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TURKMENISTAN DAILY DIGEST
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From: Timur Onica (timik_gee@hotmail.com)
Date: Wed Nov 05 2003 - 14:58:11 EST
PRIVATE VAN DRIVERS STRIKE IN TURKMENISTAN
Drivers of private vans in the northern Turkmen city of Dashoguz on 31
October began a strike against the authorities' demands that they transport
city dwellers drafted to pick cotton to the cotton fields without being
compensated for their fuel, Prima-News and centrasia.ru reported on 4
November, quoting information from the Moscow human rights organization
Memorial. The strike began after the Dashoguz authorities asked Turkmen
President Saparmurat Niyazov to extend the cotton-harvest season until
December. According to Memorial, when the vans failed to appear to collect
the urban dwellers drafted for picking, the draftees went home. Some drivers
who took part in the strike reportedly feared retaliation by the authorities
and hid with relatives. In 2001, the Dashoguz authorities provoked public
anger when they closed the city market and tried to recruit the shoppers for
cotton picking. People who were present reported that enraged citizens
attacked the police officers who were trying to herd them into buses. The
market was quickly reopened. BB
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