Debate Over Azerbaijani Public TV Continues

After years of wrangling, public television free from overt government control has come to Azerbaijan, but critics charge that the move will do little to improve conditions for an independent and critical press. For now, the Council of Europe has withheld judgement, noting, however, that the law establishing Azerbaijan's public television system may fail to meet stipulations for the complete abolition of state-run television.

The establishment of public television in Azerbaijan lies at the heart of the debate over the country's openness to democratic reform. Unlike print media, which has a variety of independent outlets, broadcast media largely remains under the government's control. Opposition parties, non-governmental and international organizations have long criticized the government for using television, the most widely accessible source of information, to block dissident views, most notably in the run-up to the October 2003 presidential elections.

Establishing a public television system is a requirement for Azerbaijan's membership in the Council of Europe, but "public" television in the country remains an evolving concept. Under the terms of the law, signed by President Ilham Aliyev on November 9, only one of the country's two state-run television channels will be removed from direct government supervision. Az-TV2, the less influential of the two channels, will be free to select its own programming, but will continue to receive partial state financing until 2010. A Broadcasting Council made up of representatives of the Trade Union Confederation, the National Academy of Sciences, Press Council, Entrepreneurs Council, youth and women's organizations, sports federations and religious and creative groups, will be responsible for overseeing Az-TV2's operations.

In a November 10 statement, the Council of Europe welcomed the transition as "a positive step" toward Azerbaijan meeting its membership requirements, but expressed concern that the law failed to meet the Council's stipulation that both state channels be transferred to public television. "Meeting the . . .conditions in full requires that this process applies to both channels," read the statement. The Council added that it "looks forward" to examining Aliyev's decree to determine whether the measure meets that stipulation.

One critic, however, forecasts that the Council will not accept the government's dual state-public television strategy. "State TV at the disposal of any government actually serves as its propaganda machine, which, in turn, contradicts the rules of a democratic state," Rashid Hajily, director of the Media Rights Institute, said in a recent interview with the Baku daily Zerkalo. Ali Hasanov, head of the president's political affairs department, has argued that the law meets all of the Council's requirements.

Other critics agree that the independence of Azerbaijani public television looks doubtful. The decision to establish a public television channel alongside AzTV-1 is seen as contradicting Council of Europe demands that state television provide the basis for Azerbaijan's public television system. Press Council member Zeynal Mammadli, a television expert, said that the decision to strip state controls only from AzTV-2 had "buried the last hopes for the creation of a real public television."

Many believe that the government will try to control the Broadcasting Council by ensuring that handpicked representatives hold seats there. "It is doubtful that the Broadcasting Council will take into consideration public interests because trade unions, the Academy of Sciences and others are fully controlled by the government," Hajily told EurasiaNet. Parliament, controlled by President Aliyev's ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party, must approve all appointees.

Finally, experts argue that the fledgling public television station AzTV-2 will be woefully underfunded compared with its more influential cousin, AzTV-1. The draft state budget for 2005 allocates only 5 billion mantas, a little over $1 million, for AzTV-2's financing compared with 71 billion mantas, or about $14.5 million, for the AzTV-1 state channel. Donations and revenue from advertising, program licensing and concert performances are expected to make up the rest of AzTV-2's budget. After 2010, subscription fees will replace state funding.

Over the past two years, the Council and Azerbaijan have had a running battle over whether or not to abolish state-run television in its entirety. In remarks quoted this September by the English-language newspaper Baku Today, Hasanov, head of the president's political affairs department, maintained that Azerbaijan "needed" to preserve one state-run television channel. "We have undertaken to set up public television and we will make good on this. When all Council of Europe member nations eliminate state- run television, we will follow suit," Hasanov said. "This is an international as well as domestic issue in that Azerbaijan's national interests must be protected."