VZCZCXRO7463
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0640/01 1401122
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191122Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0824
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 3773
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1591
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1458
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 2027
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2523

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000640 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON SOCI UZ TX
SUBJECT:  TURKMENISTAN'S NORTH:  SATELLITE DISHES ON MUD HOUSES, 
BUSTLING MARKETS, POOR INTERNET CONNECTIONS 
 
REFTEL:  ASHGABAT 0550 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY:  During a recent visit to Turkmenistan's northern 
city of Dashoguz, PolOff found local residents generally positive 
about life in their region.  Vendors in the city's largest market, 
which was bustling with activity on an ordinary Thursday afternoon, 
seemed upbeat and claimed that business was fine.  One ethnic-Uzbek 
resident complained about low wages and lack of jobs in the area. 
One reason this snapshot of life in Dashoguz might be more positive 
than the most recent one (reftel) could be timing:  people have had 
a chance to get used to a new exchange rate implemented just before 
the previous visit, and prices have leveled off.  END SUMMARY. 
 
DASHOGUZ: RUN-DOWN ATMOSPHERE, FRIENDLY PEOPLE 
 
¶3. (SBU) On May 13-15, PolOff visited Dashoguz Province in northern 
Turkmenistan.  The provincial capital, Dashoguz City, appeared 
nondescript and economically depressed, but also had the warm and 
friendly feel of a small town in the American Midwest.  One resident 
explained that the older, more historic part of town was razed in 
the 1970s to make way for modern apartment blocks.  As in much of 
Ashgabat, the exteriors of these buildings were covered with 
satellite dishes.  A large cottonseed oil factory operated in the 
city center, scenting much of the surrounding area. 
 
FOR ONE ETHNIC-TURKMEN VILLAGER, LIFE IS GOOD 
 
¶4. (SBU) One resident, an ethnic Turkmen, invited PolOff to join him 
for a bite to eat at his house in the small village of Tezeyol, 
located in a rural area outside of Dashoguz.  Like many of the 
villages of this region, Tezeyol has houses made of a mud-brick and 
clay mixture that is warm in winter and cool in summer, although the 
presence of satellite dishes atop most of these homes makes for a 
striking juxtaposition.  The host, named Sapar, appears to be quite 
well-off.  He has a house with a spacious courtyard in the back that 
features a traditional Turkmen-style yurt with a satellite 
television hookup and DVD-player.  He said he owns 18 camels, as 
well as two passenger vans and a small bus that he uses to transport 
tourists as a local representative of an Ashgabat-based tourism 
agency. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Sapar invited PolOff to join him and his brother, 
Charymuhammed, in his yurt, where he treated PolOff to fermented 
camel's milk, camel's-milk curds, and meat pies.  Pointing to the 
fire, he noted with evident pride that the state continues to 
provide gas and electricity for free - the quantity of gas is not 
unlimited, he said, but it is more than enough.  He said electricity 
is usually available, although there was a brief blackout while 
PolOff was eating.  When PolOff mentioned that he had heard in 
Ashgabat that life was harder in Dashoguz, Sapar just chuckled.  "We 
would say that it's worse in Ashgabat," he observed, adding "We have 
everything here - fruits, meat, all we need." 
 
UZBEK ENTREPRENEUR WANTS BETTER INTERNET 
 
¶6. (SBU) PolOff also spoke at length with the owner of the small 
hostel where he stayed, a middle-aged ethnic-Uzbek named Raman, who 
also seems to be well-off.  In addition to the hostel, he runs a 
computer store, a photography studio, and a photocopy center in the 
same building.  He said he has three children - a 20-year-old son 
completing his third year of study at Westminster International 
University in Tashkent, a daughter living in Ashgabat, and a 
daughter who works at the bazaar in Dashoguz.  Raman had traveled to 
the United States twice, in 2000 and 2006, as a participant in the 
Department of Commerce's SABIT program, where he learned more about 
hotel management. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Raman said when he started his computer business in 1995, 
his was the only such one in town, but now there is a lot more 
competition.  One frustration is the lack of good Internet access. 
"I'm a computer salesman;" he noted, "how am I supposed to keep up 
with the latest developments in the business when it's so difficult 
 
ASHGABAT 00000640  002 OF 002 
 
 
to get information?"  He said he wants to get his own Internet 
hook-up at home, but the available connection is so poor that it is 
hardly worth it.  When asked what he thought of President 
Berdimuhamedov's repeated claims that he wants to increase Internet 
access throughout Turkmenistan, Raman shrugged and just said, "Let's 
hope he succeeds."  He commented that so far, life seems to be 
getting better under Berdimuhamedov, who he compared favorably to 
former President Niyazov, who had imprisoned many people. 
 
MARKET VENDORS REPORT BUSINESS IS "FINE" 
 
¶9. (SBU) During a visit to the city's largest market, PolOff found 
prices to be more or less comparable to those in Ashgabat markets. 
On an ordinary Thursday afternoon, the market was humming with 
activity.  PolOff chatted with one ethnic Turkmen named Merdan at a 
nearby cafe bustling with customers.  He said he worked at the 
market selling small odds and ends like batteries, commenting that 
business is "fine."  When questioned about recent price increases, 
Merdan shrugged and said that while some prices have gone up, others 
have gone down, so on balance things have not really changed.  He 
added that while the price of gas has increased, it is still much 
cheaper to buy than in neighboring Uzbekistan. 
 
¶10. (SBU) An ethnic-Uzbek woman in her late 50s said she was 
originally from Tashkent and had moved to Dashoguz 40 years ago to 
get married, although her husband had been dead for 15 years.  She 
said she now lives with her children, receives a pension, and sells 
Chinese roses at the market because it is more interesting than 
sitting at home - she does not depend on this income for her 
livelihood.  Other vendors at the market also responded to the basic 
question, "So, how's business?" with some variant of "Fine, can't 
complain." 
 
ONE GRUMBLER ABOUT POOR QUALITY OF LIFE 
 
¶11. (SBU) One ethnic Uzbek was less upbeat about life in Dashoguz. 
When PolOff commented on what a friendly place it seemed to be, the 
driver responded by pointing out that wages are low and jobs are 
scarce.  Yet even he said that life is "a little bit better" under 
Berdimuhamedov than it had been under Niyazov, noting that the 
current president had restored pensions that had been cut by his 
predecessor.  Despite his downbeat assessment of the Dashoguz 
economy, he said he nevertheless had no interest in leaving for 
either Ashgabat or for Uzbekistan, noting that Dashoguz is his home 
and all his family and relatives live there. 
 
¶12. (SBU) COMMENT: Despite its reputation as being the poorest 
province in Turkmenistan, the Dashoguz residents with whom PolOff 
spoke seemed to be generally upbeat about their lives, offering a 
contrast to a visit by another EmbOff several weeks earlier.  As in 
all reports of this kind, it is a snapshot of a certain time and 
place.  One reason for the difference might be timing:  people have 
had a chance to get used to a new exchange rate implemented just 
before the previous visit and prices have leveled off.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
HOAGLAND