The news is bleak for media outlets in the Caucasus and Central Asia, according to an annual report released by Freedom House on April 29. And the forecast calls for periods of repression, heavy at times.
Press freedoms worldwide are under threat, but the drift toward repression in the former Soviet Union is the most pronounced and alarming, said Karin Karlekar, the managing editor of the report, Freedom of the Press 2008. "It's very worrying. In past years we've seen declines in the worst performing countries, but what's interesting this year is that we've seen declines in the whole region, from the better performing countries all the way down to the worst performers," she said.
Freedom of the Press 2008 rates countries as free, partly free or not free across three categories: the legal environment in which media outlets operate; political influence on reporting and access to information; and economic pressures on content and the dissemination of news. Countries were scored on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing total government control over mass media, and zero indicating perfect freedom. [For a look at the entire table, click here].
"There were a wide range of trends. In the better performing countries there was increasing pressure from governments on public broadcast media. We noted in several of the mid-range countries there were downward trends. In Kyrgyzstan that was mostly connected to the political environment. In Georgia, political polarization, elections and the state of emergency led to a crackdown on media. Armenia had a similar sort of experience with pre-election tensions." In the 2008 survey Kyrgyzstan received a score of 70, Georgia 60 and Armenia 66.
Perennial human rights bad boys Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were, not surprisingly, found at the bottom of the Freedom House table.
Despite Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov's oft-stated desire to liberalize, Turkmenistan retained its title as the most media unfriendly state in Caspian Basin. Ashgabat's total of 96 in 2008 remained unchanged over its tally the previous year. In the world, only Burma and North Korea received a worse score than Turkmenistan's. "The government retained its absolute monopoly over all media, directly controlling not only media outlets, but also the printing presses and other infrastructure on which they depended," the Freedom House report stated.
Berdymukhamedov in recent weeks has demanded that state-controlled mass media outlets improve the quality of programming. He added that journalists should be more "creative" and trained by foreign professionals. However, Karlekar countered that the media situation in Turkmenistan is so debased "it would be difficult to say what could be done to improve it."
"We were hoping to see some positive changes in Turkmenistan [after the death of former dictator Saparumat Niyazov] but there's been scant change, which is very disappointing," she added.
Uzbekistan registered a 92 score in the 2008 report, up from its 91 the previous year. "The aftermath of government clampdowns in 2005-2006 left an already barren media landscape even more desolate in 2007," this year's report states. "Despite nominal constitutional guarantees, Uzbek authorities showed no respect for freedom of speech or of the press."
"Virtually all media were linked either directly or indirectly to the [Uzbek] state, and the government used them to present a carefully constructed picture of an ideal reality, with occasional forays into limited criticism," the report continued.
After Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan proved the most state most hostile to independent media. Astana saw its 2008 score stand at 78, a two-point increase over the previous year. "Political events underscored the overwhelming extent of partisan ownership and presidential influence," the report said. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Independent-minded journalists continue to encounter "harassment and obstacles, including criminal charges and civil libel suits," the report continued.
Azerbaijan and Tajikistan trailed just behind Kazakhstan, each country receiving a score of 77. In examining Dushanbe's conduct, the report criticized the introduction of amendments criminalizing libel and defamation on the internet, featuring penalties of up to two years in prison. It also noted the government's manipulation of the judicial system to harass journalists and editors, and licensing difficulties for both domestic and foreign media outlets.
Azerbaijan, the report points out, remains one of the world leaders in imprisoning journalists. "Fearful of a
Editor's note:
Deirdre Tynan is a freelance journalist who specializes in Central Asian affairs.
