Turkmen leader tightens controls after unrest in Kazakhstan

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) — The autocratic leader of Turkmenistan has ordered his government to tighten controls over the ex-Soviet Central Asian country in the wake of massive protests in neighboring Kazakhstan. Speaking Thursday in televised remarks, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov told officials to “expose and restrict (online) resources that spread false information and damage the country’s constitutional order.” He also ordered local authorities to tighten oversight of internal migration flows and make sure that they register all those who move from one region to another. Berdymukhamedov, 64, has ruled the gas-rich desert country since 2006 through an all-encompassing personality cult. His statement follows massive protests that rocked the neighboring ex-Soviet nation of Kazakhstan this month.