From: Ad 

Oh but it's difficult not to speak ill of the dead....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6198983.stm


"Turkmenistan's authoritarian president, Saparmurat Niyazov, who ruled
the Central Asian country for 21 years, has died aged 66, state TV has
reported.

He died at about 0110 local time (2010 GMT Wednesday) of a sudden cardiac
arrest, it was announced.

Mr Niyazov became Communist Party chief of what was then a Soviet republic
in 1985 and was elected first president of independent Turkmenistan in
1991.

In 1999, he was made president-for-life by the country's legislative body.

Last month, the president publicly acknowledged he had heart disease.

Analysts say Mr Niyazov's legacy is grim. Education, healthcare and social
programmes have all crumbled under his leadership. "


Let's hope for better days.

Adam

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