TURKMENISTAN: NOVEMBER MEDIA REACTION - LESS GENEROUS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 001610

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, IIP, ECA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV SCUL KPAO TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: NOVEMBER MEDIA REACTION - LESS GENEROUS
STATE COVERAGE THAN BEFORE


1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (U) SUMMARY: State media carried a number of favorable stories
on several Embassy events or visitors. Other events were covered
but never carried, or were misleading in their final versions.
There appears to be a negative trend in post's recent contact and
cooperation with state media, evidenced by some contacts who have
noted tightening rules and because of rejected stories on events
such as U.S. elections. END SUMMARY.

PRESSURE ON TURKMEN STUDENTS - MISTRANSLATION MISLEADS


3. (U) "Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's" Turkmen language program
on November 11 carried a story accusing Turkmenistan's authorities
of pressuring students not to participate in U.S. exchange programs
or have any contact with Embassy programs. Associated Press
(English) and Reuters (English) stories on November 13 accurately
quoted the Public Affairs Officer's cleared remarks on the issue,
which mentioned both progress and problems. However, the AP and
Reuters stories focused only on the negative. The same day, the
opposition website "Gundogar" (Russian) and Russian website
"Gazeta.ru" (Russian),referred to the "Reuters" story, and carried
a mistranslated quote by the PAO. The inaccurate translation
implied that the Embassy no longer discusses educational issues with
Turkmenistan's authorities, when in fact the PAO had emphasized the
reverse - that the Embassy had continued contact with the
government. In subsequent days, opposition website "watan.ru"
(Russian) and Russian website "centrasia.ru" (Russian) reprinted the
"Gazeta.ru" story with the same inaccuracy. On November 14, the
opposition website "Chronicle of Turkmenistan" (www.chrono-tm.org)
(Russian) carried the correct Embassy statement on the issue, but
also repeated the same inaccuracies that appeared in the Russian
language versions. On November 17, RFE/RL Turkmen language program
carried an accurate and complete follow-up story on the issue of
pressure on Turkmen students based on an interview with PAO.

MEDIA HIGHLIGHT U.S. MUSICAN'S ROLE IN MOVIE FESTIVAL


4. (U) On November 3, the state-run daily "Turkmenistan" (Turkmen,
circ. 33,391) carried coverage of Turkmenistan's International film
festival and included accurate interview remarks by State
Department-sponsored musician Douglas Protsik, who stressed the art
of silent movies and also praised Turkmen culture. On November 10,
RFE/RL's Turkmen language program carried a generally accurate
interview with Mr. Protsik about his visit and the importance of
movie festivals and cultural diplomacy.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHT U.S. ELECTION DAY RECEPTION, BUT...


5. (U) On November 5, the embassy hosted a U.S. Election day
reception, which included internet tracking and live CNN coverage of
the presidential election results. The same day, the news website
www.haberler.com (Turkish) posted an accurate article about the
post-organized reception. (NOTE: The source of the article is
"Cihan Haber Ajansi" (Turkish),whose representative was a guest of
the event. END NOTE.) Turkish "Zaman" newspaper's Turkmen language
edition on November 8 ran a short, accurate story with photo about
the event. On November 10-11, the RFE/RL Turkmen language program
broadcast a two-part program, which accurately reported the event
and included comments from an interview with PAO.

... STATE MEDIA FAIL TO RUN THEIR OWN STORIES


6. (SBU) State media outlets "Turkmenistan" TV channel (Russian,
Turkmen, English, Chinese, Arabian, Persian, French) and the "Watan"
TV evening news program (Turkmen) both attended and filmed extensive
video and conducted interviews at the election day event. Both
channels prepared edited pieces for broadcast. Neither channel
received approval to broadcast the story. One media contact noted
that, in contrast to usual practice, instead of a rejection, the
approvers never responded. The only state media mention of the U.S.
election appeared on "Echo of the Planet" (Turkmen),an
international news summary on "Altyn Asyr" TV channel which replays

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video from foreign broadcasters, and a congratulatory note from
President Berdimuhamedov to the President-elect which was published
in the major daily newspapers.

STATE TV HIGHLIGHT INTERVIEW BY PAO AT ART EXHIBITION


7. (U) On November 16, "Turkmenistan" TV channel (Russian, Turkmen,
English, Chinese, Arabian, Persian, French) carried accurate
interview remarks by the U.S. Embassy's Public Affairs Officer at an
exhibition of works by a famous Turkmen sculptor. In the interview,
PAO highlighted the creativity and talent of individual Turkmen
citizens.

MEDIA HIGHLIGHT INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK


8. (U) On November 18, the state-run dailies "Neytralniy
Turkmenistan" (Russian, circ. 44,991) and "Turkmenistan" (Turkmen
circ. 33,391) carried an accurate article about the post-conducted
International Education Week (IEW) events. A similar article
appeared the following day on the front page of the teachers'
newspaper "Mugallymlar gazeti" (Turkmen, circ. 91,341) and on the
government website "Turkmenistan Golden Age" (Turkmen, Russian,
English). The article accurately highlighted the event's opening
ceremony and the schedule of subsequent events during the week. The
same day, the "internet news" program of the state "Altyn Asyr" TV
channel accurately reported on the event. (NOTE: The article
materials were provided by the Embassy's Public Affairs Section to
the Turkmen State News Service (TDH) correspondent. END NOTE.) On
November 21 RFE/RL's Turkmen language program accurately reported on
IEW based on an interview with PAO.

STATE NEWS PROGRAM MISLEADINGLY HIGHLIGHTS A VISITING U.S. ELECTIONS
SPEAKER


9. (U) On November 14, "Watan" TV evening news program (Turkmen)
carried a short report on the presentation U.S. elections expert Dr.
Gregory Payne gave at the National Institute of Democracy and Human
Rights. Instead of describing the presentation as one on the recent
U.S. Presidential elections, the news program implied that the
discussion focused on the December 14 Turkmenistan parliamentary
elections.

MEDIA COVERAGE OF ICNL ROUNDTABLE WITH TURKMEN GOVERNMENT GIVES
CREDIT TO MFA


10. (U) On November 17, the "Watan" TV news program (Turkmen)
carried generally accurate coverage of the roundtable held by the
International Center for Non-profit Law (ICNL) and hosted by
Turkmenistan's Institute of Democracy and Human Rights. The report
stressed the improvement of Turkmenistan's legislation on public
organizations and included interview remarks by ICNL
representatives. However, the story stated that the roundtable was
organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but in fact, was
initiated and organized by ICNL.

STATE NEWSPAPER BELATEDLY COVERS ALUMNI PROGRAM


11. (SBU) On November 20, the state-run daily "Neytralniy
Turkmenistan" (Russian, circ. 44,991) ran an accurate article on the
opening of a resource center for entrepreneurs, supported by an
alumni grant. However, this opening actually took place about one
month earlier. The article emphasized the center's role in
developing business knowledge with technology and the support of
foreign trainers. It also mentioned Post's current English Language
Fellow as one of the first trainers. (NOTE: The author of the
article, one of post's best journalist contacts, noted that it took
a long time to obtain approval for publication. END NOTE.)
"Turkmenistan" TV channel covered the presentation with interviews,
but never broadcast the story.

STATE TV COVERAGE OF USAID SUPPORT OF TURKMENISTAN IN ACCOUNTING
STANDARDS


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12. (U) On November 27, the "Watan" TV news program (Turkmen)
accurately covered a USAID-conducted roundtable with Turkmen
professors and specialists on international accounting standards.
The program stressed the importance of further training through
USAID's "Economic Reforms to Enhance Competitiveness" (EREC) project
and used quotes by USAID Country Representative's on the
significance of higher education based on international standards.
On December 2, "Turkmenistan" TV channel (Russian, Turkmen, English,
Chinese, Arabian, Persian, French) gave accurate coverage of the
roundtable, and also carried an interview of one of the teachers who
attended as well as EREC project consultants. The program placed
high importance on international standards in teaching financial
accounting in Turkmenistan.

STATE NEWSPAPER AND WEBSITE HIGHLIGHT USAID HEALTHCARE PROJECTS IN
TURKMENISTAN


13. (U) On November 27, the state-run daily "Neytralniy
Turkmenistan" (Russian, circ. 44,991) ran a long article on a youth
center for HIV prevention supported by a USAID/CAPACITY project.
The same article was posted on the government website "Turkmenistan
Golden Age" (Turkmen, Russian, English) on November 30. The story
described the activities of the center and its increasing role in
educating the country's youth. On November 27, the government
website "Turkmenistan Golden Age" (Turkmen, Russian, English) posted
an accurate article on a tuberculosis prevention seminar organized
by USAID partner, project "HOPE" jointly with the Ministry of Health
of Turkmenistan. The next day, state-run daily "Neytralniy
Turkmenistan" (Russian, circ. 44,991) ran the same article by
Turkmen State News Service (TDH).


14. (SBU) COMMENT: RECEDING STATE MEDIA COOPERATION - Perhaps the
honeymoon with state media is ending. Perhaps recent Embassy
events, such as the U.S. election reception were simply too "risky"
to government authorities. While many Turkmen were as caught up in
the U.S. elections as were people in other countries, having a
government media organ point out the exciting, competitive nature of
the U.S. campaign was no doubt a bridge too far. Health programs
appear to be safe territory in contrast. While it is hard to
interpret the meaning of recent coverage, what's clear is that there
has been increased difficulty in obtaining state media coverage in
the past few weeks. Some media contacts have turned down Embassy
invitations and indicated tightening rules about their ability to
cover "foreign organization events." Some have also indicated a
change in procedure - requiring a diplomatic note when before it was
not necessary to cover Embassy events. In addition, some state
media coverage of embassy events has included pro-government spin
reminiscent of the Niyazov-era.


15. (SBU) COMMENT CONTINUED: MIXED RECORD WITH INTERNATIONAL AND
OPPOSITION MEDIA - The news story of pressure on Turkmen students
originated with reports by individual students to RFE/RL. This
seems to indicate a growing willingness of locals to discuss problem
issues with a rep of a taboo media organization. The subsequent
follow-up interview by RFE/RL and clarifications on this story also
show the organization's improved effort to report stories
accurately. Unfortunately, a mistranslation in Russian language
media gave a distorted picture of the issue in a variety of Russian
language outlets. END COMMENT.

MILES