Hjälp oss, Kofi Annan!

Yours Excellency Mr. Secretary General!

I, Ekaterina Yklimova, appeal to you with a call for help in relation to the tragic events elevating in our country characterized by the governmental terror executed by President Niyazov against the people of Turkmenistan.

The major reason for the governmental terror in Turkmenistan is the lack of legal instruments both in the Republic and the international organizations UN, OSCE a member-state of which is Turkmenistan and therefore is subject to conveyance to agreements adopted by these organizations. Nevertheless the lack of effective legal instruments alongside with unemployment of the existing ones "Emergency action" of OSCE, adopted in Moscow in 1992 facilitate the fact, that President Niyazov’s regime doesn’t recognize any responsibility for its criminal acts.

Situation in Turkmenistan today is on the edge of humanitarian catastrophe. Recently authorities started to execute open arrests of totally innocent people under allegations resulting from the staged "attempt on the President’s life".

I will just refer to the case of the family of my husband S.Yklimov’s: the special services of the Republic of Turkmenistan on grounds of manufactured accusations of "assassination attempt of the President" on November 25, 2002 arrested more than 100 people of the Yklimov’s family. There are elderly women and young children among the arrested. It is not known where our relatives are kept.

It also violates the norms enshrined in the Convention of the UN for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

On November 25, 2002 by order of President Niyazov special services of the authoritative regime have also arrested my daughter Maral Yklimova, born in 1978, and keep her imprisoned as a hostage. She happened to be in Turkmenistan under constraint of impossibility to travel to the place of residence of our family caused by administrative casuistry on behalf of immigration authorities of Sweden.

All the arrested Yklimov’s suffer from physical abuse and torture. Neither my family nor I have information about their destiny. There is a policeman in our daughter’s apartment that answers telephone calls but doesn’t provide any details about what has happened, while suggesting that we should return to Turkmenistan.

President Niyazov instigates the Turkmen people to request death penalty by hanging for all the arrested Yklimov’s. Appeals of some state officials contain requests to eliminate the whole family of the Yklimov’s. Mass media of Turkmenistan and President Niyazov himself address the audience with statements abusive to the dignity and honors of man.

I beg you to help to save lives of innocent people!

For God’s sake stop the outrageous deeds of President Niyazov!

The crowd’s demands of execution of physical punishment and death penalty by hanging to our relatives drive me to desperation. The thought that I cannot help my own daughter escape from the lunatic dictator is killing me. I ask for help from the bottom of a mother’s heart and with a cry of desperation addressed to everybody who could help and who has the authority to impose measures upon the appropriator of state power in Turkmenistan having no respect to human rights.

I beg you to save my daughter from death and help the people of Turkmenistan in accordance to the UN Declaration Of the Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Niyazov has made arrangements for execution of the hostages on December 22, 2002. We ask you to pay attention to the state of emergency in Turkmenistan and raise this issue at the session of the UN General Assembly. Only critical assessment of functioning of the President Niyazov’s regime from the side of the UN and other international organizations can have an impact upon the government of Turkmenistan and cease state terror.

Yours Excellency Mr. Secretary General!

HELP!!!

PLEASE PROTECT MY DAUGHTER MARAL IKLIMOVA FROM DICTATOR NIYAZOV!!!

PLEASE SAVE THE LIFE OF MY DAUGHTER MARAL IKLIMOVA AND HER RELATIVES, being kept as hostages by dictator Niyazov in Turkmenistan.

We would be very grateful for your assistance in this case and would like to ask Yours Excellency to please do all in your power to ensure that and people of the Turkmenistan receive effective and durable protection.

Respectfully yours, and with hope.

---------FAKTA---------

Sapar Yklomov är före detta jordbruksminister i Turkmenistan. Nu bor han tillsammans med sin fru Ekaterina och en son i Umeå dit de har flytt. Varje dag kommer anklagelser mot dem från Turkmenistan som bland annat att de skulle ligga bakom ett mordförsök på president Nijasov, något som Utrikesdepartementet säger är nästintill omöjligt eftersom det är så svårt att ha kommunikation med Turkmenistan.

President Nijasov styr den hårdaste diktaturen i Centralasien. Det finns ingen fri press, ingen yttrandefrihet och bara ett parti är tillåtet - President Nijasovs parti. Man får inte ha kontakt med andra länder och det är till och med svårt att få se på ryska tv-program.

Nu har president Nijasov fängslats Sapar och Ekaterinas dotter och 120 anda släktingar och de hotas med avrättning den 22 december.

Turkmenistan gränsar till Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan och Kazakstan och har en befolkning på ungefär fyra och en halv miljon. Huvudstaden heter Ashgabat och till ytan är Turkmenistan lite större än Sverige. Turkmenistan har enorma naturgas- och oljeresurser, och ligger på femte plats i världen vad gäller fossila resurser.

----Fakta togs fram av Sourzeredaktionen-----

Av Ekaterina Yklymov 12 dec 2002 12:13