Thousands of Turkmen officials in tracksuits on their two wheels ... International Bike Day, decreed by the United Nations on the proposal of Turkmenistan in 2018, was marked Wednesday by a large crowd of officials in tracksuits following on their bicycles President Gourbangouly Berdymoukhamedov for a walk through the capital, Achkhabad.
According to state television, the parade brought together 7,500 people in the capital, while other events took place in the regions.
Turkmenistan, one of the most closed countries in the world, is officially spared from the Covid-19 pandemic and has not taken any measures of restrictions, celebrating on the contrary the significant days of the calendar with the usual splendor. The ceremony was held without participants wearing a mask, but the foreign diplomats present were forced to coat their hands with disinfectant.
"Our goal is the well-being of the people"
Gourbangouly Berdymoukhamedov, 62, unveiled a sculpture more than 30 meters high in tribute to cycling, which has become an important component of state propaganda in Turkmenistan, which promotes a healthy lifestyle.
During the ceremony, Gourbangouly Berdymoukhamedov thus insisted on the bicycle as "an ecological transport model […] contributing to the improvement of human health". "Our goal is the well-being of the people, a healthy society and the harmonious physical and spiritual development of all generations," he said with applause. The statue includes golden figurines of cyclists encircling a giant map of Turkmenistan.
Gourbangouly Berdymoukhamedov regularly stages himself on television, doing or giving sports lessons, or as a DJ making music with his grandson.
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No form of opposition is tolerated in this ex-Soviet republic rich in hydrocarbons. Saparmyrat Nyýazow, the predecessor of the current president, who died in 2006, had established a delusional cult of his personality.
