The 23rd annual conference of the Central Asia Media Conference entitled “Promoting public value of the media in Central Asia” for government officials and representatives of mass media was held on 9-10 September, 2021 in Tashkent.
Some invited experts took part in the conference in an online format.
Chairperson of the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights Farid Tukhbatullin also participated in the conference. Below is the text of his speech.
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
For many years our country has been one of three outsiders in the world’s Press Freedom Index and I see no prospects for the situation to improve. The pandemic has demonstrated that our non-existing press freedom is not the only violation of a clause in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
The absence of independent media and the rigid censorship of Turkmen-based media outlets have affected the life and well-being of residents negatively, even tragically. The fact that the authorities do not acknowledge any COVID-19 cases in Turkmenistan and undisclosed statistics pertaining to the disease and mortality rates resulted in residents ignoring imminent threat.
“Dear fellow countrymen! Because of an increasing amount of dust particles in the air, we kindly ask you to wear masks, wash hands and use sanitizers and keep social distancing of two meters”, – this is the only awareness raising campaign initiated by the authorities.
Not only do the authorities fail to inform residents of the real situation with regard to the pandemic, but even block unbiased information from independent Turkmen information resources such as websites “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” or Turkmen News, based abroad, from being disseminated in the country.
These websites publish direct and indirect data confirming numerous COVID-19 cases and COVID-related deaths.The latest report is the death of the principal of the only Russian school (patronized by the Embassy of Russia) Elena Systsova.
Her family, her mother and children are also in a critical condition.Indirect data include reports about price hikes for coffins and the rental of tents for funerals and commemoration ceremonies.
Needless to say, this information is not published in state-run or pro-governmental media outlets.
If the special services previously searched for and block VPN servers used by Turkmen residents to visit censored or blocked Internet resources, they recently have been detaining and imposing administrative fines on those who help residents to install such servers.
As a result, our website “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” has lost up to a half of its unique visitors.
Our website remains the target of DDoS-attacks. Pursuant to the action by the Turkmen state agency our Youtube channel was blocked in May 2021.
Several people who collaborated with independent Turkmen Internet resources or those who had a personal blog have been arrested and convicted in Turkmenistan. Among them are Nurgeldy Khalykov and Murad Dushemov. In particular, family members of Dursoltan Taganov and Rozybai Jumamuradov, residing in Turkey, have been seriously affected.
It is unclear what regulations and laws the Turkmen authorities follow when trying to use force and persecution to fight against independent media.We have no feedback mechanisms with the government agencies let alone opportunities to interview or obtain comments from heads of ministries or agencies despite the fact that the Law on Mass Media allows us to do so.
The OSCE makes analysis of laws and offers recommendations on their improvement, which is much welcomed. However, alas, in Turkmenistan these laws are used merely as window-dressing rather than as a working mechanism.
In March 2021 the elections to the new chamber of Turkmenistan’s Parliament were held.After elections it transpired that the incumbent President was elected to this legislative body without standing for election.
Retaining the post of the President, not only did he get elected to the Parliament, but he also became the head of the Chamber.This demonstrates the attitude of the Turkmen authorities towards their own laws and the Constitution.
It is extremely risky and complicated to work as a journalist and run an information resource under these conditions.Nevertheless, hopefully the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, the EU agencies and other international organizations committed to democracy and human rights will help citizens of Turkmenistan to their entitled right to receive and disseminate information.
The post Tashkent hosts the Central Asia Media Conference. The TIHR Chairperson talks about problems in Turkmenistan first appeared on Chronicles of Turkmenistan.