Turkmenistan’s heavily censored newspapers contain little actual news, leading people to find alternative uses for them.
In the past, that has included using the state dailies -- dominated by praise of President Serdar Berdymukhammedov and his father, ex-President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov -- as toilet paper, and to wrap objects in and start a fire with.
Now, the authorities are forcing state employees to sign a written pledge promising to “safeguard the pages in newspapers and magazines featuring photographs” of the ruling family, according to multiple state employees who signed the document.
Public employees and students are often forced to pay for subscriptions to state newspapers in the impoverished and authoritarian Central Asian country, where the free press is effectively banned.
A civil servant in the western Balkan Province who spoke to RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service on condition of anonymity said state employees in his city were ordered since the New Year not to “soil” state newspapers.
To monitor compliance, the authorities have said they could print QR codes on each page of newspapers. That would allow them to trace littered pages to individual subscribers, according to another civil servant in Balkan.
“Now we’re even afraid to let the children touch the newspapers at home. If a small child tears or ruins the president’s photo and discards it somewhere in the street, we risk losing our jobs,” said the state employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
Few state employees read the newspapers they are forced to subscribe to, and instead use them around the house or at work.
Using newspapers to line old shoes is popular during the wetter months. Given the low purchasing power of the population, newspapers are also regularly used in the bathroom.
No Bad News, Ever
Turkmenistan is consistently ranked by media watchdogs, such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF), among the worst countries in the world for press freedom.
The situation has not improved since Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, 67, handed the presidency to his now 43-year-old son Serdar in 2022. The older Berdymukhammedov is still regarded as the country’s ultimate decision-maker.
Independent media outlets are nonexistent in the country, where journalism “amounts only to praise for the regime,” according to RSF.
The government continues a relentless clampdown on dissent -- with critics being harassed, beaten, tortured, jailed, and even killed. Many others have been forced abroad into self-exile.
Last year, 35-year-old former RFE/RL reporter Hudaiberdy Allashov died last year after a long illness that his supporters say was brought on by pressure from the government due to his work.
