Turkmenistan
Overview
Turkmenistan is frequently cited as one of the most isolated countries in the world, as well one of the most repressive. The country is still emerging from the shadow of its past ruler, Saprmurat Niyazov, an eccentric and repressive dictator who harbored deep suspicions about Internet connectivity. As a result, Turkmenistan has a long way to go in terms of fostering a positive environment for Internet freedom and connectivity. The current government views the transition to an information society as a way to improve the country’s economic health. It remains wary of the power of the Internet to undermine its hold on power, however, and attempts to aggressively control the flow of information both online and offline.
Access
ICT infrastructure in Turkmenistan is critically underdeveloped. This can be partly attributed to a lack of competition in the ICT sector. In 2000, the government revoked all licenses to telecom companies in the country save for the state-run telecom Turkmen Telecom. To this day, Turkmen Telecom remains the only legal provider of Internet in the country. Most connections provided by Turkmen Telecom are prohibitively expensive for the majority of citizens. As a result, the Internet penetration rate is very low at approximately 7 percent. The government has made some efforts to increase Internet access in recent years. These efforts include the construction of cyber cafes primarily in urban areas. The cafes, however, are tightly monitored and very expensive. In addition to paying about USD 2 for an hour-long session, users must show their passports and sign documentation indicating they will not participate in broadly defined unsavory activities while on the net.
Control
Turkmenistan regularly tops lists of the most restrictive countries in the world. Freedom House has listed the country as "not free" since 2001, and highlighted Turkmenistan in its "Worst of the Worst" 2011 report as one of the most restrictive countries in the world and as one of the 10 worst places to be a journalist. All broadcast and print media in the country are controlled by the state and freedom of expression and the press are severely restricted. While Internet activity in Turkmenistan is already limited by access issues, the Internet activity that does occur in the country is closely monitored by the government The country blocks major news sites operating outside of the country, including Eurasia.net and ferghana.ru, as well as several social networking sites and blogging platforms.
Activity
The community of Internet users in Turkmenistan is very small, and those who do use are primarily young. One of the few online news sources for news from the inside of Turkmenistan, the Turkmenistan Chronicle, is operated by exiled oppositionists. In late 2012, the site was hacked to display articles insulting to the opposition. The editors of the blog issued a statement blaming Turkmenistan’s security forces for the attack.
ICT infrastructure in Turkmenistan is critically underdeveloped. This can be partly attributed to a lack of competition in the ICT sector. In 2000, the government revoked all licenses to telecom companies in the country save for the state-run telecom Turkmen Telecom. To this day, Turkmen Telecom remains the only legal provider of Internet in the country. Most connections provided by Turkmen Telecom are prohibitively expensive for the majority of citizens. As a result, the Internet penetration rate is very low at approximately 7 percent. The government has made some efforts to increase Internet access in recent years. These efforts include the construction of cyber cafes primarily in urban areas. The cafes, however, are tightly monitored and very expensive. In addition to paying about USD 2 for an hour-long session, users must show their passports and sign documentation indicating they will not participate in broadly defined unsavory activities while on the net.
Turkmenistan regularly tops lists of the most restrictive countries in the world. Freedom House has listed the country as "not free" since 2001, and highlighted Turkmenistan in its "Worst of the Worst" 2011 report as one of the most restrictive countries in the world and as one of the 10 worst places to be a journalist. All broadcast and print media in the country are controlled by the state and freedom of expression and the press are severely restricted. While Internet activity in Turkmenistan is already limited by access issues, the Internet activity that does occur in the country is closely monitored by the government The country blocks major news sites operating outside of the country, including Eurasia.net and ferghana.ru, as well as several social networking sites and blogging platforms.
The community of Internet users in Turkmenistan is very small, and those who do use are primarily young. One of the few online news sources for news from the inside of Turkmenistan, the Turkmenistan Chronicle, is operated by exiled oppositionists. In late 2012, the site was hacked to display articles insulting to the opposition. The editors of the blog issued a statement blaming Turkmenistan’s security forces for the attack.