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Turkmenistan Subscribes to Democracy
As the first anniversary of the death of first president of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov, also known as Turkmenbashi, “Father of the Turkmen,” nears, Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has instructed the government to provide foreign periodicals to the public. Only educational publications will be made available, but even they were taboo in the days of Turkmenbashi.
The president is quoted on turkmenistan.ru as saying that "Turkmenistan should receive the most interesting and trustworthy popular scientific literature and other special periodicals from all over the world” during a session of the Turkmen government on Wednesday.
The Turkmen leader has taken numerous step to help his countrymen “work continually on expanding their outlook,” as he once said. Turkmen citizens also now have Internet access and even interactive educational tools. A year ago, all of that would have been unimaginable there.
Berdymukhamedov has not eased restrictions on Turkmen citizens' foreign travel, or released the thousands of Turkmen imprisoned by his predecessor. He has demanded that satellite antennae be removed from homes in the capital of Ashgabat, citing aesthetic concerns and promising to replace them with centralized antennae. Citizens are concerned that those antennae will receive only state television. They note that even Niyazov left the antennae untouched. “If people have antennae, they have enough,” they say in Ashgabat.
Berdymukhamedov has disassembled many of the monuments Niyazov had built to himself and has shown, in ways with varying subtlety, his desire to tone down his predecessor's immortal glory. The anniversary of Niyazov's death, December 21, will not be observed. A three-week New Year's holiday begins the day before it.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 07, 2007
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