Ashgabat, Turkmenistan - Members of a U.S. governmental commission say their recent visit to Turkmenistan shows signs of improvement in the country's religious freedom, but that many concerns remain.
The visit by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to the tightly controlled ex-Soviet republic ended Friday. That same day, President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov ordered the creation of a national commission on observing international human rights norms, Turkmen state media reported.
Berdymukhamedov came to power last year after the death of Saparmurat Niyazov, who ruled Turkmenistan for more than two decades in an all-encompassing personality cult. Under Niyazov, authorities put tight restrictions on the country's two authorized religions — Sunni Islam and Orthodox Christianity — and were widely criticized abroad for cracking down on other religious creeds.
Berdymukhamedov has shown signs of slowly easing the authoritarianism of the Niyazov era, but the country remains a one-party state with no independent news media.
"There are some encouraging signs, but there is still a long way to go," U.S. commission member Donald Argue said in a statement released by the U.S. Embassy.
Commission members met with representatives of Turkmenistan's minority religions "and were concerned by the testimonials we heard," commission head Michael Cromartie said in the statement. "Our meetings with government officials have been constructive, and we hope their commitment to progress is genuine."