Turkmenistan: Lions And Tigers And Mozart To Return To Cultural Life
January 31, 2008
To its fans, opera is a sublime expression of emotion conveyed through music and spectacle that has for centuries drawn people to theaters on every continent.
But that was not exactly how the late Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov viewed it. In April 2001, less than 10 years after his country became independent, the former Soviet apparatchik declared that opera and ballet were “alien” art forms that had no message for Turkmenistan’s people. Opera was filled with “unnatural feelings and indiscreet dances” and had “exhausted its creative life,” he said.
And so opera and ballet performances — and eventually the circus and cinemas — were closed down, replaced by works based on Turkmen lore and television programs glorifying various parts of Niyazov’s life.
It was all part of Niyazov’s campaign to transform the former Soviet republic into a bastion of Turkmen heritage. History was rewritten and the state placed an emphasis on all things Turkmen.
This practice was epitomized in Niyazov’s book “Rukhname” (Book of the Soul), which glorified the Turkmen nation and provided its people with a guide to proper conduct in Niyazov’s Turkmenistan. Those who were not ethnic Turkmen found it increasingly difficult to find employment — their children were forced to dress in Turkmen clothing and study in the Turkmen language — and as a result the non-Turkmen population of the country trickled away.
Niyazov’s death in December 2006 and Berdymukhammedov’s unexpected ascension to the country’s top post afterwards raised hopes that change was coming.
Welcome Changes To Old Regime
Berdymukhammedov’s announcement that foreign culture was welcome again in Turkmenistan is welcome news to many. Mommak Kuly, a Turkmen artist who now lives in Germany, tells RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service he hopes Berdymukhammedov’s decision will bring performing artists back to Turkmenistan.
“We are so glad about the news that the ban on opera, ballet, and circus has been lifted,” Kuly says. “I hope that former theater performers will come back to the theater. It was not good to say that our people didn’t understand opera or ballet and ban these arts. It is very important to let the people understand [these things.] This is an art and a culture that help the world understand the nation.”
The announcement of the return of the performing arts was also good news to Akmukhammet Saparov, a well-known singer and composer, who stayed in Turkmenistan despite the fact he was officially unable to perform.
“Like other artistic workers, I continued my work as a singer and composer, without ‘turning either to the right or to the left,’” Saparov says. “I have been giving concerts to the people, creating songs, and composing music; helping the [young] singers and musicians who need my assistance.”
The last Russian-built theater in Ashgabat was demolished in March 2004 (AFP)Even before he was elected president in February 2007 Berdymukhammedov promised changes, and he has delivered, restoring the education system that Niyazov had cut back, replenishing funding for the health-care system that Niyazov had all but destroyed, and allowing some Internet cafes to open and lifting a number of small restrictions that unnecessarily complicated the lives of Turkmen citizens.
But Berdymukhammedov has stopped short of introducing any of the major changes that many have called for, such as breaking the monopoly that the sole political party, the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, formerly the Communist Party of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, has or allowing independent media to exist.
Some say that Berdymukhammedov inherited one of the most repressive and bizarre governments in the world and that it takes time to make some of the more important changes.
In announcing the return of the performing arts to Turkmenistan, Berdymukhammedov said, “I propose to breathe life back into the lyrical arts in this country.”
If he follows through on this promise, Turkmenistan may one day see a return of the many performers who left the country in the last decade — and they will include non-ethnic Turkmen.
Since Turkmenistan does not produce many movies for the big screen, reopening the cinemas means showing foreign films in theaters that will give citizens a taste of the world outside that has been difficult for them to see.
And the return of the circus also should showcase a source of Turkmen national pride. Berdymukhammedov noted that bringing back the circus will include “national equestrian shows” because — as for many Central Asians — the horse enjoys a prominent place in Turkmen history and culture.
Much work still needs to be done to prepare for the return of the performing arts to Turkmenistan. The state opera house was torn down after opera was banned and in its place stands a shopping center.
Berdymukhammedov acknowledged this by saying that it is “time to rebuild and reopen.” And this small but important step could be the first stage in ending the government’s “Turkmenization” policy.
(RFE/RL Turkmen Service Director Jamal Yazliyeva and Guvanch Geraev of the Turkmen Service contributed to this report.)
By Bruce Pannier
Source Radio Free Europe
Copyright (c) 2008. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Iran: Judiciary Chief Seeks Curb On Public Executions
January 31, 2008
The head of Iran’s judiciary is seeking to impose limits on public executions amid a rise in death-penalty cases during President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s 2 1/2 years in office. Long regarded by rights groups as the world’s leading executioner of children, Iran put some 300 people to death in 2007, up from under 200 the previous year. Read more
Vornado Trust to Pay $500,000 Civil Penalty for Failure to Report Defects And Hazards with Electric Heaters
January 31, 2008
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that a liquidating trust acting on behalf of a now-dissolved manufacturer of heaters has agreed to pay the government a $500,000 civil penalty. Read more
FDA Alerts Health Care Providers to Risk of Suicidal Thoughts And Behavior with Antiepileptic Medications
January 31, 2008
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued new information to health care professionals to alert them about an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (suicidality) in patients who take drugs called antiepileptics to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder, migraine headaches, and other conditions.
An FDA analysis of suicidality reports from placebo-controlled studies of 11 antiepileptic drugs shows that patients taking these drugs have about twice the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (0.43 percent), compared with patients receiving placebo (0.22 percent). This risk corresponds to an estimated 2.1 per 1,000 more patients in the drug treatment groups who experienced suicidality than in the placebo groups.
“We want health care professionals to have the most up to date drug safety information,” said Russell Katz, M.D., director of the Division of Neurology Products in FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “This is an example of FDA working with drug manufacturers throughout products’ lifecycles to keep health care professionals informed of new safety data.”
Patients who are currently taking antiepileptic medicines should not make any changes without first talking to their health care provider. Health care providers should notify patients, their families, and caregivers of the potential for an increase in the risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviors so that patients may be closely observed for notable changes in behavior.
Following a preliminary analysis of data from several antiepileptic drugs that suggested an increased risk of suicidality, in March 2005 FDA requested this type of data from manufacturers of marketed antiepileptic drugs for which there were adequately designed controlled clinical trials. FDA received and reviewed data from 199 placebo-controlled studies of 11 drugs.
The analysis included 27,863 patients in drug treatment groups and 16,029 patients in placebo groups. There were four suicides among patients in the drug treatment groups and none among patients in placebo groups. There were 105 reports of suicidal thoughts or behaviors in the drug-treated patients and 35 reports in placebo-treated patients.
The higher risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors was observed at one week after starting a drug and continued to at least 24 weeks. The results were generally consistent among all the different drug products studied and were seen in all demographic subgroups. There was no clear pattern of risk across age groups.
Antiepileptic drugs in the analyses included the following:
Carbamazepine (marketed as Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol XR)
Felbamate (marketed as Felbatol)
Gabapentin (marketed as Neurontin)
Lamotrigine (marketed as Lamictal)
Levetiracetam (marketed as Keppra)
Oxcarbazepine (marketed as Trileptal)
Pregabalin (marketed as Lyrica)
Tiagabine (marketed as Gabitril)
Topiramate (marketed as Topamax)
Valproate (marketed as Depakote, Depakote ER, Depakene, Depacon)
Zonisamide (marketed as Zonegran)
Some of these drugs are also available in generic form.
Although only the drugs listed above were part of the analysis, the FDA expects that all medications in the antiepileptic class share the increased risk of suicidality.
FDA will be working with manufacturers of marketed antiepileptic drugs to include this new information in the labeling for these products. The agency anticipates that labeling changes will be applied broadly to the entire class of drugs. FDA is also planning to discuss these data at an upcoming advisory committee meeting.
For more information
FDA Information for Healthcare Professionals: Suicidality and Antiepileptic Drugs
www.fda.gov/cder/drug/InfoSheets/HCP/antiepilepticsHCP.htm.
Democracy’s Fourth Wave: Still MIA
January 31, 2008
This year has not been a good one for the spread of democracy. From Pakistan to Kenya to Russia, democratic norms have been on a backwards slide. A recent Economist article suggests that the tremendous democratic gains experienced at the end of the Cold War are now slowing down to a crawl. Read more
Alarm Bells are Ringing Over South Africa’s Ability to Host the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
January 31, 2008
With the recent wave of power cuts and state company Eskom’s acknowledgment that we are in for a rough ride, it’s not surprising that, in the minds of many journalists, “the alarm bells are ringing” over South Africa’s ability to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Read more
