Groups Urge USCIRF To Designate Turkmenistan

A coalition of non-governmental organizations on Wednesday wrote Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, asking her to designate Turkmenistan as a "country of particular concern" this year under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. The full text of the letter has been published by Human Rights Watch. The groups contend: "The state no longer simply controls religion; it is actively trying to eliminate even state-controlled religions in order to establish a new religion based on the personality of the president." Turkmenistan is already on the Watch List of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.