21/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - After the death, on Thursday, of Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov, the Finnish EU Council Presidency issued a declaration on behalf of the European Union calling on the authorities of that country to “ensure that the succession to President Niyazov proceeds in accordance with international standards”. In a press release, French MEP Marie Anne Isler Béguin (Greens/EFA) calls on the EU to send a powerful message to the governments of Turkmenistan and for it to support the people of that country as they aspire to true democracy. “By leading the country in such an undivided way, President Niyazov cut his country off from the rest of the world, preventing its population from speaking out. He never hesitated to imprison or physically eliminate his opponents in general, and the press in particular. Among his latest victims were journalists who had the courage to report on the political situation of the country for the very first time, denouncing the abuse of dictatorship”, she said. (ab)