Bekrewe is currently the duty station for dozens of employees of government textile enterprises, the state-owned Turkmentelecom, a number of Ashgabat public transportation organizations, and other civilian agencies. Almost every reservist aged between 26 and 40 has dependent minor children.

The 2015 cotton harvest in Turkmenistan began in late August and did not end until well after the Turkmen government announced «a remarkable well-earned victory». The experience of the Turkmen people was the exact opposite. The government actually forced more citizens to pick cotton and intensified enforcement of harvest quotas in response to a late and low-yield harvest.

January 12, 2016 Reuters Exchange bureaus in Turkmenistan stopped selling foreign currency on Tuesday, citing an order from the central bank and prompting a jump in black market rates as ordinary Turkmens fear a fresh devaluation. Clerks at two bureaus visited by a Reuters correspondent in the capital, Ashgabat, said they were only buying foreign…

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has found the deprivation of liberty of the Turkmen journalist and activist Saparmamed Nepeskuliev arbitrary. The Working Group also considers that he has been deprived of liberty for having peacefully exercised his right to freedom of expression.

The Ministry of Agriculture was aware that the cotton crop would fall short of the national production target. A ministry employee reported that tests conducted in August found 83% of the cotton plants would likely yield less than the average rate. The study found that 55% of the plants would yield 7-13 tons of cotton lint per hectare, far short of the rate used to establish the national plan, 20-30 tons per hectare.

Mr. Secretary, you have staunchly defended and advocated for press freedom during your time as a U.S. Senator and now as U.S. Secretary of State. We urge you to seize this opportunity and stand up for journalists imprisoned in the Central Asian countries.

One of the first instances of mass forced evictions in Turkmenistan, reported in the media and dating back to July 2004, related to a settlement of approximately one hundred houses in Keshi district. Media reported that residents were not given any compensation and those who protested were forced to sign a statement undertaking not to express their opinions publicly.

A source at the State Agency for Management and Use of Hydrocarbon Resources under the President of Turkmenistan told ATN that the German concern RWE Dea AG was going to terminate the production-sharing agreement (PSA) with Turkmenistan government pertaining to the License Block 23 located in the Turkmen part of the Caspian Sea. The key reason behind the decision was the overwhelming bureaucracy associated with corruption and incompetence of the officials in the Agency.

A stifling dictatorship, combined more recently with falling prices for oil and gas, instead has led Turkmenistan to a dead end. With Russia having its own troubles, China is pretty much the only customer for Turkmenistan’s gas, and revenue is falling.