Afghanistan has climbed 22 places in this year’s Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). 

However Johann Bihr, head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, tells RFE/RL that the country continues to face many challenges.

«The rise of Afghanistan is indeed mostly linked with the fact that no journalists were killed due to their journalistic activities in 2012, and arrests of media workers declined. But by no means does this mean that Afghanistan is now in a perfect situation,»

«The country remains ranked 128th out of 179, and obviously it will face fresh challenges with the withdrawal of foreign troops from the international coalition and the deteriorating situation in neighboring Pakistan.»

Bihr says that in neighboring Pakistan (159th), the high level of violence against journalists and Internet users last year had a significant impact on the country’s poor performance.

The Paris-based press watchdog says Iran (174th) imprisons journalists and Internet users and also harasses their relatives.

Neighboring Iraq placed 150th.

In Southeastern Europe, Serbia (63th) has climbed 17 places. The country is followed by Croatia (64th), Bosnia-Herzegovina (68th), Kosovo (85th), and Montenegro (113rd).

RWB says Macedonia (116th) has fallen 22 places following the «arbitrary withdrawal of media licenses and deterioration in the environment for journalists.»

In the former Soviet Union, Bihr says Russia (148th) has lost six places because of stepped-up repression there.

«It has been a bad year overall for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Overall, the region is really sinking downwards towards the real bottom of the index,» Bihr notes.

«Russia has set a tone of increased repression in the former Soviet Union by cracking down on the opposition protests; by adopting fresh repressive laws impacting freedom of information such as recriminalization of defamation; the creation of a blacklist of filtered websites on the Internet; not to mention the provisions criminalizing the activities of some NGOs.»

Ukraine was placed 126th and Belarus 157th.

In the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia ranked 156th, 100th, and 74th, respectively.

In Kyrgyzstan, the best performer of Central Asia, Bihr says difficulties remain:

«Kyrgyzstan now ranks 106th in the Press Freedom Index, which is by far the best performance of Central Asia, but of course difficulties still remain for independent journalists, especially the independence of media outlets remains under question,» he explains

«The politicization and polarization of the media landscape is high. There are still worrying issues with hate speech, especially directed at ethnic minorities.»

Bihr says Tajikistan (123rd) «still has, to some extent, some degree of pluralism.» But he adds that the country is «struggling to catch up with its neighbors in terms of cybercensorship.»

According to Bihr, Kazakhstan (160th) is the Central Asian country that has been «characterized by the worst trend» last year. He says President Nursultan Nazarbaev appears to be moving «closer and closer to the ultraauthoritarian rule of his Uzbek neighbor.»

In Uzbekistan (164th), Bihr says, the regime of President Islam Karimov has «tightened his grip on the Internet.»

Turkmenistan (177th) remains this year one of the world’s three worst offenders in terms of press freedom.

Bihr says no independent or opposition media is allowed in the country, where «journalists and bloggers continued to be able to report independently only under cover.»

In the last year, CPJ has documented a disturbing trend of attacks against the press in Tajikistan: the frequent blocking orders that the State Communications Agency has issued to local Internet service providers. Delivered in most instances via text message, the orders urge the ISPs to block nationwide access to local and international news websites that criticize President Emomali Rahmon and his authoritarian policies, and publicize issues like widespread government corruption and rising unemployment.

Last year alone, the orders were issued at least three times against several news websites and included sites like Facebook and YouTube. The head of the country’s Internet Service Providers Association said publicly that the agency sent a text message to local ISPs, ordering them to block sites. In most instances, the orders were given by Beg Zuhurov, head of the State Communications Agency, local news reports said.

Most of the time, Tajik authorities deny their involvementand cite technical problems beyond their control. But in a rare November statement and, most recently, on Wednesday, Zuhurov and his colleagues at the agency identified another source of attacks. Facebook, Zuhurov said in November, was a «hotbed of slander» and had been blocked at the request of what he called a group of «concerned citizens.» This was not a slip of the tongue-his deputy, Rafikjon Shokirov, mentioned the same group during his statement to the press on Wednesday.

Shokirov spoke at a press conference about the domestic growth of the Internet, Radio Ozodi reported. He spoke of progress-Internet users in the country had increased to 3.7 million, reports said. But, while speaking about the numbers, the official inadvertently touched upon a dangerous subject.

Why was the agency blocking news websites, who gave the orders, and who was this group of unhappy citizens?, journalists asked him at the press conference.

The Embassy of the United States of America is now accepting applications for the 2013 Alumni Grants Program.  Alumni of all U.S. Government-funded exchange and training programs, including Fulbright, FLEX, UGRAD, Muskie, the International Visitor Leadership Program, Community Connections, Open World, USDA Cochran and FEP exchanges, Department of Commerce SABIT exchanges, and those of other implementers are eligible. USG alumni must be registered on the State Alumni website to participate in the 2013 Alumni Grants Program.  You can easily and quickly register yourself at https://alumni.state.gov.

The purpose of this program is to provide grants to organizations that have USG alumni as members or to individual alumni for activities that support democratic advancement and economic reform in Tajikistan. The program aims to provide alumni with networking opportunities to further the professional development of alumni and their colleagues and to assist alumni in implementing and disseminating the concepts learned during exchange programs. The amount of grants must not exceed $5,000 for organizations and $3,000 for individuals.

Funds may be used for the following:

·         To initiate a public or community service program;

·         To provide support for alumni association events;

·         To organize training programs or conferences for professional colleagues and/or other alumni;

·         To provide continued funding for existing alumni centers, and minimal start-up costs for alumni associations;

·         To organize and plan networking events;

·         To develop and publish curricula, textbooks, or related reference or educational materials;

·         To publish public information pamphlets or brochures on topics that further USG assistance goals;

·         To conduct other projects that support democratic and economic reform initiatives.

All project activities should  start after May 01, 2013.

Projects NOT funded by the Alumni Program include those requested by non-USG alumni organizations and individuals, those relating to partisan political activity, charitable activity and/or humanitarian aid, fund-raising campaigns, commercial projects and those that duplicate existing projects.

Proposals must be received no later than March 01, 2013.  Proposals should contain clearly formulated goals and target groups, and show the ability of the applying organization/individual to carry out the project aims.  Proposals and SF form 424 attached separately should be submitted in English to:

U.S. Embassy, Public Affairs Section

109 A Ismoili Somoni Avenue, Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Email: alumnitajikistan@state.gov

Application forms are also available on our web site http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov/alumnigrants.html or can be requested by email. Please use the e-mail above for any questions.

The European Union has started funding 3 projects under the «Non State Actors in Development» programme, for a total amount of EUR 700 000.

The new thematic programme «Non State Actors and Local Authorities in Development» was introduced in 2007. It aims to support small scale initiatives by civil society organizations (and local authorities) from the European Union and partner countries in the area of development. The overarching objective of this programme is poverty reduction in the context of sustainable development, including the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals. The programme is actor-oriented. It aims at strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations as a pre-condition for a more equitable, open and democratic society through support to their «own initiatives».

The three selected projects are as follows:

A two-year project entitled as “Enhancing living standards and food safety of rural people through access to improved veterinary services”,implemented by the Association of Veterinarians of Tajikistan (TVA), a civil society membership organization representing veterinary professionals and their livestock-owning clients. The main aim of the project is to reduce rural poverty through sustained delivery of public and private veterinary services thereby reducing disease losses and making livestock more productive. The project will assist TVA to strengthen over 800 Veterinary Field Units (VFUs) through capacity building and training, particularly in livestock production,, provision of basic veterinary equipment and funds for clinic rehabilitation, improving partnership with farmers and with the State Veterinary Inspection Service, establishment of 30 new VFUs where appropriate, , and supporting national and local veterinary professional associations. The project will be implemented in Khatlon, Sughd, GBAO and DRD regions of Tajikistan. The main beneficiaries of the project will consist in rural animal owners, including female-headed families (about 830,000 families).

The purpose of the project «Access, self-management and accountability – supporting Water User Associations in Tajikistan’s irrigation water reform» implemented by Welthungerhilfe is to complete previous efforts by formally putting operation and maintenance of irrigation infrastructure in the hands of water users. The action will take place in the densely populated lowlands of Panjakent district in Zeravshan Valley. It works with and through 21 Water Users Associations (WUAs) as well as with their umbrella organization, the federation of Water User Associations. These structures represent approximately 40,000 households, which rely on irrigated agriculture for their livelihood. It is anticipated that improved organization, reduced water losses in irrigation channels as well as an enhanced capacity to operate and maintain the irrigation network will lead to a direct and measurable benefit for the population at large (about 140,000 individuals).

Handicap International’s new project is entitled «State and Non-State Actors: Capacity-building, coordination and cooperation towards inclusive development in the Republic of Tajikistan». The strengthening of capacities of following four partnering Disabled People Organisations (DPOs) is at the core of this two year operation: National Union of Disabled People of Tajikistan, Women’s League Ishtirok, Public Organization of Deaf People of Tajikistan, Public Organization of the Blind in Tajikistan as well as their branches and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in and around Khorog, Khujand and Dushanbe. Their technical capacities will be further strengthened in disability and inclusion, advocacy strategies, diplomacy & communications skills, organisational capacities and accountability, through training and a learning-by-doing approach. The unity of the disability movement will be further enhanced to reinforce dialogue and effective cooperation with local authorities and other non-state actors (NSA) for the promotion and implementation of inclusive strategies, policies and actions. 

The European Union, composed of 27 Member States, is the world’s biggest aid donor. Tajikistan gets the main share of bilateral assistance in the Central Asian region (€66 million for 2007-2010 and 62 million for 2011-2013) in support to sector programmes, technical assistance and grants. It focuses on social protection, health and private sector development, underpinned by public finance management. Tajikistan also receives regional and thematic assistance in areas like border management and drug control (BOMCA/CADAP), education (TEMPUS, Erasmus Mundus), water / environment, migration, human rights and democracy (EIDHR), non-State actors (NSA) and SME development (CA-Invest). The total value of EU assistance disbursed to Tajikistan since 1992 is over €550 million.

Contacts: Ms. Mahbuba Abdullaeva, Press and Information Officer, EU Delegation to Tajikistan

Address details: 74 Adhamova Street, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 734013

Tel: ( +992 37) 221 74 07 — Fax: (+992 37) 221 43 21 —  E-mail: Mahbuba.Abdullaeva@eeas.europa.eu

Website: www.deltjk.ec.europa.eu, follow us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EUinTajikistan 

Freedom of Speech in Tajikistan

January 2013 

In January 2013, the Monitoring Service received 20 reports. Seven of them describe the factual situation in the media in the light of social, legal and political environment; seven reports describe direct violations of rights of media professionals; and six reports describe conflicts and accusations against the media and journalists.

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

11 January

Asadullo Rakhmonov, chairman of the State TV & Radio Committee

At a press conference held in Dushanbe on 11 January, the chairman of the State Committee on Radio and Television Asadullo Rakhmonov told the media that the Party of Islamic Renaissance of Tajikistan (PIRT) has presented only one document to the government broadcasting agency, namely a letter of intent (or an application).

Prior to that, PIRT stated that a while ago, it submitted all necessary documents to the State TV & Radio Committee expressing its desire to create its own broadcasting body.

2. Factual situation in the media and the freedom of speech

4 January

Radio Isfara, Sughd province

A new private FM station was set up in the northern city of Isfara. The signal also covers bordering territories of the Isfara district in Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic.

The total broadcasting time is 16 hours a day. The radio station is public oriented. The broadcasting company was created with support from the State TV and Radio Committee under the government.

10 January

Kironshoh Sharifzoda, chairman of the Tajik Media Council, Dushanbe

The Farazh weekly published an article by the chairman of the Tajik Media Council Kirinshoh Sharifzoda hwere he presents his analysis of the Tajik media in 2012 (#2, 9 January 2013).

Analyzing activities of the Tajik media, the author comes to the conclusion that the year of 2012 did not bring any serious disturbances. No newspapers were closed, and protracted legal trials between the media and government agencies are over.

23 January

Amnesty International, international human rights organization

Referring to the latest report issued by the international human rights NGO Amnesty International, the Tajik private weekly Asia Plus informed the audience that the Tajik authorities suppress the freedom of expression (#07, 24.01.2013).

Amnesty International has raised a serious concern over the closure of the Tajik human rights organization Amparo by the authorities.

3. Journalists protecting their professional and human rights

16 January

Al media, Kulyab, Khatlon province

The Tajik National Association of Independent Mass Media (NANSMIT) held a seminar in Kulyab, Khatlon province on the topic “Interrelation between government press services and the media”.

According to Nuriddin Karshiboev, chairman of NANSMIT, the process of formation of press services in the south of Tajikistan has not finished yet; only few of executive administrations in the cities of Kulyab and Vose function.

Davlatali Nazriev, head of the Tajik Foreign Ministry’s information, press and analysis department took part in the seminar.

18 January

All media, Dushanbe

Twenty representatives of government press services and the media took part in the final seminar “Interrelation between government press services and the media” in Dushanbe.

The event is organized within the framework of a project implemented by NANSMIT with assistance from the International Media Support (Denmark). Partners of NANSMIT are the department of information, press and analysis under the Tajik Foreign Ministry and the national press center of the public union Ittiloot va Muoshirat.

A series of similar seminars was conducted in Khujand, Kurgan-Tube and Kulyab. They were supported by other partner organizations in provinces.

The main goals of the seminars were to improve access of the media to government sources of information and to strengthen the skills of interaction between official press services and the media.

24 January

The Tajik Media Council, Dushanbe

On 21 January, the Tajik Media Council held an extraordinary meeting to discuss the legitimacy of the letter received by the newspaper Tojikiston from the Ministry of Culture. The letter concerned a recent publication titled “Sex in a restroom” (Tojikiston, #2, 10.01.2013).

The Media Council presented its recommendations based upon a discussion of the disuse. The document says that the authors of the article have raised an essential social problem, but they did not violate any ethical rules and standards – since the balance of opinions was observed in the publication.

II. VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS IN THE MEDIA

1. Ungrounded limitation of access to online resources

18 January

Committee to Protect Journalists

The international organization Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the government of Tajikistan to ensure unimpeded access to web sites, including the one belonging to Radio Ozodi (Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty).

Internet users complain that they have lost connection to the Facebook social network and to the Radio Ozodi news portal. Managers of local Internet providing companies have confirmed off the record that they received an order from the government communications agency obliging the to block access to certain web sites. However, the national authorities deny this saying that they have given no orders whatsoever.

Muzaffar Sulaimonov, representative of CPJ told Radio Ozodi that his organization is concerned about the actions of Tajikistan’s authorities. Robert Mahoni, deputy chairman of CPJ stated in New York City that the systematic censorship of the Internet in Tajikistan along with threats to journalists and bloggers shows that through the threats, the government is capable of forcing the media to “perform their [government’s] dirty things”.

Mahoni stressed the necessity of opposing and protesting against the government’s actions.

2. Impediments to professional activities

17 January

Amrullohi Nizom, TojNews information agency, Dushanbe

On 16 January, four officers of the National Department on Countering Organized Crime under the Interior Ministry paid a visit to the TojNews information agency and tried to arrest Amrullohi Nizom, the agency’s correspondent. They ordered him to follow them for an interview, but the journalist did not obey the officers referring to the fact that they provided him with no subpoena.

According to Saimiddin Dustov, editor of the Nigoh weekly, the visit of law enforcement officers is related to the recent publication titled “Fine for a prayer” (Nigokh, # 42, 16 January 2013) where the author criticized the Religious Affairs Committee under the government.

3. Denial of accreditation

29 January

Abdulkayum Kauymzoda, radio Ozodi, Dushanbe

On 28 January, the Tajik media organizations – the Union of Journalists, NANSMIT, the Media Council, and the Media Alliance – issued a joint statement addressed to the Tajik foreign minister Khamrokhon Zarifi seeking explanation for denial of accreditation for the correspondent of radio Ozodi Abdulkayum Kauymzoda.

It is mentioned in the statement that the issue has been under discussion in the Tajik media and in social networks for several weeks, but the Ministry has provided no explanations on that.

31 January

Kevin Close, acting president of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Dushanbe

On 31 January, the acting president of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Kevin Close sent a letter to the Tajik foreign minister Khamrokhon Zarifi asking the official to explain the reasons for decline of accreditation to Abdukayum Kayumzoda, the RFE/RL correspondent.

Levin Close noted in his letter that he is concerned about the decision of the Tajik foreign ministry.

4. Ungrounded limitation of access to information

24 January

All media, Dushanbe

The Samak weekly (#4, 23.01.2013) published results of an opinion poll conducted among journalists who answered the question “why public officials are reluctant to communicate with journalists?”.

Most of the respondents said that public officials mainly avoid questions, which concern directly their activities. Obviously, they are afraid of revealing shortcomings in their work and do not want to share this with journalists.

31 January

Imruz News, Ozodagon, Nahzat – news agencies, Dushanbe

Correspondents of the news agencies Imruz News, Ozodagon and Nahzat – Safarbek Kabirov, Abdugani Abduvahhobov and Mijgona Khalimova, upon their arrival to the government’s Migration Service, learned that their names are in a “black list”.

They were informed about that by Abdullo Kodiri, press secretary of the organization. The journalists tried to find out the reasons for such attitude and treatment. According to the correspondent of Imruz News Safarbek Kabirov, he was explained that his newspaper criticizes activities of the Migration Service, and this is why the journalists are not welcome here.

31 January

Valentina Kasymbekova, freelance journalist, Dushanbe

On 24 January, Valentina Kasymbekova, freelance journalist came to the Ministry of Finance on the errand from the Asia Plus weekly to get the data on the national budget for 2013; two weeks prior to the visit, the newspaper made an official request to the Ministry.

In a conversation with Narzullo Abibulaev, head of the State Budget department, the correspondent reminded that she needs a full package of documents – not only the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On State Budget for 2013”, the document, which does not contain peculiar segments of information.

The official said that the requested information contains some classified data, which cannot be shared with journalists. Kasymbekova suggested to exclude the military and defense “classified data” and receive the data on other items of the national budget.

Abibulaev stated that he will only share the information that he considers appropriate to be shared with the media, and added that he has no time to communicate with journalists.

On 26 January, Kasymbekova received an official answer from the Ministry of Finance containing only the text of the Budget Law for 2013 along with brief information on local budgets. In fact, the journalist received only a “buck slip” from the Ministry, and the newspaper got nothing for the publication it was going to prepare.

III. CONFLICTS, VIOLATIONS INCRIMINATED TO MEDIA AND JOURNALISTS

1. Defamation

16 January

The government Agency on Construction and Architecture

On 16 January, Abduvali Komilov, director of the government Agency on Construction and Architecture accused the media of biased publications about Tajik labor migrants and their remittances from abroad. He shared this concern at a press conference on the issues of labor migration.

The official asserts that Tajik journalists “should not tackle the problem this way”. In a mentoring manner he accused the media of the lack of professionalism and objectivity.

17 January

Abdullo Ashurov, Radio Ozodi, Dushanbe

Sojida Nazarova, director of a kindergarten #93 filed a suit against the correspondent of the Tajik service of Radio Ozodi Abdullo Ashurov.

According to Khurshed Khamdam, head of Radio Ozodi in Tajikistan, the manager of the kindergarten complains that she has lost her job, and her facility’s image has been ruined because of the publication.

In October 2012, on its web site, Radio Ozodi published complaints of parents whose children attend the kindergarten #93. They complained about bив treatment by the personnel referring to concrete examples.

Khurshed Khamdam says that all arguments against the kindergarten were expressed by parents, and Radio Ozodi keeps the records with the parents’ complaints.

The former director of the kindergarten demands public apologies from journalists with a written copy to be sent to the Ministry of Education. Apart from that, she demands a moral compensation in the amount of 50 thousand Somoni.

17 January

Tojikiston, private newspaper, Dushanbe

The independent weekly Tojikiston (#3, 17.01.2013) complains that it received a letter from the Ministry of Culture accusing the outlet of promoting pornography. It concerns the publication “Sex in a restroom” (#2, 10.01.2013) where the author described cases of dissemination of pornographic videos through online sources by an unknown individual.

The Ministry’s officials have seen “promotion of pornography” in the publication, and they warn that the newspaper will be closed down if similar articles keep appearing.

The editor and correspondents stated that they will continue their own investigations of such cases informing the public about depravity in the society.

24 January

Council of Justice, Dushanbe

The Nigokh weekly (#44, 23.01.2013) published a response of the deputy chair of the Tajik Council of Justice A. Iskhakov titled “the dedia don’t have the right…” following the publication by the Tajik NGO Amparo “The fly keeps struggling with the elephant”.

Iskhakov asserts in his letter that the case of the human rights NGO Amparo is istill being considered by the courts of appeal, i.e. the case is not closed. According to part 3 of Article 7 of the Constitution (Courts of the Republic of Tajikistan), the media have no right to publish results of preliminary court proceedings; the same is reflected in part 3 of Article 29 of the Tajik Media Law. It is considered as an attempt to influence public opinion.

January 16, 2013

The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs

and

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute North America

The George Washington University — Elliott School of International Affairs’ Central Asian Program (CAP) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute North America (SIPRI North America) are pleased to welcome applications for their Central Asia Fellowship Program. Applications for the Spring session (March 1- August 1, 2013)

The CAP-SIPRI North America Central Asia Fellowship Program is intended for young professionals-scholars, government officials, policy experts, human rights and democracy activists from Central Asia — who want to enhance their research and analytical skills and seek to become public policy leaders in their respective countries. More generally, the fellowship program seeks to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and build lasting intellectual networks between the Central Asian and the US scholarly and policy communities.

Fellows, who will be funded, will spend five months in residence at the GW Elliott School and/or SIPRI North America. They will be offered a series of tailor-made programs and introduced to US policy and expert communities in both Washington DC and New York. Fellows are required to attend approximately 12 seminars, workshops and training sessions, write one policy brief on the predetermined theme and present their research at two public seminars. Throughout their fellowship Fellows are closely mentored and guided by Central Asia Program and SIPRI North America staff.

January 18, 2013

January 17, 2013

Journalists from around the world who are interested in sharing, expanding and researching public policy and political affairs can apply for this fellowship.

The Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government is accepting applications for the Joan Shorenstein Center Fellowship.

Applicants must be journalists, scholars or policymakers active in the field of press, politics and public policy. English fluency is required.

Fellows are required to live in residence for one semester, and will receive a US$30,000 stipend disbursed in four installments over the semester. Travel and living expenses are not covered by the center.

Office space, computer, printer and telephone are provided. To apply, send a cover letter, a completed application form, a research project proposal, a curriculum vitae/resume and recommendations.

The deadline is February 1.

For more information, click here: http://shorensteincenter.org/fellowships/fellowship-application/