On 21 April the Russian Institute of Eurasian Studies in Tajikistan launched a contest “Russian – Tajikistan: Historical routes of friendship and cooperation – new perspectives”.

The contest will be held among journalists working for the Tajik news agencies and freelance media professionals covering the issues of development of Russia and Tajikistan.

Galina Nazarova, representative of the Institute told the media that the contest is targeted to rehabilitating the traditional cooperation between the two peoples in new conditions and attracting attention of the civil society to the Russian-Tajik cooperation.

Khovar news agency

The Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Tajikistan is seeking proposals for supporting actions in the Republic of Tajikistan with financial assistance from the Programme «European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights».

The general objectives of the new financing instrument are to contribute to the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law, and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, within the framework of the Community’s policy on development cooperation, and economic, financial and technical cooperation with third countries, and consistent with the EU’s foreign policy as a whole.

The EIDHR is designed to help civil society to become an effective force for political reform and defence of human rights.

The more detailed information (including full Guidelines for Applicants, application form, etc.) is available for consultation on the following internet sites:

http://www.deltjk.ec.europa.eu and https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?ADSSChck=1271411238113&do=publi.detPUB&searchtype=QS&orderby=upd&orderbyad=Desc&nbPubliList=15&page=1&aoref=129933.

The deadline for submission of proposals is 16 July 2010, 17:30 Dushanbe time.

For further information you may contact Ms. Nodira Safarova in the Delegation of the European Union to Tajikistan tel:+992 (37) 2217407, 228-91-18, Nodira.Safarova@ec.europa.eu

http://www.deltjk.ec.europa.eu

Speaking at a press conference on 19 April in Dushanbe, Nusratullo Abdulloev, chairman of the Tajik Supreme Court told the media that he has no right make comments on the legal actions against the three Tajik weeklies – Farazh, Ozodagon and Asia Plus. “I can only evaluate the validity and legitimacy of the court’s verdict – when it is made,” — he added.

In March 2010 the Sino district court in Dushanbe started hearings on the legal action against the three private newspapers. The complaints are two judges of the Tajik Supreme Court – Nur Nurov and Ulugbek Makhmadshoev, and a judge of the Dushanbe city court – Fakhriddin Dodometov. The complaints demand compensation for “moral damage” in the amount of 5,5, million Somoni ($1,2 million) claiming that the weeklies have defamed their honor, dignity and business reputation.

The dispute was caused by a publication based upon information voiced at a press conference held by Solejon Juraev, the lawyer who stated that in a court proceeding the chairing judge Nur Nurov violated the rights of defendants, and that the verdict was unfair.

Many authoritative international organizations and media communities – both local and foreign – have publicly expressed their concern about the situation.

“Persecution of citizens, in particular, rights advocates, who use their constitutional rights and freedoms, criticizing the judicial and executive powers, as well as the application of punitive measures against those who freely express their opinions, contradict the democratic principles and undermine Tajikistan’s image in the global community”, — says the public statement made by the Tajik Union of Journalists.

Media experts say that the hound on the non-state media is seen as a very negative trend leading to limitations of the freedom of speech and expression, increasing self-censorship among Tajik journalists.

Asia Plus

Colorful but Colorblind — Transitions (TOL) invites applications for participation in Colorful but Colorblind, a learning-by-doing project for journalists aimed at promoting the creative use of multimedia in reporting minority issues.

The project will focus on remedying anti-Roma stereotyping in the media. Ten journalists from the Czech Republic (half Roma, half from the country’s majority group), will attend an intensive week-long training workshop in Prague. Participation is free of charge.

Deadline for applications: 12 May 2010 Ethics and journalism standards — TOL is now offering a distance learning course for university students and young journalists in Central Asia. Using Russian-language courses developed by the BBC World Trust and the Guardian Foundation, participants will learn about journalism ethics and high international standards of reporting.

Each course features several modules and written exercises. Participation is free of charge. Applications will be accepted until 26 April. More details on the TOL website: http://training.tol.org

http://training.tol.org

The U.S. Embassy released the 2009 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Tajikistan in both Tajik and Russian, both available on the U.S. Embassy website. The Country Report on Human Rights Practices was released on March 11, 2010.

The Report summarizes the human rights situation in Tajikistan, followed by comprehensive information on over 35 areas, such as trial procedures, political detainees, freedom of speech and the press, freedom of religion, political participation, corruption, trafficking in persons, women and children.

The Report details a number of specific human rights violations and mentions examples such as forced participation in the Roghun fundraising campaign, lack of transparency in the state budget, the restrictive Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations, the shut-down and delays of independent media outlets TV Somoniyon, TV Guli Bodom, and Radio Imruz, and the three-month closure of the Technological and Communication Innovation of Tajikistan Institute. The Report also highlights government harassment of nongovernmental organizations, violence and discrimination against women, trafficking in persons, child labor, and unlawful detainment and torture.

In public statements and through direct communication with the Government of Tajikistan, the U.S. Embassy has conveyed its concerns about these violations to the Government of Tajikistan and urged it to ensure basic human rights to all Tajik citizens.

Secretary of State Clinton said at the release of the Report on March 11, 2010, that the United States is «committed to holding everyone to the same standard, including ourselves.”

The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are submitted annually by the U.S. Department of State to the U.S. Congress in compliance with U.S. law and cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights. The Reports provide the most comprehensive record available of the condition of human rights around the world.

The Tajik and Russian language versions of the report are available on the embassy’s website at: http://russian.dushanbe.usembassy.gov/reports.html

http://russian.dushanbe.usembassy.gov/reports.html

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has chided Kyrgyzstan for its worsening human rights records in a stinging rebuke to the country once regarded as Central Asia’s most democratic state.

Ban is on the second leg of a Central Asian tour that will take also him to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan.

«For the United Nations, the protection of human rights is a bedrock principle if a country is to prosper,» Ban said today in a speech to the Kyrgyz parliament.

«Recent events have been troubling, including the past few days. I repeat: all human rights must be protected, including free speech and freedom of the media,» he added.

Ban’s visit has encouraged opposition and rights activists to voice their grievances, and protesters today sought to draw his attention to what they see as widespread rights violations.

They chanted «freedom» and «help us» as Ban arrived at the parliament building in Bishkek to give a speech.

«Honestly, we are a concerned about the mounting risk of clashes between the civil society and authorities,» Toktaiym Umetalieva, a former presidential candidate who now heads an association of nongovernment organizations, told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service:

«The United Nations must solve this problem by using its leverage and addressing that issue with our dear Mr. Kurmanbek Bakiev.»

http://www.rferl.org/content/Opposition_Rallies_As_UN_Chief_Visits_In_Kyrgyzstan/2001706.html

More than 30 essays from students of 13 schools in Dushanbe have been evaluated by a joint commission consisting of representatives of Radio Vatan and the public organization Dast ba Dast (Hand by Hand). The contest on the topic “I am a journalist and it means that…” is supported by the Swiss Development and Cooperation Office in Central Asia.

The competent jury selected 10 best essays. The goal of the project is to form a steady socio-information culture among Tajik schoolchildren and to involve the most talented of them in the youth journalism movement.

The winners will get acquainted with the leading Tajik printing and electronic mass media; some of them will get a chance to launch their own radio or TV programs. Besides that, project implementers are intending to launch an online newspaper for young journalists, a radio program on Radio Vatan and publications in the Farazh weekly.

The winners will attend master classes organized by experienced TV, radio and writing journalists. Participants will explore the professions of radio anchors, TV operators; they will learn about printing and web design.

Khovar news agency

ALMATY — A Chinese man has been sentenced by a Kazakh court to five days in jail for attacking the office of an independent newspaper, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports.

The Almaty court found Yan Shaolian, a shuttle trader, guilty on April 5 of attacking the Almaty office of «Zhas alash» on March 28.

The Almaty-based organization «Adil soz» (A Just Word), which monitors media and journalists’ rights, said Yan smashed the doors of the newspaper’s editorial office and broke a window.

Zhan Jianchao, the deputy chairman of an Almaty organization representing Chinese businesspeople, has officially apologized to the newspaper’s editors and paid for the damage. Yan said at his trial he was drunk at the time.

But «Zhas alash» editor in chief Rysbek Sarsenbai told journalists he was not satisfied with the court decision. He said the case should be reviewed and Yan should be deported from Kazakhstan.

«It is very strange that Mr. Yan consumed alcohol in one district of Almaty and, being drunk, decided to travel to another district to perpetrate an act of hooliganism,» Sarsenbai said.

Sarsenbai said the attack might be connected with recent articles in «Zhas alash» focusing on tensions in Chinese-Kazakh relations, especially the controversial issue of leasing Kazakh land to Chinese farmers.

Sarsenbai noted that the newspaper’s website recently suffered several cyberattacks that he suspects originated in China. He pointed out that the website is very popular among ethnic Kazakhs living in the northwestern Chinese
province of Xinjiang.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Chinese_Man_Jailed_For_Attack_On_Kazakh_Newspaper/2004200.html

According to Turko Dikaev, representative of the NANSMIT monitoring network in Khatlon province, the health authorities introduce elements of preliminary censorship.

“In order to avoid mistakes and misinformation, it is decided to share only the data, which have been fully verified on the level of the Ministry of Health”, — said Toir Tumanov, a health official in the city of Kulyab.

Prior to that, the Khatlon health authorities introduced another limitation for the media: in order to receive any data from any doctor, journalists must obtain a written permission from chief physicians in medical facilities.

NANSMIT Monitoring Service

A Kyrgyz opposition newspaper said it has been ordered by a Bishkek district court today to cease publication, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reports.

Yryskeldy Mombekov, the chief editor of the newspaper «Forum,» told RFE/RL that a Bishkek district court ruled today that his publication could no longer be published. The court decision was made after a district prosecutor charged that some articles in the newspaper’s March 30 issue «called for the forcible overthrow of the country’s constitutional system.»

The court ruling was delivered today to the «Forum’s» offices in Bishkek.

Mombekov says the court ruling is politically motivated. He said the authorities are cracking down on independent media outlets ahead of protests scheduled by opposition groups on April 7.

Mombekov says he will challenge the court’s decision in a higher court.

Police confiscated 7,000 copies of the March 15 edition of «Forum.»

Two other opposition newspapers — «Achyk Sayasat» (Open Politics) and «Nazar» (View) — were shut down in Kyrgyzstan last month.

Also in March, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz programs were dropped from local FM radio stations and access to the independent websites Ferghana.ru and Centrasia.ru have been blocked.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Another_Opposition_Newspaper_Shut_Down_In_Kyrgyzstan_/2000249.html