21 September 2005
INDEPENDENT MEDIA DISAPPEARING
In Tajikistan, independent media, it seems, are being squeezed out of existence. In the past year, four major opposition newspapers have closed and authorities have refused to issue new licences for broadcasters, prompting the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) to express alarm at the situation.
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, has voiced concern that four newspapers - "Ruzi Nav", "Nerui Sukhan", "Odamu Olan" and "Adolat" - are no longer being published. Two printing houses that were responsible for printing the newspapers - Jiyonkhon and Kayho - have also closed.
In August 2004, authorities closed Jiyonkhon for alleged tax violations. Prior to that, Jiyonkhon had been the only printing house willing to print "Ruzi Nav", "Nerui Sukhan", Odamu Olan" and other independent newspapers. A printing press in neighboring Kyrgyzstan offered to carry "Ruzi Nav", and it issued one print run in November 2004. However, the papers were confiscated by Tajik transportation tax officials upon arrival in Dushanbe.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says Tajik authorities have shut down "Nerui Sukhan" four times since it was founded in 2003, using politicised tax and regulatory inspections. The weekly has reported on government corruption and provided audiences with a valuable alternative to the state media.
On 25 August 2005, "Nerui Sukhan's" editor, Mukhtor Bokizoda, was sentenced to two years of corrective labour and fined 1,500 Tajik somoni (US$500) on theft charges. CPJ says the charges are politically motivated and may be part of an attempt to eliminate the paper from the market ahead of 2006 presidential elections. Bokizoda also owned the Kayho printing house and headed the Foundation for the Memory and Protection of Journalists, a press freedom group.
Meanwhile, Haraszti says new broadcasting licences have not been issued by the government despite repeated requests by his office in the past year. "I have to ask you to urgently reverse the situation," said Haraszti in a letter to Tajikistan's Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov.
Independent television and radio stations often face difficulties when applying for licences, says Human Rights Watch. In September 2003, the State Radio and Television Committee refused to grant the Asia Plus news agency a television broadcast license, stating that the agency lacked the necessary technical equipment and qualified personnel. Asia Plus claims that the committee never examined its equipment or personnel.
Visit:
- OSCE: http://www.osce.org/fom/item_1_16152.html
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/attacks04/europe04/tajik.html
- Human Rights Watch: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/13/tajiki9897.htm
- IRIN Report on Tajikistan: http://tinyurl.com/cb7z6
- Radio Free Europe: http://tinyurl.com/7m4ba
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