[CivilSoc] No Free Press in Turkmenistan

[Civil Society International]

The following item comes from RFE/RL's Turkmen Service.
OSCE: There Is No Free Press In Turkmenistan
1 October 2001
          Delegates of the 55 OSCE member states and representatives of NGOs
held a conference in Warsaw on 17-27 September to review the implementation
of OSCE human rights commitments.
          The European Union expressed its concern about massive repression
of private mass media in Central Asian countries in all its forms -- printed
press, radio, TV, and Internet.
          It was especially noted that in Turkmenistan "a free press does
not really exist." The EU underlined the necessity to remain vigilant, to
give increased support to journalists, and to encourage all initiatives
relating to the promotion of freedom of expression in Turkmenistan.
          Turkmenistan was referred to as a "sad example" of human rights
violations in a statement made by the delegation from Norway.
          The Norwegian delegation stressed that the absence of a free
press, in its own turn, fuels an unhealthy hardening of the opposition,
which leads to yet another violation -- disrespect for the principle of
association and the right of peaceful assembly. As a result, Turkmenistan's
human rights activists "work in exile," the Norwegian delegation said.