TURKMENISTAN: POSITIVE TRENDS IN STATE MEDIA ENVIRONMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001179 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR SCA/CEN; SCA/PPD, ECA, IIP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PROP SCUL KPAO TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: POSITIVE TRENDS IN STATE MEDIA ENVIRONMENT - RECENT MEDIA REACTION REF: ASHGABAT 1108 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: October's state media coverage of U.S. embassy events showed further improvement and suggests Turkmenistan is moving away from the exclusive cult-of-personality policies of the former President Niyazov era. In Turkmenistan, October is a month filled with media coverage of grand openings and events leading up to the climax of Independence Day on the 27th. In comparison to years past, the Embassy had unexpected success at gaining coverage. There was the usual recording of anodyne congratulatory remarks from foreign Ambassadors, but this year the Charge's substantive comments were covered more accurately and re-broadcast several times. The visit of the U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE, Julie Finley, was covered as a matter of routine. For once, state media assisted in attracting an audience to a planned Embassy event, a movie festival. And the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) received outstanding coverage in the days just before and after Independence Day - a marked contrast to last year. The recent variation and even mild competition in different state media outlets' approaches might signal a slight decentralization of decision-making over content and presentation. END SUMMARY. STATE TV GIVES ALMOST PERFECT TRANSLATION OF CHARGE'S INDEPENDENCE DAY REMARKS, BUT WITH VARYING APPROACHES ¶3. (SBU) On October 25, state "Turkmenistan" TV Channel aired the Charge's remarks, in which he answered broad questions from the TV interviewer related to progress under President Berdimuhamedov. In his answers, the Charge underlined that the United States was especially pleased with the Turkmen president's commitment to improving human rights in the country and noted the relaxing of travel restrictions and the pardoning of some "politically important prisoners" as earl important steps. State TV omitted the remark about the release of prisoners in translation and actually cut the original English audio and video for this moment. All other comments on reform in the country were appropriately translated and broadcast. The TV Channel re-broadcast the interview several times throughout the day and again on October 28 and 29. (NOTE: The Charge's remarks in 2006 were not repeatedly broadcast. END NOTE.) ¶4. (U) On October 27, state "Altyn Asyr" channel aired the Charge's more formal but still substantive Independence Day message near midnight. The TV channel also gave a generally accurate translation of the message in Turkmen which emphasized many of the positive political reforms. These two different approaches to airing the official Independence Day messages however, is itself a sign of varying approaches among state media outlets. MAJOR MEDIA 'COUP' FOR THE EMBASSY: U.S. CULTURAL PRESERVATION PRAISED, AGAIN AND AGAIN ¶5. (U) On October 22, The U.S. Embassy held an award ceremony to honor the winners of the 2007 Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) grants at the National Institute of Manuscripts and received broad and accurate coverage on three of four state TV channels: "Miras," "Altyn Asyr," and "Turmenistan." The TV channels recognized the U.S. support for preservation of historical monuments and the cultural heritage of Turkmenistan. (NOTE: Last year, state media entirely ignored a similar ceremony held during the same timeframe. END NOTE.) ¶6. (U) The different TV channels sent their own crews and appeared to be in competition for interviews. (NOTE: In past practice, there would be almost a pool, where one state TV crew would film its own video and share with others. END NOTE.) Interviews with the Charge, Public Affairs Officer, and with several representatives of grantee agencies appeared on all three channels. Each TV channel presented different video coverage on the event, but all of them used Embassy-provided background notes, heavily drew from the ASHGABAT 00001179 002 OF 002 Embassy's press release, and presented a favorable image of U.S. support for cultural preservation. ¶7. (U) Additionally, all three TV channels prominently featured a recently published SCA bureau booklet on AFCP sites throughout the region, in no small part because Turkmenistan's Ak-Saray Ding Tower was featured on the booklet's cover. "Turkmenistan" channel re-broadcast its coverage multiple times before and after Independence Day. One channel commented that the AFCP grants and the SCA booklet were an Independence Day gift to Turkmenistan. STATE PRINT MEDIA COVER AMERICAN MOVIE FESTIVAL OPENING ¶8. (U) On October 9, state dailies "Neutral Turkmenistan" (Russian, circ. 39,721) and "Turkmenistan" (Turkmen, circ. 28, 289) carried an article about the American Movie Festival, "Discover America." The articles accurately gave information on presented movies and background about the festival's opening night, but gave no details on movie screening dates and time. Despite this, many attendees at subsequent showings learned about the festival from the newspapers and were able to attend due to electronic media coverage. The newspaper articles emphasized that at the opening the Charge noted the event's importance as part of the improving friendship between Turkmenistan and the United States. The text of the articles heavily drew from an Embassy press release on the event. STATE MEDIA CARRY "ROUTINE" COVERAGE OF AMBASSADOR FINLEY'S VISIT ¶9. (U) On October 20, State "Watan" TV news program announced the official visit of U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE Julie Finley and gave details of her planned schedule in the country. On October 22, state dailies "Neutral Turkmenistan" (Russian, circ. 39,721) and "Turkmenistan" (Turkmen, circ. 29,091) printed the text of "Watan" TV news report from October 20. The same day, the "Watan" TV news program aired follow-up coverage of the visit, which included brief video from Finley's meetings with representatives of Turkmenistan's Government. Coverage of U.S. VIP visits such as this has become a matter of routine in recent few months (reftel). ¶10. (SBU) COMMENT: Following President Berdimuhamedov's visit to the UN in New York, state media have been more and more cooperative in covering Embassy events and visitors. They have started to use Embassy press releases and information in a more consitent and thorough manner. They have also dedicated significant air time for coverage of Embassy events during a period normally filled with official Independence Day ceremonies. The variation and even mild competition in different state media outlets' approaches also signal a slight decentralization of decision-making over content. END COMMENT. HOAGLAND