Deadline:01/02/11
Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

Journalists interested in crisis reporting can apply for a US$7,500 travel grant. Applicants should live outside the U.S.

The Persephone Miel Fellowship will fund a reporting project that focuses on a global crisis under-reported in the mainstream American media.

The grant is designed to help a non-native English speaking journalist reach an international audience. For more information, click here: http://pulitzercenter.org/persephone-miel-fellowship

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/71296

New York, December 16, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists today denounced the imprisonment in northern Tajikistan of Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov, a reporter with the Dushanbe-based independent weekly Nuri Zindagi. Ismoilov was arrested in Sogd region on November 23, but the regional press first reported on the case on Monday. Ismoilov is currently being held in a pretrial facility in the city of Khujand, according to the local press.
The Dushanbe-based National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan said Ismoilov was criminally charged with defamation and insult through the media (two separate counts). If convicted, Ismoilov faces up to two and a half years in prison. Authorities have not named a plaintiff in the indictment.

Nuriddin Karshiboyev, the media association’s director, told CPJ he believes Ismoilov was arrested in retaliation for his reporting. Ismoilov consistently criticized the regional government, law enforcement agencies, and the judiciary for alleged mismanagement, poor social and economic policies, and abuse of power, Karshiboyev told CPJ. According to Karshiboyev and local press reports, regional prosecutors asked Nuri Zindagi to provide them with all the articles Ismoilov had written for the weekly since he joined the newspaper in 2008.

“We call on Tajik authorities to drop all these politicized charges against Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov and release him at once,” CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. “Tajikistan must decriminalize its defamation and insult laws in order to bring itself in line with international norms for press freedom.”

Karshiboyev told CPJ that he has studied Ismoilov’s publications in detail and has not found any instances of insult or defamation.

CPJ is a New York–based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit www.cpj.org.

Muzaffar Suleymanov
Research Associate, Europe and Central Asia
Committee to Protect Journalists
Phone: 212.465.1004 (x101)
Fax: 212.465.9568
E-mail: msuleymanov@cpj.org
Web: www.cpj.org

www.cpj.org

All five post-Soviet Central Asian states are characterized by rampant nepotism, which has arguably become the main obstacle hampering their economic and political development. Kyrgyzstan’s two post-Soviet leaders — Askar Akaev and Kurmanbek Bakiev — were both undone by the favoritism they showed their children and close relatives, a lesson that should not be lost on the heads of Kyrgyzstan’s neighbors.

Bakiev, who was ousted as president in April, appointed his son and brothers to high state positions. His son, Maksim, and his brother, Janysh, in fact, became some of the most influential political figures in the country. Leading opposition figure Azimbek Beknazarov went so far in 2007 as to say that Janysh and Maksim were actually running Kyrgyzstan. While politician Omurbek Tekebaev said Kyrgyzstan had established a system of medieval nepotism in which power is distributed solely on the basis of consanguinity.

Nepotism became a great danger for Kyrgyzstan, menacing its very integrity whenever the clans that emerged around Maksim and Janysh found themselves at odds over some prize or other.

Between them, they pretty well divided Kyrgyzstan into fiefdoms. Maksim, dubbed «The Prince,» controlled key businesses, including the gems of the banking system, the media, and the financial sector. Janysh was originally the deputy head of the National Security Service. Later he headed the State Protection Service, which provides security for the president, government officials, members of parliament, and the justices of the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court. In fact, he controlled all the country’s law enforcement organs, including the prosecutor’s office, the criminal investigations units, and the judiciary.

Two more presidential brothers — Marat and Adil — were ensconced in Kyrgyz embassies abroad. One is ambassador to Germany, while the other is a senior official in the embassy in Beijing.

Another brother, Kanybek, headed a village administration, while another, Akhmat, is a successful businessman and the «unofficial governor» of the family’s native Jalalabad Oblast. Another brother, Jusupbek, served as deputy director of Kyrgyzstan’s Agency for Community Development and Investment before his death in early 2006.

The End Of An Era

But this corrupt system ended in a bloody uprising in which 87 people were killed by gunfire from state security agents. I doubt Kurmanbek Bakiev foresaw the dangerous, deadly dynamic he was unleashing when he named his son to the second-highest position in a rigid vertical of power.

And how could he? Having surrounded himself with sons, brothers, and other relatives, Bakiev had no reliable circle of politicians and professionals to advise him. The political allies who helped him oust Akaev all abandoned him. Gradually, his only thought came to be how to hold on to the position his whole clan relied on despite the country’s increasingly unstable, untenable political environment. The logic of this system became fatally self-perpetuating; as his political companions abandoned him, he became increasingly dependent on his network of powerful family members.

Looking back at Akaev’s presidency, it is clear that his wife was really calling the shots. Mairam Akaeva made most key personnel decisions. A graduate of Leningrad State University, she was a professor of mechanics and president of the Meerim charity foundation. All businesspeople or officials who sought her favor would transfer funds to the foundation. After Akaev was ousted, prosecutors began looking into several cases in which state ministries allegedly illegally transferred budget funds to Meerim.

Experts have estimated that as much as 20 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s GDP ended up in the pockets of Akaev’s family and close allies. Mairam and Akaev’s son, Aidar, were notorious for «selling» state posts. In 2006, prosecutors opened and investigated 106 criminal cases connected to Akaev’s relatives or members of his inner circle.

Akaev and his wife used to say, «all the riches we have are our books and paintings.» But in reality, his children and relatives impudently seized everything in Kyrgyzstan that glittered. Akaev installed his daughter, Bermet, as a parliament deputy and his son, Aidar, as adviser to the finance minister and parliament deputy. When both Bermet and Aidar ran for parliament in 2005, there was impudent falsification on their behalf and in favor of other members of the pro-presidential Alga Kyrgyzstan party.

But it was Akaev’s son-in-law, Adil Tojgonbaev (a Kazakh citizen and the husband of Bermet), who was the most irritating. Some journalists estimated that Tojgonbaev oversaw virtually every profitable industry in Kyrgyzstan, controlling in particular the market for alcohol. He also purportedly owned several broadcasting companies and several popular newspapers, including «Evening Bishkek.»

Ultimately, five criminal cases were initiated against him, accusing him of causing damages in the amount of $18.8 million. But Astana refused to extradite him and now he lives peacefully in Kazakhstan. He and Bermet are divorced.

The fact that Bakiev so closely followed the doomed path of his predecessor demonstrates the deep roots that corruption and nepotism have in Central Asia.

Beyond Kyrgyzstan

Across the region, family is a crucial social institution and interpersonal ties among even extended-family members are exceptionally strong. Family connections are often tied to financial support and trust among family members is far higher than levels of trust in society generally. Several generations of a family will often live together, and elders are treated with noteworthy respect. Children are taught from the beginning to rely on their families.

That’s why, despite the obvious negative examples from Kyrgyzstan showing that nepotism and the corruption it engenders are key drivers of popular discontent, other Central Asian leaders continue to practice and defend similar systems.

Suhrob Sharipov, head of the presidential Strategic Research Center in Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus that President Imomali Rahmon has the right to appoint relatives to senior posts if he judges them qualified.

«Family links have always been used and will always be used in Tajikistan,» Sharipov said. «We have such a mentality that relatives try to be close to each other. Family links will always be used in our country by everyone, no matter who is in power.»

He argued that the main reason nepotism is less prevalent in Western democracies is because families often live scattered far apart.

As might be expected from Sharipov’s analysis, several of Rahmon’s children already occupy high-level post. Twenty-three-year old son Rustam has been enjoying a meteoric rise in Tajik politics and is widely viewed as a possible presidential successor. Daughter Tahmina is believed to be a cofounder of several trading networks and of the Development Bank of Tajikistan. Hasan Sadulloev, the brother of Rahmon’s wife, is chairman of the board of the country’s largest bank, Orienbanka. He owns dozens of factories, real-estate companies, a network of restaurants, and several mass-media outlets.

In Uzbekistan, the alleged U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks recently describe President Islam Karimov’s daughter, Gulnara, as «the most hated person in the country.» According to the U.S. diplomats in those texts, she «bites off a slice» of every profitable business in the country and has earned the nickname «the queen of thieves.» Gulnara has long lived in Geneva, where her Zeromax holding company is registered. She also spends considerable time in Spain.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev once joked that «my salary as president is very small, so my children are helping me.» According to «Forbes» magazine, Nazarbaev’s daughter, Dinara, and her husband, Timur Kulibaev, are among the world’s billionaires.

In 2007, Kulibaev bought a private residence from a member of the British royal family for 15 million pounds, about 25 percent more than the market price of the property, according to Britain’s «Daily Telegraph.» The Kazakh newspaper «Republic» has reported that Dinara paid nearly 75 million Swiss francs earlier this year for a country house near Lake Geneva.

Nazarbaev’s former son-in-law, Rakhat Aliev, amassed a great fortune before falling out of favor with his benefactor. Living now in Austria, Aliev has been sentenced in absentia to 40 years in prison by an Almaty court and has had his extensive properties in the country seized — factories, newspapers, aircraft, homes…

For his part, Aliev has penned a tell-all about Nazarbaev called «The Godfather,» in which he writes that Nazarbaev has three wives and plans to hand over power to a son by his third wife who is now just five years old.

Turkmenistan also has a reputation for corruption and nepotism. Former Turkmen leader Saparmurat Niyazov’s son, Murat, was given a privileged access to the business world. He was entrusted with control over exports of the country’s natural gas. Some media reported that the revenues were held in offshore banks in Cyprus. Murat was suspected of accepting bribes from foreign companies interested in drilling and extracting the gas. He also controlled earnings from the lucrative sale of alcohol and cigarettes.

In the three years since the death of «President-For-Life» Niyazov, Turkmenistan’s government has taken some steps to dismantle the corrupt Niyazov system. However, we now see the rise of the family and inner circle of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. Former dentist Berdymukhammedov used to drive an old Russian car, but has lately developed a taste for luxury. One of his daughters lives in London, another in Paris. He has been steadily installing his friends and fellow clan members in powerful state positions.

None of these leaders seems to have learned anything from the experience of Kyrgyzstan. They continue to ignore the simple truth that one day, inevitably, the patience of the people will simply run out.

Cholpon Orozobekova is a Kyrgyz journalist based in Geneva. She has worked for BBC radio, RFE/RL, IWPR, and as editor in chief of independent newspaper «De Facto.» The views expressed in this commentary are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL

Cholpon Orozobekova, RFE/RL

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/deep_roots_of_nepotism_in_central_asia/2249061.html

Farhod Hasanov has never heard of e-mail, or Facebook, or other social-networking tools teenagers in other parts of the world take for granted in this digital age.

The 17-year-old Tajik student does know what it takes to feed a family of five, however.

«I help my father cutting wood, collecting fodder for our cattle, and harvesting apricots in our backyard, because we need them all during the winter season,» Hasanov says. «If you buy them from the bazaar, it will cost a lot of money and then you would have to cut back on other things, like clothes.»

Farhod lives in the village of Tagisada in Tajikistan’s northern Isfara district, a remote village where most locals make a living by farming or working in Russia as migrant laborers.

To connect to the Internet or watch a movie at a cinema, Farhod would have to take a bus 30 kilometers to the nearest town, Isfara. But Farhod, speaking with a group of friends outside a former madrasah (Islamic religious school) in his village, says he can’t afford such hobbies.

Farhod and many of his friends used to study at the madrasah, but the authorities closed the madrasah down a few years ago amid rumors that some of its students had joined extremist groups in Afghanistan.

The move came amid growing concerns in Tajikistan that some extremist groups were seeking to take advantage of the rising influence of Islam to recruit supporters, especially among the young Tajiks. Islam is rapidly on the rise in Tajikistan, and observers note that Tajikistan’s younger generation is far more religious than their parents, who were brought up during the Soviet era.

Aside from registered religious schools like Farhod’s, the authorities have also closed down several unregistered madrasahs in recent years. A number of mosques have been raided amid suspicions that their imams were conducting unsanctioned religious lessons for children. Some imams, especially graduates of foreign madrasahs, have been accused of using mosque sermons to promote radical agendas of unsanctioned groups, such as Salafiya, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and Hizb ut-Tahrir.

‘No Place to Socialize’

«I go to mosque because I meet other young people there,» says Farhod, who regularly attends prayers along with most of his friends — a practice they say they began at the age of six or seven.

«I don’t have anywhere else to hang out,» he explains. «Our village doesn’t have a sports center. We don’t have any stadium, or a youth club.»

Farhod and his friends say they have never been to a concert, a movie, or a sports competition, because «such things don’t exist in villages.»

It is a common problem all over the country, where some 70 percent of the population live in rural communities. Hoji Akbar Turajonzoda, Tajikistan’s former religious leader and a former deputy prime minister, says that because of the lack of alternatives «mosques have become almost the only place where villagers can socialize.»

«Mosques everywhere in Tajikistan usually have two rooms or halls — one is a prayer hall, and another room is used by villagers as a place for socializing,» Turajonzoda says. «After the prayers, older people go home, but young people stay until the midnight and even early hours to mingle, eat, or even play cards.»
Like any teenager, Farhod dreams of a better future. He says he wants to become a successful businessman or to work in a bank but is not sure if his dreams will ever materialize.

«I think I will have to go to Russia as a laborer after I finish my school next summer,» Farhod says. «I heard you have to pay bribes to get a good job or enter universities, but our family doesn’t have money for that. And I see that many people in our neighborhood go to Russia even after they graduate from universities, because they can’t find jobs.»

«There are good jobs in cities, but you need to have a good knowledge of English and computers to get them,» adds 17-year-old Amonullo Haitov, one of Farhod’s friends.

Unemployment is indeed one of the key social problems in the impoverished country, where some 60 percent of the population lives below the official poverty line. Official unemployment figures stand at 2.2 percent, but according to local experts, the real number is above 35 percent.

Future Doubts

Farhod and his friends’ lack of faith in the future is a sentiment shared by many young people in Tajikistan.

Tajik experts, especially those dealing with youth issues, say young people’s frustration with the lack of opportunities is alarming.

With some 60 percent of Tajikistan’s population of 7 million under the age of 25, the country simply can’t afford not to tackle their major problem, says Qiyomiddin Avazov, head of the youth committee of the Islamic Renaissance Party.

«Unemployment among the youth could contribute to much bigger problems in the country, including to extremism, especially when young people find themselves in a hopeless situation,» Avazov says.

«In addition to unemployment and poverty, they face a lack of political freedom,» he adds, «which doesn’t help the situation.»

«When a person is left unemployed, he becomes capable of many things; he can cause many troubles,» Avazov says. «It is true especially when the situation in the country is already volatile. Extremist elements try to target such disillusioned people.»

Tackling Unemployment?

The State Committee for Youth Affairs acknowledges the growing problem. The committee sets up job fairs every three months in major cities. It also assists some young people in finding legal employment outside the country, such as seasonal job contracts in construction and agricultural firms in Russia.

The committee has provided money for a number of athletes to travel abroad to take part in sports competitions. It also gives small grants to nongovernmental organizations that offer projects to create jobs for young people.

There are also a number of NGOs in the country — such as the Youth Development Fund in the northern city of Khujand and the Noor society in the eastern town of Shugnon — that offer free classes in English and computer basics, among others.

Unfortunately, NGOs suffer from a lack of funds, limiting the number of young people they can reach. And government job fairs usually offer a limited number of positions, which often pay meager wages.

Avazov says more needs to be done and quickly. «There are many other ways to create jobs, such as opening small and medium businesses, setting up smaller-scale factories,» he says.

Bringing Students Home

The government has recently called home some 1,500 young men studying in madrasahs in countries like Iran, Egypt, and Pakistan. The country’s top officials, including President Emomali Rahmon, have cited the risks of the students becoming «terrorists and extremists» under the influence of certain foreign groups.

Some parents of returning students are concerned about the future of their children. They had hoped that, upon return, the government would help their children find alternative places to study or work at home.

Farhod says he doesn’t want to study in foreign madrasahs but he would not mind «traveling abroad some day.»

«I watch American movies and music video clips on DVDs and want to see where they were filmed,» Farhod says. «My favorite singer is Enrique [Iglesias].»

Farhod listens to Enrique’s songs on the radio and compact disks. Digital music players haven’t reached his village yet.

Farangis Najibullah, RFE/RL

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan_poverty_extremism_islam/2242717.html

On 23 November, the Sughd province law enforcement authorities in Asht district arrested a 50-year-old Makhmadyusuf Ismailov, correspondent of a private newspaper Nuri Zindagi (Ray of Life). The fact of arrest was publicly reported only on 13 December.
The journalist is suspected in crimes specified in Article 135 and 136 of the Tajik Criminal Code (libel and insult contained in public statements or in mass media) and Article 250 (extortion).

Observers say that Ismailov’s arrest is related to a publication in the Istiklol weekly, which reveals misconduct of law enforcement officers and the absence of justice in Ast district.

Juma Mirzo, editor of Nuri Zindagi has confirmed the fact of arrest of his correspondent. The editor says that the Ast district prosecutor sent an official letter requesting copies of all articles, which Ismailov is the author of.

http://www.fergananews.com/

Two RFE/RL journalists covering Kazakhstan have been awarded major journalism prizes by the London-based Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) for their «outstanding coverage of human rights issues in Central Asia.»

Almaty-based Dilbegim Mavloniy earned the honor for her series of reports on a group of more than 200 Kazakh Muslims seeking asylum in the Czech Republic, which eventually prompted authorities to stop their forced deportation. And Zhasulan Kuzhekov was recognized for his reporting on a string of violent prison riots in Kazakhstan earlier this year.

Kuzhekov, who is based in Astana, reported directly from the scene of a bloody crackdown on a prison riot in Northern Kazakhstan in August in which authorities brought in troops and heavy machinery from the Kazakh army. His reporting received a huge amount of feedback from prisoners’ relatives and, according to some Kazakh human rights activists, was responsible for a softening of the tactics used by prison officials.

IWPR handed out the awards in Bishkek on December 10, corresponding to the UN’s Human Rights Day. The jury consisted of prominent human rights activists and media experts from Central Asia and the competition was conducted in partnership with the regional office of the United Nations High Commision for Human Rights (UNHCR) and the U.S. Embassy in Tajikstan.

http://www.rferl.org/content/kazakh_human_rights_reporting_iwpr/2248781.html

Tajikistan is losing the battle against the flow of drugs from neighbouring Afghanistan and is characterised by «cronyism and corruption» emanating from the president downwards.
A series of leaked US diplomatic dispatches released by WikiLeaks paint a bleak picture of Central Asia’s poorest state. They note that it suffers from «earthquakes, floods, droughts, locusts and extreme weather» and is situated next to «obstructive Uzbekistan», «unstable Afghanistan» and the «rough, remote» Pamir mountains next to western China.
But Tajikistan’s worst obstacle is the country’s venal president Emomali Rahmon, diplomats say. A secret cable dated 16 February 2010, from the US embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s capital, describes how Rahmon runs the ex-Soviet republic’s economy for his own personal profit: «From the president down to the policeman on the street, government is characterized by cronyism and corruption.»
«Rahmon and his family control the country’s major businesses, including the largest bank, and they play hardball to protect their business interests, no matter the cost to the economy writ large. As one foreign ambassador summed up, President Rahmon prefers to control 90% of a ten-dollar pie, rather than 30% of a hundred-dollar pie.»
Tajikistan’s sole industrial exports are aluminium and hydroelectricity. But most of the revenues from the «technically state-owned Tajik Aluminium Company (Talco) end up in a secretive offshore company controlled by the president,» the cable states, adding dolefully: «The state budget sees little of the income.»
Tajikistan is of growing importance to the US as a military supply route for the US army in next-door Afghanistan. But attempts to stop the endless traffic of Afghan heroin in the other direction, to Europe and to Russia, have so far come to nothing, the cables say. Last year Dushanbe intercepted only 5% of the 40 tonnes of «Afghan opiates» smuggled to Russia, the cable says, noting: «Corruption is a major problem.» In addition, Tajikistan’s «largely conscript» border guards are «poorly trained, poorly paid, under-equipped and often under-fed».
In an entertaining cable the US ambassador in Tajikistan Richard E Hoagland describes a meeting with President Rahmon soon after he kicked the Russians out. Rahmon explained that Moscow had been using the border guards to orchestrate a coup against him.
Chucking away his notes, the president said the Russian special services were bent on «causing trouble in Tajikistan». «It’s coming from the Kremlin, and some of it comes from the top. We can never forget that Putin himself is a ‘chekist’ (career intelligence officer) at heart,» the president said.
During the two-and-a-half hour meeting, the president expressed gratitude to the US, arguing that it was important for the «international community to moderate what he described as Russia’s ‘worst instincts’.» The cables also reveal that Tajikistan agreed to host a US military base on its territory – in defiance of the Kremlin, which regards former Soviet central Asia as a zone of «privileged interest» and is determined to keep Washington out.
The US appears under no illusions about the Kremlin’s resistance to US encroachment in its back yard. «We believe Russia is exerting consistent and strong pressure on Tajikistan to reduce the US and western role and presence,» the embassy said in 2006.
America’s own attempts to make friends with the Russians in Tajikistan were often crudely rebuffed, the cables show. In November 2006 the US ambassador hosted a dinner. The Russian ambassador and his deputy failed to turn up, however, and the defence attache, Colonel Ivanov, left after just 10 minutes.
The one colonel who stayed, Alexei Zavizyan, «was mildly rude throughout the evening,» the ambassador recalled. His behaviour «deteriorated rapidly after Colonel Ivanov’s departure. Zavizyan made a series of sexist remarks. The dinner ended abruptly after he sunk to uttering racist slurs about African Americans».

Luke Harding, Guardian

Источник: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/12/wikileaks-bleak-picture-tajikistan

Deadline:01/02/11
LocationUniversity of Oxford Oxford United KingdomSee map: Google Maps

Mid-career journalists can apply for a fellowship through the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Priority will be given to journalists who propose a research project within the Institute’s areas of focus. The fellowships may be three, six or nine months long.

Stipends will be provided for accommodation, food and general living costs. For more information, click here: http://ijnet.org/opportunities/71547

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/71547

Deadline:31/01/11
World Press Institute
LocationUnited StatesSee map: Google Maps

International journalists interested in free press and democracy can apply for a U.S.-based fellowship. The program will run from mid-August to mid-October, 2011.

The fellowship provides insight into U.S. government, business, media, journalism ethics and culture. The 10 fellows will spend a month in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, and then travel to several U.S. cities, including New York and Washington, D.C., for briefings, interviews and visits.

Applicants must have five years of full-time experience, be employed outside the U.S., and be fluent in English.

For more information, click here: http://ijnet.org/opportunities/71446

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/71446

In November 2010 the NANSMIT Monitoring Service received 15 reports. Nine of them describe the factual situation in the media in the light of socio-legal and political environment; three reports describe direct violations of rights of media professionals; and three report describes conflicts and accusations against the media and journalists.

I. PECULIARITIES OF POLITICAL, SOCIAL, ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL CLIMATE IN THE COUNTRY DEFINING THE FACTUAL SITUATION IN THE MEDIA

1. Public speeches and statements of superior officials defining the factual situation in the mass media

4 November
Farazh weekly, Dushanbe

The newspaper Farazh has experienced difficulties with the state-owned printing facilities. The last time, it was published with the help of another periodical – Facts & Arguments; the latter provided Farazh with its own printing space, i.e. both newspapers united into one. The issue was published on 8 pages of the A2 format; the number of copies is 5 thousand.

30 November
The Committee “29 September”, Dushanbe

On 30 November, a media coalition called the 29 September Committee held a meeting to discuss the current situation in the Tajik media and to propose new actions in order to reinstate legality and justice within the media environment.

Participants noted that the situation has aggravated in the last few weeks, and the non-government media keep experiencing serious problems in their professional activities.

In particular, the weeklies Farazh and Paykon could not get access to printing facilities in November, after which they had to use primitive and expensive printing technologies. Access to several news web sites is blocked, which entailed financial losses among the owners of these web resources.

The Committee developed a number of measures, including a piquet in the capital, certain legal actions against organizers of the media pressing and other measures to attract international attention to the situation, in which the government violates the Constitution and the legal act Tajikistan committed to.

2. Journalists protecting their civil and professional rights

4 November
All media, Khorog, GBAO

A two-day seminar was held in the city of Khorog, the administrative center of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous province (GBAO). The seminar on the topic “The Internet and new media in protection of human rights” was supported by the British Institute for War and peace Reporting (IWPR), the Eurasia Foundation and the Tajik government, under financial assistance of the European Commission and the Norwegian foreign ministry. The seminar was held within the framework of the project “Human rights and education through the media in Central Asia”.

10 November
All media, Dushanbe

The project “Blogging as a tool for expanding the information space” successfully finished in Dushanbe on 10 November. The project was funded by a Canadian aid agency and was implemented by the Center of Information-Communication Technologies and the Aurora Association of adolescents.

During a tree-week training, 15 media professionals from different regions of Tajikistan gained knowledge and skills in the area of modern information technologies and transmission of information. The main outcome of the project is the creation of 15 personal blogs, which are available at: www.ngoyonc.org.

12 November
All media, Khorog, GBAO

A seminar for radio journalists was held in the city of Khorog, the administrative center of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous province. The topic of the seminar is “International standards of radio journalism and production of analytical radio projects”. The seminar was organized by the British Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR).

Shakhodat Saibnazarova, project coordinator told NANSMIT that the main purpose of the seminar is to provide young radio journalists with new methodologies of radio production, enhancement of their skills and knowledge about analytical radio journalism.

II. VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS IN THE MEDIA

1. Freedom of information

4 November
Muattar, the printing facility of the Party of Islamic Renaissance, Dushanbe

According to the Asia Plus weekly (#54, 03.11.2010), the printing house Muattar belonging to Tajikistan’s Islamic Renaissance Party had to deny access to its facilities in order to avoid potential pressure from the authorities.

Deputy chairman of PIRT Makhmadali Khait said that at present, the printing facility produces only the weekly Najot and the magazine Safinai Umed.

Khait said that the printing house provided its services to the private weekly Paikon, but later, had to deny further access for other newspapers in fear of government’s reprisals.

Chairman of PIRT Mukhiddin Kabiri at a recent meeting with the US ambassador in Dushanbe Kenneth Gross said that his party sent an official letter to the Tajik foreign ministry expressing concern about the necessity of performing the commitments, which Tajikistan has to OSCE; however, PIRT has received no response from the MFA.

4 November
U.S. Representative to the OSCE in Vienna

On November 4, the U.S. Representative to the OSCE delivered a statement to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna expressing a serious concern over the recent developments in Tajikistan that appear to limit media access and media freedom while increasing pressure on independent media.

“We share the concerns expressed by the Delegation of Belgium on behalf of the European Union on October 28, and by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Ms. Dunja Mijatovic. In her statement on October 18, Ms. Mijatovic called upon Tajik officials to recognize the importance of maintaining media pluralism and to reverse the ongoing deterioration of the media freedom situation in Tajikistan”, — he said.

In response, the Delegation of Tajikistan stated that «Tajikistan does not have an official policy on Internet filtering» and that publication of newspapers had been suspended due to «technical problems.» It appears, however, that the government of Tajikistan in fact ordered internet service providers to block five websites and ordered publishing houses to cease publication of three independent newspapers.

We note that in mid-October the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications sent a letter to several internet service providers ordering them to block four of these websites in order to «protect the information security of the nation.» There are credible reports that government officials ordered printing houses to stop printing the three newspapers because they published material perceived to be critical of government officials.

We take strong exception to the October 4 statement by the Minister of Defense, General Sherali Khairulloev, that journalists who reported on the government’s response to the security situation in the Rasht Valley were providing cover for terrorists and committing a serious crime.

Lawsuits brought against independent newspapers Asia Plus, Farazh, Ozodagon, Paykon, and Millat remain active. As the Representative on the Freedom of the Media warns, if court decisions to award disproportionate damages in libel lawsuits brought on by public officials are not reconsidered by the higher courts, these publications could face closure.

These tactics, along with launching tax or prosecutorial inspections by authorities against journalists and printers is no less than what Ms. Mijatovic calls it: a case of serious non-compliance with Tajikistan’s OSCE media freedom commitments and we call upon the government of Tajikistan to reverse this course at once. Specifically, we call on the Tajik authorities to stop pressuring printing houses and newspapers, cease blockage of independent websites, and stop using tax authorities to harass independent news outlets.

III. CONFLICTS. VIOLATIONS INCRIMINATED TO MEDIA AND JOURNALISTS

1. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation

11 November
Asia Plus weekly, Dushanbe

The Firdavsi district court in Dushanbe dismissed the claim of Ms. S. Safarova against the Tajik private weekly Asia Plus.

Safarova’s claim was based on an article published in Asia Plus (#30, 30.09.09) about the crimes in the Tajik capital mentioning the name of her son.

Correspondents Mirzobekova and Gufronov wrote in their articles about assaults on currency exchange offices in 2009 in Dushanbe. Referring to the Interior Ministry’s press center, Asia Plus reported that the Tajik law enforcement agencies arrested an organized crime group headed by Shavkat Safarov. It was indicated in the article that Safarov was sentenced to life in prison.

In her claim, Safarova (the mother of the convict) stated that her son received a 25-year term, and after the publication she had health problems. She demanded a moral compensation of 12 thousand Somoni (about $2.700).

Marat Mamadshoev, editor of Asia Plus explained that the mistake was made by the Interior Ministry, and Asia Plus did not have any fraudulent intent. Besides that, the newspaper published an explanation rectifying the mistake.

30 November
Millat, private newspaper, Dushanbe

The court hearing on the lawsuit of the Tajik Ministry of Agriculture against the private weekly Millat will be held on 1 December 2010.

The first hearing took place on 25 February 2010. The Ministry applied to the court after a publication titled “The Ministry of Agriculture is the most corrupt government agency”.

The Ministry stated that the newspaper published a defaming article and demands moral compensation in the amount of 1 million Somoni (about $230 thousand).

This report is based on compiled materials from the media and private information presented by correspondents of the NANSMIT Monitoring Network

Coordinator of the Monitoring Service
Abdufattokh Vokhidov

Project Manager
Nuriddin Karshibayev