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Uzbekistan Covered the Subject President Karimov and his family are considered a taboo subject. In 2013, while international media actively discussed dissent within that family— which was constantly leaked by the president’s eldest daughter, Gulnara Karimova, though social networks—no media in Uzbekistan covered the subject. UZBEKISTAN 296 EUROPE & EURASIA MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY INDEX 2014 introduction OVERALL SCORE: 0.74 UZBEKISTAN Despite the government’s alleged attempts to reform the media sector, there is little evidence of improvement in the freedom of speech in Uzbekistan over the past year. Given the repressive political Denvironment, the mass media is heavily self-censored and there are many taboo subjects journalists dare not cover. The government continues to block access to Internet websites and blogs that offer opinions contrary to those held by official Tashkent. Independent-minded journalists are still harassed and arrested. President Islam Karimov, who has continuously ignored or revised limits on presidential terms and has been de-facto ruling the country since 1989, exercises total control on mass media, both state and independent. Uzbekistan was one of the last countries of the former Soviet bloc to ban censorship, doing do in 2002. However, a revised media law introduced in 2007, two years after bloody events in the eastern city Andijan, assigns a higher level of responsibility to media outlets to ensure the “objectivity” of the content produced, which has led to editorial self-censorship. Today, despite the government’s populist calls for openness, media outlets still refrain from publishing information that is critical of any political, social, or economic policies of the state. President Karimov and his family are considered a taboo subject. In 2013, while international media actively discussed dissent within that family—which was constantly leaked by the president’s eldest daughter, Gulnara Karimova, though social networks—no media in Uzbekistan covered the subject. Neither did Uzbek media discuss the liquidation of several television channels reportedly under her control, nor the closure of the most circulated newspaper, Darakchi, which belonged to her closest ally. Independent journalists critical of the government’s policies are subject to persecution by police and the National Security Service (NSS). In July 2013, journalist Vladimir Ahunov was interrogated by NSS and fired from Ferganskaya Pravda for covering a dispute over property between the Artists Union and an entrepreneur. In September 2013, independent journalist Sergey Naumov was sentenced to 12 days of administrative arrest for covering forced labor at state cotton plantations. At least four journalists were in prison in 2013, including Muhammad Bekjanov and Yusuf Ruzimuradov, both reporters of opposition newspaper Erk, which is no longer published. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, since being jailed in 1999, the two have been imprisoned longer than any other reporters in the world. Due to the repressive environment in Uzbekistan, IREX did not conduct an in-country panel. This chapter represents desk research conducted on the situation, interviews, and the results of questionnaires filled out by several people familiar with the state of media in the country. UZBEKISTAN 297 UZBEKISTAN at a glance GENERAL MEDIA-SPECIFIC > Population: 28,929,716 (July 2014 est., CIA World Factbook) > Number of active print outlets, radio stations, television stations, and > Capital city: Tashkent Internet portals: Print media: 1,015; Radio Stations: 35; Television Stations: 63; Internet: 300 websites registered as media (Uzbek government) > Ethnic groups (% of population): Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, Tatar 1.5%, other 2.5% (1996 est., CIA > Newspaper circulation statistics: Total newspaper readership is estimated at World Factbook) 500,000; top publications include Khalk Sozi (state-run daily, reached 130,000 circulation in 2013), Narodnye Slovo (state-run, Russian-language version Religions (% of population): Muslim 88% (mostly Sunni), Eastern > of Khalk Sozi), O’zbekistan Ozovi (published by ruling party) (Library of Orthodox 9%, other 3% (CIA World Factbook) Congress, Federal Research Division) Languages: Uzbek (official) 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1% > > Broadcast ratings: N/A (CIA World Factbook) > News agencies: Uzbekistan National News Agency (state-owned), Jahon, GNI (2012-Atlas): $51.16 billion (World Bank Development Indicators, 2013) > Turkiston Press, Uzbekistan Today GNI per capita (2012-PPP): $3,670 (World Bank Development Indicators, 2013) > > Annual advertising revenue in media sector: N/A Literacy rate: 99.4%; male 99.6%, female 99.2% (2011 est., CIA World > > Internet usage: 4.689 million (2009 est., CIA World Factbook) Factbook) > President or top authority: President Islom Karimov (since March 24, 1990) MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY INDEX: UZBEKISTAN NEAR SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINABLE SUSTAINABILITY MIXED SYSTEM UNSUSTAINABLE 0.68 0.68 0.70 0.69 0.68 0.66 0.66 0.64 0.61 0.58 0.58 0.55 0.53 0.53 0.46 0.46 0.46 0.43 0.85 0.81 0.74 0.73 0.74 0.74 0.71 UNSUSTAINABLE 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2012 2013 2012 2013 2012 2013 2012 2013 2012 2013 ANTI-FREE PRESS FREE PROFESSIONAL PLURALITY OF BUSINESS SUPPORTING SPEECH JOURNALISM NEWS SOURCES MANAGEMENT INSTITUTIONS OBJECTIVES MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY INDEX 2014: OVERALL AVERAGE SCORES □c Albania 2.29 c Armenia 2.28 □c Bosnia & c Bulgaria 1.89 Herzegovina 2.04 □c Kazakhstan 1.77 □c Croatia 2.42 □c Russia 1.55 c Kyrgyzstan 2.11 c Azerbaijan 1.17 □c Serbia 1.90 □c Moldova 2.38 □c Belarus 1.06 □c Tajikistan 1.71 c Montenegro 2.06 c Georgia 2.63 c Turkmenistan 0.26 □c Uzbekistan 0.74 c Macedonia 1.40 □c Ukraine 1.64 □c Romania 2.20 □c Kosovo 2.54 0–0.50 0.51–1.00 1.01–1.50 1.51–2.00 2.01–2.50 2.51–3.00 3.01–3.50 3.51–4.00 UNSUSTAINABLE UNSUSTAINABLE NEAR ANTI-FREE PRESS MIXED SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINABLE CHANGE SINCE 2013 (increase greater than .10) □ (little or no change) (decrease greater than .10) Unsustainable, Anti-Free Press Unsustainable Mixed System (1–2): Near Sustainability (2–3): Country Sustainable (3–4): Country has (0–1): Country does not meet or Country minimally meets objectives, has progressed in meeting media that are considered generally only minimally meets objectives. with segments of the legal system and multiple objectives, with legal professional, free, and sustainable, or Government and laws actively government opposed to a free media norms, professionalism, and the to be approaching these objectives. hinder free media development, system. Evident progress in free-press business environment supportive of Systems supporting independent professionalism is low, and advocacy, increased professionalism, independent media. Advances have media have survived multiple media-industry activity is minimal. and new media businesses may be too survived changes in government and governments, economic fluctuations, recent to judge sustainability. have been codified in law and practice. and changes in public opinion or social However, more time may be needed conventions. to ensure that change is enduring and that increased professionalism and the media business environment are sustainable. Scores for all years may be found online at http://www.irex.org/system/files/EE_msiscores.xls 298 EUROPE & EURASIA MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY INDEX 2014 OBJECTIVE 1: FREEDOM OF SPEECH On December 11, the government Uzbekistan Objective Score: 0.68 suspended for an unknown period of time the licenses of the country’s The year 2013 did not bring significant changes in the legal best selling tabloid Darakchi framework governing media or ensuring its freedom. There (circulating 40,000 copies in Russian is a solid legal framework that guarantees the freedom of speech and other rights of the media in Uzbekistan, but it and 120,000 copies in Uzbek) and is almost never enforced. In fact, rather than applying the a smaller newspaper targeting laws, instead the most serious obstacles for free speech women, Sogdiana. come from government officials and agencies. According to a March 20, 2013 decree by President Islam protection of journalists’ professional activities,” “On the Karimov, the government started testing the draft law principles and guarantees of freedom of information” and “On the openness of public authorities and governance” “On citizens’ appeals.” So far, therefore, the experiment has in Bukhara and Samarkand regions. The bill, according to not produced any significant results. Article 1 of the document, is aimed at “ensuring broad access for businesses and individuals to information Government violations of media laws are often justified with about the activities of public authorities and governance; references to vaguely defined provisions and decrees, which broadening of forms of realization of the constitutional can be interpreted conveniently to obstruct free speech and right of citizens to information; designation of procedures access to information. for informing the public about the activities of public All media establishments are required to register with the authorities and governance; increasing the responsibility of Uzbekistan Press and Information Agency (UPIA), which falls state bodies and governance for their decisions.” under the jurisdiction of the Cabinet of Ministers. Online However, the articles of the draft law, highly praised by versions of newspapers also fall within the law’s scope and the president and government media, mostly duplicate as such are subject to registration if their content differs provisions of the existing laws regulating the release from their printed publication. of information. These include: “On mass media,” “On The procedure for obtaining a license is set by the Cabinet of Ministers’ decree “On Further Development of the Procedure LEGAL AND SOCIAL NORMS PROTECT AND PROMOTE for State Registration of the Mass Media” and a number FREE SPEECH AND ACCESS TO PUBLIC INFORMATION. of other departmental documents, some of which are not FREE-SPEECH INDICATORS: available for public access.
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