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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000201 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN; DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN:  MEJLIS COMMITTEE CHAIRS FOCUSED ON 
REVISING OLD LAWS -- AND LITTLE ELSE 
 
¶1.  (SBU)   SUMMARY:  A recent meeting with two Parliamentary 
Committee Chairmen revealed that the socioeconomic and 
international relations committees will be revising the laws 
on labor, customs, citizenship and emigration, but the timing 
for completing the revisions remained unclear.  Little else 
appeared to fall inside their areas of responsibility.  The 
two men generally described plans to revise laws and the 
process by which Government entities propose additions and 
changes to legislation.  They also recited statistics about 
the Mejlis and the Government's foreign policy activity in 
¶2008.  The most disappointing element of the conversation, 
however, was the way in which the Chairmen appeared to be 
completely isolated from the individuals and agencies who 
implement policies and programs that lie entirely within 
their committees' areas of responsibility.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  On February 6, Political Officer met with two of 
the five Mejlis (parliamentary) Committee Chairmen to learn 
more about the activities and the leadership of the 
committees.  Bashim Annagurbanov was appointed Chairman of 
the Committee on socioeconomic issues in January, and is one 
of a handful of Mejlis veterans reelected to office in 
December 2008.  From 2004-2008 he was a member of the same 
committee.  Speaking from prepared notes, Annagurbanov 
recited a statement on the recent history of the Mejlis, and 
generally outlined the body's responsibilities.  Its mission, 
he said, was to revise and adopt laws, and assure that all of 
the country's laws conform to international standards. 
 
IMPROVING LEGISLATION TO SUPPORT BUSINESS A PRIORITY 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Regarding the duties of the Committee on 
Socioeconomic Issues, Annagurbanov said the Committee was 
focused on revising the labor code, and would also consider 
revisions to the customs code in coming months.  He said 
President Berdimuhamedov had tasked the Mejlis to play a role 
in facilitating reform that would improve socioeconomic 
conditions for the people.  He had also directed that the 
Mejlis improve national legislation to enable it to support 
the growth and prosperity of small- and medium-sized 
businesses, Annagurbanov said.  Beyond the labor code, the 
customs code would also be under review this year.  He did 
not consider that the laws on housing and on family would be 
priorities in the near term.  When asked if his committee had 
any role in the national rural development or socioeconomic 
development programs that were currently being undertaken 
around the country, he expressed no knowledge of the programs 
and said his committee played no role in their development or 
implementation. 
 
EFFORTS FOCUSED ON UPDATING EXISTING LAWS 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Describing the process by which the committees 
work, Annagurbanov said there was little need to draft new 
laws from scratch, and his committee had no plans to do so. 
Turkmenistan's laws, most of which are still largely based on 
old Soviet laws, are still relevant, and need only modest 
revision to ensure that they fulfill the needs of a modern 
state, he said.  When a decision is made to revise a specific 
law, the various relevant ministries and government agencies 
are tasked to suggest changes and additions to the existent 
law.  The Committee, in coordination with a working group 
comprised of academics, lawyers, and experts then studies the 
various suggestions and assembles a working draft.  (NOTE: 
None of our interlocutors in the Mejlis have ever been clear 
regarding the path from working draft to working document 
ready for adoption.  Additional approvals within the 
Government may be required before a piece of draft 
legislation is ready for adoption by the full parliament. 
END NOTE.) 
 
FORMER TAX OFFICIAL IN CHARGE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 
COMMITTEE 
 
 
ASHGABAT 00000201  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Batyr Berdiyev was appointed Chairman of the 
Committee on International and Inter-Parliamentary Relations 
in January.  He is apparently new to the Mejlis.  Berdiyev 
said he was elected in a district in Dashoguz Province, and 
has worked in government service for more than 20 years, most 
recently with the state tax service in Dashoguz.  When asked 
about his international experience, he said he had studied at 
an economics institute in Ukraine, and had done his military 
service in Siberia.  Berdiyev, speaking from notes that he 
appeared to have memorized, recited recently published 
statistics on the number of foreign delegations that visited 
Turkmenistan, the number of countries with whom it has 
relations, the number of foreign embassies here, and so on. 
He expounded on the President's 2008 doctrine of "government 
for the people," and said that fulfilling the terms of the 
doctrine would be the role of the Mejlis. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  According to Berdiyev, his committee would oversee 
revision of the national citizenship law, and would possibly 
look at the law on emigration further down the road.  When 
asked about activities the committee would undertake to 
promote inter-parliamentary communications, he described 
various foreign delegations with whom he and other deputies 
had met since January.  He could not identify any specific 
programs that would bring foreign parliamentarians here, nor 
did he know of any specific plans for Turkmen deputies to 
travel or study abroad. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  Both men appeared to have planned out in 
advance what information they were going to share with 
Political Officer, and avoided most specifics.  Further, as a 
freshman Deputy, Berdiyev was deferential to Annagurbanov, 
allowing him to frequently cut in on Berdiyev's time as he 
described the activities of his own committee.  It was clear 
that Annagurbanov was in charge.  Both men had little to say 
in regard to the details of the work they are doing, and 
appeared to be convinced that revising old legislation was 
the primary task of both the Mejlis and its committees.  The 
most disappointing element of the conversation, however, was 
the way in which the Chairmen appear to be completely 
isolated from the individuals and agencies who implement 
policies and programs within their subject matter areas.  END 
COMMENT. 
MILES