Every now and then, Central Asia’s leaders break with official silence on the topic of the Internet to hint at its significance and pledge to improve public access to it.

And indeed, more city-dwellers are getting online all over the region, where Internet cafes have become a booming business and many schools and offices provide free connection to the World Wide Web.
But beneath the surface, the situation is arguably different: Internet cafes are subject to regular inspections by security officials, getting an Internet connection at home requires authorization, and independent news, civil-society, and opposition websites are blocked.
When the Tajik parliament introduced recent legislation criminalizing libel and other forms of defamation on the Internet, some media rights groups criticized the bill as an effort to hinder the free flow of information.

ISPs In Tow
Article 19, a London-based group that campaigns for freedom of speech worldwide, argued that no other country in the world includes such a specific provision for Internet postings.
Nuriddin Qarshiboev, who heads the National Association for Independent Media in Tajikistan, accuses the Tajik government — which has a history of strictures on independent media — of trying to extend its grip over online media.

«Since the Tajik governmental authorities are unable to close down an Internet website, they are now trying to restrict Internet freedom through technical means — and they want Internet [service] providers to help them in dealing with the issue,» Qarshiboev says.
Tajik authorities have blocked a number of antigovernment news websites in the past.

Tajikistan and other post-Soviet governments in Central Asia — particularly Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan — employ a range of methods to restrict public access to the Internet.

In Uzbekistan, most Internet service providers (ISPs) operate under government control. They have blocked opposition and rights groups’ websites, as well as regional and international news sources that cover events in Uzbekistan. Websites like centrasia.ru, fergana.ru, and RFE/RL and BBC news sites have been «filtered» to prevent Uzbeks from seeing them.

Cafes, Too
An Internet cafe owner in Tashkent, who did not want to give his name, tells RFE/RL that officials regularly come to his cafe to monitor which websites customers are using.

«Yes, they check us regularly. Inspections take place here,» he says. «There is an information inspection body that operates under [national telecommunications operator] Uzbektelecom. They usually come in and check us.»
He adds that many Internet cafe owners are required to put up signs warning that «access to pornographic and political websites is prohibited.»

Mahina, a 21-year-old student in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, says she goes to Internet cafes to read up on the news that is otherwise unavailable.

«Mostly, I read Radio Ozodi [RFE/RL’s Tajik Service] and BBC news websites in Tajik, as well as Asia-Plus, Varorud, and avesto.tj news agencies,» Mahina says. «I look for news that we can’t find on Tajik television.»

Mahina says she must surf through those web pages «as quickly as possible» because of the high price of the connection for students like her.

Surfing In Uzbekistan
Apart from what are officially regarded as «pornographic and political» sites — a catchall that is used to block non-state news outlets — the Internet is expanding in Uzbekistan.

The number of Uzbek ISPs has grown from 25 in 1999 to 539, according to the latest available figures, from 2005, according to Open Net Initiative. Still, official Uzbek statistics suggest that just 1.2 million of the country’s 27 million people has access to the Internet.

There are increasingly Internet cafes offering inexpensive connections to the net. The Tashkent Internet cafe owner we quoted earlier says the going rate — equivalent to about $0.50 per hour — is affordable for many Uzbeks.
Same Old Turkmenistan?

In Turkmenistan, it is a different story. The late strongman president, Saparmurat Niyazov, kept his impoverished public as hermetically sealed as possible. No Internet connections at home — with even the handful of people who received official permission for it in the 1990s later banned from using the web.

The new president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, famously vowed to open the
Internet up to his people.

But even under his tentative reforms, the cost of using the Internet is prohibitively high. In a country with an average salary of about $70 per month, the several Internet cafes that have opened charge around $4 per hour.
When he officially succeeded Niyazov in February, Berdymukhammedov pledged an immediate improvement in access to the Internet: «Starting from today,

Internet cafes will be opened in Ashgabat and other cities. We are working on a program that gives every school and university access to the Internet.»
Six months on, there appear to have been few changes. All opposition, human rights, and independent news websites are still blocked by the authorities. All ISPs are said to be closely controlled by the government.

Getting authorization for a household Internet connection is out of reach for most, with thorough checks by the National Security Ministry.
Limited Option

In Tajikistan, officials put the number of active Internet users at an improbably high 500,000, which would represent one in 12 citizens.
Tajikistan’s unreliable electricity supplies present a major challenge for would-be web users, with power available in many places limited to a few early-morning and late-evening hours.

The same problem exists in many provinces of neighboring Uzbekistan.
While there is Internet growth all over Central Asia, the number of the net users still remains low relative to more developed places.

Out Of Reach
Only a tiny minority of people in Central Asia — mostly urbanites — have home computers. Where possible, those others access the Internet in offices or cafes, schools or universities. Some international organizations, like the Organizations for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), have opened special press centers in the region where journalists get free Internet access. In several Turkmen cities, U.S. cultural centers offer free Web connections.

More recently, the Internet is reaching some remote areas, too. But in the most Central Asian villages, the Internet is practically nonexistent.
Internet cafes are gaining popularity primarily in cities and on the outskirts of capitals.

Owners say that Internet cafe customers are mostly teenagers, usually playing online games or chatting on the web. Some come to use e-mail.
Editor’s Note: (RFE/RL’s Tajik, Turkmen, and Uzbek services contributed to this report)

Posted July 27, 2007 © Eurasianet

Источник: http://www.eurasianet.org

Licensing commission under the Tajik TV and Radio Broadcasting Committee has exhausted its resources and must be reorganized, Chairman of the National Association of Tajikistan’s Media (NANSMIT) Nuriddin Karshiboev said at a conference on improvement of licensing procedures.

He cited “non-transparent activity of the licensing commission” main problem TV and radio companies face with.
A member of the licensing commission Barakatullo Abdulfaizov, on his turn, said the commission is open for all but in the majority of cases the commission has to deal with people who have little or no idea of how to fill documents.

“Competitors are not ready to comply with our requirements due to lack of professionalism,” he said. “Thus, only four of 25 competitors were professional journalists.”

Meanwhile, Executive Director of the Tajik Association of Independent Electronic Media (TajANESMI) Ms Hosiyat Cast said the commission impedes the licensing process due to biased approach to private TV and radio companies.
Mr Karshiboev, on his turn, suggested to set up an independent licensing body which would compose of representatives of all related structures, not only TV and Radio Broadcasting Committee.

Abdulfaizov rejected Karshiboev’s suggestion saying that the committee is ready to present all related documents connected with the activity of its commission.

“We are ready to present all documents connected with licensing process,” he said. “But I suggest to set up an independent commission that would examine the activity of the licensing commission. If any violation is found I will resign. Otherwise, I will file a lawsuit over violation of my moral rights.

J. Kadyrov Avesta News Agency

Источник: Avesta News Agency

Lake Sarez is a natural wonder of Tajikistan, containing 17 billion cubic meters of one of Central Asia’s scarcest commodities – water. Tajik leaders are now searching for a way to unlock the lake’s economic potential.

The lake was created in the early 20th century, when an earthquake touched off a massive landslide in the Bartang Valley in the Pamir Mountains, creating a natural dam across the Murgab River. The mass of soil and rock holding back the water was dubbed the Usoy Damn. The lake extends for over 60 kilometers and in some spots is over 500 meters deep.
In recent years, experts have grown increasingly concerned that the dam could give way, sparking a natural disaster with severe consequences for all of Central Asia. These days, the lake is the subject of intensive monitoring: data on even the slightest fluctuation in the water level, for example, is relayed immediately to central government officials in Dushanbe. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
A late May conference on Lake Sarez, held in Dushanbe, considered ways to minimize the risks of a natural disaster. While conditions at dam appear stable for now, some experts warn that the situation is capable of rapid change. «We have to keep in mind that it [the Usoy Dam] emerged as the result of a powerful earthquake,» said Col. Kadam Maskayev, a department head at the Tajik State Committee for Emergencies and Civil Defense. «[The dam] is situated in a seismically hazardous area, at an altitude of more than three thousand meters above sea level. We cannot underestimate the … dangers of Sarez.»
A $4.3-million program has been implemented with the worst-case scenario in mind. Under the initiative, food, water and medicine have been stockpiled in small warehouses in at-risk villages in the Bartang Valley. Thus, in the event of a dam burst, residents who survived the initial flood, would, in theory, have access to emergency supplies that could sustain them while they remained cut off from the outside world.
Some Tajik officials want to harness the existing risks, and turn them to the country’s advantage. To keep the water pressure against the dam at a stable level, some experts at the May conference proposed the construction of a safety-valve tunnel which could divert water into the Murghab River. Others proposed construction of a hydro-electric plant. A feasibility study suggests the combination of a safety-valve and power plant could cost almost $300 million, and would cause the lake level to drop roughly 50 meters.
Meanwhile, Tajik President Imomali Rahmon recently proposed an alternate idea, the construction of a water pipeline that would serve all of Central Asia. Calling his idea a «great humanitarian project,» he urged the creation of a consortium of Central Asian governments, which would then work with international development agencies to make the pipeline project a reality. «Giving water to thirsty people is considered to be the best deed in the true religion of Islam,» Rahmon said during an address to a joint session of parliament on April 30, when he unveiled the water pipeline initiative.
While experts in Dushanbe laud the president’s ambition, they generally believe the pipeline plan, under the present circumstances, is unrealistic. The main obstacle is inter-governmental differences over the use of water resources in the region. Officials have not yet come close to agreeing on a framework for the management of water resources. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Even if consensus could be reached on the practicality of building a Lake Sarez pipeline, myriad smaller obstacles would still stand in the way of construction.
«The joint use of Lake Sarez’s clear water resources is a marvelous idea. However; Tajikistan would hardly attract the [needed] investment,» said a Dushanbe economist, who spoke on condition of anonymity. «Moreover, the implementation of such ambitious intentions – apart from money and technical means – would require gigantic human resources.» The economist indicated that Tajikistan suffers from a lack of skilled workers needed to complete such an engineering task.
Building a safety-valve tunnel and a power plant near Lake Sarez might be an even longer shot than the water pipeline. The lack of a developed infrastructure in the area is almost a significant problem. The Usoy Dam is situated about 150 kilometers from the nearest city, Rushan, and much of the distance between the two can be traversed only with a four-wheel-drive vehicle. To build a road that could facilitate power-plant construction would be, in itself, prohibitively expensive, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars per kilometer, according to one estimate.

Editor’s Note: Konstantin Parshin is a freelance writer based in Tajikistan.
Posted July 2, 2007 © Eurasianet

Konstantin Parshin

Источник: http://www.eurasianet.org