TAJIKISTAN: Blow to independent radio

DUSHANBE, 8 Jul 2002 (IRIN) - The refusal on Monday of a licence for what would have been the first independent radio station in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, has sparked concern from media organisations in the former Soviet republic, where freedom of the press has long been restricted.

The licence, applied for in 1998, by Asia Plus, an independent media agency, only received a response last week. The Tajik commission for television and radio responded by saying that it was "unnecessary" to have another radio station in Dushanbe.

"This decision and reason behind the decision is just silly," the director of Asia Plus, Umed Babakhanov, told IRIN in Dushanbe. "We are going to make sure that the people of Tajikistan are informed of this decision, to show how unjust and undemocratic this is," he added.

Babakhanov said he would challenge the decision, and was discussing his approach with various media organisations, including the National Association for Independent Media of Tajikistan. Established six years ago, Asia Plus initially started as a print news agency, and about two years ago began publishing a weekly paper.

In recent days, the media outlet launched a television production house, which also encountered problems. "We were told by the commission that we could not open the production house without a licence. But this was not true, according to legislation," Babakhanov said, pointing out that a licence was only required for broadcasting. The issue was raised with the Tajik parliament, which eventually confirmed that a licence was not needed.

At present there are 15 independent television stations in northern Tajikistan, but only state-run television and radio in Dushanbe. "The reason for this is that the commission does not want any competition for its stations, and does not want to be challenged," Babakhanov maintained.

Internews, a non-profit-making media-training organisation supports Asia Plus in taking the case further. It has forwarded a letter of complaint to international media organisations and diplomats in an attempt to encourage them to raise the issue with the Tajik authorities.

"According to Tajik law, the response from the authorities is legal, and they can refuse a licence. But anyone outside of the Tajik authorities knows the real reason for this, and that is stopping freedom of the press," the country director for Internews, Roshan Khadivi, told IRIN in Dushanbe.

"This decision is very detrimental, because there is only one station in Dushanbe, and that is state run," she added. Tajiks in the north, who had access to independent media, were more informed and aware about what was happening in society today, she said.

Khadivi remarked that Asia plus was fully capable of establishing a radio station. "There is no reason why they should not be doing this, and Internews will support them with their legal battle at a constitutional level," she asserted.

Internews is currently training journalists in Tajikistan by supporting television stations and print journalists in the north. Their activities include encouraging stations to produce programmes that highlight and reflect realities faced by Tajiks in everyday life. The stories are repackaged and redistributed to stations in other regions of the country.