Reuters AlertNet Lite - TURKMENISTAN: Country joins regional efforts to combat drugs

Reuters AlertNet Full site

NEWSDESK

TURKMENISTAN: Country joins regional efforts to combat drugs

16 Jul 2007 15:34:34 GMT
Source: IRIN

ALMATY, 16 July 2007 (IRIN) - Turkmenistan has signed up to regional efforts to coordinate the fight against the drug trade, Turkmen media say.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has signed an agreement with several regional states to set up a body to coordinate efforts to combat transnational crime, including the fight against drugs, official government website reported. His signature on the agreement marks a step forward in efforts to establish the Central Asia Regional Information and Coordination Centre (CARICC).

The centre, which is to be based in the Kazakh commercial capital of Almaty, will bring together seven states - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - to promote the exchange of criminal intelligence and effective cross-border operations. The efforts are backed by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

CARICC has not yet been officially informed by the Turkmen government that the agreement has been signed, a representative said.

"So far we have not received any official confirmation of this news from Ashgabat," project officer Elbek Khodjaev told IRIN in Almaty on 16 July.

Berdymukhamedov is the sixth president to sign the agreement: Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to sign the deal by October, Khodjaev said.

The CARICC states endorsed a plan to establish the centre in pilot form this year at a meeting earlier this month in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, Khodjaev added. It is expected to be opened by 1 November.

Turkmenistan's tightly controlled official media praised the country's participation in the regional body. "Strictly pursuing the international obligations it has taken on to actively assist the international community's efforts in combating the threat of the drug trade, neutral Turkmenistan has taken a new step on the path of boosting international cooperation in the name of peace and security," Turkmenistan.ru commented.

New policy

The country's engagement in efforts to combat transnational crime and the drug trade under Berdymukhamedov marks a significant departure from the policy of his predecessor, Saparmyrat Niyazov, who died late last year.

Niyazov pursued an isolationist policy, keeping his distance from regional initiatives and from international agencies working to combat the drug trade.

In the context of the cult of personality created around him, which promoted the idea that the people of Turkmenistan were thriving, controversial topics such as drug trafficking and drug addiction were largely taboo. Figures on drug addiction in Turkmenistan were not released, but anecdotal evidence suggests it is rife.

A resident of the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, told IRIN earlier that many parents were ready to wed their daughter to any prospective grooms who were reportedly clean of drugs.

"It [drug addiction] is a major problem here, but nobody in the government acknowledges it. Drug addiction is widespread particularly among young men and therefore parents of brides do their own research before marrying their daughters," the resident said refusing to be identified fearing government reprisals.

Since taking over at the beginning of this year, Berdymukhamedov has several times turned his attention to stemming the flow of narcotics. "A large-scale war should be declared in the country against this destructive threat," he told the cabinet last month.

Turkmenistan marked international anti-narcotics day on 26 June with a series of events personally approved by Berdymukhamedov, and Turkmenistan has publicly burnt some 1.5 metric tonnes of drugs confiscated from traffickers so far this year. The country will host a round table on the drug trade in Turkmenistan's western town of Turkmenbashy in September.

Turkmenistan's 750km border with Afghanistan, a major opium producer, makes it a key route for trafficking narcotics through Central Asia to Russia and on to Europe. Berdymukhamedov has sought to instigate cooperation with Afghan officials, pledging to step up the fight against trafficking at a meeting with President Hamid Karzai in Ashgabat earlier this month.

jl/at/cb

Email this article Send comments

Countries

Small country map
© 2004 Europa Technologies Ltd.

Reset map

• Afghanistan profile
· View map

• Azerbaijan profile
· View map

• Kazakhstan profile
· View map

• Kyrgyzstan profile
· View map

• Russia profile
· View map

• Tajikistan profile

• Turkmenistan profile

• Uzbekistan profile

MORE >>

NGO latest

• Medair To Improve Emergency Obstetric Care in Ragh Region, Afghanistan
Medair - Switzerland

• World Vision Providing Supplies, Aid to Victims of South Asia Flooding
WV - USA

• Severe Poverty in the UK
Save the Children - International Alliance

• Participating in the broader health agenda
International HIV/AIDS Alliance - UK

• Life-saving water & sanitation project launched in vulnerable Central Provinces, Afghanistan
Medair - Switzerland

MORE >>

Latest news

• TURKMENISTAN: Country joins regional efforts to combat drugs

• Rebel groups invited to Darfur peace talks in August

• Cluster bombs deadly 10 years after Tajik war

• FEATURE-Decade after Diana campaign, few use landmines

• FEATURE-Gold mining in volcanic Russian wilds

MORE >>

Last updated:Mon Jul 16 15:36:37 2007