A "FREE PRESS" IN UZBEKISTAN?

In an article published on December 17 in the Uzbek newspaper "Hurriyat," a leading Uzbek journalist takes a swipe at the new draft media law proposed by the government. The draft law, published in major Uzbek papers last month, details the rights and responsibilities of journalists, photographers, editors, and others in the media. At the same time, it called for Uzbekistan to abide by international law in its media policy, and, at least in theory, to prohibit censorship.

While generally supportive of the law, Karim Bahriyev, the editor of the Justice Ministry’s "Economy and the Law" publication, cites examples in which the media law could actually be damaging to the concept of "free speech" in Uzbekistan. Mr. Bahriyev suggests dropping the articles which state that a journalist is held legally accountable for the veracity of information used in news stories; that one must first obtain permission from a person before writing about him or her; and that permission must be obtained from the prosecutor’s office before using materials pertaining to a criminal case. In each of these instances, the end result would be a limitation of what, and to what extent, a journalist can write on a given story. (Hurriyat, December 17)

That this article appeared in an Uzbek paper which is widely circulated throughout the country raises some interesting points about the current state of the free press in the country. First, the article would seem to be an example of the Karimov government’s recent campaign to promote its endorsement of an open media. Over the past month, the press has highlighted the new policy and contrasted it with Soviet-era reporting. The newspaper "Ishonch," for example, published a lengthy article noting the 50th anniversary of Uzbek Radio’s foreign broadcast department, and described its post-independence reporting as "objective" and "informative." (Uzbek radio as cited by the BBC, December 16)

Second, the appearance of the article in "Hurriyat" suggests that newspapers are being used as sounding boards for internal debates on policy. A similar article appeared in the Uzbek press two months ago regarding the issues of agricultural privatization. By allowing the publication of diverse views, the government can gauge, and to some extent, control, opinions on critical issues. But while alternative views are now, perhaps, being more readily accepted in the press, the publications as a whole are still tepid in their support for views which the government itself might not appreciate.

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