Turkmen authorities restrict to commemorate first president Saparmurat Niyazov

AKIPRESS.COM - A decision was made during the closed session of high-ranking government officials on Dec 19, that the first Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov can be commemorated only at the official event in Ashgabat, Chronicles of Turkmenistan reports.
Previously, the regional offices and the district's offices informed representatives of the Khalk Maslakhaty, Parliament members and executives of large businesses that the commemoration services for Saparmurat Niyazov are not welcome and that the flower-laying ceremony at the monument is scheduled to be held on 21 December, 2019 only in Ashgabat.
The commemoration service for Niyazov was held in Ashgabat, however the President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was not in attendance. The footage of the state television as of 21 December featured the flower laying ceremony at the monument to Niyazov, which was held on the Commemoration Day in October. On December 22, the flower laying ceremony was not mentioned in the final news program which reviews the most important events of the past week.
In 2017 the flower laying ceremony was held at Niyazov's Mausoleum on the territory of the Mosque of Spirituality in Kipchak. Later the same year the museum named after the first President of Turkmenistan was opened in Turkmenistan.
In 2018 President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov participated in the flower laying ceremony at the monument to Turkmenbashi.