EurasiaNet Civil Society - Turkmenistan: Drama Envelops Operations of New Television Channel

CIVIL SOCIETY

TURKMENISTAN: DRAMA ENVELOPS OPERATIONS OF NEW TELEVISION CHANNEL
1/07/09

A row has broken out at Turkmenistan’s newest television channel concerning lip-synching and a purported dress-code for female performers.

Reporting on a meeting held Ashgabat on January 4, TurkmenInform says the debate quickly became heated with singers and students accusing executives of the new channel, Turkmen Ovazi (Turkmen Melodies) of employing double standards for female performers.

According to the report, male performers are allowed rehearse in western-style clothes but female performers have been ordered to wear traditional Turkmen dress. TurkmenInform characterized the discrepancy as "strange."

"This politics of double standards shouldn’t be the country’s face, which has just turned to democracy, considering that national costume was always very important in Turkmenistan," the report commented.

Meeting participants also voiced complaints about lip-synching, which some contended was a common practice "despite repeated demands from the top" for it to stop. The report also cited meeting attendees as calling for "not very talented" singers to be replaced with instrumental interludes.

Turkmen Ovazi, which operates a 24-hour schedule, made its debut on January 1. The channel’s stated mission is to promote Turkmenistan’s musical and cultural heritage.

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