Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon clearly seems to be annoyed by the international media’s blanket coverage of the British royal wedding.

He suggested the global media should instead focus on more serious issues, such as the economic crisis and growing food prices.

Rahmon criticized journalists for covering «some wedding or other,» as if there were not enough problems in the world.

«Some journalists don’t notice the climate-change problems, the natural disaster in Japan, droughts, the growing price for oil and food, and instead they put reports from the weddings of princes and princesses on their front pages,» Rahmon said during a meeting with government officials in Dushanbe on April 29.
Rahmon also didn’t sound particularly impressed by the lavish wedding ceremony.

If anything like this happened in a former Soviet state, he said, «Everyone would immediately say this was a totalitarian regime.»

Rahmon has banned lavish weddings and other private functions in Tajikistan, setting a cap on the number of guests and the length of the ceremonies.

According to his instructions, you are not allowed to invite more than 150 guests, the wedding party cannot last for more than three hours, and the wedding convoy shouldn’t involve more than four cars.

So if you are planning a wedding on a shoestring budget, Tajikistan could be just the right place to have it.

— Farangis Najibullah

http://www.rferl.org/content/chaikhana_tajik_president_royal_wedding_totalitarianism/16798193.html

Deadline:31/12/1

Foundation of the Development of the Republic Abkhazia

Russian-language writers from Abkhazia, Russia, Ukraine, Republic of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are invited to the competition about Abkhazia.

The competition is aimed at finding talented authors, promoting them and helping them develop professionally.

The competition is supported by the Foundation of the Development of the Republic Abkhazia and Aydgylara, the Union of Abkhaz Youth in Russia.

For more information (in Russian), please, click here: http://www.abhazia-russia.ru/o-konkurse

http://www.abhazia-russia.ru/o-konkurse

The Public Affairs Section is launching an exciting new initiative.

You can take an online journalism course called World Youth News and become a journalist. The online course is self-paced and asynchronous. It’s a self-directed course designed by iEARN, NY Times, Columbia University School of Journalism to enable young people to gain the skills involved in being a journalist.

You are mentored by grad students from Columbia and NYU along the way. After you register, you can take the course on your own time. The reading materials are divided into five sections, and we recommend that you complete it within a week. Our American Corner Coordinators will provide computer time for you to complete the course, or you can do it at home.

The online interaction in the course provides opportunities to practice English with native speakers.

If you would like to take the course, please e-mail your name and e-mail address me: kobilovas@state.gov

This program will launch May 3, World Press Freedom Day!

Shafoat Kabilova

Grant Assistant / Alumni Coordinator

U.S. Embassy/Public Diplomacy Section

109 A, I.Somoni Ave., Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Dushanbe, Tajikistan

e-mail: KobilovaS@state.gov

tel: (992-372) 29 23 14

cell phone (98)580 70 67

http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov

To automatically receive information about our programs, send a blank e-mail message to usembassydushanbeprograms-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To join the STATE ALUMNI global community, please visit «https://alumni.state.gov» and follow the «Join Now!» link. Interactive and password-protected, alumni.state.gov offers the more than1,000,000 alumni of U.S. government exchange programs a place to network, share information, participate in Q&A Live discussions with experts, and access resources such as grants, jobs, and research databases.

http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov

DUSHANBE — Equipment from the offices of the independent Tajik weekly «Paikon» has been confiscated in line with a court-imposed fine of 300,000 somonis ($67,153) for libeling state consumer-protection agency Tojikstandart, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

«Paikon» correspondent Ahliddin Salimpour told RFE/RL that court bailiffs took two computers, a scanner, and a printer from the newspaper’s offices.

Tojikstandart brought the defamation suit after «Paikon» in 2009 published a statement from a group of businessmen who accused the product-safety watchdog of obstructing their activities.

In October 2009, Dushanbe’s Firdavsi district court ordered «Paikon» to pay 300,000 somonis in compensation to Tojikstandart.

Tajik lawyer Shuhrat Qudratov argued that the property confiscated by the court did not belong to «Paikon» but to the Bureau of Linguistic Expertise, Legal Advice, and Journalistic Investigations which, like «Paikon,» belongs to journalist Jumaboy Tolibov.

Nuriddin Qarshiboev, chairman of the National Association of Independent Media, alleged that the court case against «Paikon» was aimed not at ensuring that justice prevailed but at «strik[ing] fear in the hearts» of journalists.

«Paikon» has a weekly print run of 2,000 copies. Its editors are hoping that other newspapers will agree to publish reports written by «Paikon» journalists in the event that it cannot continue publishing.

Such mutual assistance is becoming increasingly common among hard-pressed independent publications in Tajikistan facing official pressure.

http://www.rferl.org/content/independent_tajik_weekly_confiscation/9502332.html

DUSHANBE — Tajikistan’s Islamic Renaissance Party has withdrawn its candidate for a by-election because its representatives have not been included in constituency election commissions, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

The May 15 by-election for Dushanbe’s Sino district is to fill a seat in the lower chamber of parliament that fell vacant last month when incumbent Shermahmad Shohiyon was appointed to head Tajikistan’s Central Electoral Commission.

Islamic Renaissance Party member Sayid Ibrohim Nazar was registered as a candidate on April 15.

At that time, the party asked the district election commission to include its representatives in lower-level commissions at individual polling stations.

Abdullo Habibov, head of the Sino district election commission, confirmed the receipt of the party’s request. He said the commission discussed it with legal advisers and did not find any obligation to comply.

Islamic Renaissance Party spokesman Hikmatullo Sayfullozoda told RFE/RL that the most important place during an election is the polling station, where all votes are counted and tabulated, and there’s no point in taking part if party representatives are unable to participate in that process at every single polling station.

Usmon Soleh, public-relations head for the ruling National Democratic Party of Tajikistan, said during the last elections, some parties did not even deploy monitors at polling stations. He asked rhetorically how those parties could demand representation on local election commissions.

The Majlisi Namoyandagon — the lower chamber of parliament — consists of 63 deputies elected for a five-year term. Twenty-two seats are divided among parties that gain more than 5 percent of the vote, and the remaining 41 deputies are elected from single-mandate constituencies.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajik_islamic_party_withdraws_byelection/9502279.html

With social media there is no excuse for arriving in a country unprepared. Easy access to free tools means that any journalist, traveling to report or deliver training, can be brought up-to-date with the latest information.

By following the seven points listed below a journalist will:

•have the latest news about the country they are visiting
•make contact with some of the key news makers
•have their finger on the local news pulse
1: Research using social media

Set up search columns in Tweetdeck, Hootsuite or your preferred Twitter aggregator for the name of the country and the city or cities where you are going to be working, and at least two names of people in the news. Jot down the issues being discussed. Search using these key words or, if they are regularly used, set up a column for them in your Twitter aggregator. (If you are not set up on Twitter yet, please carry out step two in «How to become a global media brand in 60 minutes» before you start.) By the way, there are many more — please check the Social Media Kitbag for latest updates.

2: Curate your own respository of essential information

Perhaps consider curating a collection of tweets and associated links, videos and images using curation tools such as Scoop.it, Curated.by or PearlTrees; there are many others too. Curation is the way to gather a unique collection of material specific to the task you are undertaking. All the information will already be in the public domain, but the mix of content that you collect will be unique to your needs. What’s more, you can share that material and invite others to comment and contribute.

To read more, click here: http://www.mediahelpingmedia.org/training-resources/social-networking/617-social-media-checklist-for-international-journalists

http://ijnet.org/blog/social-media-checklist-international-journalists

KHATLON, Tajikistan, — The local authorities in a district in southern Tajikistan have closed its only Orthodox church, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

Local official Dilbar Nurova said on April 20 that the church in the Jaloliddin Rumi district of Khatlon Province was closed because it was not officially registered.

She said the congregation had submitted a registration application, but it was rejected because of «some shortcomings.»

Nurova said that when the congregation submits a revised application, the church will be registered and they will be able to worship there. She noted that three local mosques have also been closed and must reregister.

Lyudmila Khojaeva, who heads the Union of Russian Speakers in Khatlon Province, said that closing the church just before Easter, one of the most important Christian festivals, is a blow to local Orthodox Christians. She said the authorities should have allowed more time to prepare the application for registration.

Russians are believed to account for 3-5 percent of Tajikistan’s population of 7.3 million people.

The registration of new places of worship and the registration of existing mosques and churches is mandatory under the controversial law on religion passed in 2009.

That law has served as the rationale for closing mosques and some churches. During the first three months of 2011, 229 mosques were closed in Khatlon Province alone.

http://www.rferl.org/content/sole_orthodox_church_in_southern_tajik_district_closed/9501426.html

The Embassy of the United States of America in Tajikistan is now accepting applications for the 2012-2013 Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program is for experienced professionals interested in strengthening their leadership skills through a mutual exchange of knowledge and understanding about issues of common concern in the U.S. and the Fellows’ home countries. As a non-degree program, the Fellowship offers valuable opportunities for professional development through selected university courses, attending conferences, networking, and practical work experiences. During the year, Fellows pursue their individual program goals while working closely with their Humphrey colleagues in workshops and seminars. Unlike a typical graduate school experience, the program encourages Fellows to travel away from their host campus to learn more about American culture and to network with their American peers.

Eligible fields:

• Agricultural and Rural Development

• Communications/Journalism

• Substance Abuse Education, Treatment, and Prevention:

• Economic Development/Finance and Banking

• Higher Education Administration

• Educational Administration, Planning and Policy

• HIV/AIDS Policy and Prevention

• Human Resource Management

• Law and Human Rights

• Natural Resources/Environmental Policy/Climate Change

• Public Health Policy and Management

• Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration

• Teaching English as a Foreign Language (Teacher-Training/Curriculum Development)

• Technology Policy and Management

• Trafficking in Persons Policy and Prevention

• Urban and Regional Planning

Appropriate candidates are mid-career professionals in leadership positions who have a commitment to public service and the potential for professional advancement. Prospective Fellows should have a minimum of five years of professional experience, and should have completed a university degree prior to August 2012. They should be interested in the policy aspects of their fields of specialization. Candidates must have completed a university degree program requiring at least four years of full-time study in order to qualify for participation in U.S. graduate study programs. Candidates should be proficient in both written and spoken English. Semifinalists will be required to take the Internet-based TOEFL.

Individuals who have attended a graduate school in the United States for one academic year or more during the seven years prior to August 2012, as well as individuals with other recent U.S. experience (more than six months during the five years prior to August 2012), are not eligible for this program.

To apply: Applicants must apply through the online application system. The online application is available at http://apply.embark.com/student/humphrey/fellowship/. More information is available at http://humphreyfellowship.org/.

Interested persons should submit completed applications online by 5 p.m. local time on June 30, 2011. Late applications will not be accepted. For additional information and a complete application package, please contact Shafoat Kabilova via e-mail: KobilovaS@state.gov or telephone: 229-2312; 229-2000.

http://humphreyfellowship.org/

A tall, radiant-skinned blonde bombshell whose charity events are graced by French celebrities, Uzbekistan’s Lola Karimova-Tillyeva is the very image of success — provided her father stays out of the picture, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reports.

The 33-year-old daughter of Uzbekistan’s brutal authoritarian ruler Islam Karimov, Karimova-Tillyeva recently filed suit against the independent French website Rue89.com over an article that allegedly identified her as the daughter of a dictator and characterized her charity work in France as an attempt to whitewash the reputation of Uzbekistan’s repressive ruling regime.

Karimova-Tillyeva charges that one of the articles written by Rue89.com reporter Augustin Scalbert about her charity work is defamatory. Scalbert says her lawyers are seeking 30,000 euros ($48,000) in moral damages.

Scalbert believes the case has more to do with the media situation in France than it does with the word «dictator,» telling RFE/RL that Karimova-Tillyeva «doesn’t like the fact that we write about Uzbekistan in the right ways,» let alone discussing the 2005 events in Andijon, when thousands of Uzbek protesters were massacred by government forces, as well as citing other instances of human rights abuse.

«The mainstream French press doesn’t do that,» Scalbert says, noting that the major French television station TF1 has vested commercial interests in Central Asia with French industrial group Bouygues — a major stakeholder in the company — invested heavily in Turkmenistan, another autocrat-run country with a poor human rights record.
Gilles Lordet, a director of research at Paris-based press-freedom advocate Reporters Without Borders, was dismissive of the case, telling RFE/RL that Karimova-Tillyeva is in for «a lot» of work «if she wants to sue all the newspapers that think that Karimov is a dictator.»

Rumor has it that Karimova-Tillyeva, Uzbekistan’s ambassador to UNESCO in Paris, is competing with her glamorous older sister Gulnara Karimova, Uzbek ambassador to United Nations organizations in Geneva, for influence.

Both sisters are famous in Europe for their extravagant lifestyles, with Gulnara Karimova named one of the «World’s Worst Daughters» by «Foreign Policy» magazine in 2009. She is currently one of the richest women in Switzerland and owns real estate worth tens of millions of dollars.

Is this little sister’s attempt to play catch-up? Only if the Parisian court — unfortunately for Karimova-Tillyeva, it’s one that specializes in freedom-of-speech issues — decides to play ball. The trial starts on May 19.

http://www.rferl.org/content/uybek_presidents_daughter_sues_french_website_for_defamation/3558149.ht

Reporters Without Borders today denounced as “illegal and absurd” the efforts of the Tajik government to get dissident journalist Dodojon Atovulloev forcefully returned to Tajikistan from his exile in Russia and Germany and called on these two governments to protect him.

The state prosecutor in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, sent an extradition request to the Russian authorities today for the journalist and opposition leader, who is a political refugee in Germany (living in Hamburg) and currently in Moscow.

“The request is absurd,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said. “Since he obtained political asylum in Germany in 2002, Tajikistan and Russia cannot legally touch him. We hope the Russian authorities, in accordance with international law and as they have done before, will reject the request.”

“A political refugee can under no circumstances be sent back to his country of origin and the Tajik request for this to be done, in violation of basic international law, is very worrying,” it said.

Atovulloev is founder and editor of the opposition monthly Charogi Ruz (Daylight), the first privately-owned publication set up after independence in 1991 and a strong critic of the regime. He was forced to flee abroad in 2001 after getting death threats and being accused of insulting the president and supposedly “inciting national, racial and religious hatred.” The newspaper is now based in Moscow after its Dushanbe offices were ransacked.

Family members in Tajikistan were imprisoned for several weeks and death threats to Atovulloev continued. He was arrested at Moscow airport in July 2001 and only an energetic campaign by human rights groups prevented him from being sent back to Dushanbe.

The charges against him were initially dropped, but the newspaper continued its criticism and Atovulloev set up an opposition party, ’Vatandor’, in 2007. New charges of insulting the president and “public appeals for violent overthrow of the constitutional order” were laid against him in 2008 and are the basis of the extradition request announced by prosecutor-general Sherhon Salimzoda today.

Press freedom shrank in Tajikistan last year and the authorities are now very keen to silence Atovulloev, who Salimzoda’s predecessor, Bobojon Bobohonov, called a “news terrorist” in 2008. While media outlets mentioning armed clashes in the country’s Rasht Valley last September were clamped down on, Atovulloev called the incidents “a return to civil war.”

http://en.rsf.org/russie-extradition-request-for-dissident-12-04-2011,40020.html