Turkmen leader dies, succession meeting called

ASHGABAT, Dec 21 (Reuters) Turkmenistan's President-for-life Saparmurat Niyazov died today after 21 years of iron rule in which he crushed all dissent and made his Central Asian state one of the world's most isolated countries.

He was 66.

State television and government sources said Niyazov, who basked in a unique and bizarre personality cult while ruling a country with the world's fifth-biggest natural gas reserves, died overnight of cardiac arrest.

His funeral was set for December 24 and the government fixed December 26 for the desert state's highest representative body to meet to decide on a successor. Until then, Deputy Prime Minister Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov will be acting head of state.

But Niyazov, who held all the top posts, left no designated heir and his sudden death raised concerns about the transfer of power in the ex-Soviet nation of 5 million, where foreign oil and gas companies are keen to invest in vast energy reserves.

Flags flew at half-mast from public buildings in the capital Ashgabat, a Soviet city grandly reconstructed to showcase Niyazov's power.

Originally a Soviet apparatchik, Niyazov took the title of ''Turkmenbashi (Head of the Turkmen) the Great'' and had thousands of portraits and statues of him set up throughout the country.

They include a revolving statue in gold leaf that rotates to face the sun in Ashgabat. He renamed the month of January after himself and his name was also given to a sea port, farms, military units and even a meteorite.

Today, workers removed all New Year decorations from the streets, and television ran still images of a national flag in a black-bordered frame as an orchestra played solemn tunes.

The public mood appeared calm but, given Niyazov's long, unchallenged rule, some expressed concerns for the future.

''I'm worried that a power struggle will start now. I just hope there will be no civil war,'' Rumina, a 40-year-old school teacher who declined to give her last name, told Reuters at a local market.

Others were more upbeat. ''I am hoping for the best, that young people will have the opportunity to study where they want. I believe that the black lists of people barred from travelling abroad will be scrapped,'' said 25-year-old Artyk.

POLICIES TO CONTINUE In an early statement eulogising Niyazov's achievements, the government suggested his tough and isolationist policies would be maintained.

''The internal and external policies proclaimed earlier will be continued further,'' said the statement read on state television.

''The nation must stay united and unshaken,'' it said.

Niyazov tolerated no dissent and was regularly criticised by Western human rights groups for flouting basic freedoms. Most civil society campaigners and criticial journalists have been driven into exile or jailed, and rights groups have accused him of using torture against his opponents.

Turkmenistan-watchers were monitoring for any signs of trouble in the country, which borders Iran, that could affect its gas deliveries, much of which go to Ukraine via the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom.

''If Niyazov's death results in political instability and social unrest, this may lead to the gas supply from Turkmenistan to RosUkrEnergo (Russian-Ukraine energy joint venture) and Ukraine being disrupted,'' said a research note from Deutsche UFG Bank in Moscow.

Berdymukhamedov, the new acting president, is said by the opposition to be related to Niyazov. He was earlier named to head a commission handling the funeral.

In Soviet times, the person appointed to that task usually became the successor, but it was not clear if this precedent would be followed in Turkmenistan.

In an early reaction, exiled Turkmen opposition activists said they intended to immediately try to return home.

''Our first task is to return to Turkmenistan within hours. We are discussing now how to do it. In Turkmenistan there is no opposition, they all sit in prisons or under home arrest. But outside the country opposition exists and it is coming back,'' one activist, Parakhad Yklymov, told Reuters by telephone from Sweden.

Russia said it hoped Turkmenistan would stick to Niyazov's course. ''We count on the new Turkmenistan leaders continuing their course and further developing bilateral ties,'' top Kremlin aide Sergei Prikhodko told Itar-Tass news agency.

Niyazov is likely to be buried in his hometown of Kipchak near Ashgabat, alongside his mother.

REUTERS SP ND1728