NEW TV STATION AIRS AS MEDIA ENVIRONMENT CONTINUES TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 001051

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM TI
SUBJECT: NEW TV STATION AIRS AS MEDIA ENVIRONMENT CONTINUES TO
DETERIORATE

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1. (U) Tajikistan's new "Simoi Mustaqili Tojikiston" or
"Independent Television of Tajikistan" is a mysterious private
television company which started broadcasting in June 2007. The
station reportedly broadcasts to Dushanbe and surrounding areas
daily for two hours in the morning and for six hours in the
evening, but most Embassy contacts report that they have not
managed to catch any programs since it went on the air. Voris
Nazar, Deputy Director of Independent Television of Tajikistan
explained to PolOff June 22 that the station's programming will
consist of documentaries as well as news and cultural shows.


2. (U) The station's director is Zinatullo Ismoilov, the
former assistant to the chairman of the Committee on Television
and Radio. Independent Television of Tajikistan managed to
obtain a broadcasting license on September 20, 2006. Other
non-state radio and television stations have a difficult time
obtaining broadcasting licenses and the committee usually
explains that it will not issue any new licenses until a new law
governing broadcasting regulations is passed. (Note: The
U.S.-funded Internews community radio stations have faced this
kind bureaucratic stonewalling over the last 12 months. End
Note.) Nazar refused to explain who founded and funds
Independent Television of Tajikistan and how the station managed
to receive a broadcasting license.


3. (SBU) In a series of meetings with PolOff July 2-5, local
journalists and media representatives were skeptical that the
new station could be characterized as truly "independent."
Although none could definitively identify the station's
financier or supporter, two names surfaced frequently: Hasan
Sadulloev, Chairman of Orionbank, and Murodali Alimardanov,
Chairman of the National Bank. Both men are well connected and
influential enough to pull strings at the Committee on
Television and Radio. Both also have sufficient wealth to fund
the station's start-up costs.

THE POWER OF TELEVISION


4. (SBU) Why would Sadulloev or Alimardanov want to start his
own television company? Saodat Anvarova, Country Director of
the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, explained that
television advertising revenue is profitable. Another embassy
source hypothesizes that the financier is actually putting
himself in a strategic position to run for political office in
the future. Television is able to reach a wider audience than
print media. However, most Tajiks spend little time watching
the state-owned television programming which is inundated with
news and video clips of President Rahmon. Because of this,
local viewers turn to more entertaining satellite television,
mostly from Russia. Tajik towns bordering Uzbekistan receive
Uzbek television feeds. Anvarova recounted a media report of a
little boy in Turson-zade, a Tajik town near the Uzbek border,
who when asked who his president is, replied "Karimov" -- the
Uzbek president.


5. (SBU) Sources point out that regardless of who is the
founder of Independent Television of Tajikistan, it enjoys the
government's blessing. Some suggest the station itself may have
been created by the government in order to give the appearance
that media freedom is improving.

THE DECLINE OF PRINT MEDIA


6. (U) Print media is unfortunately not as profitable as
television, and since the fall of the Soviet Union, newspaper
circulation has dropped precipitously. Language barriers and
illiteracy, together with the end of mandatory student
subscriptions and subsidized printing and transportation, have
contributed to the decline of print media. Small papers that
report on politics, such as Nigoh, have problems attracting
advertisers. Nigoh's Editor-in-Chief, Nurali Davlatov,
estimates that in order for the paper to be profitable it needs
to distribute more than 10,000 copies. Distribution, in turn,
presents its own problems. Tajikistan's mountains and poor
transportation infrastructure prohibit widespread distribution
of any one national paper. Khurshed Atoulloev of Faraj
newspaper estimates that 60 percent of the rural population only
speaks Tajiki, and the larger newspapers such as Asia-Plus or
Avesta's Fakti i Kommentarii are published in Russian. He says
that television appeals to people more because "they just have
to sit and watch it."

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7. (U) Davlatov said that the quality of journalism overall
has declined. The new generation of journalists trained after
the fall of the Soviet Union are inadequately skilled at
reporting and investigative journalism. After independence and
especially after the start of the civil war, the education
system in Tajikistan suffered when Russian professionals
including teachers left the country en masse, resulting in a
poorly-educated young population. Davlatov sighed when he noted
that Tajiks no longer consider journalism a prestigious
profession. Tajik journalists also practice self-censorship,
and many are not fully aware of Tajik laws ensuring limited
freedom of expression. This means that law enforcement will
often take advantage of the general lack of knowledge about
press freedom and punish journalists who push the envelope.

MEDIA FREEDOM CONTINUES TO DETERIORATE


8. (SBU) Journalists and media professionals say media freedom
has deteriorated since the November 2006 presidential election.
In addition to censoring themselves, many journalists respect
the unwritten rules such as not criticizing government policy or
the president's inner circle. (Note: Tajikistan's criminal code
article 137 forbids offending or slandering the president. End
Note.) City officials use excuses to threaten media
organizations such as accusing them of not paying taxes or the
electricity bill. Immediately prior to the presidential
election, some "opposition" and information internet websites
were blocked. Nuriddin Qarshiboev of the National Association
of Independent Mass Media in Tajikistan reported that in late
June parliament passed eight amendments restricting internet
freedom. Parliament sources have confirmed this, and post is
attempting to find copies of the passed legislation.


9. (SBU) Based on our recent discussions, most Tajik
journalists agree that the following changes are needed to
foster a freer media environment and increase public access to
independent news sources:

-- An independent printing press. The largest publishing house
in Tajikistan is state-run and other smaller private printing
presses simply will not print controversial material.
-- A private distribution company to reliably distribute and
sell the newspapers instead of relying on individual street
vendors. Newspaper owners say that the Tajik postal system is
too expensive and unreliable.
-- Increased transparency of the Committee on Television and
Radio, and particularly the Commission on Broadcasting and
Licensing within the committee. Media sources say the committee
is considering changing the regulations to categorize frequency
waves as state secrets which would make it more difficult for
media organizations to apply for frequency waves to broadcast.
-- A government strategy for developing the mass media industry
in Tajikistan. The current technique of imposing legislation in
an attempt to regulate the industry ends up restricting media
freedom.


10. (SBU) Two other large-scale improvements to support media
freedom include:

-- Improved infrastructure links to enable news to reach remote
regions; and
-- Constant electricity to allow people to watch television or
access internet more often.


11. (SBU) COMMENT: Independent Television of Tajikistan may
not be completely independent, but it is a privately run
station. If the station succeeds commercially, it may spur
other investors to consider opening media outlets to create a
stronger industry that can stand up to government pressure.
However, the government's watchful eye and heavy hand on the
media even after the presidential election is concerning. Short
of a reversal of the government's heavy -handed policies to keep
journalists scared and timid, Tajikistan's electronic media will
likely not become a source of independent news or open debate.
Similarly, in an age of declining literacy rates and increased
government scrutiny, it is unlikely Tajikistan's print media
will flourish. END COMMENT.
JACOBSON