Not enough Ozodlik (Freedom) for everybody 10.10.14 22:07 Radio Freedom’s Uzbek service Ozodlik © ozodlik.org Does Ozodlik Radio have editorial preferences? Do Uzbek activists deserve airtime on Ozodlik Radio? Are grievances against its journalists by civil society groups deserving of public debate? These and other issues are discussed by Uznews.net Editor-in-Chief Galima Bukharbaeva. By Galima Bukharbaeva Alisher Siddikov, the director of the Uzbek service of Radio Freedom based in Prague, holds the opinion that there is nothing to discuss. He says that he and his colleagues are doing everything they can to provide coverage on events in and around Uzbekistan. Ozodlik, says its director, is like an all-consuming wildfire that captures all available information about Uzbekistan. That is why the criticism against the radio station by several members of the Uzbek civil society is unfounded. Everybody has access to Ozodlik’s air space, provided they have something meaningful to say, claims its director. The criticism, however, has grown from being that of just several activists to an increasing number of complainers. Is it not time to set the record straight? Birdamlik RELATED TOPICS New passports offer surprise for activists and journalists in Uzbekistan 24.09.14 What is the purpose of recent amendments to Uzbek election law? 09.09.14 Tashkent journalist fined 3200 USD for telling the truth 30.06.14 Uzbek authorities hurry to sentence an independent journalist 27.06.14 Independent journalist Said Abdurahimov sued 27.06.14 For Tulkin and other esteemed journalist colleagues 23.04.14 “We are very hurt,” is the first thing that comes out of Bakhodyr Choriev’s mouth when asked about Ozodlik. Choriev is the leader of an Uzbek political opposition movement and has lived in exile in the US since 2004. Choriev has no doubts that Radio Ozodlik plays an extremely important role in filling the gap in independent news services about Uzbekistan – whose people are otherwise fed official and scripted propaganda. He goes as far as to say that Ozodlik is the most important news source specializing on Uzbekistan today. His second claim, however, is less complimentary: The radio station deliberately excludes his movement and activities that it organizes, as well as frequently omitting mention of tragic events that happen to its members. When it does acknowledge Birdamlik, it is often with a tone of dismissal or flat out ridicule. Choriev finds it difficult to accept that all Ozodlik journalists deem unimportant events such as: Birdamlik’s strategy meeting which took place in the spring this year in the US; Birdamlik’s White protest actions organized to commemorate Independence Day and Constitution Day in Uzbekistan; and the translation for the first time into Uzbek of Gene Sharp’s book “From Dictatorship to Democracy”. He wonders why Ozodlik chose to ridicule the disappearance of Khorezm-based Birdamlik activist Valeriy Nazarov, who later died; or similarly a criminal case opened against another activist, Saida Kurbanova, who eventually abandoned the movement due to persecution. Choriev called on Alisher Siddikov to clear the air and openly debate the radio station’s editorial practices. Siddikov has not responded to this request. Protest action in Poland or … Prominent Uzbek activists Mutabar Tajibaeva and Vasilya Inoyatova sent letters to Ozodlik Radio and BBC’s Uzbek service last week, in which they express perplexity over Ozodlik journalists choosing to ignore protest actions they organized in Warsaw during the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation meeting that took place in the Polish capital at the end of September. A series of protest actions called “Who is to blame? Who is next?” asked poignant questions: Who is to blame in the horrific situation with human rights in Uzbekistan and who will be the next victim killed, tortured or imprisoned by the brutal Karimov’s regime with the tacit agreement of the Western community? The activists – Uzbeks and foreigners, with prominent Kazakh activist Evgeniy Zhovtis amongst their ranks – wore traditional Uzbek headgear and scarves and held portraits of tyrants and victims of the Uzbek regime. Kazakhstan-based Adam magazine wrote about the participation of Kazakh activist Evgeniy Zhovtis in the Club of Fiery Hearts protest actions in Warsaw © screen shot Their protests – which according to Tajibaeva and Inoyatova made thousands of OSCE conference participants aware of the abysmal human rights situation in Uzbekistan – as well as their presentations, where they spoke at length about specific victims of the regime, received very little air-time from Ozodlik and the Uzbek BBC service. This is indeed surprising when one actually bothers to watch (2:34 minutes in) Inoyatova’s passionate presentation,which she begins with “I will complain …” as a response to the official Uzbek report to the OSCE by Ismail Adylov, who said that people should stop complaining because torture and beatings are a thing of the past in Uzbekistan. … in Berlin? Coincidentally a flash mob was organized near the Uzbek embassy in Berlin around the same time, on September 30, with participation by Umida Niyazova, the head of the Uzbek-German Human Rights Forum, and three other participants. The action was not widely publicized and even Berlin-based Uznews.net missed it. However, it did get significant coverage on Ozodlik Radio with photos, video, and a long article. Notwithstanding its undisputed significance, could it be that the flash-mob in Berlin got covered by a radio station based in Prague only because its organizers are an Ozodlik journalist and his wife? Journalists are people Ozodlik’s Alisher Siddikov says that a journalist and editor are forced to make daily decisions weighing the significance of news stories. Undoubtedly being forced to cover Uzbekistan while being physically outside of the country poses additional challenges, which frequently sway editorial decisions in favor of those stories that are easier to fact-check. The same goes for Uznews.net which is operating in a similar fashion and whose stories periodically get things wrong and the publication has to correct the record and apologize. Sometimes these mistakes result from being physically far away from Uzbekistan, from its very closed information landscape and lack of any sort of transparency. Sometimes they are a result of some confusion or a simple shortsightedness on the part of a journalist. For instance, Uznews.net once got Vasilya Inoyatova’s name wrong. It could have soured the relationship but getting things in the open, apologizing, and moving on saved the day. Talk to us, Alisher It is of the utmost importance to debate issues, suspicions, and concerns. And it is a skill that should be learned. Our society is not used to bringing things out in the open, choosing instead to see an adversary in the other, severing relationships forever, at the very best applying a sledgehammer method to debate. Vasilya Inoyatova in Warsaw, “I will complain …” Mutabar Tajibaeva and other activists in the background during the Warsaw protest action © screen shot However, if we switch on the CNN or the BBC, we could see at any given moment various discussions: who said what, what thought what, how it was really, who was misunderstood or whose actions were misconstrued. As a result things get cleared up and it everybody can sleep better. We should learn from that. We are not any different. We are simply humans like everyone else. Ozodlik’s director claims that there is no favoritism on his airwaves and the complaints by the activists are simply a misunderstanding. If that is the case, let us clear the air together. Galima Bukharbaeva, Editor-in-Chief, Uznews.net Protest action in Warsaw “Who is to blame? Who is next?” © Club of Fiery Hearts TAGS: freedom of speech in Uzbekistan Ozodlik Ozodlik Radio uznews.net/en/society/27884-not-enough-ozodlik-freedom-for-everybody birdamlik.info/en/2014/10/11/not-enough-ozodlik-freedom-for-everybody/ Be Sociable, Share!
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 04:04:47 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015