Chairman offers Turkmen leadership OSCE's help to boost its participation in the Organization

ASHGABAD, 20 April 2005 - During his visit to Ashgabad, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Dimitrij Rupel today discussed ways to increase Turkmenistan's participation in OSCE activities. This would enable the country's voice to be better heard within the Organization, he said.

After a 90-minute meeting with President Saparmurat Niyazov, the Slovenian Foreign Minister said that he expected OSCE standards would be applied in Turkmenistan in the future.

"Of course, one cannot overlook the achievements of Turkmenistan; the development, the growth, the progress the country has made," he told journalists.

"However, paying more attention to human rights issues and making them more visible will increase the standing and reputation of the country.

"As we deem the development of a functioning civil society capable of and willing to complement the government essential, I have posed questions regarding NGOs, and we had an intense exchange of views on this issue," he said.

"I have also extended several invitations to the Government and hope they will be considered seriously - for instance, attending the regular OSCE human dimension conference this autumn, in which Turkmenistan has not participated for the last couple of years. We hope this will change."

The OSCE Chairman said President Niyazov confirmed that Turkmenistan would be represented in the Warsaw meeting.

Education was another area where the OSCE Chairman-in-Office offered assistance. He said the OSCE Centre in Ashgabad stood ready to support Turkmen efforts in developing contacts between youth organizations in Turkmenistan and other participating States, for example through student exchange programmes.

During his meeting with Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, Rupel again stressed the importance of well-educated people for a prosperous society. He gave the European Union's Lisbon Strategy as an example, which promotes science and education with the aim of building a competitive economy.

Another concern the OSCE Chairman-in-Office raised was the situation of minorities in Turkmenistan, in particular the Uzbek minority. He informed Minister Meredov that the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities would like to visit the country to follow up on his December 2004 visit.

On counter-terrorism, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office said he was pleased that Turkmenistan fulfilled its OSCE commitment and is now party to all 12 United Nations counter-terrorism conventions and protocols.

Meeting the Chairman of the Mejlis (Parliament), Ovazgeldi Atayev, Minister Rupel said the OSCE appreciated statements of Turkmen officials to make an effort to accede to international conventions and to translate international standards and common values into national legislation in order to guarantee fundamental freedoms to all people, while protecting the state and society. He offered the OSCE's help to address questions on this issue.