First internet cafes open in reclusive Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan’s first internet cafes opened in the capital Friday as the new president of the tightly controlled country declared that all schools soon will have internet access. The move came two days after officials confirmed as president Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, who has pledged make other changes from the path set by the late autocratic leader Saparmurat Niyazov. Located in downtown Ashgabat, the two cafes equipped with five computers sat empty for most of Friday, said cafe administrator Jenet Khudaikulieva, since very few people had heard about them. But she insisted that no websites would be blocked, and there was no visible attempt to register visitors or log the sites they were surfing. It was unclear exactly how popular the cafes will be - or how accessible, given that one hour of computer time cost about USD 4 (EUR 3)in a country where two-thirds of the population live below the poverty line and the average monthly income is less than USD 100 (EUR 76). Under Niyazov, who ruled the gas-rich nation for two decades, access to the internet was tightly restricted to state and officially approved groups, embassies, accredited foreign journalists and international organisations. (The Independent,February 19, 2007)

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