Not a single Central Asian nation is among the ten of the happiest countries in the world.

Northern European countries — Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden — top Gallup’s World Poll (GWP) of the happiest countries.

According to the poll, Turkmenistan, which came in 18th place on the GWP list, is the happiest Central Asian nation. Surprisingly, it ranked above wealthier Western countries like Italy, Germany, and France.

Apparently happiness isn’t related to civil liberties.

GWP researchers say they «measured» people’s happiness by asking respondents in 155 countries to reflect on their overall satisfaction with their lives, and ranked their answers using a «life evaluation» score from 1 to 10. Respondents were also asked about their «daily experiences» — including whether they felt well-rested, respected, and free of pain and intellectually engaged.

Assessing the poll, Forbes.com writes that «by and large, rich countries are happier.» But if this is so, how to explain Kazakhstan — the richest country in Central Asia — being ranked 70th in the happy index, far below the poverty-stricken Malawi (63rd).

Uzbekistan, which is ranked 85th, could console itself with the fact that came in just a few places behind wealthy Japan (81st).

The poll found Tajikistan, which came in 130th, to be the least happy country in Central Asia, worse than even its war-torn neighbor, Afghanistan (115th). Just another reason to get depressed.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Not_A_Very_Happy_Place/2103150.html

People in Turkmenistan — where all media is state-controlled — may soon be reading privately-owned newspapers and magazines.

In televised remarks during a cabinet meeting, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov announced plans to allow the creation of private newspapers in the country.

«Proposals for the founding of private newspapers and magazines can be prepared and work on this matter can be accelerated,» Reuters quotes Berdymukhammedov as saying.

Berdymukhammedov also said the country’s union of industrialists and entrepreneurs should also launch its own publication focusing on business success stories.

«Likewise, if there are those who want to create new parties, we will support them too,» the president said, although he also noted that the establishment of political parties should not be rushed, AFP reports.

Turkmenistan is the only post-Soviet country without privately-owned media. The country’s five television channels, 25 newspapers, 15 magazines and one news agency are all state-owned.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Turkmenistan_Plans_To_Allow_PrivatelyOwned_Media/2096284.html

The Tajik weekly Facts & Comments published an article titled “Where does the TVT money go?” (#15, 07.07.2010).

The author, M. Salohiddinov says that due to the Tajik state television he has fallen in love with reading – since all the TV programs are dedicated only to the president’s business trips. Last week, the Tajik TV stations were covering president Rakhmon’s visit to Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province.

“These stories are long as Arabian nights… and they do not require any special investments,” – the author says. – “It takes a lot of efforts, specialists and logistical arrangements to create a real talk show and touch upon something really topical. The TV authorities do not bother. They keep broadcasting these boring reportages, and they do not care about the audience’s opinion”.

NANSMIT monitoring servce

Viktor Ivanov, the head of Russia’s Federal Drug Control Service, was in Tajikistan at the start of July and made a curious remark.

Ivanov said Russian border guards could return to duty in Tajikistan keeping a watch on the Central Asian country’s border with Afghanistan. It was a function the Russian border guards performed from 1991 until 2006, when they completely handed over the task to their Tajik counterparts.

Ivanov said Russia was not holding talks with Tajikistan on sending the Russian troops back but added, «if the countries have goodwill it is possible.» Ivanov made his comments just after meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.

It is no secret Russia, as well as other countries, are concerned about increasing drug trafficking from Afghanistan through Tajikistan and onward toward Russia and Europe or China and Asia.

Many in Russia and some of the Central Asian states were displeased to see the last of the Russian border guards leave the Tajik-Afghan border and feared the Tajik border guards were not up to the task.

Results since have been mixed. Seizures of narcotics are up, but many feel that simply reflects the fact that ever more narcotics are crossing the border and that the percentage of drugs intercepted remains only some 5 to 10 percent of the total.

Russia may have another reason for wanting to help Tajikistan keep watch on its southern frontier. Kyrgyzstan, to the north of Tajikistan, has been experiencing severe difficulties — the ouster of a president and violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks.

With instability both to the south and north, Tajikistan’s border guards are stretched thin, a situation that gives the «bad guys» — drug traffickers, Islamic militants, and others — easier access and freedom of movement in the southeastern Central Asian region.

Ivanov said the question was: are Russia and Tajikistan «ready to take this action»? Since Ivanov appears to have been the one talking about it, we can assume Russia at least is ready.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Is_Russia_Considering_Returning_To_The_Afghan_Border/2092083.html

The Tajik National Association of Independent Media has released a new study guide for journalists titled “Legal Regulations in Access to Information”. The study guide was released under support of Internews in Tajikistan and funded by USAID.

The publication contains a compilation of legal documents regulating access to information with relevant explanations and interpretations. It also contains samples of legal complaints and other papers, which might help media professionals in their everyday activities. While working on the study guide, the authors referred to practical experience of Russian, Kazakh and Tajik researchers and legal practitioners.

The study guide is released in Tajik and Russian languages. It is intended for journalists, lawyers, media researchers and university students. The publication is being disseminated free of charge and can be received upon request at NANSMIT.

NANSMIT

A Kyrgyz journalists’ organization says several journalists were attacked while covering the ethnic violence in the southern cities of Jalal-Abad and Osh last month, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reports.

The Public Association of Journalists (PAJ) said that six journalists were attacked and beaten in Osh, another suffered severe burns, and photographer Pazyle Sarybaev is still missing. In addition, the homes of four journalists were damaged after they were set on fire.

It added that Osh-based Keremet TV cameraman Batyr Mamatjanov, who was seriously injured on June 11 when a crowd attacked his car and seized his camera, remains in critical condition in hospital with broken ribs and a head injury.

PAJ coordinator Meri Bekeshova told RFE/RL the association has given financial and technical help to the journalists who suffered attacks, with assistance from International Media Support, a Danish nonprofit organization.

At least 291 people were killed and hundreds of thousands fled their homes in the clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in Osh and Jalal-Abad that began on June 10.

http://www.rferl.org/content/NGO_Says_Journalists_Were_Attacked_In_Southern_Kyrgyzstan/2089261.html

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Kazakh police have detained journalist Yekaterina Belyaeva for holding an unsanctioned protest, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports.

Belyaeva, who works for the Almaty-based newspaper «Vzglyad» (Look), came to the city’s Independence Square on June 21 and unfolded a sign saying: «President, Give Us Back Our Constitution!»

She told journalists who came to the square that she was protesting the constitutional law on the «Leader of the Nation» that was adopted last week.

The new law bestowed on President Nursultan Nazarbaev the title Leader of the Nation and gave him immunity from prosecution. In addition, his property and that of members of his family cannot be confiscated.

Several police officers took the sign from Belyaeva by force and told her that she did not have permission to stage a protest. Belyaeva answered that she has permission in accordance with Kazakhstan’s Constitution, which guarantees freedom of assembly.

Rights activist Ghalym Ageleuov tried to intervene and help Belyaeva, but he was forced by a policeman to the edge of the square. Belyaeva was pushed into a police car and driven away.

Prominent journalist Sergei Duvanov and rights activist Andrei Sviridov were fined for a similar protest action last week.

Kazakhstan currently holds the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, whose mandate includes such issues as human rights and freedom of the press.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Kazakh_Journalist_Detained_For_Staging_Protest/2078620.html

Iceland’s parliament, the Alpinghi, has unanimously approved a resolution known as the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative (IMMI) that calls on the government to draft legislation in line with its recommendations for the protection of media, journalists and bloggers.

Reporters Without Borders hails this ambitious and positive initiative, adopted on 15 June, and calls on the government to do its utmost to respect the parliament’s will when it drafts the law.

“This proposal is on the right track,” Reporters Without Borders said. “It regards freedom of expression as a fundamental right and would create optimal conditions for investigative journalism. Even if the precise impact of this proposed law remains to be seen, especially as regard journalists’ legal protection, Iceland has established itself as a pioneer.”

The press freedom organisation added: “We hope this will serve as an example to other governments. It is certainly a promising departure from the general tendency, especially in democratic countries, for press freedom to be eroded and for harassment of journalists and their sources to increase.”

Assembling elements from the best legislation in the world, Iceland wants to become a global safe haven for journalists and new media that are being threatened or harassed and want to take advantage of the best protection available anywhere.

The transparency and independence of news and information are the initiative’s keywords. The declared aims are “to strengthen freedom of expression around world and in Iceland, as well as providing strong protections for sources and whistleblowers” (see the IMMI website). It also aims to secure communications and protect journalists and bloggers from unwarranted defamation suits both in Iceland and abroad.

Iceland wants to be seen as the ideal place for online media and data storage banks to locate their servers in order to shield themselves from the threats of censorship, filtering and closure, and to provide the best protection for the personal data of their users.

The initiative came about partly in response to a press issue that had a lot of impact in Iceland. In August 2009, the RUV television station was prevented at the last moment from broadcasting a story about Kaupthing Bank, which was immersed in a financial crisis.

The story was based on information from Wikileaks, which specialises in getting confidential information from whistleblowers in return for guarantees of anonymity, and which had already published extracts from the bank’s accounts. An injunction obtained by Kaupthing Bank prevented RUV from broadcasting the item, but the station told its viewers what had happened.

Read the article: http://en.rsf.org/islande-nouvel-article-18-06-2010,37771.html

Lucie Morillon
Reporters Without Borders
Head of the New Media Desk
internet@rsf.org
Skype : rsfnet
Twitter: luciemorillon and RSF_RWB
T : +33 1 44 83 84 71

http://en.rsf.org/islande-nouvel-article-18-06-2010,37771.html

Brussels/New York, 17 June 2010:

To: Security Council Ambassadors

Your Excellency,

We urge the United Nations Security Council to take immediate steps to address the ongoing crisis in Kyrgyzstan. With a death toll likely to reach far higher than the official count of 200 and an estimated 400,000 displaced in Kyrgyzstan and across the border in Uzbekistan, the situation poses a significant threat to international peace and security. The Kyrgyz authorities have primary responsibility for halting the violence and resolving this crisis, but reports from the ground provide ample evidence that the government is unable to protect those in need, and Kyrgyz authorities have already acknowledged that they need substantial assistance.

In the past week, violence along ethnic lines has engulfed Osh and Jalal-Abad, resulting in killings, rapes, beatings, and widespread burning and looting of homes and other properties. There are a growing number of reports that Kyrgyz military and other security personnel not only failed to stop the violence, but in some cases may have been active participants.

In the last two days there have been fewer reports of violent attacks but some continue. Claims that the situation is stable are belied by the extremely tense standoff that remains. Ethnic Uzbeks who remain in Osh are in some cases trapped in isolated neighborhoods, living in fear behind barricades. The government itself recognizes that new violence could flare at any moment.

The humanitarian situation is grave and increasingly urgent because Kyrgyz forces cannot be relied upon to provide the secure environment needed for humanitarian assistance to reach the population. Humanitarian organizations are having great difficulty accessing those needing assistance, and report incidents of theft and looting of aid.

Some 100,000 ethnic Uzbeks have sought refuge in Uzbekistan; the border is now closed. As many as 40,000 who fled the violence are without shelter, and given the destruction of hundreds of houses, many of the displaced have no homes to return to even should they feel safe to do so. Repatriation of the displaced will require much greater security and confidence within the displaced community.

International security assistance is urgently needed. An international stabilization mission of limited size could make a significant difference by securing the area for humanitarian relief, providing security for some of the displaced to return home, and creating space for reconciliation, confidence-building, and mediation programs to succeed. This mission would have a policing mandate and could be bolstered by military forces, particularly constabulary forces or gendarmes, if necessary.

Security Council Members should work without delay with regional organizations to ensure that such a mission is fielded as quickly as possible, with the endorsement of the Security Council and with specific terms of reference, clear rules of engagement, and a limited duration. Countries with capacity to engage quickly, in particular Russia, should be encouraged to contribute to the rapid deployment of such a mission.

A short-term security presence is crucial to establishing the humanitarian corridor requested by the United Nations and should lead the way for multilateral efforts to create a secure political environment for the eventual, but delayed, holding of a constitutional referendum and elections, and a longer-term effort to strengthen the rule of law and the protection of minorities, as well as to assist the government in security-sector reform.

Accountability for the recent violence, including on the part of state authorities, will be essential to securing long-term stability and reconciliation. The government should be encouraged to investigate crimes, ensure the protection of witnesses, and hold accountable those responsible for the violence. Given the extent and character of the violence, however, government efforts toward accountability should have an international component to be credible and effective. As an immediate step, the government should cooperate with OHCHR to begin investigations.

The instability in southern Kyrgyzstan cannot be wished away, and without a decisive international response there is considerable risk that widespread violence will reignite. It is possible that ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks may seek violent revenge for the past week of mayhem. Prolonged insecurity could provide an opening, for example, for political opponents who may seek to further weaken or overthrow the provisional government through violence against its perceived supporters. In the absence of an international mission to restore law and order, further such violence is likely to continue and could spill over to neighboring countries. Should conditions persist, widespread violence could cause a complete collapse of the state, with the attendant hum an rights, political, and security consequences for the region, including the risk of unilateral intervention by outside actors.

The threat to regional peace and security posed by the crisis in Kyrgyzstan is real and, despite the reduction in daily violence, still growing. The Security Council has an obligation to respond to these risks and should act immediately to work with the government, regional organizations and others to prevent further escalation of violence, including by authorizing international law enforcement and security assistance.

Best regards,

Louise Arbour, President and CEO, International Crisis Group

Kenneth Roth, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch

INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP