Who Is the Government Afraid Of? When One Man’s Visit Disrupts an Entire Region

Who Is the Government Afraid Of? When One Man’s Visit Disrupts an Entire Region Why should a visit by a senior official result in internet shutdowns, heightened police presence, and restrictions on the most ordinary activities of citizens? And the central question is: who, in that case, is the government afraid of? On August 10, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, visited Mary Region before travelling onward to Afghanistan. According to Radio Azatlyk, citing local residents and sources, preparations for the visit had a significant impact on the daily lives of the population. In Serhetabat District, the internet was reportedly shut down completely, while connectivity deteriorated significantly in other parts of Mary Region and VPN services stopped working. Residents also reported difficulties using payment terminals and ATMs. Security measures were tightened in the city of Mary. According to residents, police officers were stationed virtually everywhere, while vehicles parked along streets and even in courtyards were ordered to be removed. But another reported restriction is particularly revealing. According to Azatlyk, residents of Serhetabat, Tagtabazar, Yoloten and Murgap districts were prohibited from lighting fires or producing smoke. For many families, this is far from a minor inconvenience. Because of low gas pressure, some residents are forced to cook food and boil water outdoors using firewood. Problems with electricity also mean that electric stoves cannot always be relied upon. The result is an extraordinary paradox: for the sake of a senior official’s visit, ordinary citizens can effectively be deprived even of their usual means of preparing food. Who Is Being Protected From Whom? Officially, measures of this kind are generally justified on security grounds. But this raises a fundamental question: from whom must senior officials be protected so extensively? From the very people they govern? From a pensioner standing in a courtyard? From a woman preparing food? From a young person holding a smartphone? From someone who might record what is happening and send the footage outside the country? If the state trusts its own people, why does internet access disappear when senior officials arrive? If citizens genuinely support the existing system, why is it necessary to intensify the police presence and exercise such extensive control over the areas surrounding an official route? And why should the public pay for the security of state officials with restrictions on their own rights and daily lives? In a closed system, the most dangerous object may not be a weapon, but a phone connected to the internet. Because through that phone, a person can show the world what exists beyond the carefully constructed images broadcast by state television. Two Realities of a Single Visit There is the official reality: an international visit, negotiations, infrastructure projects and economic cooperation. And then there is the reality experienced by ordinary people: disrupted internet access, non-functioning VPNs, difficulties accessing banking services, increased police controls and restrictions on everyday life. State media report extensively on the activities of the country’s leadership. Yet citizens have virtually no opportunity to publicly ask: Why should our normal lives be disrupted simply because you are visiting our region? This question goes far beyond a single trip to Mary Region. It concerns the very nature of the relationship between the state and the individual. In a democratic state, the security of public officials should be ensured by professional security services—not by treating the population as a potential threat or restricting the basic freedoms and everyday activities of thousands of people. A Government Afraid of Information The reported internet shutdown is particularly symbolic. Internet access is not a luxury. Today, people use it to communicate with relatives, obtain information, work, study, make payments and seek assistance. When connectivity is restricted not because of a technical failure but, as reported, in connection with the visit of a senior official, the issue becomes one of citizens’ access to information and freedom of expression. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers. The issue, therefore, is far more serious than several hours of inconvenience. Why should the presence of a state leader be accompanied by fewer freedoms for the people? The State Exists for Its Citizens — Citizens Do Not Exist for Official Motorcades Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this situation is the gradual normalization of extraordinary restrictions. People already know that when a senior official is expected, roads may be closed, inspections intensified, vehicles ordered to be removed, internet access restricted and additional prohibitions imposed. But such practices must not become normal. People should not have to reorganize their daily lives simply because a government official is expected to travel along a nearby road. A public official is not the owner of the state. A public official is supposed to serve society. And the higher the position, the greater the responsibility toward citizens—not the other way around. We therefore ask the authorities of Turkmenistan a simple question: Who are you afraid of? Your own citizens? Their questions? Their phones? A free and accessible internet? Or the moment when people’s real lives become visible without the filters of state television? The genuine security of a state does not begin with internet shutdowns and restrictions imposed on the population. It begins with trust. And trust cannot be built through prohibitions. The Human Rights Platform of the Dayanç / Turkmenistan Civil Movement calls on the authorities of Turkmenistan to end the practice of unjustified restrictions on communications and the daily lives of citizens during visits by public officials, to ensure people’s freedom to access and exchange information, and to remember a fundamental principle of governance: The people do not exist to serve the government — the government exists to serve the people. Source for factual information concerning the situation in Mary Region: Radio Azatlyk, August 11, 2026. Reports concerning the restrictions are attributed to Radio Azatlyk and the local residents and sources cited by the outlet.