HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
Why Aren’t Tajik Journalists Reporting From Afghanistan? 1 <A HREF="http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=22&NrSection=2&NrArticle=2753&ST1=body&ST_T1=tol&ST_PS1=1&ST_max=1";>2</A> Partly because they can't afford the trip and partly because of a certain reluctance to go to Afghanistan, Tajik journalists mainly cover events in that country from their offices by <A HREF="http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/#author";>Nargis Zakirova</A> The original version of this article appeared in the October issue of <A HREF="http://www.cimera.com/";>Media Insight Central Asia</A>. DUSHANBE, Tajikistan--Tajik newspapers try to publish reliable information or original articles by journalists, but they have no correspondents of their own to report from far-flung locations. The reason is that not a single newspaper in the country has enough resources to send journalists on missions abroad or even elsewhere within the republic. Journalists have to keep track of the situation in neighboring Afghanistan from their offices, by borrowing information from foreign print and electronic mass media as well as from the Internet. Akbar Sattorov, domestic newspaper magnate and editor in chief of Charkhi gardun Ltd, is certain that expending tremendous resources to send a Tajik newspaper correspondent to cover an event on location brings no rewards and is not realistic given the conditions in the country. For reliable information, he says, it is enough to use the Internet. The editor in chief of the state-controlled Narodnaya gazeta, Vladimir Vorobiyov, is of the same opinion. He believes that not a single sane Tajik journalist will go to cover the conflict in Afghanistan and risk his life for a scanty fee--which in our newspaper, for example, amounts to about $1.50. Furthermore, he continues, Tajik journalists receive no special social security from the state, and the republic’s laws on the press and mass media do not provide any legal guarantees related to the health of journalists who are injured on the job. No insurance is available in Tajikistan to cover journalists who are wounded or die in a combat zone. If a journalist who provides for his family dies, his family gets a monthly pension of 2 somoni ($0.80). “For me, personally, Afghanistan is of no interest,” said Saidali Sidikov, editor of the city newspaper Vecherny Dushanbe. “I served in the army there and am almost certain I know what is going on there.” One of the country’s newspaper magnates, Sharif Khamdamov, is of a different opinion. He believes that it is a matter of prestige as well as duty for an editor to send correspondents to hotspots to cover events. One of Khamdamov’s correspondents has already visited northern Afghanistan. However, he did not answer questions about how he managed to finance the trip and how his reporter managed to get into the country. Although the Information Department of the Tajik Foreign Ministry states that the number of foreign reporters heading for the Afghan-Tajik border increases daily and reached about 1,050 by mid-October, Tajik journalists are not exactly burning with desire to go there. “There is, in any case, no reason for Tajik journalists to be sent to Afghanistan,” said Marat Mamadshoev, deputy editor of Asia Plus, an independent newspaper. “Newspapers cannot even afford one-way travel costs. Even a 'complex service,' which includes fees for accreditation, visa, transport, guards, and permission into the frontier zone, costs up to $400-500. Even if a Tajik reporter is lucky and manages to get enough money, he will never sell the information for a significant profit.” IMPOSSIBLE NEUTRALITY Turko Dikaev, an independent journalist, is convinced that Tajik reporters should not be sent to Afghanistan at all, because they would take sides with this or that party and would never be able to objectively cover the events occurring there. For example, a Tajik journalist will certainly know that he cannot write any material that is critical of Russia, our so-called “single defender.” However, despite financial difficulties, some Tajik journalists find ways of solving the problem, for example by hiring themselves out as interpreters to foreign companies. While acting as interpreters, Tajik journalists do not forget their professional duties. The most recent issue of Asia Plus published an article by Ilkhom Narziev titled "An Assignment in the War," in which the author details the current situation and developing events in Afghanistan. In the opinion of many journalists, this allowed some dubious facts to be disseminated by various foreign companies and mass media outlets. Furthermore, Narziev believes that no print media in the country can afford to send their reporters anywhere--particularly not to hotspots where a large amount of money is required. A single business trip to Afghanistan requires about $4,000-5,000. “Therefore, it would be more reasonable if Tajik journalists kept track of the situation and scribbled their articles while sitting in their offices,” said Narziev. He visited Afghanistan while accompanying the German ARD on an assignment. [...] Daler Rakhimov, a volunteer with the National Association of Independent Tajik Mass Media who visited Afghanistan as an interpreter, reported that there are journalists who are sensationalizing the war, and they sometimes manage to create picturesque scenarios. Some reporters pay soldiers money to imitate military actions. "Why Aren’t Tajik Journalists Reporting From Afghanistan?" 1 <A HREF="http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=22&NrSection=2&NrArticle=2753&ST1=body&ST_T1=tol&ST_PS1=1&ST_max=1";>2</A> <A HREF="http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article_single.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=22&NrSection=2&NrArticle=2753&ST1=body&ST_T1=tol&ST_AS1=1&ST_max=1";>single page view </A> <A HREF="http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=22&NrSection=2&NrArticle=2753&ST_max=0";> Click here: Why Aren’t Tajik Journalists Reporting From Afghanistan?</A> ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
