Will the Net Hurt or Harm Turkmenistan?

The new government seems intent on boosting Turkmenistan's dismal Internet penetration. But is it just a ruse to catch dissenters in a digital dragnet?

By TOL Staff

It's a philosophical riddle as old as when humanity first learned to harness the power of fire: Will technology bring freedom or slavery? Lately, observers of Turkmenistan find themselves asking that very question about the Internet.

Turkmenistan has one of the world's lowest rates of Internet penetration: According to Internetworldstats.com, a website that measures global Internet access, a meager 1.4 percent of Turkmenistan's population is wired, putting the country in 216th place out of 226.

However, two years ago, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, recently ascended to the Turkmen presidency, vowed to expand the Internet in his nation. Speaking at Columbia University in September 2007, he remarked, "Let me tell you frankly that the atmosphere today in Turkmenistan is just incredible. Our children feel such a strong and intense yearning for knowledge that we just can't fail and let them down."

At the time, writing on neweurasia.net, a TOL-affiliated site, the pseudonymous blogger Conquistador noted that the speech was accompanied by a presentation showing young students typing on new laptops. In light of the paranoia that marked the previous regime of Saparmurat Niyazov – during which Internet access was sequestered to a tiny elite – the images were a bold statement.

"Will any of this emerge?" Conquistador asked. "That remains to be seen." Yet, remarkably, it seems that the Berdymukhammedov regime is actually intent on keeping its word.

In September Turkmenistan hosted an IT-themed exhibition called Turkmentel 2009 and a scientific conference. Berdymukhammedov personally addressed the audience, saying "We are doing our best so that every citizen of Turkmenistan has access to the Internet and modern communication technologies."

Subsequently, the government declared its intention to launch Turkmenistan's first ever communications satellite.

BIRTH OF THE TURKMENET

Another neweurasia blogger, Annasoltan, has been monitoring the rise of what she calls the "Turkmenet" – the Turkmen-language online community. Although minuscule, it is energetic and growing rapidly.

The Turkmenet's appearance has already seen the rise of diverse phenomena, ranging from the dissemination of political hip-hop songs in the Turkmen language to Islamic revivalism on Facebook.

A salient moment came on 12 September, when riots erupted between Turkmen and Chinese workers for a Chinese energy company in the Samandepe region of eastern Turkmenistan. According to RFE/RL, the Turkmen workers had complained of poor working conditions and wage discrimination.

"Although, as usual with such situations, the incident was completely unmentioned by the tightly-controlled Turkmen media, news of it still reached the Turkmenet," Annasoltan reported. "[It] quickly sparked a vibrant and very public discussion.

"The riot has been particularly disappointing to those already embittered by the government's constant refrain that it is defending the interests of the Turkmen population. Many are interpreting the incident as proof that the Turkmen government has sided with foreigners – in this case the Chinese – over its own citizens. One user even compares the Turkmen to the Uighurs of China."

Remarkably, the Turkmen government did nothing to stop the criticism. In fact, the opposite happened: Ashgabad.ru, a very active online forum where residents of the Turkmen capital comment about their city which was mysteriously shut down in June, was abruptly reactivated.

Several of the forum's topics are openly critical of the government; one topic even asks expatriated Turkmen, "Do you ever want to return?"

"Something is brewing online," Annasoltan observes.

THE MOTIVATION?

We should first consider the possibility that the government is actually being sincere. It may envision a steady and controlled increase in Internet access as necessary for the country's development.

Business Exchange

Track and share business topics across the Web.