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CENTRAL ASIAN MEDIA SUPPORT PROJECT |
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Proceedings
of the
Osh/Kyrgyzstan Conference By
Khamidov Alisher, Osh Media Role in Post-Soviet
Conflict Areas
Organizers:
1.
CIMERA, Switzerland; 2.
Osh Media Resource Center, Kyrgyzstan; 3.
The International In-Service Centre for Training Journalists,
Uzbekistan; 4.
National Association of Independent Mass Media in Tajikistan. Dates
of conduction:
May 18th to May 20th,
2000 Place
of conduction:
Osh oblast library
“Toktogul Satylganov,” Osh. The conference was attended by more than sixty
regional and international journalists and experts. Participants
came from different countries: the USA, the United Kingdom,
Australia, Japan, Russia, as well as from the Central Asia and
Caucasus. On the first day the conference participants were
welcomed by Temirbek
Akmataliev, governor of Osh province. Greetings were delivered
by Vicken Cheterian, the
author of the Central Asian Media Support Project, Alisher
Khamidov, director of the Osh Media Center, and Nuriddin
Karshiboev, the chairman of the National Association of the of
Independent Mass Media of Tadjikistan.
The topic of the first session was “Sources
of Tension in Central Asia, Fergana Valley”. During the
session three papers concerning conflicts in Central Asia were
presented. Mr. Umed
Babakhanov, the director of “Asia Plus” Information Agency
from Dushanbe, spoke about sources of tension in Fergana Valley.
According to Mr. Babakhanov, the main sources of tension are water
distribution, land resources issues along with inexact data
concerning the borders of the former Soviet Republics. Another issue,
which prevents regional understanding and consensus is the lack of
information for general public in Central Asia.
Mr. Nickolas Megoran from
Cambridge University presented a paper concerning the coverage of
border issues between Kyrghyzstan and Uzbekistan in the mass media
of Kyrghyzstan. According to Mr. Megoran, the state owned and
independent newspapers approached
this issue differently. The author gave a thorough analysis
on how territorial issues were presented and discussed by
independent and state owned mass media. Such opposition newspapers
as “Asaba”, “Kyrghyz Ruukhu”, “Aalam” and
“Respublika” gave deep analysis and made critical conclusions;
as for the state-owned ones such as “Kyrghyz Tuusu”, “Osh
Janyrgy” and “Erkin Too”, they published only short news and
praised the state policy in these areas. The representative of the Tashkent based weekly
“Business Vestnik Vostoka” Mr. Alisher
Taksanov presented a paper - “Threats for security: from
nationalism to Islamism”. In his speech, Mr. Alisher Taksanov
presented concrete reasons of threat for security, which according
to him, were caused by religious extremism. Mr. Taksanov mentioned
factors of integration and disintegration of Central Asia. According
to him, the integration and disintegration of the region were caused
by such factors as ethnic, religious, territorial, tourist, economic,
criminal, ecological, political, military issues. Special role in
the integration of Central Asian countries was given to the doctrine
of the Great Silk Road. After the coffee break journalists participated
in the discussions over the presented topics. All presented papers
caused disputes. Iskhak Masaliev, the chairperson of the Communist
Party of Kyrghyzstan, a member of the Kyrghyz Parliament, pointed
out that journalists from Central Asia reminded him “birds in the
golden cage”: they were trying to raise vital issues and prove
many issues, but they remained rather helpless. Mr. Masaliev made a
critical remark concerning the paper of Nicholas Megoran. Mr.
Masaliev said that it was not appropriate to make a general opinion
about the problems of disputable bordering territories between
Uzbekistan and Kyrghyzstan based on the analysis of a few
Kyrghyzstan newspapers. “Central
Asian Security in the Regional Context” was the title of the next session that took place after
the lunch break.
The moderator of the session, Oleg
Panfilov from Journalism in Extreme Situations Center (Moscow),
outlined the policy of Russia in Central Asia. He stressed the fact
that interests of Russia in Central Asia have rapidly increased,
especially after Putin came to power. Mr. Panfilov pointed out that
it is quite possible that Russian intelligence might have been
involved in the notorious events that took place recently in the
Central Asian region. Alexander
Khamagaev,
the representative of the International In-service Training Center
for Journalists (Tashkent), presented his paper concerning the
situation in Afghanistan and its connection with Central Asian
affairs. His presentation, which was supported by historical facts
and events, gave insights and discussed the development of the
Taliban movement as well as its clashes with other local groups.
According to Mr. Khamagaev, the Afghan crisis had negative impact on
the developments in the Central Asian countries. One of those
impacts was the spread of religious ideology that provided grounds
for misunderstanding between communities and political disagreements.
Apart from turning the Central Asian countries into the transit
corridor for drugs coming from Afghanistan, another, far more
negative impact was the danger of terrorism that was closely
associated with wahabist groups. Possible inflow of refugees from
Afghanistan posed another alarming concern. In his paper, Alexander
Khamagaev pointed out that the Central Asian countries ought to
strengthen regional security measures and must not rely on Russian
aid merely. Parviz
Muladjanov,
an independent political analyst based in Dushanbe, spoke about the
present situation in Tadjikistan after the civil war. The author
presented reasons why the civil war erupted in Tadjikistan.
According to him, main reasons for the civil war in the country were
uneven distribution of power (due to the fact that the Tadjik
population was divided into several clans, each of them trying to
come to power). Mr. Muladzanov also pointed out, that the current
peace accord had been achieved due to the fact that the two major
political parties, having their own armed groups and financial/material
resources, agreed to share the power according to the mutually
beneficial formula. While describing the present political situation
in Tadjikistan, Parviz Mulladjanov came to the conclusion that
“good conditions have been created to strengthen the political
stability in the country” and it, undoubtedly, resulted in “a
certain economic development”.
Erlan
Karin, director
of the Central Asian Agency for Political Studies (Almaty) presented
his paper on “Inner
political aspects of national security of Kazakhstan”. He
pointed out that in Kazakhstan there was a tendency which stressed
on the necessity to strengthen measures of national security of the
country. This was proven not only by the special status and
authorization granted to the special security
structures, but also by the general direction of the state
policy. He underlined that, by all means,
national security in Kazakhstan reflected the level and
condition of national interests protection. The session after the break was dedicated to the
“State policies of Central Asian governments in the area of
conflict prevention”. Three papers were presented: by
Kyrghyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan experts. The reporter of
“Zarya Surkhana” (Termez) Mrs. Svetlana
Skladchikova presented her paper on the state policy of
Uzbekistan. The paper was full with citations from high-ranking
officials of Uzbekistan ( mainly by Islam Karimov) and fully
supported Uzbekistan’s state policies in conflict prevention. Gulchehra
Mansurova,
the correspondent from “Asia Plus” Information Agency
(Dushanbe), pointed out that the Tadjik government was doing
its best to prevent conflicts, but there are factors and certain
forces that may easily contribute to the escalation of conflicts. Uran
Botobekov,
an independent political analyst from Kyrghyzstan, in his paper,
stated that there was an alarming community concern over the
possible recurrence of the events of the last year in Batken. After
visiting the southern border check points, Askar Akaev, the
president of the country did not hide his concern over the
possibility of the invasion of the Kyrghyz territory by extremists.
Mr. Uran Botobekov also underlined that the experience of a number
of Muslim countries had demonstrated the fact that when oppressed,
the political Islam tends to make its supporters extremely radical
and turns them into extremists. The most important point made by
Uran Botobekov in his presentation was the statement that while
struggling against the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the official
position of Tashkent and Bishkek differ. Critical points made by
Islam Karimov concerning his Kyrghyz counterpart have once again
demonstrated to the public existing misunderstanding between
officials, which might as well contribute to the escalation of
tensions in the region. On the second day of the conference, the
participants met with Temirbek Akmataliev, the governor of Osh
oblast and the head of the Osh town administration Mr. Jusupbek
Sharipov. Both officials answered all questions that were asked by
journalists. In his speech, Temirbek Akmataliev stressed on
the important role the mass media played in conflict prevention in
the Ferghana Valley. When the issue of the possibility for moving
the capital from Bishkek to Osh was raised by journalists, mr.
Akmataliev stated that there was no such necessity. But he mentioned
that he had submitted a request to the presidential administration
and respective bodies to move the Ministry for Emergency Situations
of the Kyrghyz Republic to Osh. Since major natural disasters and
emergency events occur, for the most part, in the south of
Kyrghyzstan, this option would seem rather relevant. Turabek Turaev, a reporter of the “Davr”,
Uzbekistan’s leading information service, inquired about how the
problem of the ethnic minorities who had been infringed was solved.
The governor said that such a problem really existed and that it was
being solved positively for those who have been discriminated on the
grounds of religion or ethnicity. Temirbek Akmataliev also pointed
out that representatives of the ethnic minorities occupied key
positions in different structures of the Kyrghyz Republic. He
referred to the case of mr. Mamasaidov Mukhamedjan, an ethnic Uzbek
from Aravan, who presently acted as the rector of the Kyrghyz-Uzbek
University and was the member of the Kyrghyz Parliament.
The head of the Osh town administration, Mr.
Sharipov spoke about the history and the present of the town of Osh.
For conference participants, it was very interesting to find out
about the preparation works for the celebrations of the Osh
towns’3000th anniversary.
The presentation by Mr. Sharipov caused heated discussions among
journalists. Erkin Nurmamatov, local journalist from Osh radio
“Pyramid” made a critical remark regarding the preparation works.
According to him, the available infrastructure (hotels, service centers) were not adequate and did not have enough
capacity to receive so many visitors. Mr. Sharipov’s response was
rather vague. He told that the Osh town administration relied on the
aid from the capital town of Bishkek and other regions of
Kyrghyzstan in conducting this important event. Next was the meeting with representatives of
ethnic minorities of the Osh oblast (Tadjik, Russian and Uzbek
associations) who answered the questions of journalists. Leaders of
ethnic minority groups spoke about their life and problems of ethnic
minorities. Conference participants were interested to know about
social positions minority representatives possessed and whether they
enjoyed equal rights and opportunities together with the main ethnic
group. Meeting
with religious leaders and representatives of the clergy. In the afternoon, conference participants met with Mr. Alaudin
Mansur Hadji – the head of the Center for the Study of the
Holy Ko’ran, Imam of “Manas-Ata” mosque Mr. Akmataliev
Zikirilla Hadji, Kazy ( Muslim Shariat judge) of Osh oblast Mr. Abduvahidov
Saipjan Haji. The
father Victor - an abbot of Mikhailov Archangelsk Temple of Osh
oblast.
Religious leaders of Osh oblast were “attacked” by numerous questions,
which, for the most part, linked Islam with religious extremism and
intolerance. The calm and reasonable responses of the clergy
representatives denied any form of violence, such as “JIKHAD”
which was practiced by extremist religious groups ( Hizb-ut-Tahrir,
Hezbollah) by the holly Ku’ran. Interesting insights concerning
the organization and activities of extreme religious denominations
and groups such as Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Akramia etc., were presented to
journalists by religious leaders. After the lunch, the conference participants were
supposed to go to Jalal-Abad to attend meetings with Mr. Jumaliev J,
governor of the oblast, local NGOs working in the field of conflict
prevention. Due to a number of reasons, including technical, the
trip failed. The quick and more convenient route from Osh to
Jalal-Abad lies through the Uzbekistan territory. At the
Uzbek-Kyrghyz border, the bus carrying conference participants was
stopped. The Uzbekistani border officials did not let the bus go
through the Uzbekistani territory due to the instructions they have
previously (2 days earlier) received from Tashkent. The instruction
stated that no transportation vehicle be allowed to pass the
checkpoint. According to customs officials, this was due to the
current visit of the Russian president Vladimir Putin to the capital
of Uzbekistan - Tashkent. The third day of the Conference started with the
session dedicated to “Other
Conflicts in the Newly Independent States.” The moderator was
Mr. Mark Grigoryan, a journalist from Armenia. Vicken Cheterian, director of CIMERA and the
author of the Central Asian Media Support Project presented a paper
titled ‘Failure of Political Thinking’ in which he analyzed the
conflict in Chechnya and its consequences. The role of mass media in Karabakh conflict was
presented by Mr. Mark Gregorian. According to him, despite of the
fact that the mass media in Transcaucasus had been continuously used
by different forces to achieve political goals ( unleashing tensions
by means of articles and reportages concerning territorial claims of
Azerbaidjan and Armenia), there was a very productive cooperation
between Azeribaidjani and Armenian journalists on all levels. They
always supported each other and shared information. Both presentations caused heated discussions
among journalists. Different opinions were expressed in regards to
possible similarities and differences in the development of regional
tensions in Caucasus and in Central Asia. The role of the media
representatives was also analyzed from very critical perspectives.
Regional journalists from Central Asia demonstrated unique knowledge
and understanding of the events that had taken place in Caucasus. All presentations stressed the fact that the
quality of the coverage of the crisis left much to be desired. Makhamadjan
Khamidov, journalist from the Osh local newspaper “Ekho Osha”
shifted the blame from journalists to the security officials who had
continuously created various obstacles before media representatives
by giving misleading directions, data and biased information. Nurali
Davlatov, a journalist from Tadjikistan, described previous media
coverage of events and people involved in the Batken crisis. ( Juma
Namangoni and his group). Four papers were presented at the session that
was titled “The role of
media in conflict prevention.” Greg
Austin from
the International Crisis Group based in Brussels, outlined basic
principles, which could be used by the media representatives in
preventing conflicts. He used examples of the work of the media
representatives in Yugoslavia and in other conflicting regions.
Nuriddin
Karshiboev’s
(chairman of the National Association of Independent Media of
Tadjikistan) paper was based on the experience of media outlets of
Tadjikistan during the civil war. He urged the conference
participants to show better understanding of the role journalists
played in preventing the tensions in the first place. After a coffee break, a session titled “ What could NGOs propose for conflict prevention in the Ferghana Valley”
was open by the moderator -Raya
Kadyrova, the director of the Foundation for Tolerance
International. Her presentation titled “Conflict prevention in
Batken and Leylek rayons of Kyrghyzstan” described the major
activities of her organization targeted at preventing local
conflicts, which usually stemmed from the shortages of water,
distribution of resources and territorial disputes between bordering
Kyrghyz and Tadjik villages. Irrigation system in Central Asia was outlined by
Alexander Savelev, representative from the Institute for Strategic
and Regional Studies, Uzbekistan. Mr. Savelev made a special
emphasis on the Aral Sea problem. Conflict prevention in Isfara and Gafur rayons
was presented by the representative
of the “ITTIFOK” NGO based in Khodjent oblast of Tadjikistan.
He underlined the importance of the cooperation between regional
NGOs in Tadjikistan and Kyrghyzstan in uprooting the sources of
tension in the villages near the Kyrghyz – Tadjik border by
implementing water sharing projects, educational programs that
promoted tolerance in educational institutions.
Aziz
Abduvalliev,
a journlalist from the Namangan newspaper “Khamrokh” described
the level of involvement of Uzbekistani NGOs in the conflict
prevention. He stated that their role was increasing daily. Iskander
Feruz,
from “Chetvertaya Vlast”, an NGO based in the town of Khodjent,
Tajikistan spoke about the necessity of creating a communicational
network between NGOs in the Ferghana valley. According to him, such
a network could promote understanding and cooperation between
communities. Aimira
Urustemova,
representative of WIMCA – Women in Mass Media of Central Asia,
outlined the experience of her organization in brining together
women journalists from all over Central Asia to identify and to
address issues, which could contribute to the escalation of
conflicts in the region.
At the end, Mr. Cheterian Vicken and Alisher Khamidov thanked the participants for their productive work and expressed a wish to see them in Dushanbe in September for the next conference.
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