It was overnight when the Turkmenistan’s President-for-life Saparmurat Niyazov died due to cardiac arrest, the reports said. He was the iron ruler of this Central Asian State, which was ruled by Moscow earlier.
He was ruling the state since 1985, before independence from Moscow.
Enjoying the title of “Turkmenbashi (Head of the Turkmen) the Great”, he was a personality cult, tolerated no dissent and ordered thousands of portraits and statues of himself to be erected throughout the country. His name has also been given to a seaport, farms, military units and even a meteorite.
There is no successor designated at his place and his sudden death has raised questions concerning the transfer of the powers in the desert nation, which is fifth biggest natural gas-reserve centers and have substantial oil resources as well.
According to Turkmen law, the head of the legislative body, the People’s Assembly, succeed the president. However, Mr. Niyazov himself held this post. In Soviet times, the person appointed to that task usually became the successor, but it was not clear if this precedent would be followed in Turkmenistan.
Niyazov had supreme power in his nation, combining the posts of president, prime minister, commander-in-chief and head of the Democratic Party – the only registered political party in Turkmenistan.
His funeral is set on December 24, 2006, in the capital of Ashgabat. Deputy Prime Minister Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has been named as the head of the commission handling the ‘Iron Ruler`s’ funeral.
Michael Hall, Central Asia project director for the International Crisis Group said:
President Niyazov was in effect the state and what he decreed on any subject, from politics, to culture to science, was absolute law. There has been an entire generation of young Turkmens, who have been brought up in exactly this spirit, but at the same time, there is an older generation who do remember what life was like before Niyazov came to power... However, for a very large part of the population this will come as a great blow.
He added:
Turkmenistan has massive reserves of natural gas that a number of countries have been competing to get access to, including Russia, China and other countries, so I think there will be a certain scramble for influence with whatever government might emerge.
Last month he publicly told about his heart disease. His sudden death due to heart arrest is a setback to the country. The situation in the capital Ashgabat appeared calm, with few people about on the broad streets lined with grand Soviet-era buildings. Television ran still images of a national flag in a black-bordered frame as an orchestra played solemn folk tunes.
Workers were seen removing New Year decorations from fir trees in the streets of the capital. Newspapers, usually full of praise for the “great leader”, failed to appear on Thursday.
At last, the Turkmenbashi finished his ride as an isolated ruler. The nation would take some time to recover itself from this tragedy, as the main question of transferring the powers at this critical stage is important. Hope, the rules made by the late President would remain as they were made earlier.
Via: BBC SWISS INFO
