KHATLON, Tajikistan — Twenty underground religious schools with a total of 189 students have been discovered over the past week in Tajikistan’s southern Khatlon district alone, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

Khatlon police chief Abdurahmon Buzmakov said on October 25 that the private unregistered schools, some based in the homes of mullahs, were illegal. He said 20 teachers who were detained in the past week did not have formal permission from the State Religious Affairs Committee and local administrations to teach Islamic studies to children. Up to 130 children have been studying in such schools in the Qubodiyon and Qumsangir districts.

In recent years, authorities have intensified their control over nongovernment teaching, and RFE/RL reports from Qurghonteppa that many parents now opt to teach their children about religion at home.

Tajikistan’s president and education minster have called on parents to bring home their children studying at Islamic universities abroad lest they become «terrorists and extremists.» Dozens of such students have already returned to Tajikistan.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Tajikistan_Cracks_Down_On_Unregistered_Religious_Schools/2201929.html

DUSHANBE — Tajik television journalist Husnigul Daminova is seeking release from custody one month after her detention on charges of «hooliganism,» RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

Daminova was detained on September 28 on the basis of allegations by Tajik State TV and Radio head Asadullo Rahmonov following an argument between them. Daminova, who is 48 years old and has worked for state TV for 16 years, had protested Rahmonov’s refusal to allocate her a two-room company apartment.

An official at Dushanbe’s Shohmansur district court told RFE/RL that the investigation into Rahmonov’s allegations against Daminova is not yet complete.

Daminova’s lawyer, Qimat Rozieva, said her client is mentally exhausted and is seeking a release from custody.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Detained_Tajik_TV_Journalist_Seeks_Release_After_Month_In_Jail/2200810.

Being ranked 115th in Reporters Without Borders 2010 Press Freedom Index may seem rather low. But Tajikistan’s position is higher than all of its immediate neighbors.
Tajikistan’s ranking is the highest among Central Asian states. Additionally, Tajikistan ranks higher than all of its immediate neighbors and nearby states like Ukraine (131), Russia (140), and Azerbaijan (152).

The report comes at a time when the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has criticized the Tajik media environment. According to an article in «The Moscow Times,» the OSCE has petitioned the government to «reverse the ongoing deterioration of the media freedom situation in Tajikistan.» Clearly, rankings like these are always going to involve some rather arbitrary decisions.

The 2010 rankings had other surprises as well. Finland climbed to the number one spot for the first time since 2006. And Eritrea beat out North Korea for the bottom spot on the table for the fourth year running.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Tajikistan_Freest_Media_Environment_In_Central_Asia/2198163.html

VIENNA, 18 October 2010 — The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, said today that she was concerned about recent developments limiting media access and freedom and increasing pressure on independent media in Tajikistan.

In a letter to the Foreign Minister of Tajikistan, Hamrokhon Zarifi, the OSCE Representative wrote: «The practices of blocking websites, preventing newspapers from printing and launching tax or prosecutorial inspections by the authorities are serious non-compliance with Tajikistan’s OSCE media freedom commitments.»

Since 29 September, several Tajik and foreign information websites have been inaccessible in the country. At the same time, tax inspections took place in several independent newspapers and printing houses following which the printing houses refused to print a number of independent newspapers, citing technical reasons.

In her letter to Minister Zarifi, Mijatovic raised again the pending cases against the newspapers Aziya Plus, Farazh, Ozodagon, Paykon and Millat. If the court decision to award disproportionate damages in libel lawsuits brought on by public officials are not reconsidered by the higher courts, these publications could face closure.

«If these newspapers are closed, this would severely diminish pluralism in print media in the Tajikistan,» she wrote in the letter.
«I am very concerned and hope that the Tajik authorities will take on board my appeal, recognize the importance of maintaining media pluralism and thus reverse the ongoing deterioration of the media freedom situation in Tajikistan,» said Mijatovic.

http://www.osce.org/item/47140.html

Contacts:
Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media
Wallnerstrasse 6
1010 Vienna
Austria
Tel: +43 1 514 36 6800
Fax: +43 1 514 36 6802

http://www.osce.org/item/47140.html

Reporters Without Borders deplores the offensive that the Tajik authorities have launched against media critical of the government, in which several newspapers have been forced to stop printing and access to many websites has been blocked.

In an open letter published by the official news agency Khovar on 4 October, defence minister Sherali Khairullayev accused 17 newspapers* that covered an attack by militants (possibly the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan) on an army convoy in the eastern Rasht valley on 19 September of “complicity with the terrorists” and “committing a grave crime.”

Despite protests from the newspapers and from press freedom defenders such as Nuriddin Karshiboev, the head of the National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan (NANSMIT), the authorities are continuing their attacks on the media.

Referring to the 1992-97 civil war, President Emomali Rakhmon accused “certain media” on 5 October of “taking their example from the 1990s and being bellicose.” Warning them against just seeking “sensationalism,” he added that “hoping for the support of their foreign protectors will not do them any good.” Other officials such as the education minister have made similar comments. There have also been more direct forms of pressure.

A tax investigation into three newspapers, Faraj, Negah and Millat, was launched on 28 September. A similar investigation was started the next day at three companies that print these newspapers. Syavosh Hamdamov, the head of one of the companies, AToliyev Print, said it was “more of an attack than an investigation” and that his staff had been questioned about the newspapers.

“The reaction of the Tajik authorities is disproportionate and extremely damaging to the country’s image,” Reporters Without Borders said. “They may hope to demonstrate that they control the situation but the result could unfortunately be quite the opposite. “We understand that Tajikstan’s leaders are concerned about stability, as the country was torn by five years of civil war, but repressive and illegal measures will not help.”

The press freedom organisation added: “We urge the authorities to respond favourably to the dialogue proposals being made by journalists and media advocates, and to put an immediate stop to the unjustified attempts to obstruct the media.”

The heads of several news media and organisations that defend the media yesterday requested a meeting with presidential adviser S. Fatoyev to discuss the problems. At the same time, the Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan urged the defence minister to give specific examples to support his charges of complicity with the armed militants.

Several independent news websites are currently inaccessible including those of the independent news agency Avesta.tj and the central Asia news and analysis outlet Ferghana.ru, as well as Tjknews.com and Centrasia.ru. The government is suspected of ordering the blocking although it has said nothing on the subject.

According to Zafar Abdullayev, the editor of Avesta.tj, the blocking started on 29 September. He said several Internet Service Providers told him that officials had instructed them to block the sites. Since the measure has not been officially recognised, the targeted electronic media have no recourse. As their financial situation is already fragile, it could cause them significant problems.

Meanwhile, the weekly newspaper Faraj has been unable to appear for the second week running as it has not managed to find a company willing to print it. The newspaper Paykhon failed to appear on 13 October for the same reason.

Tajikstan’s already precarious independent press has long face hostility from the authorities and the tension has grown steadily since the start of this year. The new outbreak of violence linked to the war in neighbouring Afghanistan, and Tajikistan’s role in that war, has fuelled the flames. Last July, Tajikistan’s deputy mufti, Saidjon Sorbonkhodj, publicly urged the government to close all the independent newspapers, blaming them for the anti-government criticism and protests and singling out Faraj and Paykhon.

A former Soviet republic, Tajikistan became embroiled in a civil war within months of gaining its independence in 1991. More than 50,000 people died in the war, which pushed about a tenth of the estimated 7 million inhabitants into exile. Since then, Tajikistan has suffered the consequences of the war in Afghanistan, including a disturbing level of drug trafficking (80 per cent of the drug seizures in central Asia) and incursions by Islamic militants suspected of seeking refuge in Tajikistan’s mountains.

*The newspapers that have criticised the defence ministry’s military operations include Asia Plus, Faraj, Ozodagon, Negah, Paykon, Fakty i Kommentarii, Sobytia, Bizness i Politika, Tojikiston, Digest Press and Charikhi Gardun.

REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS / REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÈRES

Two field commanders of the Islamic opposition located in eastern Tajikistan’s Rasht Valley have reportedly agreed to lay down their weapons and join forces with government troops to «hunt down foreign militants.»

The independent news agency Asia-Plus quoted authorities in Rasht as saying that 27 members of armed groups commanded by Mirzokhuja Ahmadov and Mullo Sadriddin surrendered their weapons earlier this week.

The news came after local media reported on October 14 that Tajik officials were negotiating with local commanders in Rasht to end intense fighting that has been going on in the onetime militant stronghold for nearly a month. The ongoing military operation against militants began when 28 government troops were killed on September 19 when their convoy was ambushed in Rasht’s remote Kamarob Gorge.

Since late September, National Security Council chief Amirqul Azimov and deputy heads of the Interior and Defense ministries have been in Rasht, where they set up the joint staff of power ministries to oversee the military operation.

According to media reports, Azimov and the speaker of Tajik parliament Shukurjon Zuhurov, a native of Rasht, have met with the former Islamic opposition commanders in Rasht to convince them to stop the conflict.

Denied Involvement

Over 60 government troops have reportedly been killed in Rasht in the past month. More than two dozen soldiers were reportedly killed in a helicopter crash officials have attributed to technical failures, although media reports have indicated the helicopter was brought down by militants.
Authorities blamed the September 19 attack on the government convoy on local and foreign Islamic militants. The Interior Ministry’s press office initially linked Ahmadov to the Kamarob ambush. Ahmadov’s house in Rasht was raided by government forces and he went into hiding.

Ahmadov has always denied any involvement in the Kamarob ambush and accused the government of putting pressure on former opposition commanders.

Ahmadov was a commander of the United Islamic Opposition Forces that fought against President Emomali Rahmon’s secular government in the 1992-97 civil war. The war ended with a national peace and power-sharing agreement, which saw former opposition leaders getting a 30- percent share of official positions in local and central governments.

The situation in Kamarob remains volatile, with government troops still engaged in search operations in the mountainous area, where armed militants are believed to be hiding.

Tajik officials and experts close to the government have repeatedly blamed unspecified foreign countries for seeking to destabilize Tajikistan.

Powerful Sponsors

The Interior Affairs Ministry has said government forces recently uncovered a cache with supplies of weapons, food, clothes, and «propaganda materials» in Rasht.

Saifullo Safarov, the deputy head of the Center for Strategic Studies, a Dushanbe-based think tank close to the government, says the scale of militants’ attacks indicate these groups have powerful sponsors behind them.

«It would have been impossible for those armed groups [in Kamarob] to purchase that amount of weapons with their own money,» Safarov said. «They must have received financial support from the outside, unless these weapons are left from the civil-war era. However, it’s difficult to say what country or what group is involved.»

Since the Kamarob ambush, it has been difficult to get information from Kamarob as government forces have closed roads leading to the gorge. Communication lines to Rasht have been cut off since the conflict began in September.

State-run television and radio have largely ignored the fighting in Kamarob, limiting their coverage to listing casualty figures. Officials have been reluctant to publicly explain the situation in Rasht.

Authorities announced this week that militants who laid down their weapons voluntarily would not be prosecuted.

written by Farangis Najibullah, with contributions from RFE/RL’s Tajik Service

http://www.rferl.org/content/Local_Tajik_Commanders_Agree_To_Team_With_Government_Troops_In_Rasht/21

Tashkent’s Mirzo Ulugbek district court has fined an Uzbek reporter for the U.S.-funded radio station Voice of America (VOA) the equivalent of about $10,000, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reports.

Abdumalik Boboev, a freelancer for VOA’s Uzbek Service, was found guilty of slander and distributing materials that pose a threat to public order.

The court dropped a charge against him of illegally crossing Uzbekistan’s state border.

An investigation in the case was launched in early September and sent to court soon after.

Boboev told RFE/RL before the trial that all the charges against him are baseless.

Boboev, 41, was among several journalists summoned by the Prosecutor-General’s Office last year for questioning about alleged «unaccredited» journalistic activities.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Uzbek_VOA_Freelancer_Fined/2191941.html

DUSHANBE — Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Khairulloev has accused independent newspapers of sympathizing with the Islamic militants who
ambushed an army convoy in late August, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

In an official statement issued on October 4, Khairulloev accused the media of «biased and one-sided» coverage of the August 19 attack in Rasht, east of Dushanbe, in which at least 25 Tajik conscripts were killed. He called for legal action to be taken.

Nuriddin Qarshiboev, who heads Tajikistan’s Association of Independent Media, told RFE/RL that Khairulloev’s accusation is unfounded, and he should present evidence to substantiate his charges. Qarshiboev said if he fails to do so, journalists will sue him for libel.

The editors of «Farazh», which was specifically cited by Khairulloev for being biased, and five other independent newspapers — «Busines i Politika,» «Fakty i Kommentarii,» «Asia Plus,» and «Paykon» — plan to leave one page blank in their next weekly editions to protest. They have appealed to other weeklies to do the same.

The independent press and the Defense Ministry have previously exchanged accusations over coverage of the Rasht attack.

Two weeks ago, state television broadcast a Defense Ministry statement criticizing initial coverage of the incident. Independent media outlets responded one week ago by protesting the criticism and demanding an apology from the ministry for «insulting the free media.»

http://www.rferl.org/content/Tajik_Minister_Accuses_Media_Of_Sympathizing_With_Militants/2177185.htm

At present, the newspaper is published twice a week with a circulation of 5 thousand copies. Makhmudjon Ibragimov, head of the municipal analytical-information department in Khujand told Asia Plus that the newspaper has received financial support from the province authorities.

The government newspaper Khakikati Sughd is one of the oldest printing outlets in Tajikistan. It was founded on 30 March 1930, and since then it has changed its name several times. Before the mid 1990-s it was printed under the names of Leninabadskaya Pravda, Khakikati Leninobod, and Leninobod Khakikati. It was printed five times a week with a circulation of 45 thousand copies.

www.asiaplus.tj

VARZOB, Tajikistan, 30 September 2010 — A workshop bringing together media law experts from the lower house of the Tajik Parliament, civilsociety and academia concluded today with concrete proposals to improvethe existing law on press and other mass media.

The three-day expert workshop, supported by the OSCE Office inTajkistan, was initiated by civil society during a public debatefollowing the publication of draft amendments to the law. The Members ofParliament who authored the draft amendments, as well as Andrei Richter,director of the Moscow Media Law and Policy Institute, also took part.

«The public debate on this legal initiative and the openness of membersof parliament to listen to the arguments from media law experts in civilsociety and academia and international expertise at an early stage arean excellent praxis in media law making,» said Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCERepresentative on Freedom of the Media, in a message to workshopparticipants.

Ambassador Ivar Vikki, the Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, said «The workshop made it possible for expert opinions, and civil societyexpertise and experience to be heard by decision-makers in thelegislative process.»

Olim Salimzoda, the Head of the Parliamentary Committee forInternational Relations, Public Organizations and Information, added: «The discussions in this workshop give us excellent insight into issuesthat are of concern for civil society with regard to the regulatoryframework for the media in Tajikistan. We will consider them togetherwith our colleagues in the parliamentary committee in the ongoingdiscussion on this law.»

The workshop resulted in detailed recommendations on the draft whichtake into account experience with the practical implementation of thecurrent law, as well as key OSCE commitments on media freedom, includingaccess to information, defamation and libel and freedom of expression.

For further information, please contact: Michael Unland, Media Officer, OSCE Office in Tajikistan, tel.: (+992 918 67 74 13) E-mail: Michael. Unland@osce.org Website:http//www.osce,org

www.osce.org