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MEDIA SITUATION REMAINS APPALLING IN MOST CIS COUNTRIES, EXPERTS SAY
Jean-Christophe Peuch
EurasiaNet
March 5 2008
NY
The ongoing effort by Armenia's government to dam the free flow of
information during the country's state of emergency fits nicely into
a distressing pattern concerning press freedom in CIS states. Far
from thriving, independent media outlets in most CIS nations are
struggling merely to keep operating.
Independent-minded journalists and media outlets often face adversity
and retribution if they strive to fill a traditional watchdog role.
In Azerbaijan, for example, a Baku district court on January
18 sentenced Avaz Zeynalli, the editor in chief of the "Xural"
newspaper, to 18 months of corrective labor and a hefty fine on
charges of defaming the director of a state-owned publishing house
in a series of critical articles.
A few days later, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ) reported that Uzeyir Cafarov, a journalist for Azerbaijan's
"Baki Zaman" (Baku Time) daily had received numerous death threats
from anonymous callers after he had written critical reports on the
army and Defense Ministry.
More recently in Kazakhstan, an Astana court ordered February 14 the
closure of the Zakon i Pravosudiye (Law and Justice) weekly, alleging
that mistakes had been made during its registration. Staffers insist
the court ruling is merely a pretext for muzzling an independent
media outlet known for its investigative reports on corruption.
Oleg Panfilov is the director of the Center for Journalism in
Extreme Situations, a Moscow-based media watchdog that specializes
in monitoring and protecting the rights of journalists across the CIS.
In his view, the media environment in most of post-Soviet countries
-- including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Central Asia, and Russia -- can be
described as "appalling."
By contrast, Georgia has expunged its criminal code of repressive
articles traditionally used against journalists. Yet, the Russian
rights activist says that even there the situation "is not ideal."
"Many post-Soviet countries are following Russia's example, as if they
were competing among each other to create the worst possible conditions
for independent journalism," Panfilov told a roundtable discussion
organized in late February in Vienna by the OSCE's Representative
on Freedom of the Media, Milkos Haraszti, to commemorate the tenth
anniversary of his tenure.
In Panfilov's view, independent journalism in Belarus and Uzbekistan
now faces "total disappearance," while in Turkmenistan there are
still no indications that the economic liberalization initiated by
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov will allow for even partially
independent media outlets to emerge. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive].
In Tajikistan, media outlets remain "economically very weak" and,
therefore, vulnerable to official pressure. According to Panfilov,
President Imomali Rahmon's administration in Dushanbe "is unwilling
to allow competitors [to] challenge state propaganda."
Media conditions in Kazakhstan, a country where the influx of energy
wealth is helping to create a middle class, have deteriorated in
recent years. Most major media holdings are now either in the hands
of the state, or are controlled by close friends and relatives of
President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Following the fall into disgrace of Nazarbayev's now former son-in-law
Rakhat Aliyev, the latter's extensive media holdings -- including
the Kazakhstan Today news agency, the Karavan newspaper, and the KTK
television channel -- were transferred to the state. The new holding
is now headed by Nazarbayev's former spokesman Zhanai Omarov.
Kazakh authorities in 2007 temporarily shut down several
opposition-leaning websites for publishing documents pertaining to
the Aliyev-Nazarbayev feud, and the government is now striving to
finalize plans to put domestic Internet content under strict control.
"The government wants to be an active player in Internet technologies
from a content perspective. We must offer [users] content,"
Kazakhstan's State Computerization and Communications Agency head
Kuanyshbek Yesekeyev said in December.
Post-Soviet governments are particularly adept at putting financial
pressure on independent media outlets.
Addressing the OSCE roundtable discussion, Council of Europe Human
Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg mentioned Azerbaijan, where
he said businessmen are being advised to not place advertisements in
newspapers that are critical of authorities.
Another favored weapon of post-Soviet governments is the denial of
frequencies, or the revocation of licenses to independent radio and
television broadcasters -- a practice that is common in Azerbaijan
and Tajikistan, among others.
Yet it is physical violence that poses perhaps the greatest threat
to independent journalists.
According to the Almaty-based Adil Soz media watchdog, three
independent Kazakh journalists -- Yernazar Ibrayev, Tolegen
Kibatov and Ilyas Gafurov -- were murdered in 2007 under mysterious
circumstances. Another 10 reporters were physically assaulted and
Zakon i Pravosudiye corruption expert Oralgaisha Zhabagtaikyzy has
been missing for almost a year.
In neighboring Kyrgyzstan, ethnic Uzbek journalist Alisher Saipov
was gunned down in the southern city of Osh in October 2007, in what
observers believe was a politically motivated act. The Brussels-based
International Crisis Group think tank says it suspects Tashkent
of involvement in the murder. A member of Uzbekistan's exiled Erk
opposition party, Saipov was the editor in chief of the "Siyosat"
(Politics) weekly. The Kyrgyz government suggests the journalist
may have been killed because of his alleged involvement with banned
radical Islamic groups and has stopped investigating the case. CPJ and
other international media watchdogs remain skeptical of the Islamic
radical-connection claim, and demand that the official probe resume.
Whether there is a link between Saipov's assassination and Uzbekistan's
December 23 presidential ballot is unclear. Yet, as a rule, the number
of attacks on independent and opposition media in the former Soviet
Union tends to increase around elections.
In Georgia, for instance, Georgian security forces in November raided
the headquarters of the opposition Imedi TV amid a general crackdown on
opposition protesters, ransacking the premises, and ordering all staff
out of the building. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Panfilov told the OSCE media panel that in Armenia more than 10
journalists were physically assaulted during the months preceding
the February 19 presidential polls. He said similar incidents took
place in Kyrgyzstan prior to the December 16 legislative ballot.
Firdevs Robinson, editor of the BBC World Service's Central Asia
and Caucasus Service, in turn noted that with presidential elections
approaching in Azerbaijan "there seems to be less and less room for
dissenting voices."
On December 28, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pardoned five of
eight opposition journalists convicted under criminal charges described
as politically motivated by human rights groups. The three who remain
in jail -- Qanimat and Mirza Sakit Zahidov of the Azadliq (Freedom)
daily and Eynulla Fatullayev, editor in chief of Realny Azerbaijan
(Real Azerbaijan) and Gundalik Azarbaycan (Daily Azerbaijan) -- were
joined by "Bizim Yol" (Our Path) daily reporter Musfiq Huseynov,
who was handed a six-year jail sentence on bribery charges in January.
The OSCE's Haraszti told a December 13 hearing of the United States
Commission on Cooperation and Security in Europe that the moratorium on
the criminalization of journalists Aliyev had declared in 2004 seemed
to be no longer in force. In addition, he said "critically-minded
reporters" were now being sentenced for alleged criminal offences
unrelated to their professional activities, such as hooliganism,
or possession of drugs.
Criminalization of journalists -- which is also a common practice
in Kazakhstan -- can only encourage rampant violence against
representatives of the media and must therefore be banned, Haraszti
said during the OSCE panel discussion.
Editor's Note: Jean-Christophe Peuch is a Vienna-based freelance
correspondent, who specializes in Caucasus- and Central Asia-related
developments.
Jean-Christophe Peuch
EurasiaNet
March 5 2008
NY
The ongoing effort by Armenia's government to dam the free flow of
information during the country's state of emergency fits nicely into
a distressing pattern concerning press freedom in CIS states. Far
from thriving, independent media outlets in most CIS nations are
struggling merely to keep operating.
Independent-minded journalists and media outlets often face adversity
and retribution if they strive to fill a traditional watchdog role.
In Azerbaijan, for example, a Baku district court on January
18 sentenced Avaz Zeynalli, the editor in chief of the "Xural"
newspaper, to 18 months of corrective labor and a hefty fine on
charges of defaming the director of a state-owned publishing house
in a series of critical articles.
A few days later, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ) reported that Uzeyir Cafarov, a journalist for Azerbaijan's
"Baki Zaman" (Baku Time) daily had received numerous death threats
from anonymous callers after he had written critical reports on the
army and Defense Ministry.
More recently in Kazakhstan, an Astana court ordered February 14 the
closure of the Zakon i Pravosudiye (Law and Justice) weekly, alleging
that mistakes had been made during its registration. Staffers insist
the court ruling is merely a pretext for muzzling an independent
media outlet known for its investigative reports on corruption.
Oleg Panfilov is the director of the Center for Journalism in
Extreme Situations, a Moscow-based media watchdog that specializes
in monitoring and protecting the rights of journalists across the CIS.
In his view, the media environment in most of post-Soviet countries
-- including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Central Asia, and Russia -- can be
described as "appalling."
By contrast, Georgia has expunged its criminal code of repressive
articles traditionally used against journalists. Yet, the Russian
rights activist says that even there the situation "is not ideal."
"Many post-Soviet countries are following Russia's example, as if they
were competing among each other to create the worst possible conditions
for independent journalism," Panfilov told a roundtable discussion
organized in late February in Vienna by the OSCE's Representative
on Freedom of the Media, Milkos Haraszti, to commemorate the tenth
anniversary of his tenure.
In Panfilov's view, independent journalism in Belarus and Uzbekistan
now faces "total disappearance," while in Turkmenistan there are
still no indications that the economic liberalization initiated by
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov will allow for even partially
independent media outlets to emerge. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive].
In Tajikistan, media outlets remain "economically very weak" and,
therefore, vulnerable to official pressure. According to Panfilov,
President Imomali Rahmon's administration in Dushanbe "is unwilling
to allow competitors [to] challenge state propaganda."
Media conditions in Kazakhstan, a country where the influx of energy
wealth is helping to create a middle class, have deteriorated in
recent years. Most major media holdings are now either in the hands
of the state, or are controlled by close friends and relatives of
President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Following the fall into disgrace of Nazarbayev's now former son-in-law
Rakhat Aliyev, the latter's extensive media holdings -- including
the Kazakhstan Today news agency, the Karavan newspaper, and the KTK
television channel -- were transferred to the state. The new holding
is now headed by Nazarbayev's former spokesman Zhanai Omarov.
Kazakh authorities in 2007 temporarily shut down several
opposition-leaning websites for publishing documents pertaining to
the Aliyev-Nazarbayev feud, and the government is now striving to
finalize plans to put domestic Internet content under strict control.
"The government wants to be an active player in Internet technologies
from a content perspective. We must offer [users] content,"
Kazakhstan's State Computerization and Communications Agency head
Kuanyshbek Yesekeyev said in December.
Post-Soviet governments are particularly adept at putting financial
pressure on independent media outlets.
Addressing the OSCE roundtable discussion, Council of Europe Human
Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg mentioned Azerbaijan, where
he said businessmen are being advised to not place advertisements in
newspapers that are critical of authorities.
Another favored weapon of post-Soviet governments is the denial of
frequencies, or the revocation of licenses to independent radio and
television broadcasters -- a practice that is common in Azerbaijan
and Tajikistan, among others.
Yet it is physical violence that poses perhaps the greatest threat
to independent journalists.
According to the Almaty-based Adil Soz media watchdog, three
independent Kazakh journalists -- Yernazar Ibrayev, Tolegen
Kibatov and Ilyas Gafurov -- were murdered in 2007 under mysterious
circumstances. Another 10 reporters were physically assaulted and
Zakon i Pravosudiye corruption expert Oralgaisha Zhabagtaikyzy has
been missing for almost a year.
In neighboring Kyrgyzstan, ethnic Uzbek journalist Alisher Saipov
was gunned down in the southern city of Osh in October 2007, in what
observers believe was a politically motivated act. The Brussels-based
International Crisis Group think tank says it suspects Tashkent
of involvement in the murder. A member of Uzbekistan's exiled Erk
opposition party, Saipov was the editor in chief of the "Siyosat"
(Politics) weekly. The Kyrgyz government suggests the journalist
may have been killed because of his alleged involvement with banned
radical Islamic groups and has stopped investigating the case. CPJ and
other international media watchdogs remain skeptical of the Islamic
radical-connection claim, and demand that the official probe resume.
Whether there is a link between Saipov's assassination and Uzbekistan's
December 23 presidential ballot is unclear. Yet, as a rule, the number
of attacks on independent and opposition media in the former Soviet
Union tends to increase around elections.
In Georgia, for instance, Georgian security forces in November raided
the headquarters of the opposition Imedi TV amid a general crackdown on
opposition protesters, ransacking the premises, and ordering all staff
out of the building. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Panfilov told the OSCE media panel that in Armenia more than 10
journalists were physically assaulted during the months preceding
the February 19 presidential polls. He said similar incidents took
place in Kyrgyzstan prior to the December 16 legislative ballot.
Firdevs Robinson, editor of the BBC World Service's Central Asia
and Caucasus Service, in turn noted that with presidential elections
approaching in Azerbaijan "there seems to be less and less room for
dissenting voices."
On December 28, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pardoned five of
eight opposition journalists convicted under criminal charges described
as politically motivated by human rights groups. The three who remain
in jail -- Qanimat and Mirza Sakit Zahidov of the Azadliq (Freedom)
daily and Eynulla Fatullayev, editor in chief of Realny Azerbaijan
(Real Azerbaijan) and Gundalik Azarbaycan (Daily Azerbaijan) -- were
joined by "Bizim Yol" (Our Path) daily reporter Musfiq Huseynov,
who was handed a six-year jail sentence on bribery charges in January.
The OSCE's Haraszti told a December 13 hearing of the United States
Commission on Cooperation and Security in Europe that the moratorium on
the criminalization of journalists Aliyev had declared in 2004 seemed
to be no longer in force. In addition, he said "critically-minded
reporters" were now being sentenced for alleged criminal offences
unrelated to their professional activities, such as hooliganism,
or possession of drugs.
Criminalization of journalists -- which is also a common practice
in Kazakhstan -- can only encourage rampant violence against
representatives of the media and must therefore be banned, Haraszti
said during the OSCE panel discussion.
Editor's Note: Jean-Christophe Peuch is a Vienna-based freelance
correspondent, who specializes in Caucasus- and Central Asia-related
developments.