Turkmenistan is a country where there is no freedom of the media, no freedom of speech, no fundamental freedoms at all. Even in ordinary matters, people cannot get information.
Former OSCE Commissioner for Freedom of the Media Freimut Duve said that Turkmenistan uses Goebbelian methods of propaganda and control over the media.
Let me add that Goebbels, using the radio, forced all of Germany to “Zig!”. The Turkmen dictatorship, with the help of the media, forces the people to “zig” in Turkmen style.
During the pandemic, local blogger Murad Dushemov asked to familiarize him with the decree of the country's leadership on precautionary measures against Coronavirus. For this he was sent to prison for 4 years. They did the same with Nurgeldy Khalykov, who simply reposted a photo of the WHO delegation that visited all countries of the world, including Turkmenistan.
A criminal case was fabricated against doctor Khursanay Ismatullayeva because she sought the truth from the trade union and dared to report this to foreign media. The same political prisoner Pygambergeldy Allaberdyev suffered for contacts with foreign activists.
Turkmen Radio Liberty journalists, human rights defenders and activists are not allowed into their homeland, and their relatives are not allowed out of the country.
Following my speech in May 2022, in Vienna on media freedom, the OSCE Office on Media Freedom held an online seminar in June on international standards and national experiences in preventing violence against journalists and promoting their rights. The two-day event was attended by representatives of the Mejlis (Lower House), Milli Gengesh (Parliament) of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Supreme Court, the Bar Association, the Institute of State, Law and Democracy, teachers of higher educational institutions, as well as journalists national print and broadcast media and information portals.
The OSCE holds such seminars every year. However, there is no improvement in issues of media freedom in Turkmenistan.
Gentlemen, officials from the OSCE, do not waste your time and money on useless events!
My proposal: it is better to conduct seminars and trainings for independent Turkmen bloggers with the help of human rights activists.
Let me quote F. Duve: “I criticized Turkmenistan, but I never went there in order to avoid the appearance of a photograph in which I would be together with the president of this country. Unfortunately, my other colleagues did this."
Gentlemen, do not be among those who shake hands with the Turkmen dictator and his envoys. Stop playing with double standards.
Turkmen Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
