A U.S.-based rights watchdog says Internet freedom around the world has deteriorated for the fourth consecutive year, with the steepest declines in Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey.

In its «Freedom On The Net 2014» report, released on December 4, Freedom House says that Iran, Syria, and China are the world’s worst abusers of overall Internet freedom.

The report, which covers the period between May 2013 and May 2014, assesses the level of Internet and digital-media freedom in 65 countries, with each receiving a score from 0 for the most free to 100 for the least free.

It says that of the 65 countries assessed, 36 have experienced negative trends since May 2013.

Based on the scores, the report ranks countries as free (0-30 points), partly free (31-60 points), or not free (61-100 points).

INFOGRAPHIC: World Map Of Internet Freedom

Of the countries in RFE/RL’s broadcast area that are covered by the report, only two are ranked as free: Georgia, with 26 points; and Armenia, with 28 points.

Ukraine (33 points), Kyrgyzstan (34), Azerbaijan (55), Russia (60), and Kazakhstan (60) are among countries in the «partly free» category.

The report says that Russia’s score fell by 11 points over the past five years. It says that since Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency in 2012, authorities have implemented legislation to block online content, critical or opposition media outlets, and mentions Putin’s signing a bill authorizing the blocking — without judicial oversight — of any website that hosts content deemed as «extremist» or calls to protest.

The Freedom House paper says the bill, which became effective in February, was used to crack down on websites critical of Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s ranking declined five points, mostly because of violence targeting social media and online journalism during the Euromaidan protests, and additional evidence revealing that ousted President Viktor Yanukovych’s government had been keeping activists, journalists, and political opponents under Internet surveillance.

The report mentions Azerbajian’s moves to expand criminal defamation to Internet content, further muzzling government criticism. It notes the case of Khadija Ismayilova, a journalist for RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service, who has repeatedly been subjected to blackmail and gender-based smear campaigns.

Iran (89), Uzbekistan (79), Pakistan (69), and Belarus (62) are states where the Internet is not free.

The paper says that Iran remains the worst country in the world for Internet freedom, despite initial hopes over the election of reformist President Hassan Rohani. It says the government continued to hand down harsh punishments, sentencing people to lengthy jail terms for promoting Sufism online, among other online activities.

In Pakistan’s case, it mentions the case of a woman who was stoned to death by local men in June 2013 after a tribal court found her guilty of possessing a mobile phone.

The report notes an improvement in Belarus, where authorities eased enforcement of some restrictions, but mentions the case of a blogger who exposed police corruption and was subsequently harassed and forced to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

The report says that, from May 2013 to May 2014, some 41 countries adopted or proposed laws to penalize free speech online, step up control over Internet content, or expand Internet surveillance.

The United States, while ranked the sixth-most-free country in terms of internet use, saw a two-point decline over the past year.

But the report says that efforts to reform U.S. surveillance legislation gained momentum in the aftermath of revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

http://www.rferl.org/content/internet-freedom-in-decline/26724869.html

The co-founder of a Kyrgyzstan news portal that published a video showing Kazakh children being trained by the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Syria has slammed the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry after he was asked to remove the report.

Bektur Iskender of the Kloop.kg news website said that the Kyrgyz government was punishing Kyrgyz citizens in order to appease Kazakhstan.

Iskender’s comments came after Kyrgyzstan’s Interior Ministry issued a press release on November 25, criticizing the media for publishing material from the video. While it did not mention Kloop.kg by name, the ministry said it had sent a letter to “the editors of one of Bishkek’s news agencies” asking him to “remove material about Kazakh children trained in an Islamic State camp.”

The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry also warned that it had sent material regarding the Islamic State video to the prosecutor-general.

The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry’s comments came after Kazakhstan said it was moving to ban distribution of the Islamic State video, stating that its dissemination was illegal.

In recent months, Kyrgyzstan has increasingly expressed its concerns about the domestic threat posed by the influence of Islamic State ideology, and about Kyrgyz citizens traveling to Syria and Iraq to fight with Islamic State.

On November 26, an official representative of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security, Rakhat Sulaymanov, said that eight Kyrgyz nationals have been killed in Syria and that there were around 150 Kyrgyz citizens fighting in Syria.

However, while these concerns reflect a genuine threat, there are signs that the Kyrgyz government has to some extent used the “IS threat” as a “useful enemy” to impose tighter controls on religious freedoms.

The move to insist that Kyrgyz news outlets remove the IS video about Kazakh nationals could also be seen as a move to impose more control over journalists. A report earlier this year by Freedom House noted that the government occasionally pressures outlets regarding the coverage of certain subjects.

In its statement, the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry argued that the Internet and the media were essential in helping to spread the extremist ideology of Islamic State and other groups.

“Any terrorist activity in modern conditions, whatever slogans it hides behind, is meaningless without radio and TV, without the Internet and the mass media and their ability to instantly spread information around the world about a terrorist act, or to intentionally or unintentionally sow panic among people,” the statement said, noting that “media activities in our democratic society are governed by a number of regulations and guidelines — these are the principles of freedom of speech, reliability and objectivity, but there are also the principles of journalists’ social responsibility, respect for public interest, and universal values.”

Kloop.kg co-founder Iskender said that the Interior Ministry statement showed the ministry’s “impotence in the fight against terrorism, if the only way to react to the information that emerged is to try to deal with the media.”

“This press release shows how our Interior Ministry fears backlash from Kazakhstan and because of that it is prepared to punish any number of its citizens, just so that our northern neighbor won’t be offended,” Iskender said.

Iskender added that the ministry was only pretending to act instead of trying to find a real solution to the problem of terrorism.

“I’m really sad that we did not get a press release about how the Interior Ministry is preventing Kyrgyz children being sent to Syria,” Iskender added.

Iskender said he had also refused a request by the Kazakh authorities to remove the material, saying that his article was neutral and did not promote terrorism.

“Dissemination of information about the activities of terrorist groups is not a violation of any international law,” Iskender said. “Otherwise, all the world’s media covering the activities of the Islamic State group would have been subjected to massive persecution long ago. But this has not happened.”

As of November 26, Kloop.kg’s article about the video, which includes stills from the footage and a link to the video itself via the Mail Online website, remains online. However, the website has been blocked in Kazakhstan.

— Joanna Paraszczuk

http://www.rferl.org/content/islamic-state-kazakhstan-kyrgyzstan-video/26711654.html

November 24, 2014

by Konstantin Parshin

It looks like Tajikistan is following a regional trend by drafting legislation that may sharply restrict the activities of foreign-funded non-governmental organizations. Activists say the bill threatens to hinder the operations of hundreds of organizations working on everything from human rights to public health.
The leaders of several prominent NGOs told EurasiaNet.org they were caught off guard when the bill was introduced earlier in November. They added that they were not involved in the drafting of the legislation, as had been customary for NGO-related bills, and have not been able to obtain details about the specific wording of the draft. The government has said nothing publicly yet about the bill, which comes as state agencies have increased unscheduled inspections and other bureaucratic measures concerning non-profits, the NGO leaders say.

Under current regulations, all NGOs operating in Tajikistan must regularly present detailed reports on their activities to the Justice Ministry, where they are obliged to register; they also must present financial statements to tax inspectors.

The draft law is believed to require local non-profit organizations to obtain the government’s approval before accepting funds from a foreign donor. For now, it is unclear from whom the local organizations would seek permission or who would appoint and manage that body.

“There are reasons to fear that it [the bill], in practice, would amount to a system of pre-authorization for the use of foreign funds that would involve direct government interference into the activities of NGOs, and could result in arbitrary delays and denials to register grants,” according to a forthcoming letter to the Tajik government that has already been signed by at least 70 organizations.

“If adopted, the draft legislation would further worsen the climate for NGOs, and is also likely to contribute to public mistrust and suspicion of foreign-funded NGOs by singling them out for a specific registration regime,” the letter added.

The public first heard about the draft legislation during a November 18 conference on freedom of speech in Tajikistan, during which NGO leaders noted a generally deteriorating climate for basic freedoms.

“In reality, it implies that the government will be dictating to NGOs which projects they should implement,” Nargis Zokirova, director of the Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law, told EurasiaNet.org. “Authorities demand maximum transparency from us. However, the draft law, which directly concerns our activities, was developed without the [input of] civil society organizations. None of us was aware of it.”

It is unclear why a government that frequently touts its commitment to battling corruption would create an additional layer of the kind of bureaucracy that can breeds sleaze. Tajikistan already ranks 154 out of 177 countries on Transparency International’s most recent Corruption Perceptions Index.

Several activists said they feel Tajikistan’s authoritarian-minded government is simply following the regional trend of tightening regulations in order to silence critics. Many are pessimistic and expect the government will have the country’s rubberstamp parliament approve the bill before the end of the year. “It is quite obvious that many domestic organizations will have to terminate their activities,” said Nuriddin Karshiboev, director of the National Association of Independent Media (NANSMIT).

Conditions for civil society organizations have deteriorated in all Central Asian countries over the last few years. Russian President Vladimir Putin established a precedent in 2012 by signing a law that requires local organizations receiving foreign funding to self-identify as “foreign agents” – Soviet-era slang for spies. Legislators in neighboring Kyrgyzstan are currently pushing an almost word-for-word copy of that 2012 law. If enacted in Kyrgyzstan, NGOs there would have to cope with burdensome reporting regulations.

“In countries where similar laws have been adopted – Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Uzbekistan – the state authorities keep civil society under tough control and punish human rights activists,” said Karshiboev of NANSMIT.

Long-serving President Emomali Rahmon appears to have a strong grip on power in Dushanbe. Even so, authorities have moved steadily in recent years to limit the space for any form of dissent.

A court shut down the human rights watchdog organization Amparo in the northern city of Khujand in 2012 for alleged technical violations shortly after an Amparo representative accused the government of failing to address widespread reports of detainees being tortured.

In October, Tajik security forces mustered a massive display of strength at the mere rumor of a demonstration, which never came to pass. This month, the lower house of parliament quickly approved a draft law restricting demonstrations, again without public consultation. The Asia-Plus news agency quoted political scientist Abdugani Mamadazimov as saying that the law shows that authorities have “opted for stability to the determent of democratic traditions.”

Editor’s note: 

Konstantin Parshin is a freelance writer based in Tajikistan

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/71081

Russia’s latest media product is the Sputnik news agency, an ambitious international venture with dozens of languages and bureaus around the world.

October 29, 2014

October 14, 2014

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/70436

In the end, no one showed up; Tajikistan’s authorities made sure of that. But why was the government so concerned about an obscure group of exiles calling for protest in the first place?

Earlier in October, a businessman living abroad who is not well-known or well-liked at home, issued an appeal via Facebook, calling on Dushanbe residents to take to the streets to protest Tajikistan’s long-serving strongman president, Emomali Rahmon. Umarali Kuvatov, an entrepreneur who fell out with Rahmon and fled Tajikistan several years ago, used slogans like “Tajikistan without Rahmon,” and called for supporters to march on Dushanbe’s Dusti (Friendship) Square on October 10.

Facebook users tended to be dismissive of the rally appeal, seeing it as not only futile (political apathy in Tajikistan is widespread), but also dangerous. Many believed authorities are so intent on clinging to power that they would be willing to use lethal force against demonstrators. Some believed the few people spreading the message on Facebook might be government provocateurs, trying to create a pretext for authorities to block the social-networking platform yet again. Others suspected the Kremlin might be trying to manipulate events.

Kuvatov and his opposition movement, called Group 24, appear to have little local support. Even so, authorities reacted swiftly to the appeal, blocking dozens of websites, deploying armored vehicles, and holding a mock demonstration during which police repelled actors pretending to march on Dusti Square. The Supreme Court – an institution that many Tajiks see as subservient to executive authority – fast-tracked a ruling that labeled Group 24 “extremist,” thus prohibiting local publications from quoting Kuvatov or his amorphous movement.

The day of the planned rally, authorities blocked mobile text messaging services and the website of Tajikistan’s leading independent news outlet, Asia-Plus. Authorities, as usual, did not explain their actions, causing confusion, concern, and a great deal of fear in Dushanbe. Meanwhile, police installed security cameras around the capital and officials announced they would not tolerate any gathering.

The temporary information vacuum fueled rumor-mongering. Some Dushanbe residents compared Kuvatov’s call with the events that led to Tajikistan’s civil war in 1992.

“I would rather exchange hugs with every corrupt public official – although I do not have the slightest respect for any of them – than give somebody a chance to destabilize the situation. Nobody wants a repetition of the events of the early 1990s; neither do we want to follow the slippery slope of Ukraine or Egypt,” said a sound engineer who works at a private studio, expressing, on condition of anonymity, a feeling popular among Dushanbe’s intelligentsia.

“Why don’t people like Kuvatov come here? He prefers to instigate citizens of Tajikistan from the safety of his exile?” the sound engineer continued.

Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE’s Representative on Freedom of the Media, called the website blockages “reprehensive” and “detrimental to the basic human right to receive and impart information.” In the days after October 10, text messaging services and many of the blocked websites became accessible again.

The episode underscores that there is little room for criticism in Rahmon’s Tajikistan. That is especially true this year, following unrest in Ukraine that caused the downfall of that country’s venal leader. Russia’s meddling in eastern Ukraine has merely heightened Rahmon’s sense of unease.

A strange occurrence in the Russian press caused lots of speculation in Dushanbe; on the day of the scheduled protest, though Dusti Square was clear, the Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported that the city was under siege by peaceful protestors. The only casualty, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta report stated, was a pro-government dean of a local university, beaten for opposing the “revolution.”

“It is expected that Umarali Kuvatov, the leader of Group 24, will arrive in Dushanbe within the next few hours,” the paper added.

After two days, the story disappeared from the paper’s website. (A cached version can be seenhere.) The story left observers scratching their heads and fed rumors in Dushanbe that Russia is backing Kuvatov. Was it lazy journalism based on the wishful assertions of Group 24 members, or a Russian provocation?

One respected analyst who asked not to be named for fear of government reprisals said he believed the Kremlin is using Kuvatov (who is believed to be living in Russia) to warn Rahmon “not to get too close to China.” That, in his mind, explained the authorities’ “exaggerated reaction.”

The few embattled opposition groups remaining within Tajikistan took a dim view of Kuvatov’s call. Both the Islamic Renaissance Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDPT) distanced themselves from Kuvatov. SDPT leader Rahmatullo Zoirov told Asia-Plus that it is easy to appeal for mass disorder from outside the country. The call “will bear no fruit, but will, at the same time, put at risk the lives of those who may go to the rally out of curiosity,” he told Asia-Plus on October 9.

“Probably, the group wanted to demonstrate itself” to attract “sponsors rather than like-minded followers. But the attempts to organize public meetings were doomed to failure,” analyst Parviz Mullojanov told EurasiaNet.org. Authorities’ heavy-handed response highlights its own shortcomings, especially in the economic sphere, Mullojanov added. Tajikistan’s stagnant economy is weighed down by high unemployment and dependence on labor migration.

Many seem to agree that authorities have given Group 24 great, free publicity. Kuvatov had made similar statements before, but this time he has succeeded in “making a real huge information buzz,” said lawyer Izzat Amon, who leads a Moscow-based migrant-support group critical of Rahmon.

October 02, 2014

September 29, 2014

by Konstantin Parshin

Many parents in Tajikistan view the start of the school year with a bit of trepidation: while students wrestle with their lessons, adults must reach for their wallets. An increasing number are willing to spend sizable sums to get their kids into Russian-language classes.

Tajikistan’s constitution guarantees access to a free education for children. In reality, not-so-concealed bribery is part of the process. Parents are often required to contribute “voluntary fees” to public schools’ “development funds.” Principals establish their own rates. Though the fees can seem modest enough to be ignored – about $10 per month per child – it is difficult to get an explanation about where the money goes.

“Teachers’ beggarly wages create conditions for corruption in educational institutions, some of which have turned into trade fairs,” said economist Khojimuhammad Umarov. Classes are crowded, teachers often unqualified and – because they are dependent on informal payments from parents to survive – no longer respected, Umarov added.

A secondary-school teacher in Dushanbe told EurasiaNet.org that out of the $10 parents pay each month, he receives $2 per student in addition to his $160 salary. The rest, $8 per student, goes to the school principal. “Perhaps, some of it goes higher up the food chain,” he speculated. His school’s former principal, who used to take vacations to places like Turkey and Greece several times a year, was fired a couple of years ago.

By most accounts, the education system in Tajikistan is in a deplorable state. As they try to prepare their children for the future, concerned parents increasingly see Russian-language instruction as the best available option. Knowledge of Russian remains a vital skill. With few jobs available in Tajikistan, each year over a million people – perhaps one-half of working-age men – go to Russia to work.

The problem is that demand for Russian-language instruction in Tajikistan now outstrips the supply. According to Education Ministry statistics, fewer than 15 percent of students in Dushanbe are enrolled in Russian classes; far fewer attend schools where Russian is the primary language of instruction (in Dushanbe, only five out of several hundred schools). Outside the capital, access to Russian-language instruction is scarcer still.

Several parents confirmed to EurasiaNet.org that the unofficial “enrollment” fees at Russian-language schools, because they are considered superior, run as high as $2,000—a fortune in a country where the average monthly wage is about $200.

Registration is difficult. “One must have a reliable mediator, otherwise, nobody [in the school] will talk with you. Police [who are not trusted] won’t do anything. The system is bulletproof,” said a parent in Dushanbe.

At the Tajik-language school where journalist Zebo Tajibaeva sends her daughter, parents told her last month that during registration they paid between 600 and 1,000 somoni ($120 and $200) to enroll their children in beginner-level Russian-language classes. “Half the children in my daughter’s class speak no Russian at all. So, instead of learning, my daughter must watch how her classmates study Russian?”

Some fear that authorities are intent on squeezing out the few remaining Russian-language programs as part of an ongoing program to Tajikify the country — a nationalist push that parents say runs counter to the needs of their children.

On August 22, the Asia-Plus news agency provoked an impassioned debate when it reported that educational officials have recommended the five Russian schools in Dushanbe not enroll children from ethnically Tajik families. Officials denied the Education Ministry had issued such an order, but confirmed a recommendation does exist to ensure children who do not speak Russian at home do not experience problems.

Improving Russian-language education is critical for Tajikistan’s economic well-being, according to former education minister Munira Inoyatova, who now heads the Child Rights Center, a non-governmental organization. “The flow of migrants [to Russia] will not decrease in the near future. Migrants must have a working knowledge of Russian to be able to protect their rights and access better jobs,” Inoyatova told EurasiaNet.org. “There is a lack of textbooks in [Tajik]; terminology is not developed. […] In many Western countries, English is a second compulsory language. The Russian language should become the main second language within the [former USSR].”

Mikhail Petrushkov, the local representative of the World Coordination Council of Russian Compatriots Living Abroad (VKSRS), bemoaned the loss of the Russian language’s official status in Tajikistan back in 2009. “The growing population, the surplus of manpower along with a huge number of labor migrants in Russia must compel the Tajik authorities to seriously think about the quality of education. Without exaggeration, this is the matter of national security [for Tajikistan],” Petrushkov told EurasiaNet.org.

When Russian officials visit Tajikistan, their Tajik counterparts seem eager to expand Russian-language education. But rarely has that excitement translated into action. For example, when Valentina Matvienko, the chair of Russia’s Federation Council, visited Dushanbe in March, she offered to send Russian-language instructors. Shukurjon Zukhurov, speaker of the Tajik parliament’s lower chamber, indicated that the government would welcome the teachers.

“The Tajik people recall Russian teachers with deep respect and gratitude. They made a valuable contribution in the formation and development of the Tajik national education in Soviet times,” local media quoted Zukhurov as saying.

Six months have passed since Matvienko made the offer, and the program, like ones promised before it, appears to have stalled.

Editor’s note: Konstantin Parshin is a freelance writer based in Tajikistan

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/70211

There is good news coming out of Azerbaijan these days. But much of it seems to be coming from the Twitter feed of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.