16 June 2004 08:32
Ombudsman wants rights of Russians in Turkmenistan protected
MOSCOW. June 16 (Interfax) - Russian human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin has urged the authorities to help
protect the rights of expatriate Russians living in Turkmenistan.
It is impermissible to strip expatriate Russians in Turkmenistan of the Russian citizenship they received when the
dual citizenship treaty was in force, Lukin told a Wednesday news conference in Moscow.
"There was a process of Turkmenization of Russians in Turkmenistan. But if the dual citizenship treaty is no
longer effective, those who received Russian citizenship should not be stripped of it, because the law is not
retroactive. This contradicts any law anywhere, with the exception of some peculiar places," Lukin said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry held consultations with Turkmenistan on the issue, but they ended in nothing, he
said.
"We know this country suggested a new round of consultations, and that is absolutely correct, but it is not
clear when they are going to begin," Lukin said.
He said it is not clear how many people in Turkmenistan have dual citizenship. "The Turkmens say there are
30,000 of them, even though just recently there were hundreds of thousands," he said. [RU EUROPE ASIA EEU EMRG POL
TM] ml tl
[Interfax] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
