Turkmen leader reburies relatives

Niyazov's parents are thought to be central to his personality cult

The president of the Central Asian republic of Turkmenistan has moved the ashes of his parents and brothers to a newly-built mausoleum in the desert village where he was born.

Government ministers and foreign ambassadors attended the solemn ceremony which was broadcast live on national television.

Four coffins were carried to tombs inside the vault made of gold and precious stones.

President Saparmurat Niyazov, who has ruled the country since 1985 and is president for life, was orphaned at an early age.

His father was killed fighting with the Soviet army during the World War II, and his mother and brothers died in the earthquake that flattened the capital, Ashgabat, in 1948.

Their bodies were not previously thought to have been found.

"My mother died aged 33 and my father aged 31," he told a crowd gathered in front of the mausoleum.

"They could not enjoy life, so we are here paying our respects to the dead."

Family ties

The mausoleum is part of a memorial complex in Kipchak, near Ashgabat, devoted to Mr Niyazov's mother, Gurbansoltan.

It stands next to a new mosque, built by French construction giant Bouygues, which is capable of holding 10,000 worshippers.

The laying to rest of the president's family in the new complex is a powerfully symbolic act, says the BBC's Monica Whitlock in the region.

It shows where the president's own last resting place is intended to be - at the centre of a mausoleum he hopes will become a place of pilgrimage for Muslims the world over.

It is also considered to be the ultimate step in the glorification of his family - vital elements of his image as a national leader.

Reshuffles

Turkmenistan is effectively a one-party state: Mr Niyazov's portrait hangs everywhere in Turkmenistan, and streets and towns have been named in his honour.

On Thursday, the president appointed new security and interior ministers in what is reported to be the fifth cabinet reshuffle this year.

Mr Niyazov told the cabinet that former National Security Minister Annageldi Gummanow lost his position due to his "soft-hearted" nature.

"He is a bit soft-hearted. He is big-hearted in many cases and we need this too, but when you face an enemy in national security, you should not be too soft," he said in televised remarks.

But some have said the president maintains his grip on power by frequently reshuffling officials and, thus, preventing them from challenging his authority.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.