Turkmenistan Domestic Developments

Turkmenistan Conducts Anti-drug Operation
On March 1, Turkmen authorities launched an eight-month anti-drug campaign called Operation Gonkar (Poppy), the State TV channel AltynAsyr reported. The annual campaign will cover parts of the country where opium poppies and other narcotic-yielding plants grow, an official at the State Service for the Safety of a Health Society told Central Asia Online.
During Operation Gonkar, which will run until November 1, the authorities expect to destroy hundreds of drug-bearing plants and incinerate drugs in special furnaces near Ashgabat. In June, the Turkmen authorities burned at least 635kg of drugs in those furnaces.
Source: centralasiaonline.com  

About Bribery in Turkmenistan's State Bodies
Corruption has become rampant in Turkmenistan. Bribery is flourishing in the customs office, the prosecutor’s offices, the Ministry of the Interior, as well as other law-enforcement agencies. Turkmenistan Initiative for Human Rights wrote an article giving specific names of officials caught taking bribes by one of their correspondents.
Source: Turkmenistan Chronicles   

Turkmenistan Held Subbotnik
Despite the unusually cold weather, Turkmen authorities made people come out on a subbotnik – a public event during which people clean streets and plant trees without pay. «The entire nation came out to participate in this big event which is held annually before the spring festivities of Novruz and has now become a good tradition. People worked together as friends and with inspiration to make the Turkmen land better,» - reported Turkmenistan's State News Agency.
Source: gundogar.org