In Turkmenistan, Internet access is minimized
Since about the 20th of July in Turkmenistan, there has been a significant deterioration in the Internet, and the previously available tools to bypass blocking “objectionable” sites (VPN servers) do not work or connect half the time, Turkmen.news reports.
The deterioration of communications coincided with rumors of the death of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. Users note that it was at this time that most VPN servers, including lesser known ones, stopped working.
“People are massively trying to visit YouTube to watch videos containing information about the president’s death, to read news on independent resources and on social networks,” a source in Ashgabat said. “However, few people manage to find a working VPN. Everything is blocked.”
Even the holding of the first Caspian Economic Forum on August 11-12 did not force the authorities to “loosen the bridle” and make the Internet more accessible. Neither in Ashgabat, nor in Turkmenbashi, namely the event was held there, there was no normal connection.
“What kind of economic development can Turkmenistan be talking about if the authorities deprive businessmen, entrepreneurs and their potential customers of the elementary thing of establishing mutual contacts and subsequent partnership?” asks the observer from Turkmen.news in Turkmenbashi.
Recall that at the beginning of July, the Swedish non-governmental organization Qurium, which provides digital security services to independent media in repressive countries, published the results of a study on blocking online resources in Turkmenistan. Specialists found that “Turkmentelecom” is the only Internet provider in the country, blocking dozens of foreign media sites, social networks and other services using DNS server spoofing, IP address blocking, and HTTP host header verification.
