Turkmen Union of Democratic Forces is a Turkmen

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

that organized in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

on 23 November 2003 (the original agreement was reached on 29 September). Former Foreign Minister Awdy Kulyýew, former ambassador to Turkey

Nurmuhammet Hanamow Nurmuhammet Çaryýewiç Hanamow (Russian: Нурмухаммед Чарыевич Ханамов, ''Nurmukhammed Charievich Khanamov'', born 1 January 1945 in Tejen, Ashkhabad Oblast, Turkmen SSR) is a Turkmen politician. Although he served as t ...

, former central bank chief Hudaýberdi Orazow and former Deputy Agriculture Minister Saparmyrat Yklymow are founding members.Turkmenistan: A study in democracy denial
Asia Times Online Turkmenbashi

Saparmurat Niyazov Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov; tk, Saparmyrat Ataýewiç Nyýazow, in Cyrillic: Сапармырат Атаевич Ныязов (19 February 1940 – 21 December 2006), also known as Turkmenbashi, was a Turkmen politician who rule ...

, commenting on the formation of the party, said on television, "It's a pity that many states that pretend to be democratic give them the floor. But shouldn't these states extradite criminals and terrorists?" He described the TUDF as "cowards and traitors who stole that much money that it did not fit their pockets. All of them are thieves, terrorists and fugitives, but if they are not guilty, we will not persecute them. Let them face the court here and then open their parties in Turkmenistan."

References

Banned political parties 2003 establishments in Turkmenistan Political parties established in 2003 Political parties in Turkmenistan {{Turkmenistan-party-stub