Reform in Turkmenistan: A Convenient Facade An Analysis of President Berdymukhammedov’s First Four Years in Power.

With this publication, Crude Accountability presents its third report on con temporary Turkmenistan. Analyzing the first four years of President Berdymukhammedov’s regime, we attempt to document the current reality inside the country, given the limited access to information that is available to those of us not living in Turkmenistan. We also document the reactions of western leaders and institutions to the façade of reform that President Berdymukhammedov and his administration have created since he was elected President in February 2007. As has been documented elsewhere, Turkmenistan is one of the most repressive countries in the world.

On par with Burma, Sudan and North Korea, the country is consistently cited as one of the most repressive nations toward journalists and civil society. It is one of the most corrupt nations according to Transparency International, and its human rights abuses are among the worst in the world. Against this backdrop, we offer a sobering analysis of the first four years of Berdymukhammedov’s presidency, focusing on the west’s race for access to natural gas and the seeming blindness of virtually every western organization to the ongoing human rights abuses in the country.

Crude Accountability.