Turkmenistan in 2009 = Turkmenistan in 2000, 2001, 2002… etc.
Turkmenistan, Videoblog3 Comments
Earlier this year, the Norske Helsingforskomite (NHC) released a video about life in Turkmenistan under the Berdymukhammedov regime, detailing the ways in which, despite his vows of sweeping changes, the country remains as totalitarian as under the previous government of Turkmenbashi.
On assignment for the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, freelance journalist Simon Ostrovsky travelled to Turkmenistan to make this rare documentary on one of the world’s most inaccessible countries. Since the death of its eccentric first president 2 years ago, the resource-rich Central Asian republic has caught the attention of Western companies in the hydrocarbon sector. Yet its human rights record remains one of the worst in the world.
Perhaps most shocking of all is the discovery that the Ruhnama continues to be taught in schools, and that in many ways, the old personality cult of Turkmenbashi persists.
Click “Read the full story” or go to the videoshow in the bottom left corner below to see the video. Thanks to Ivar Dale for bringing this video to our attention! (He gets the award for Best Link on a Wednesday, Ever.)
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I don’t understand, how Mr. Ostrovski expects things to change overnight. He obviously speaks to the western audience, that has no clue of other realities; he uses simple, dramatic words; he wants to touch hearts of the westerners. He is biased. In a way, that he comes with his own measurements of good and bad, and shows how BAD Turkmenistan is. Yes, life is not very sweet at times. But the way he says things are not changing or changing only to the negative, sounds as if he is surprised. I would be surprised if anything changed this fast. How can people be so naive and expect whoever in the administration to bring about massive changes?!
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