Freimut Duve: Free media non-existent in Turkmenistan

VIENNA, 30 April 2002 - In light of the several cases of media harassment recently reported in Turkmenistan, OSCE's Representative on Freedom of the Media, Freimut Duve, said the country lacks any freedom of expression.

In a letter addressed to Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, Duve wrote that "the print-run of a Moscow-based newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda had been confiscated because of an article describing the situation in your country. I consider such an act an unacceptable violation of OSCE commitments signed by Turkmenistan as our Organisation's participating State. I was also informed that access to the newspaper's web-site was blocked by Turkmenistan's sole internet-provider, state-run Turkmentelekom."

The OSCE Representative also noted that since early 2002, the authorities in Turkmenistan have blocked access to several other web-sites, among them Vremya Novostei, Yevraziya, TsentrAziya, Deutsche Welle, Erkin Turkmenistan, Gundogar.

Duve informed the Foreign Minister that taking into account the "Absolute lack of any freedom of expression in your country, a situation unseen in the OSCE region since the establishment of this Organisation," he planned to commission a special report on the media in Turkmenistan.