Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Just weeks after the death of its megalomaniac leader, Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan is opening itself up to the outside world. The new president, Gurbankuly Berdymuhammedov, announced the debut this week of two Internet cafes, each with five computers. Under Niyazov, who led the former Soviet republic for its 16 years of independence, Turkmenistan was a rigidly closed society. Foreign languages were not taught, and school curriculums centered on the writings of Niyazov himself. Berdymuhammedov, a longtime aide of Niyazov elected last month in a blatantly rigged vote, has promised to reform education and relax control of the media. “Soon, each public school will have Web access,” he said.
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