WELCOME TO IWPR'S REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA, No. 540, 8 April, 2008 KYRGYZ MEDIA REBUFF ALLEGATIONS OF RUMOUR-MONGERING Journalist called in for questioning over an article suggesting the president might be unwell. By IWPR staff in Central Asia
UZBEK IDENTITY CRISIS IN TAJIKISTAN Residents of border areas are facing hard choice between citizenship switch and eviction from their homes for many years. By IWPR staff in Tajikistan STORY BEHIND THE STORY BABY TRADE WORRIES TAJIKISTAN By Salimakhon Vahobzade in Dushanbe **** IWPR RESOURCES ****************************************************************** 2008 KURT SCHORK AWARDS IN INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM Call for entries now open. For more details visit http://iwpr.net/kurtschork.html NEW PROJECT: IWPR now operates a major new media project in Asia. Visit IWPR's new Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project website at http://www.rightsreporting.net/ CROSS CAUCASUS JOURNALISM NETWORK. IWPR has launched the website of a unique Caucasus-wide programme at www.crosscaucasus.net SAHAR JOURNALISTS ASSISTANCE FUND: IWPR is establishing a fund, in honour of Sahar al-Haideri, to support journalist participants in its training and reporting programmes around the world. 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For more information about how you can support IWPR go to: http://www.iwpr.net/donate.html **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** KYRGYZ MEDIA REBUFF ALLEGATIONS OF RUMOUR-MONGERING Journalist called in for questioning over an article suggesting the president might be unwell. By IWPR staff in Central Asia After the Kyrgyz authorities accused the media of spreading misinformation about President Kurmanbek Bakievs recent absence from political life, journalists hit back, saying it was the governments fault for being uncommunicative. Media-watchers interviewed by IWPR say the dispute is indicative of the poor relationship between government and the media, and some fear it reflects an overall decline in freedom of speech. After the popular Russian-language Central Asia news site Ferghana.ru published an article on March 18 speculating about whether President Bakievs month-long absence was because he was in poor health, its local representative Sultan Kanazarov was questioned by officers of the National Security Committee, KNB. According to an op-ed published later on Ferghana.ru, during the March 26 interrogation, Kanazarov was pressured to disclose sources for the story. KNB officers reportedly told him that the original article was untrue and had given rise to speculation about the presidents health. The Ferghana-ru piece came out two days after Bakiev was due to return from leave in Germany on March 16. At the time it was published, there were already rumours going around that he was undergoing medical treatment. In the end, the president was away for almost a month, between March 3 and 28. Bakievs press office consistently denied the reports that his absence had anything to do with his health, but on his return, the president gave an interview in which he revealed that he had in fact undergone a course of treatment. In his April 1 op-ed, Ferghana.rus chief editor Daniil Kislov wrote, We regard the unjustified accusations made against the Ferghana.ru representative as a case of open pressure on the media, on journalists and on freedom of speech. He rejected the KNBs suggestion that Ferghana-ru had spun the story out of thin air, adding, It is the silence of officials, the vacuum of information from the authorities, that has given rise to various rumours about the state of the presidents health. Kanazarov told IWPR that formal charges had not been brought against him or the news agency. If we had broken the law, official charges would have been laid, he said, agreeing with Kislov that the problem lay not with the media but with the dearth of information available from the government and its spokesmen. When he arrived back in Bishkek, Bakiev told the Moscow newspaper Vremya Novostey that he did not have to account for his whereabouts, and suggested that rumours that his health was poor were being spread by the opposition. After opposition parties failed to win seats in parliament in an election held in December, some groups set up an informal body called the Alternative Parliament. Others formed a more radical underground Revolutionary Committee, which called on Bakiev to resign by a deadline of March 24, the anniversary of the Tulip Revolution which brought him and his allies to power in 2005. Opposition groups are concerned about the implications of the criticism directed at Ferghana.ru. The Ar-Namys party, for example, issued a statement on April 1 questioning remarks that Bakiev made at a cabinet meeting, where he urged law-enforcement agencies to exercise control over the media. This statement could be interpreted as an attempt to pressurise the handful of remaining independent press outlets, party member Vitaly Iskakov told IWPR. We are witnessing a setback not only in freedom of speech, but also in the democratic principles we had in the Nineties. We are now under a soft dictatorship and the media are the first target under dictatorship. Ilim Karypbekov, the director of the Media Representative Institute, a non-government watchdog organisation, takes a different view, saying there is no reason for the media to panic. He believes the presidents concerns were specifically about the rumours around his health, but predicted that strict action against the media is unlikely to follow. Elena Voronin of Interbilim, a support group for local non-government groups, says the mystery that surrounded Bakievs long absence is symptomatic of a broader problem. The information vacuum that appeared during the presidents absence shows that the government has little trust in its people, and that it is actually afraid of its people. They are afraid the public will take action if certain information is released, she said. Describing the questioning of Kanazarov as outrageous, she said officials know no bounds and are employing the authoritarian methods of Stalinist times. UZBEK IDENTITY CRISIS IN TAJIKISTAN Residents of border areas are facing hard choice between citizenship switch and eviction from their homes for many years. By IWPR staff in Tajikistan Uzbek residents of a pocket of northern Tajikistan complain they are being told either to change citizenship or leave the country. The map of the area they live in looks so much like a jigsaw puzzle that anyone could be confused about where they live. More than 1,000 residents of the Spitamen and Ghonchi districts of Tajikistan have been told they must decide whether they want to be Tajik or Uzbek nationals, and that if they choose the latter, they may have to leave. Ethnic Uzbeks and Tajiks live on both sides of the border so this is not so much about ethnicity as passports. These people are mainly Uzbeks who ended up living in Tajikistan following an exchange of territory between the two republics more than half a century ago. Tajikistan was awarded these lands in exchange for an area that was flooded when a new hydroelectric power station was built in the 1940s. At the time, it did not really matter - everyone was a citizen of the Soviet Union and borders between the different republics were merely administrative. After both states became independent in 1991, these communities continued to be treated as if they were part of Uzbekistan. Many acquired the new Uzbekistan passports, worked for the public sector there, retired people were paid Uzbek rather than Tajik state pensions, and they had a secondary school funded by Tashkent. The Uzbek currency remains in common use here. The situation is complicated by the fact that this stretch of border has not been demarcated on the ground, so it is not clear where exactly it runs. These days, which passport you hold does matter. The two countries have had a sometimes difficult relationship since independence, and require each others citizens to obtain visas. Residents say the authorities in Tajikistan told them they must make a definitive choice either to become Tajikistan nationals or leave. One local official, who asked to remain anonymous, said the problem came under the spotlight during the run-up to the Uzbek presidential election held December. He said Tashkent went ahead and opened a polling station for Uzbek nationals in Spitamen district without submitting a formal request to do so. The Uzbeks ignored the fact this was not their territory and did not make an official request to open a polling station, even though they were supposed to do this, he said. That indicates that they regard this territory as theirs and they behave accordingly. The Tajik authorities responded by banning the use of the polling station, although they allowed people to cross freely into Uzbekistan to vote there. Now that the problem was no longer dormant, the provincial authorities for Soghd region, which includes the areas in question, decided to take action. Deputy governor Vahob Nabiev visited local communities in February and urged people to make up their minds about which citizenship they want. Ilhom Jamolion, who heads the Soghd administrations press office, said the suggestion had been phrased in approptiate terms, and represented a genuine bid to resolve the anomaly between residence and citizenship. It could not be normal to have a situation where Uzbek nationals had been living in Tajikistan for the last decade and a half, he said. We simply explained to people that theyre free to choose. If they choose Tajik citizenship, they can remain living here. But if they want to retain Uzbek citizenship, they should address themselves to officials in Uzbekistan, and it will be up to them [officials] to think of somewhere for these people to live, said Jamolion. The head of Spitamen district, Habib Saidov, told IWPR the Tajik authorities were acting legally because the land was theirs. We have never forced anybody to acquire our citizenship; we have suggested that they decide what citizenship they would like to have, since they are living on our territory, he said. He insisted that after the deputy governor met residents, they agreed there was a problem and promised to make a decision. Villagers interviewed by IWPR said that in deciding which way to jump, they were really weighing up the relative economic risks, rather thinking along political lines. Most people interviewed by IWPR feared losing their Uzbek wages and pensions, and other benefits such as natural gas and electricity, which they get when others in Tajikistan go short, especially in winter. Rahmon Hojakeldiev, the head of a neighbourhood council in the Abdurahmoni Jomi community noted that Uzbek-national pensioners living there got about 120,000 Uzbek soms (about 100 US dollars) a month, while Tajik passport-holders could expect the national average of about one tenth of that amount. Yet Hojakeldiev insisted he and many others there were not planning to take out Tajik citizenship. He said officials in Uzbekistan had been telling local people not to worry and that everything would be sorted out when border demarcation was completed. They told us that as soon as the authorities decide on the border, we can stay if we want to or we can become Uzbek citizens. They told us theyd get everybody to Uzbekistan and wouldnt leave anybody behind, he said. Yusup Hapkulov, who lives in the same neighbourhood as Hojakeldiev, is one of the minority who hold Tajik citizenship here. But he too is concerned that his fellow villagers are being forced into a situation where they must either accept Tajik nationality or be forced from their homes. We have a good life they [officials] shouldnt disturb us, he said. Jura Yusufi, deputy chief editor of the Varorud newspaper, believes the Soghd regional government made the right decision. I think the Tajik side is right. Citizens of another country who live in a given country permanently should adopt its citizenship or leave. This is in line with international rules, said Yusufi. Other observers, however, argue that regional governments should take a more nuanced approach to the situation facing communities divided by recently-created borders, who wish to maintain family ties and trading links Analyst Ismoili Sugdi said the problem facing the Uzbek citizens in Tajikistan is ultimately a product of the longstanding tensions in relations between Tashkent and Dushanbe, which means they have been unable to agree on border issues. I think only official Dushanbe and Tashkent can solve this issue, so it is high time for them to sit down at the negotiating table, said Sugdi. He argues that people living in border areas could be given the option of having dual citizenship. Whatever the solution, Sugdi said things cannot be just allowed to carry on as they are. The current situation is laying the basis for inter-state hatred. Only a certain group of people benefits, while he ordinary people as a whole suffer, he said. STORY BEHIND THE STORY BABY TRADE WORRIES TAJIKISTAN By Salimakhon Vahobzade in Dushanbe I first learned about baby trafficking in a conversation with my husbands relative, who works for the Prosecutor Generals office in Tajikistan. She said that the trial of a woman who sold her child for 90 US dollars was about to begin. Hearing this made me wonder what makes people try and sell their children, and also how society treats such parents. I called the IWPR office in Dushanbe to pitch this idea for a story, and they gave me the go-ahead to write it. It took almost two weeks and a great deal of effort to gather the material for the report, which was written in the middle of February, when the weather was unusually cold and transport worked badly. There was no electricity in our neighbourhood for a week the transformer burnt out and we were left without light. Electricity at work was also cut off from 9 am till 5 pm and I had to go to the IWPR office to type up this material. I also had some difficulties in securing interviews for the piece and had to make use of some of my existing contacts. I managed to talk to a Supreme Court judge, Larisa Kabilova, who noted that child-trafficking appeared to be on the rise. One gets the impression that selling under-age children has become a kind of business for some mothers, she told me. When researching the story, I also tried to contact many law enforcement and government officials, international and non-governmental organisations, representatives from political parties, sociologists, and prominent scientists. Once contact had been established, I stayed in regular touch with them. State officials are sometimes less than eager to cooperate with journalists. They are reluctant to discuss problems the country is experiencing because they are scared to lose their jobs. Parliament sources I spoke to asked me not to name them, and I respected their wishes as being a parliamentarian correspondent, I plan to work with them in future. They gave me friendly advice not to raise this issue, because it casts a shadow on our nation. Why do you need this? Do women in other countries not sell their children? You will insult our ancient nation! one said. I wanted to draw parliament members attention to the problem of baby trafficking and convince them to consider giving social support to single mothers. My research showed that sociologists believe that most mothers are driven to sell their babies out of poverty and desperation, rather than greed. However, I failed to secure an interview with anyone from the committee on women and family affairs. I got in touch with Colonel Azimjon Ibrohimov, head of the Tajik interior ministry department that deals with human trafficking, whom I met last year when writing about deported prostitutes from United Arab Emirates. He agreed to meet me the next day. During this interview, the colonel revealed that the number of women selling their children appeared to be on the increase. The police recorded 13 cases of human trafficking involving minors last year, while two months into 2008, there were already six cases. Ibrohimov also said that while in the past, mostly young mothers tried selling their babies, now older women were getting involved. I wanted to speak to someone in charge of an orphanage. However, I had problems in contacting the director of a particular orphanage in the capital city of Dushanbe. I tried to get hold of him for almost two days. He was not there when I visited. I then decided to try the head doctor at another Dushanbe orphanage that cares for 60 under-fives - Saodat Nabieva. She kindly agreed to answer my questions. Nabieva believes that vulnerable women were increasingly attempting to sell their children as they no longer had the social safety-net they had back in Soviet times. The most challenging aspect of the feature was securing interviews with the traumatized women who were punished for selling their children. Some of the mothers I approached refused to look at me - they averted their faces and did not answer my questions. Others wrapped themselves up in their scarves and cried. My nephew, a gynecologist, put me in touch with 17-year-old Ravila. For my work, I encourage all my friends and relatives to report interesting information to me. The teenager, who was staying in a maternity house, was his patient. I traveled to the other part of the city in order to speak with Ravila, when she came to the doctors for her appointment. I first hear about Rajab and Istad, a couple who remain childless after 21 years of marriage, after Istad came to my work to ask for help in adopting a child. Although the couple, who have their own small business, had applied to become adoptive parents, the childcare authorities in Dushanbe turned them down, saying they were too poor. They live in one room in a workers hostel and share a bathroom, kitchen and outside lavatory with other tenants. Istad conveyed the desperation which many childless parents have to conceive. If we could adopt a boy, I would stay at home and look after him and he would receive all our love and care, she said. If somebody suggested we could buy a baby, we probably wouldnt say no. Salimakhon Vakhobzade is an IWPR contributor and a correspondent of Narodnaya Gazeta (Peoples Newspaper). **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA provides the international community with a unique insiders' perspective on the region. Using our network of local journalists, the service publishes news and analysis from across Central Asia on a weekly basis. The service forms part of IWPR's Central Asia Project based in Almaty, Bishkek, Tashkent and London, which supports media development and encourages better local and international understanding of the region. IWPR's Reporting Central Asia is supported by the Global Conflict Prevention Pool of UK government and Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The opinions expressed in Reporting Central Asia are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the publication or of IWPR. REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA: Editor-in-Chief: Anthony Borden; Managing Editor: Yigal Chazan; Senior Editor: John MacLeod; Central Asia Editor: Saule Mukhametrakhimova; Programme Director: Kumar Bekbolotov. 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