In most nations, information about the coronavirus is seen as vital to saving lives.
Not in Turkmenistan, one of the world’s most closed countries. There, the government has banned the word “coronavirus” from the Turkmen vocabulary in a move to suppress all information about the pandemic, the watchdog group Reporters Without Borders said in a statement Tuesday.
And that is placing its citizens in danger, the group said.
The state-controlled media in the autocratic nation, which borders Iran, is prohibited from using the word. You can no longer find “coronavirus” in health information brochures that have been distributed to hospitals, workplaces and schools, according to the Turkmenistan Chronicle, one of the few independent news outlets, whose website is blocked inside the country.
And what happens to Turkmenistan residents who decide to wear face masks or chat with their friends about the virus on the street or at bus stops? They could be arrested, according to local journalists who spoke with Reporters Without Borders. [WaPo]
And I’m not even sure why.
