Day 21
Turkmenistan
Seven months have passed since the rigged elections, which resulted in the predictable win of the former president’s son. Recently, the ODIHR, an election monitoring body of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, released a report stating that the election did not meet the requirements of a free and fair election. However, despite this report, no action has been taken by the international community to address the issue. It seems that nobody is willing to take steps to change the situation in this oppressive regime. We hope and pray that God will intervene and bring change in this land. We also pray that the Church will keep growing despite the spiritual and real opposition. (The Bible, 1 Thessalonians 2:2).
Turkmenistan is an arid Central Asian country. The regime is a dictatorial authoritarian government. The country is mineral-rich with Russian and Chinese trading partners. Of late, Italy and Turkey became their biggest defense suppliers. Despite the prosperous trading, the people faced food shortages. All critics of the government face different levels of intimidation. Bloggers, Podcasters, Independent Online Press, and Social Workers are vulnerable to government-sponsored disappearances. Freedom of religion is non-existent except on paper. Christians face severe persecution in Turkmenistan. Only two denominations are legal, and even their activities face excessive scrutiny.
