TAJIKISTAN: Independent radio licence granted

ISLAMABAD, 28 August (IRIN) - The Tajik government has reversed a decision denying an independant news agency a radio licence, following pressure from media groups and the international community. "Issuing the new broadcasting licenses is an important step for Tajik society," director of the Asia-Plus news agency, Umed Babakhanov, told IRIN from the Tajik capital, Dushanbe on Wednesday.

"We want to believe this decision is a part of a new policy on liberalisation on the part of the Tajik authorities," he added. Babakhanov met the Tajik President, Emomali Rahmonov late last month to discuss the failure of the Tajik government's Television and Radio Committee to grant Asia-Plus a licence for an independent radio station. The President called on the Committee to issue the licence without further delay following the meeting, he said.

The victory also extends to two other radio stations, "Asia FM" and "Vatan", who have also been granted licences to broadcast in Dushanbe.

The reversal of the decision follows pressure from the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) which issued a statement in July expressing concern. Earlier, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) sent a letter to the Tajik authorities voicing concern.

Asia-Plus applied for a licence in 1998 to set up a radio station in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, where only state-run television and radio stations operate. The agency received a brief reply from the State Committee for Television and Radio on 8 July, 2002, stating that a second radio station in Dushanbe was "unnecessary".

The new Asia-Plus Radio Station plans to start broadcasting on Tajikistan's Independence Day, 9 September. The content of programming will include a mix of news and music. With a staff of 17 people, news bulletins will be broadcast in Tajik and Russian every half hour alternating between both languages.

The move has been welcomed by media support groups in the Central Asian Republic. "This is a positive sign and we will continue to provide Asia-Plus trainings and consultations," director of Internews, a media training organisation, Roshan Khadivi, told IRIN from Dushanbe. "What happened was certainly a signifcant move specially after such a long delay to allow not only Asia-Plus but also two other radio stations in the capital to receive broadcasting licences," she added.

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