Tm: Directive Restricting Diplomats' Movements...
12.06.2004
...in Turkmenistan Shrouded in Mystery
nCa, Ashgabat, 12 Jun 2004 -- A note circulated by the foreign office of Turkmenistan on 28 May 2004 has become the source of wide-ranging speculations and protest. In the note the foreign office asked the foreign diplomats and employees of international organizations based in Turkmenistan to file advance notice of their movements, within the country as well as travel abroad.
"According to Vienna convention on diplomatic relations, only the head of mission must report their movement plans in advance. All other diplomats are not subject to such restrictions," said Hans Mondorf, ambassador of Germany in Turkmenistan.
Stephen Rapp, deputy head of British mission in Turkmenistan echoed the same views. "One should obviously keep away from restricted areas but beyond that there should be no check on the movements of diplomats," said Rapp.
The diplomats were baffled by the very nature of the directive that is probably not binding in nature but merely a suggestion because there has been no noticeable follow-up by the Turkmen government for its enforcement.
Ambassador Jean-Claude Richard of France, who is the sitting chair of EU in Turkmenistan, told that he has filed a reply on behalf of the three EU embassies in Ashgabat.
"I have sent a reply on behalf of French, German and British embassies stating that the directive is not supported by the provisions of Vienna convention and therefore has no [legal] force," told ambassador Richard.
It is understood that some other embassies have also sent similar replies to the foreign office of Turkmenistan.
It was clear that most embassies were not following the request contained in the note. Several diplomats told they were not reporting their movements in advance to the Turkmen foreign officer and so far there were no signs that the Turkmen government intended enforcing it.
While no official explanation is available for such an unusual note, some clues can be found in its language.
The note says that "the diplomats accredited in Turkmenistan and their families and dependents" should convey in advance their movement plans, whether traveling within the country or abroad.
Putting the "families and dependents" in the note suggest what might have prompted the issuance of such an instruction; instruction that may not be binding in nature but displays the concerns of the Turkmen government nevertheless.
A senior diplomat said, "Let's put it this way. There were certain incidents when someone was at the wrong place at the wrong time, doing something they should not have been doing."
CASCFEN.org