Speaking at the opening of Turkmenistan\'s first paper mill on 21 May, President Niyazov insisted that no one in the country is persecuted or has been imprisoned because of his political convictions. He also told members of the diplomatic corps attending the opening ceremony in the village of Yashlyk, about 45 kilometers east of Ashgabat, that petty crime is almost nonexistent in Turkmenistan, and that all levels of the population, public organizations, trade unions, workers, and civil servants are united around one goal -- the protection of the homeland and its development. He cited the absence of serious crime such as murder and theft as proof that the lives of the people have improved. While Niyazov has made similar assertions on other occasions, this time his remarks, in combination with the removal the same day of his portraits in Ashgabat, indicates an unusual defensiveness in the normally self-assured Niyazov. (RFE/R)