the deal was simply about capturing Turkmen gas.

"Anybody who says that this is about gas should read the news: Turkmenistan has agreed an energy deal with China. If gas was the purpose of the agreement then we would be too late."

Turkmenistan is thought to have the fifth largest supplies of natural gas in the world.

According to some estimates, Niyazov has pocketed as much as EUR 3 billion of these energy revenues.

"I see the argument of the Greens and the NGOs," said Caspary. "The human rights situation in Turkmenistan is a huge catastrophe and Europe must not accept that this is happening."

But, he said, seven years of isolating the regime had not worked and there were signs that the regime might be ready to change.

"We have signals that if the agreement is adopted the Turkmen government will do something to improve the human rights situation," said Caspary. "If [engagement] does not work I will be the first to advocate suspending the agreement."

Earlier this month the Turkmen authorities released Gurbandurdy Durdykuliev, a pro-democracy campaigner who had been placed in a psychiatric hospital for over two years, which was welcomed by human rights campaigners, though many remain unconvinced.

Writing in European Voice earlier this month, Tanya Cox of Human Rights Watch and Andrew Stroehlein of the International Crisis Group said that trading with Turkmenistan "would make a complete mockery of Europe's claim to support democracy".

Discussions are continuing on a broader partnership and co-operation agreement, which must be approved by member states.

Article reports on opposition at the European Parliament against a decision by its International Trade Committee on 21 March 2006 to conclude an interim trade agreement with Turkmenistan. The proposed deal would pave the way for deeper trade with the country, after previous agreements were suspended in 1998. But the proposal was controversial as Turkmenistan's President Saparmurad Niyazov was widely accused of authoritarian rule and overseeing gross human rights violations. The vote of a full Parliament plenary session had originally been scheduled to take place in Brussels during the session on 26-27 April 2006 but was postponed.

EEAS: Countries: Turkmenistan http://eeas.europa.eu/turkmenistan/index_en.htm

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