The information is very, very sketchy at the moment. But according to BBC, Associated Press, and others, there was an overnight battle between government forces and “Islamic Militants” in the capital of Ashgabat. Apparently the gun fight lasted quite a while and approximately 20 policemen were killed in the battle.
It appears that the original source that credited the battle to “Islamic Militants” is Gundogar, a Turkmen exile website that advocates “democracy and human rights.” There’s nothing in their English section, but if you can read Russian there is some slim info. The reliability of this information is unknown. Exiles are not exactly always reliable and/or unbiased with their analysis.
But what is interesting is how the BBC, Associated Press and everybody else (at the moment) is running with the story that the battle is with “Islamic Militants” based on some account from a few exiled Turkmens. Now I will admit that Turkmenistan is my weak spot in Central Asia. However, I do have reason to be skeptical that these gunmen are “Islamic Militants.” I feel that it is equally possible that this may be a local power struggle or even related to the massive heroin trade in the region. Who knows? Honestly, nobody at the moment. So perhaps the Western media should wait a bit before blaming Islamists for this. Of course, the Turkmen government would benefit from the outside world (Russia, US, Europe) believing that Islamists are to blame.
Why can’t the media just say that they don’t know with any level of certainty what happened? They slip in qualifiers such as “unconfirmed” and “anonymous,” but only after they have left the reader with the impression that “Islamic militants” are the culprits.
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Authorities in http://www.turkmenistan.ru website noted that fighting was between police and drug traffickers, who have been “neutralized” in security operation. Turkmenistan borders with Afghanistan, which supplies about 70%-80% of world heroin. Western coalition forces are not doing anything to stop opium production in Afghanistan. Therefore, it makes sense if neighboring countries conduct such operations. I’m from Turkmenistan and I’m devout Muslim thanks to Turkish immigrants from Turkey. However, we never had “radicalism”, “terrorism” or “Islamism”, which are alien to true Islam.
I have a very strong suspicion that accounts presented on the Turkmen opposition websites are exaggerated, and I think, Kayumars, you’re right on with irresponsible for media outlets to not be clear about their level of confidence or actual knowledge. It’s one of these weird situations where outlets are “reporting on reporting” and washing their own hands of any responsibility for the fact checking–or simply being unwilling to admit that they have no one on the ground at all.
Just a quick heads up – the BBC (at least) have released an updated report following the Turkmen foreign ministry’s statement regarding the incident (drugs not terrorists would be a quick summary of the article). See here – http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7614983.stm
It’s almost like they were relying on rumors and assumptions.
The Beeb also punts on pushing the story, noting “foreign media sources” as claiming the involvement of Islamists. If Kayumars is right and it was only an exile website, this points at a deeper problem.
I’m curious if this is related to the new constitution…
We can feel free to be as skeptical of the Turkmen FM as we are of the exiles.
“I’m from Turkmenistan and I’m devout Muslim thanks to Turkish immigrants from Turkey. However, we never had “radicalism”, “terrorism” or “Islamism”, which are alien to true Islam.”
I am glad to read that, brother. More Islam is indeed part of the way forward for Turkestan.
For the rest, I remember that about 2-3 years ago an opposition site (it was either Gündogar or Turkmenskaya Iskra) reported that under Türkmenbaşi, Turkmenistan had become an r&r and logistic haven for Al-Qaeda operatives.
That turned out to be complete bollocks but one more example of how ‘Al-Qaeda’ and Islamic terrorirsts’ get you attention. In Somalia, for instance, certain warlords and gang leaders were keen to call their rival/competitors Al-Qaeda in the hope to get US military assistance to fight and destroy them.
Aljazeera reported that Turkmen officials had warned Americans to move out of the area. This is such an interesting story, but I am so disappointed that it’s validity can’t be determined.