In November 2011, the NANSMIT Monitoring Service received 21 reports. Seventeen of them describe the factual situation in the media in the light of socio-legal and political environment; three reports describe direct violations of rights of media professionals; and one report describes a conflict and accusations against the media and journalists.

I. POLITICAL, SOCIAL, ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL CLIMATE IN THE COUNTRY DEFINING THE FACTUAL SITUATION IN THE MEDIA

1. Public speeches and statements of superior officials defining the factual situation in the mass media

5 November
Emomali Rakhmon, President of Tajikistan, Dushanbe

Speaking at a meeting on the occasion of the 17-th anniversary of the national Constitution, the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rakhmon stressed the importance of the fundamental law guaranteeing rights and freedoms of citizens.

8 November
Shukurjon Zukhurov, chairman of the lower chamber of the Tajik parliament

Chairman of the lower chamber of the Tajik parliament noted that the introduction of changes and amendments in Tajikistan’s Criminal Code and the adoption of the law “On access to information” have improved the situation in the area of freedom of speech and expression. Zukhurov made this remark on 8 November speaking at the session of the parliament.

2. Actions of officials defining the factual situation in the media

2 November
Angelika Graf, Head of the human rights division, German Bundestag, Dushanbe

On 2 November, the delegation of the German Bundestag human rights committee met with representatives of the Tajik media organizations in Dushanbe. The meeting was one in a series of similar sessions with the civil society where German parliamentarians discuss the issues of freedom of speech and expression in order to develop a strategy to support the observation of human rights.

4 November
Abdurakhim Kakharov, Minister of Interior and Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE envoy of media freedom, Dushanbe

On 4 November, special representative of OSCE on media freedom Dunja Mijatovic met with the Tajik Minister of Interior Abdurakhim Kakharov.

The parties discussed the issues of freedom of speech and expression in Tajikistan.

According to the Interior Ministry press service, Ms. Mijatovic expressed concern over the frequent cases of persecution of journalists and the media by the Tajik law enforcement agencies.

The Interior Minister assured the OSCE envoy that the cases in question are not related to journalists’ professional activities; they are caused by other violations of law.

4 November
Khamrokhon Zarifi, Foreign Minister and Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE envoy of media freedom, Dushanbe

On 4 November, the special OSCE envoy of media freedom Dunja Mijatovic met with the Tajik Minister of Foreign Affairs Khamrokhon Zarifi.

The parties discussed the issues of cooperation in the area of support to mass media and improvements of Tajikistan’s media legislation.

Mr. Zarifi told the guest about the government’s commitment to the obligations assumed within the framework of OSCE treaties and agreements.

Ms. Mijatovic informed the Minister about the OSCE initiatives targeted to promotion of the freedom of expression and shared information about the perspectives of development between OSCE and Tajikistan in this area.

4 November
Olim Salimzoda, chairman of the Tajik parliament committee and Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE envoy of media freedom, Dushanbe

On 4 November, the special OSCE envoy of media freedom Dunja Mijatovic met with Olim Salimzoda, head of the Tajik parliament committee on international affairs, public organizations and information.

The parties discussed the issues of the freedom of speech and interactions between the parliament and the media.

The parliamentarian informed the guest about a working group created for discussion of the draft media law. This group closely cooperates with the Tajik media community.

10 November
Abdukhalil Rajabov, Council of Justice

Abdukhalil Rajabov, head of the court supervision unit under the Tajik Council of Justice told Asia Plus weekly on 2 November that by 2013 Tajikistan should have accomplished the process of humanization of its legislation. The process is implemented within the framework of the judicial reform for the period of 2011-2013 endorsed by the President’s decree in January 2011.

Rajabov noted that the new and amended legislation should contain new provisions decriminalizing a number of criminally punishable acts, i.e. redefining certain acts from criminal into administrative or disciplinary ones.

In other words, it is suggested to decrease the number of actions for which citizens bear criminal liability.

23 November
Kokhir Rasulzoda, head of the Sughd province administration, Khujand

On 23 November, the chairman of Sughd province Kokhir Rasulzoda met with the correspondent of the Nuri Zindagi weekly Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov who was convicted for his critical publications. Muhabbat Juraeva, Ismoilov’s lawyer was also invited to take part in the meeting.

According to Juraeva, the official asked questions about Ismoilov’s state of health, and offered assistance.

The head of the Sughd province administration promised to set up a special investigation commission to study the issue. The commission will be in charge of verifying the facts described in articles published by Ismoilov, particularly on illegal distribution of land plots.

2. Factual situation in the media and freedom of speech

2 November
Nuriddin Karshiboev, chairman, NANMSIT, Dushanbe

The chairman of the Tajik National Association of Independent Mass Media Nuriddin Karshiboev told representatives of the German Bundestag that there have not been any essential positive changes in the area of the freedom of expression in Tajikistan in the last 2-3 years.

Karshiboev noted the frequent cases of persecution of journalists for their professional activities by the Tajik law enforcement agencies. “The main reason is lack of tolerance among public officials to criticism. Very often, they see criticism as an attempt upon their power”, — he said.

Chairman of NANSMIT also expressed concern over the new draft media law. The document has been under discussion for more than a year, but no significant results have been received so far.

23 November
Nigokh weekly, Dushanbe

The Tajik private weekly Nigokh published an article titled “Does the Tajik TV have its own audience?”.

There are four state TV channels and more than 20 private television companies in Tajikistan. According to the State Broadcasting Committee, 90 percent of the population watches the state television; 70 percent of this audience resides in rural areas. Television is seen by the authorities as an important ideological tool.

However, many observers say that the Tajik official television has not undergone any significant changes ever since it was created in the 1950-s. Contemporary realities require new approaches, and the Tajik official broadcasting is far from perfect in this sense.

Nigokh indicates that – despite the statements of the Tajik Broadcasting Committee – the ordinary people in Tajikistan prefer watching foreign TV channels through satellite receivers.

4. Journalists protecting their civil and professional rights

21 November
All media, Dushanbe

ON 21 November, the Tajik National Association of Independent Mass Media, the Union of Journalists of Tajikistan and the Media Alliance of Tajikistan issued a joint statement calling the journalists to restrain from using the language of enmity and urging them to observe the principles of political correctness in their publications about labor migration and interethnic relations.

The statement says that this issue is very topical, especially in the light of the recent deportations of the Tajik labor migrants from Russia and the extreme politicization of the situation.

“Regrettably, the situation has gone out of the legal field; it is being discussed in the media and in social networks. Rude statements and extremist instigations are being made in posts and articles. All these lead to nationalistic and xenophobic moods in both the Russian and Tajik societies, which is for the benefit of destructive geopolitical players”, — the statement says.

24 November
All media, Dushanbe

On 24 November, the Union of Journalists of Tajikistan held a round table on the topic “Journalists and confidential sources of information – conflict of interests or imperfect legislation?”. The session was supported by the Internews Network office in Tajikistan under financial support of the US Agency on International Development (USAID).

The UJT executive secretary Pulod Nurov told NANSMIT that the issue of confidential sources of information is quite topical for Tajikistan, especially in the light of legal persecution of journalists and the media they work for. In the course of preliminary investigation, law enforcement agencies demand to reveal the source of information from editors and correspondents. Such actions are seen in the media community as an attempt to limit the legal right of non-disclosure. Many experts consider that the existing problems are caused by shortcomings in the national media legislation.

28 November
All media, Dushanbe

On 28 November, the Tajik-Russian Slavic University jointly with the Union of Journalists of Tajikistan and NANSMIT organized a conference “Problems of development of media policies in the CIS countries”.

Participants of the conference held in Dushanbe discussed the issues of freedom of speech in Tajikistan during the period of 2005-2011, opportunities for creation of universal educational standards to train journalists in the CIS countries, influence of the Russian media within the post-Soviet space, main functions of media professionals in forming public opinion, the online information war around the problem of the Roghun hydropower plant, and the problems of information security in Tajikistan.

30 November
All media, Dushanbe

On 29-30 November, media professionals discussed achievements in the area of freedom of speech in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan at the thirteenth Central Asia Media Conference. The main topic of the event organized by the OSCE Bureau in Dushanbe was “Pluralism and the Internet management”.

Independent media experts said that the freedom of speech in the region is being limited in various ways. It concerns denial of registration for non-state mass media, adoption of laws containing provisions unfavorable for the media and regular persecutions of journalists.

More than 100 journalists, representatives of public organizations, parliamentarians and scholars took part in the conference.

II. VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS IN THE MEDIA

1. Ungrounded limitation of access to information

10 November
NANMSIT, Dushanbe

On 10 November, the chairman of NANSMIT Nuriddin Karshiboev told the Asia Plus weekly that the cancellation of quarterly press conferences by ministers and heads of other government institutions has had a negative impact on access to information.

“We have been receiving complaints from our colleagues in Sughd province saying that they cannot get access to the information, which they could previously receive at quarterly press conferences. Now, they cannot get any data from the anti-corruption agency; neither can they get it from the law enforcement agencies”, — said Karshiboev.

The chairman of NANSMIT said that a group of journalists working for local and foreign media approached the press secretary of the Sughd province administration with a request to solicit access to information.

The situation is similar elsewhere. Karshiboev referred to the correspondents of RIS Novosti and France Press who confirm the facts of limited acees to information.

21 November
All media, Khujand

On 19 November, the Tajik National Association of Independent Media organized a round table in Khujand to discuss the issues of access to information.

Journalists stressed the necessity of solving the problems related to the recent cancellation of regular press conferences. Public officials refer to the president’s decree saying that they have a duty to conduct press conferences only twice a year. At present, journalists can receive publically important data from government agencies only after a written request, and very often, such information becomes stale and useless.
The NANSMIT legal advisor in Sughd province Muhabbat Juraeva said that Article 27 of Tajikistan’s media law defines the right of journalists to receive information from state institutions, public organizations and public officials.

Participants of the round table noted that the limited access to information is having a negative impact on Tajikistan’s information security – since the population receives news from alternative foreign sources. Thus, the local media are losing people’s trust.

2. Violations in dissemination of periodicals

2 November
Millat weekly, Dushanbe

The Millat weekly (#44, 2 November 2011) published an article about the facts of forced subscription to the government newspapers Jumkhuriyat, Sadoi Mardum, Omuzgor, and other periodicals.

School teachers and university professors complain that the administrations deduct certain amounts from salaries to subscribe to government newspapers. Moreover, pedagogues usually receive only the first two-three issues.

Similar cases of forced subscription are quite typical in many government institutions and even in some private companies, which – one way or another – depend on ministries and municipal administrations.

III. CONFLICTS, VIOLATIONS INCRIMINATED TO THE MEDIA AND JOURNALISTS

1. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation

23 November
Asia Plus weekly, Dushanbe

On 23 November, the civil case initiated by the police general Anvar Tagoimurodov against the Asia Plus weekly was closed due to amicable agreement between the parties.

According to the Asia Plus lawyer, the parties decided to close the case and the Firdavsi district court in Dushanbe agreed to accede to the request.

This report is based on compiled materials from the media and private information presented by correspondents of the NANSMIT Monitoring Network

Coordinator of the Monitoring Service
Abdufattokh Vokhidov

Project Manager
Nuriddin Karshibaev

Deadline:10/12/11
Journalists and writers who are in financial need due to political persecution can be nominated for a grant.

Human Rights Watch seeks nominations for writers of non-fiction, fiction or poetry deserving Hellman-Hammett grants, designed to recognize commitment to free expression and courage amid political pressure.

Grants range from US$1,000-10,000 and offer publicity, which can sometimes double as a protective measure. Anonymity is honored if requested. The grantees are chosen by a committee of authors, editors, and journalists who have a longstanding interest in free expression issues.

The nominator should provide biographical information about the nominee, a list of the nominee’s published works, a statement about the political persecution suffered and a statement of financial need.

The deadline is December 10.

For more information, click here: http://www.hrw.org/hhgrants/nominations

http://www.hrw.org/hhgrants/nominations

Deadline:09/01/12
Liberty Media
Journalists who cover society and economics can apply for an award.

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Entries must be published or transmitted via print or electronic media between January 1 and December 31, 2011. Eligible media outlets must be generally recognized in their markets and accessible to a broad audience in the United States.

Prize sponsors Liberty Media seek to acknowledge and encourage media contributions that explore the relationship between economic and political liberty.

For more information, click here: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/related_material/nominations.doc

http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/related_material/nominations.doc

Police in Moscow have arrested five people who were part of a protest against recent deportations of Tajik migrant laborers from Russia.

The five were detained at the «I am Tajik — Deport Me!» rally on November 24 outside the Federal Migration Service in Moscow.

Some of the protesters were washing windows at the migration service building and sweeping the sidewalks, work often performed by migrant laborers in Russia.

Russian news agency Interfax cited an unnamed police official as saying the five people, none of whom were ethnic Tajiks, were members of an «anarchist movement.»

Russia started deporting Tajik migrant laborers earlier this month, which many have suggested was in retaliation for Tajik authorities putting a Russian pilot on trial.

The Russian pilot was convicted but quickly received an amnesty.

http://www.rferl.org/content/five_arrested_for_protesting_tajik_deportations_from_russia/24403673.ht

Deadline:31/01/12
Journalists and photographers can enter a contest with a US$5,000 prize.

The Sidney Hillman Foundation seeks entries for its Hillman Prizes honoring investigative journalism and commentary that serves the common good.

Journalists worldwide can apply but the work must have been published in the United States.

This year’s categories include online, multimedia, magazine, broadcast, newspaper, photojournalism, book or opinion.

Along with the cash prize, winners receive a trip to New York City and a certificate designed by New York cartoonist Edward Sorel.

Applicants must submit a cover letter and four copies of the nominated material by January 31.

For more information, click here: http://hillmanfoundation.org/nominations-0

http://hillmanfoundation.org/nominations-0

The Tajik National Association of Independent Mass Media (NANSMIT), the Union of Journalists of Tajikistan (UJT) and the Tajik Media Alliance (TMA) call on the media to restrain from using aggressive expressions and statements and stick to the rules of political correctness covering the issues of labor migration and inter-ethnic relations.

This issue is very relevant, especially in the light of ongoing development related to the recent case of two Russian ethnic pilots sentenced by the Tajik court to lengthy prison terms. This issue has gained a political character; Tajik labor migrants have become hostages of the situation.

The situation has gone out of the “legal field”; it is aggravated by the involvement of the media and wide discussions in social networks. In these discussions, one can clearly see rude expressions, insult and incitements of extremist character. These circumstances instigate nationalist and xenophobic moods in both Russian and Tajik societies for the benefit of the internal destructive forces, as well as for the external geopolitical players.

We, the heads of the Tajik media organizations, call on all Russian and Tajik mass media to observe professional standards and provide objective and balanced information on the ongoing developments, restraining from emotions.

Nuriddin Karshiboev, Chairman of NANSMIT

Akbarali Sattorov, Chairman of UJT

Khurshed Niyozov, Secretary General of TMA

www.nansmit.tj

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QURGHON-TEPPA, Tajikistan — Authorities in the southern Tajik town of Qurghon-Teppa have closed down a madrasah prosecutors linked to «Islamization» — and fined five mosques for sanitary reasons, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.
According to the city prosecutor, the Islamic school, which taught some 90 local children, lacked registration.

However, in a meeting with a group of intellectuals, Jumanazar Saidaliev expressed concerns over Islam’s increasing popularity among young people, saying it would pave the way for the «Islamization» of society.

«Under the current circumstances in Tajikistan, any attempt at the Islamization of society would lead to the creation of political Islam in the country, which is not a good prospect,» the prosecutor said.

«It would destabilize the political situation, and break the balance and harmony between secular people and moderate, pious Muslims,» Saidaliev warned.

In a separate development in Qurghon-Teppa, five mosques — including one housing the madrasah — were ordered to pay fines for what city authorities called «poor sanitary conditions.»

If the mosques fail to provide the proper sanitary facilities needed for the ritual washing performed before prayers, their activities will be suspended, the office of Qurghon-Teppa’s city mayor told RFE/RL.

Earlier this year, the city authorities destroyed a downtown mosque for its lack of official registration.

Some local residents accuse the authorities of using any pretext to close down prayer houses.

The office of the mayor, however, rejected the criticism, saying, «there are 12 officially registered mosques and three other non-Islamic prayer houses in the city that function freely, without any problem.»

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajiks_close_madrasah_express_concern_at_islamization/24395446.html

Russian authorities have launched a round-up of Tajik labor migrants with the apparent intent of deporting them. The move is widely seen as retribution for the sentencing of two ethnic Russian pilots in Tajikistan to lengthy prison terms on tenuous smuggling charges.

According to a November 15 report in the Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moscow is threatening to kick as many as 10,000 Tajik labor migrants out of the country. Already, hundreds of Tajiks reportedly have been detained. Legislators also have called for visa restrictions on citizens of Tajikistan, while Russia’s chief doctor has suggested Tajik migrants should be barred from entering Russia due to concerns they are carriers of infectious diseases.

Any move to restrict the number of Tajik labor migrants in Russia is capable of delivering a gut punch that would cause the Tajik economy [6] to double over in pain. Some estimates put the number of Tajiks working abroad at 1 million, with the overwhelming majority in Russia. Remittances from labor migrants account for as much as 40 percent of Tajik GDP.

The crisis in bilateral relations goes back to the early November convictions by a Tajik court of two ethnic Russian pilots to 8 1/2-year prison terms for smuggling and illegally crossing the border. They had made an emergency landing in March with two Antonov-72 cargo planes. On board was a disassembled airplane engine that Tajik authorities say was brought into the country illegally.

Moscow immediately called the November 8 sentence “politically motivated [7].”
Even before the pilots’ trial, relations between Moscow and Dushanbe had been dicey [8]. Russian officials have long complained that Tajikistan is incapable of stemming the flow of drugs coming out of Afghanistan. Tajik leaders, meanwhile, grumble about Russia’s on-again, off-again assistance to complete the Rogun dam project, and quietly voice displeasure that Moscow isn’t paying rent for its military facilities in Tajikistan.

Moscow’s push-back on the pilot issue is by no means a surprise. President Dmitry Medvedev telegraphed the Russian response soon after the pilots’ sentencing with a warning [9] that Moscow could act “asymmetrically” to the incident. Medvedev issued a cryptic update on November 14, when, during a visit to Hawaii, he told Russian media “this situation looks very odious.”

“I really hope that our Tajik friends will hear or have already heard us and in their final decision will be guided not only by abstract considerations, but the general level of relations,” the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Medvedev as saying.

It is unclear what prompted Tajik authorities to prosecute the pilots, and hand down long sentences. Observers have suggested everything from President Imomali Rahmon feeling slighted he wasn’t getting enough Russian attention to his security services’ desire to keep the valuable airplanes. Some tabloids have speculated that Rahmon is using the pilots as hostages to secure the release of a close relative, Rustam Khukumov, who is said to be imprisoned in Russia on a heroin trafficking conviction.

In any case, attention from state-controlled Russian media has fueled a surge anti-Central Asian sentiment in Russia. Youth groups have picketed outside Tajikistan Embassy in Moscow in recent days, throwing paper airplanes at the building. More ominously, Tajik labor migrant representatives say they are facing increasingly targeted harassment.

Karomat Sharipov of Tajik Labor Migrants, a non-governmental organization, told Gazeta.ru that Tajiks are afraid to come out of their homes and believe police have been ordered “to show no mercy to Tajiks.”

Reports of spontaneous raids on construction sites and dormitories have helped stoke those fears. On November 12, REN TV aired a report showing Russian nationalists breaking into buildings and “smoking out” people of Central-Asian appearance. Police are filmed standing by doing nothing.

Stoking the anger, in early November, Federal Migration Service head Konstantin Romodanovsky said Tajik migrants commit more crimes per capita than workers from other Central Asian states.

Just as questions surround the pilots’ prosecutions in Tajikistan, the ferocity of the Russian response has surprised Central Asia watchers. Fergananews.com Editor Daniil Kislov wrote in a November 15 commentary that if the Kremlin is so upset with Rakhmon, it should target “outlaw millionaires from Tajikistan who arrive in Moscow to spend money made on heroin,” rather than hard-working, “half-beggar” Tajik laborers.

“Taking revenge on the powerless migrants who have come to Russia for a piece of bread is totally shameless and low,” Kislov opined. Instead, Moscow should blacklist corrupt officials who have made their fortunes thanks to their connections with Rahmon.

The Tajik president himself has been mostly silent in recent days. On November 12, he took personal control of the case, announcing, «We have to solve this matter through diplomatic means and within the constitutional laws of Tajikistan, so as not to spoil the alliance and strategic relation with Russia,» local media quoted him as saying. But that has done little to calm fears in Dushanbe that Moscow’s response will have long-term consequences.
Human rights activist Oynihol Bobonazarova, head of Perspective Plus, a legal support center, told EurasiaNet.org she fears Moscow has given a “green light” to Russian nationalist groups to grow more violent.

“It’s like throwing chestnuts into the fire,” she said of the Russian media coverage. “Public figures and opposition leaders should restrain from acute comments fomenting the tension even further. The best option for the time being, in my opinion, is to call a time-out.”

Editor’s note:
Konstantin Parshin is a freelance writer based in Tajikistan

Konstantin Parshin, EurasiaNet.org

Источник: http://www.eurasianet.org/node/64516

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