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» For Immediate Release December 3, 2002 » 2002/1903 » » STATEMENT BY PHILIP T. REEKER, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN » » Aftermath of Assassination Attempt in Turkmenistan » » The United States deplores the violence committed during the reported » assassination attempt against President Niyazov on November 25. While we » » understand the Government of Turkmenistan's desire to investigate » thoroughly the attack and bring those guilty to justice, we are » concerned » by the manner in which the investigation is being conducted. » » We have received numerous reports of wide scale arrests, including the » arrest or detention of entire families of those individuals accused of » participating in the reported attack. » » We are also concerned that the U.S. Embassy did not receive immediate » notification of and was not allowed timely consular access to an » arrested » American citizen -- a clear violation of Turkmenistan's obligations » under » international law to provide immediate notification of the arrest of and » » consular access to detained foreign citizens. » » We offer condolences to the victims of the attack and call on the » Government of Turkmenistan to conduct its investigation in a full, fair » and » transparent manner consistent with its obligations under the » Constitution » of Turkmenistan and international law. »