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> The government denies the claims, saying people are willingly attending special “vocational schools” which combat “terrorism and religious extremism”.

This is from the opening lines of the article. Every excuse the government provides seems to provide is similarly transparent. Roads close because they've "melted". Filming is not allowed, because of "military exercises". I don't know who they think they're fooling.

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It's not meant to fool you. It's meant to make it harder to object and report on. If they say, "you can't go there," that opens avenues of progress. You can say "great, show me the rule" or write a story about how the military forbid them from going to see. But if "the road melted," you can only comply or accuse them of being liars, and you can only write a story that says "their excuse was dubious." It also allows the reporter a face-saving out if they wish to take it. Nobody ever believes there is a melted road or is meant to believe it.

You assume a level of intelligence on the part of these government operatives that just isn't there.

They're just saying anything at all. Their orders did not include what to tell reporters (and if those orders did, they didn't bother to read them)

It's feed for the trough for people who already want to believe.

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