Media expert from Central Asian countries discussed issues of responsibility and development of the media. The round table was organized by the British Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR).
On 23 November, the British Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) organized a round table on the topic of “Responsibility and development of regional journalism in Central Asia”. Journalists and experts from Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan, and the Tajik Foreign Ministry officials, representatives of media organizations and diplomatic corpus accredited in Tajikistan took part in the event held in Dushanbe.
”Although Central Asia is often seen as an integrated region, each of the five countries has its own specifics and problems, — says Abakhon Sultonnazarov, IWPR program manager. — Our goal is to provide the journalists with an opportunity to tell others about the peculiarities of their problems, and to exchange their experience”.
Journalists and experts discussed a number of vitally important media issues typical for the region. Tajik political expert Rashid Abdullo told the participants about the most topical media problems in Tajikistan, the main of which are the absence of daily newspapers, lack of access to the printing media in provinces, insufficient professionalism of journalists and low salaries. Abdullo also told about the new stage of development of Tajik journalism, which started in 2005 and is characterized by a big diversity and inconstancy of media groups (currently, there are more than 200 officially registered media outlets in Tajikistan). The expert said that the most sustainable and interesting among the Tajik media are information agencies “Asia Plus”, “Varorud” and “Avesta”.
The Kazakh expert Edward Poletayev, speaking on the subject of “Security for journalists in Central Asia”, stressed that the journalists can be protected only by means of his personal tolerance to the society and authorities. “Journalists must feel and depend on the moods in the society”, — he said. He also mentioned the necessity of human resource reforms in the media. Poletayev considers that instead of studying the history of journalism in universities, future media professionals should dedicate more time to political sciences, mathematics, economy and other disciplines.
Chairman of NANSMIT Nuriddin Karshibayev indicated the lack of regional cooperation among media professionals. Over the last 10 years, there have been several initiatives on regional cooperation among the media in Central Asia; however, the outcomes leave much to be desired. These initiatives were launched mainly by international organizations within the frameworks of certain projects. Most of them were non-commercial. The main reason for the lack of cooperation is the absence of financial mechanism for cooperation. Karshibayev says that we need to consider the problem of regional cooperation through the prism of political, economic and social aspects.
Ilim Karypbekov, Director of the Media Institute in Kyrgyzstan presented an analysis of the recent assassination of a well-known Kyrgyz journalist Alisher Saipov, and the ramifications of this case for the regional journalism. Karypbekov’s presentation was complemented by Poletayev’s speech on the topic of “Security for journalists in Central Asia”.
Participants of the round table also discussed the issues of patriotism and solidarity in Tajik journalism, and professional responsibility in the coverage of conflict situations and events. They also discussed the issues of defamation and libel in publications, and other topical problems.
Speaking of solidarity and journalism in Tajik journalism, Gulnora Amirshoyeva, editor of “Vetcherny Dushanbe” weekly said that there are not too many manifestations of solidarity among Tajik journalists. There have not been any precedents when in case of closure of a newspaper by the authorities, others would refuse to publish their outlets as a sign of protest. “Although, we cannot blame all media professionals equally, — Amirshoyeva said. — When journalists want to support their collegue who found himself in a difficult situation, they simply do not have opportunities for that. Founders and publishers, protecting their commercial interests, would hardly be willing to negotiate with the authorities”.
In reality, many journalists resolve their problems without external assistance; and each of them does seem to care about their colleagues who also face similar troubles. In view of their ignorance or being preoccupied with routine things, some journalists forget that professional problems can be resolved jointly or with the help of the existing media organizations.
Participants stressed the importance of the event for the region. Journalists in our countries find themselves in difficult situation in relation with their professional activities. Their families are also prone to risks. One common task for journalists in the region is to lay these problems upon the tapis, and to start acting together.
NANSMIT Monitoring Service