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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000950 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI TX
SUBJECT:  THE MINI PENSIONER REVOLT OF 2006 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY:  In January 2006, then President Niyazov enacted 
pension reform, which left a third of pensioners without a pension 
and decreased the remaining pensions by 20%.  Pensioners in Dashoguz 
province mobilized to protest these actions and were halted by the 
government, after a series of protest meetings were held.  In May 
2006, private copy facilities in the area lost their licenses and 
their copy machines as a result of printing fliers for pensioners 
trying to organize the protests.  When the copiers were no longer 
available, pensioners scanned flyers and printed them from 
computers.  It is believed that the ringleaders of the pensioner 
movement were placed in mental facilities for the aged, although 
this was never conclusively proven.  Employees at the copy stores 
were instructed by the government to say that all machines were 
broken and to conceal that they had been removed by order of the 
government.  This incident shows that civil society, ingenuity, and 
initiative can blossom anywhere there is strong enough motivation, 
even in Turkmenistan.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3. (SBU) We often think of the Turkmen as a people who accept 
authority and whatever the top-down bureaucracy throws their way. 
However, even the Turkmen will stand up when something affects their 
pocket book.  According to one Amcit, who previously was a longtime 
resident in Dashoguz, such an incident took place in 2006, in 
response to former President Niyazov's policy that cut pensions. 
 
FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE MOBILIZATION OF DASHOGUZ 
PENSIONERS 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In late January 2006, then President Saparmurat Niyazov 
declared presidential decree No 3939 and articles from presidential 
decrees No 5567 and No 5882 null and void in a proclaimed attempt at 
pension reform.  Declaring that an internal audit had discovered 
discrepancies, the President determined that the average state 
pension would be cut by 20%, while women with less than 20 years 
work experience and men with less than 25 years would lose their 
pensions altogether.  With this decision, President Niyazov cut the 
number of eligible pensioners by roughly 33%, leaving over 100,000 
elderly citizens with no source of income.  Operating under a 
government-mandated 'voluntary' program, all workers were expected 
to contribute 2% of their monthly salaries, with the expectation 
that they would be able to draw upon this fund at retirement.  The 
2006 pension reform brought into question the future security and 
stability of previous and future contributions, while engendering 
much confusion and apprehension among the populace. 
 
 
DASHOGUZ PENSIONERS' RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT'S EDICT 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The public reaction to these developments was quite 
restrained at first, as there was a great deal of misinformation and 
confusion among the general population.  People began to feel the 
affects of the new policy during the spring of 2006 and pensioners 
within the Dashoguz province began to mobilize.  In April and May 
2006 pensioner organizers distributed flyers throughout the province 
calling for clarification and payment of lost or depleted pensions. 
A series of town hall meetings, with 50 - 70 people in attendance at 
each one, were held in May of 2006, which drew the notice of the 
government and were subsequently halted. 
 
GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE TO DASHOGUZ PENSIONERS' ACTIONS 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The government's first steps were to prevent any future 
local meetings and to investigate the organizers behind the 
grassroots movement.  In late May 2006, in conjunction with the 
local investigations, the government rescinded all private copy 
facilities' licenses and removed their copy machines from the 
stores' premises.  The government apparently determined that the 
pensioners' access to copied leaflets and fliers enabled the 
populace to organize and so removed their ability to obtain copy 
materials.  Although denied access to copy machines, the pensioners 
 
ASHGABAT 00000950  002 OF 002 
 
 
were not deterred right away.  They simply decided to scan leaflets 
and print them from computers. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Directly following the removal of the copy machines, 
employees at the copy stores were instructed by the government to 
say that all machines were broken and to conceal that they had been 
removed by order of the government.  Licenses and equipment were not 
returned until mid-September 2006, without a clear explanation ever 
being supplied by the government regarding their initial removal. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Eventually, meetings were no longer held, and the leaders 
of the pensioner protests disappeared.  Local opinion was that the 
main ringleaders were sent to asylums for the aged, although this 
was never confirmed.  Several organizers did leave the province and 
did not return. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) COMMENT: This incident proves that when there is strong 
enough motivation (i.e., someone's livelihood) civil society will 
blossom, even in Turkmenistan.  And until the mini pensioner revolt 
was shut down completely, where there was a will, people found a way 
(substituting scanned documents and printing them from computers 
when there were no longer copy machines available.) 
 
¶10. (SBU) COMMENT CONTINUED:  While the government never explicitly 
stated why they removed the copy machines and rescinded the private 
licenses within Dashoguz, the local population strongly believed 
that it was both a consequence and punishment for the pensioners' 
mobilization.  The removal of local copy machines created numerous 
difficulties for the local population, as citizens routinely 
required copies of passports and other official documents. 
Moreover, the punitive nature of the seizures provoked a general 
sense of unease and disquiet within the population, stemming any 
attempts at further grassroots initiatives.  As a side note, it is 
believed that discrepancies within the pension system were caused by 
governmental embezzlement.  These funds have never been recovered, 
nor any officials officially prosecuted.  END COMMENT. 
 
CURRAN