Turkmenistan Domestic Developments

Deputy Chairman of State Customs Sacked
President Berdymukhamedov fired the deputy head of State Customs, Merdan Miradov, for serious shortcomings in his work. The Turkmen leader stressed that customs officials have to be very delicate, friendly, and hospitable to people crossing the Turkmen border while performing their duties which will “contribute towards the country's prestige.”
Source: trend.az
http://en.trend.az/regions/casia/turkmenistan/2069612.html

President Berdymukhamedov Inspects Road Construction in Ashgabat
President Berdymukhamedov made a helicopter tour of Ashgabat to inspect the pace of construction of highways in the capital and measures taken to ensure traffic safety. According to the press service, Berdymukhamedov instructed officials to speed up and improve the quality of construction of new highways, bridges, and other facilities.
Source: Turkmenistan.ru 

Raids, fines, exit denial, bloodied hands
Police and other unidentified officials who raided the home of a Baptist family in the northern city of Dashoguz, dragged the father of the family, 77-year-old Begjan Shirmedov, from the house by his collar and beat the hands of his 68-year-old wife until they bled, members of their religious community told Forum 18 News Service. About 15 church members were brought in for interrogation and had their religious literature seized. The raid came two weeks after a raid on another Protestant meeting in the city, which concluded with three participants being served with fines. One of those fined – Oleg Piyashev – was revisiting his homeland from Russia. A Russian and Turkmen citizen, he was barred from leaving Turkmenistan at the Ashgabat airport on September 23. The Russian Embassy told Forum 18 it is awaiting an explanation from the Turkmen Foreign Ministry.
Source: Forum18 

Only 5% of Turkmenistan’s Population Uses Internet – UN
The United Nations presented data on Internet usage in 177 countries. Iceland has the most people with access to the Internet – 95%. 83% of people living in Germany have access, as compared with the US – 77.9%. In Russia – 49%, China – 38.3%, Azerbaijan – 50%, Kazakhstan – 45%, Belarus – 36.6, Ukraine – 30.6, Uzbekistan – 30.2, Kyrgyzstan – 20%, Tajikistan - 13%, and Turkmenistan – 5%.
Source: gundogar.org 

Schoolchildren are Exempt from Attending Classes for a Month
Due to the upcoming celebration of the 21st anniversary of Turkmenistan’s independence, students from schools across Turkmenistan are being selected to participate in rehearsals and ceremonial events. Attractive and strong students who can take part in hour-long marching exercises or standing are shortlisted for participation. Following instructions from the Ministry of Education, 40 to 50 students from the 6th to the 10th grades in each school have been selected to participate in cultural events. Up until the celebration of Independence Day (October 27th), these students will be exempt from attending school and will participate in daily rehearsals at the stadiums and squares. Students from secondary and higher educational institutions will have a harder time, as they will not be granted exemption from classes and will have to rehearse after classes until late in the evening.
Source: Turkmenistan Chronicles