Turkmenistan is trying to burnish its image by passing its first law on press freedom. On January 4th, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov signed a law that bans press censorship, bars the government from monopolizing news outlets, and grants the public access to all forms of information, including independent and foreign reporting.
Unfortunately, reform appears to be only posturing and the most repressive and hermetic country in Eurasia remains just that.
Even though Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov announced two years ago the necessity of universal Internet access, the Web is more than restricted in the country. This is connected to cruel official censorship, the serious limitation of the availability and speed of Internet connections in cities, and its total absence in villages. I haven't even mentioned the high price of going online, the strict state monitoring of the few public Internet cafes in the cities, and the widespread practice of opening and inspecting instant messages and e-mails.
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