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  • Watchdog groups critical of media conditions in Cen. Asia, Caucasus

    Eurasianet Organization
    4 May 2004

    WATCHDOG GROUPS CRITICAL OF MEDIA CONDITIONS IN CENTRAL ASIA,
    CAUCASUS
    5/04/04

    Two media monitoring groups have singled out Central Asia as having
    one of the most hostile working environments for journalists in the
    world. Media observers also noted that journalists in the Caucasus
    countries of Armenia and Azerbaijan experienced an increasing level
    of harassment in recent months.

    The Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders (RWB) and the New
    York-headquartered Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) both cited
    Turkmenistan as Central Asia's most repressive nation, where the
    totalitarian system built by Turkmen leader Saparmarat Niyazov has
    stifled free speech. "The regime controlled all written and broadcast
    media and also did everything it could to block news from the outside
    world by banning foreign newspapers and blocking access to Internet
    websites," Reporters Without Borders said in its 2004 Annual Report,
    which was issued May 3 to coincide with World Press Freedom Day.

    Meanwhile, CPJ detailed Turkmen government persecution of freelance
    journalists working for US government-financed Radio Free Euope/Radio
    Liberty, one of the few independent media outlets that operates in
    Turkmenistan. "In September 2003, National Security Service agents
    detained a RFE/RL stringer in the capital Ashgabat for two days,
    threatened him with 20 years in prison for betraying his country, and
    injected him multiple times with an unknown substance," CPJ said in a
    May 3 statement. The group added that Turkmen authorities arrested
    two RFE/RL freelancers in February 2004 after one was caught
    attempting to smuggle 800 copies of his banned novel. The freelancers
    are face charges of inciting social, ethnic and religious hatred.

    Media watchers say Uzbekistan, which was the scene of militant
    attacks in late March, also tightly controls the press. "Censorship
    was officially abolished in 2002, but the media was still being
    censored in 2003 and no criticism of President Islam Karimov and his
    policies was allowed," the RWB Annual Report said. Uzbek media
    coverage of the recent violence in Tashkent and Bukhara underscored
    the government's heavy-handed control of free speech. State-run media
    largely avoided coverage of the attacks, while Uzbek officials
    castigated those foreign media outlets and independent journalists
    who challenged the official view of events. [For additional
    information see the Eurasia Insight archive].

    In public comments May 2, Britain's ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig
    Murray, offered a scathing assessment of Uzbekistan's media
    conditions. Murray assailed the government for its censorship
    practices, and criticized journalists for being "tame and useless"
    and for not working harder to overcome official restrictions.

    "It is not that journalists cannot do their job, it is that they will
    not do their job. It is time they start it," Murray said. "Uzbek
    journalists are rather parasitical people who do not publish any
    truth, don't seek the truth, don't try to publish it and really they
    are a disgrace to their profession."

    Press conditions are comparatively better in other Central Asian
    states. Yet the governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
    have all taken action to restrict independent media, RWB said.

    In Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbayev recently drew praise
    for refusing to sign a restrictive media bill into law. [For
    additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. At the same
    time, media rights groups remain critical of the Kazakhstani
    government for its harassment of prominent opposition journalists, in
    particular Sergei Duvanov. [For additional information see the
    Eurasia Insight archive].

    According to RWB, Kyrgyzstan damaged its reputation for having
    Central Asia's freest media by approving constitutional amendments in
    early 2003 that impose "further curbs on press freedom." The RWB
    Annual Report also criticized the Kyrgyz government for forcing Maya
    Stolitsa, a leading opposition newspaper, out of business. On the
    positive side, the report expressed hope that a new US-financed
    printing press would facilitate the publication of independent
    newspapers and periodicals. [For background see the Eurasia Insight
    archive].

    In Tajikistan, President Imomali Rahmonov recently proposed
    substantial tax breaks to stimulate print media development. However,
    Tajik broadcast outlets, which enjoy far greater audiences than do
    newspapers and periodicals, would not be eligible for the tax breaks.
    [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Despite
    Rahmonov's recent support for press independence, the RWB report said
    the Tajik government "continued their extensive harassment of
    independent newspapers and refused to issue operating licenses to
    privately-owned TV and radio stations."

    The Caucasus has also witnessed a fair share of media harassment.
    Observers say politically-related violence in Armenia and Azerbaijan
    has prompted authorities in both countries to crack down on its
    critics.

    Robert Kocharian's administration in Armenia has come under growing
    pressure from his political opponents, who maintain the country's
    presidential and parliamentary elections in 2003 were rigged. [For
    background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. In April, authorities
    used force to break up opposition protests in Yerevan, with riot
    police apparently targeting journalists for beatings. [For additional
    information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. On April 30, an ad hoc
    group calling itself In Protection of Journalists appealed to the
    government to stop harassing media representatives, the Arminfo news
    agency reported. "It is not known why violence against journalists is
    continuing and does not get authorities' adequate assessment," the
    group said in a written statement.

    Azerbaijan has long presented independent journalists with difficult
    working conditions. Since the disputed October 2003 presidential
    election, President Ilham Aliyev has maintained considerable pressure
    on opposition-allied media outlets. [For additional information see
    the Eurasia Insight archive]. "The hoped-for wave of reform after
    Ilham Aliev, son of longtime leader Heidar Aliev, became president
    ... did not come," the RWB report said. "Opposition media remained
    under broad pressure, there was no diversity in broadcasting and the
    regime did not fulfill its international commitments."

    Meanwhile, Georgia received a mildly favorable review from RWB, which
    noted that the coming to power of President Mikheil Saakashvili's
    administration in January "raised fresh hopes" that the development
    of independent media would accelerate.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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