The Media Alliance of Tajikistan (MAT) has expressed concern over a confrontation between two private newspapers – “Nigoh” and “Ozondagon”.

“The analysis of recent publications in the newspapers containing mutual accusations is the evidence of a growing conflict potential between the parties, which is threatening to grow into a protracted “information war”, — says the MAT press release.

The media community has been undertaking essential efforts to consolidate journalists and media outlets. Such incidents are bringing these efforts to naught.

Members of the Media Alliance are confident that any conflicts and frictions within the media community – especially those concerning the issues of professionalism and the media market – severely affect the solidarity, democracy and the freedom of speech in the country.

The Media Alliance is especially concerned about the formal reason for the souring relations between “Nigokh” and “Ozondagon” – the publications reflecting political and economic interests of certain business structures and politicians. This seriously affects the image of all media in the country, which must play the role of an independent watchdog and an institution of public control over the authorities.

http://avesta.tj/

The Tajik parliament’s lower house has adopted amendments to the law on the National Bank of Tajikistan that put more power in the hands of the country’s president and ban central bankers from doing business with private companies, RFE/RL’s Tajik service reports.

Other changes include a requirement that all National Bank profits go directly to the state treasury.

The measures are seen as a response to inspections of Tajikistan’s central bank last year by an independent British auditor that revealed some $1 billion in irregularities between 2004 and 2008.

Tajik officials have been hard-pressed to explain the financial shortcomings.

Among other things, the Tajik president should now propose candidates for seven-year terms to chair the central bank, and retired bankers will be included on the bank’s governing board.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Tajik_Deputies_Amend_Law_On_National_Bank/1742372.html

Safo Safarov, executive director of the School told the Asia Plus news agency that the new training courses are organized for young media professionals working for both printing and electronic media. The project is supported by UNESCO and the Democracy Development Commission under the US Embassy to Tajikistan.

About 120 young journalists aged 18-30 will take part in the training sessions, which will be held twice a week in Tajik and Russian language groups during the summer. The courses are sub-divided by topics: “Printing media”, “Radio” and “Television”.

Upon the accomplishment of the courses, the youngest journalists (mainly students of Tajik universities) will have a chance to pass internship in the leading domestic electronic media.

The Tajik Independent School of Journalism will provide participants of the course with relevant equipment and access to the Internet.

www.asiaplus.tj

The authorities in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) and the Pamiri media discussed the issues of disaster preparedness and public information in the city of Khorog, administrative center of GBAO.

The seminar “The role of the media in disaster preparedness for communities” was organized by the DIPECO project funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO), and implemented by FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance, an international NGO.

Shamsiya Shodibekova, DIPECO project coordinator says that the role of the media in the Pamirs is very important – since this mountainous region is very prone to various natural calamities, such as seasonal floods, mudflows, stone and snow avalanches and earthquakes.

The seminar was also attended by the Emergency Committee servicemen and representatives of meteorological, health and paramilitary services.

www.asiaplus.tj

The Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) invites journalists from developing Asia and the Pacific to submit published articles written in 2008 or 2009 in connection with the 2009 annual Developing Asia Journalism Awards (DAJA) competition.
The subject matter of the articles should be in line with one of the following four categories.
i. Poverty impact of the global financial crisis
ii. Government responses to the global financial crisis
iii. Infrastructure development
iv. Climate change adaptation
An international panel of judges will select the 20 best articles written by journalists who will then be invited to ADBI in Tokyo for a four-day training program running from 20-23 October 2009.
The training program will provide an opportunity for participants to discuss and debate the above four issues with leading experts. There will also be practical sessions designed to help journalists prepare clear, accessible stories that help promote economic and financial literacy.
Winners of each of the four categories, as well as two special prizes for (i) best development journalist of the year; and (ii) best young development journalist of the year (under 30 years of age) will be selected from these 20 articles. Awards will be given at the conclusion of the training program. Special prizes may be given to entrants in the main award categories or to separate entries.
If you are interested in participating in the 2009 DAJA program, please register online at http://www.adbi.org/daja.awards/register.php. When you have registered, you will be sent instructions by email of how to login to your account to submit articles.
The closing date for entries is Wednesday, 15 July 2009, 6.00 pm, Tokyo time.
The Asian Development Bank Institute was established in 1997 in Tokyo, Japan, to help build capacity, skills, and knowledge related to poverty reduction and other areas that support long-term growth and competitiveness in developing economies in the Asia-Pacific region.
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ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2008, it approved $10.5 billion of loans, $811.4 million of grant projects, and technical assistance amounting to $274.5 million.

http://www.adb.org

A 15 May report by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said continuous torrential rain since 20 April had displaced more than 734 families (over 15,000 individuals), and was stretching emergency supplies country-wide.

«We ask the international community to help replenish our stocks so we can continue to respond to the onslaught of small-scale emergencies,» Gabriella Waaijman, an OCHA regional disaster response adviser in Almaty (Kazakhstan), told IRIN.

The Tajik government has said heavy rain between 20 April and 15 May caused flooding and mud flows in 25 of the country’s 58 districts, leaving over 21 people dead. Some 14,000 hectares of agricultural land had been damaged and 3,600 people had lost their homes, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, with Khatlon and Sughd provinces worst hit.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has agreed to provide 150 tents to the newly displaced families.

According to OCHA, additional tents, bedding, clothes and kitchen utensils will be needed until displaced families are properly resettled.

Construction tools are also urgently required, as well as training on disaster and earthquake-proof construction methods, as the government has promised to provide safe housing for the displaced.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?Reportid=84463

The management of the Tajik state aluminum company TALCO is going to bring to account Khoji Akbar Turajonzoda, the member of Majlisi Oli (upper chamber of the parliament). This information appeared in the SSSR weekly (14 May 2009).

According to the source close to the aluminum company, the recent political intrigues around TALCO and its noted representatives, as well as libel and publically voiced conjectures, are undermining its image.

According to SSSR, the conflict has been lasting for three months. Turajonzoda called TALCO “a harmful enterprise for the Tajik economy”, and recently, after the reprint of an article titled “Turajonzoda is a KGB agent?” and acute feedback in the newspapers “Millat”, “Nigokh” and “Ozodagon”, the parliamentarian came up with a public statement saying that the information campaign against him is launched by TALCO.

The TALCO lawyers have called Turajonzoda’s reaction “a libel against the managers of the enterprise”, and currently are preparing an application to the court.

Khoji Akbar Turajonzoda remains one of the very few controversial characters in the Tajik political arena. In the twilight of the Soviet era he held a title of Kazi Kalon (superior spiritual leader), and in the early 1990-s headed the Islamically oriented United Tajik Opposition (UTO), which opposed the secular government and unleashed the protracted bloody civil war in Tajikistan. Shortly after the signing of the Peace Accord between the warring factions in 1997, he received a position in the government (according to the Peace Agreement quota). For several years he held a post of deputy prime minister.

At present, Turajonzoda is known as one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in Tajikistan involved in cotton business.

Publications about the parliamentarian’s “murky past” and his relations with the Russian special services appeared recently in a number of Russian newspapers and online media.

The independent school of journalism “Tajikistan – XXI Century” will hold a three-month summer course for young journalists.

Safo Safarov, executive director of the Tajik school of journalism told the Asia Plus news agency that the courses will be organized within the framework of the project “Strengthening professional knowledge and skills among young journalists”. The program is supported by the UNESCO International Program on Development of Communication (IPDC) and the US Embassy’s Democracy Development Commission.

About 60 young journalists aged 18-30 will take part in the courses. Training sessions will be held twice a week in Tajik and Russian groups, and will cover the following topics: “Printing Media”, “Radio” and “Television”.

The journalism school selected experienced professional trainers for the sessions. After the courses, journalists will have opportunities to pass internship in the leading printing and electronic Tajik media.

http://www.asiaplus.tj/

Freedom of the Press 2009 identifies the greatest threats to independent media in 195 countries and territories. Released in advance of World Press Freedom Day May 3, the report shows a seventh straight year of decline in global media freedom, with twice as many losses than gains.

There are particularly worrisome trends in East Asia, the former Soviet Union and the Middle East and North Africa. Given an economic climate that is certain to further strain media sustainability and diversity in rich and poor countries alike, pressures on media freedom are increasingly threatening the considerable gains of the past quarter century. Below are several critical tools to highlight data from the annual survey of global press freedom, and to help explain the newest findings in their historical context.

To learn more: http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=470

http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=470

On World Press Freedom Day the Commission is officially launching the Lorenzo Natali Prize for 2009. The prize is awarded in partnership with Reporters Without Borders and the World Association of Newspapers to journalists who have demonstrated a commitment to human rights, democracy and development.

The Natali Prize is an international press award dating back to 1992. In 2008 over 1500 journalists from 151 countries took part. It is open to journalists working in TV, radio, the press and online.

Interested journalists have until 30 June 2009 to apply. Prizes worth a total of ?60 000 will be awarded to the winners in the different sections including Asia.

For more information: http://www.nataliprize2009.eu/content/en/

http://www.nataliprize2009.eu/content/en/