Ashgabat's Neutrality Arch may lose some of its meaning as post-Niyazov Turkmenistan flexes its energy might

on behalf of its downtrodden (and anti-American and anti-Israeli) brethren in Iraq.

Dec. 23-25, 2006 -- When the self-proclaimed dictator of a country that holds one-fifth of the world's natural gas reserves and borders on volatile Iran, Afghanistan, and the oil-rich Caspian Sea dies suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 66 with no announced successor, expect outside forces to go to work immediately to take advantage of the situation. That is now the case with Turkmenistan following the sudden death of its Turkmenbashi (Father of all Turkmen) Saparmurat Niyazov.

In a quasi-coup following his death, Niyazov was succeeded as President by Deputy Prime Minister Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov who proceeded to dismiss the constitutional heir to Niyazov, Ovezgeldi Atayev, as Chairman of the Turkmen Mejlis (parliament). Atayev was accused by the government of violating the constitutional rights of citizens and sowing discourse among the Turkmen clans. He was arrested shortly after his firing.

At first it appeared that the Turkmen post-Niyazov political upheaval may have been the work of the same anti-Russian neo-con elements that engineered coups in Ukraine, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan and attempted coups in Moldova and Uzbekistan. The early signs suggested that was the case. Exiled Turkmen opposition figures who have received support from neo-con sources as well as George Soros announced they would be returning to Turkmenistan. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who achieved power with the help of a neo-con-inspired "Orange Revolution" and who is married to a leading neo-con from the Reagan administration, announced he would lead Ukraine's delegation to Niyazov's funeral in Ashgabat, the Turkmen capital.

However, events soon soured for those neo-cons who thought one-fifth of the world's natural gas reserves would soon fall into their hands. Ashgabat airport authorities said Turkmen airspace was closed and that the charter flight arranged by Turkmen opposition figures living in Sweden would be shot down if it attempted to cross into Turkmen airspace. Then Yushchenko announced that his pro-Russian rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych would lead Ukraine's funeral delegation to Turkmenistan. Furthermore, Turkmenistan's government announced that it would abide by all its natural gas contracts with Gazprom, Russia's huge natural gas company which is building a trans-Baltic pipeline to Germany to the chagrin of neo-con government leaders in Warsaw and Washington. There were also signs that Turkmenistan would upgrade its membership to full, rather than associate, status in the Commonwealth of Independent States, a pro-Russian group of former Soviet republics.
Ashgabat's Neutrality Arch may lose some of its meaning as post-Niyazov Turkmenistan flexes its energy might on behalf of its downtrodden (and anti-American and anti-Israeli) brethren in Iraq.

It is also noteworthy that Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul went to Ashgabat for Niyazov's funeral. Turkey has been advocating for the plight of Iraq's 3 million Turkmen against the aggression launched by the Kurds and their American, Israeli, and British supporters. A significant regime change in Turkmenistan, which had been officially neutral under Niyazov, could be a boost for Iraq's Turkmen and Chaldeo-Assyrian cousins against the designs of the Kurds, Americans, British, and Israelis. And a more aggressive Turkmen foreign policy vis a vis the Turkmen in Iraq against the Israeli-supported Kurds may come at the expense of Israeli firms like the Merhav Group, which have invested heavily in Turkmenistan's natural gas industry.

The Turkmen opposition, their neo-con supporters, and international bankers like Soros will surely be interested in Niyazov's multi-billion dollar secret bank accounts. It is estimated that Deutsche Bank, alone, holds $3 billion of Niyazov's secret foreign accounts.

Wayne Madsen Report