I. Azerbaijan’s media fear greater curbs.
II. President steps in to allow Radio Liberty back on air.
III. Radio Liberty must obtain licence—minister.
IV. Radio Liberty applies for Azeri broadcast licence.
V. Radio Liberty official says ban not “political.”
VI. “Political dictatorship” put Radio Liberty off air, activists say.
VII. Minister explains ban on Radio Liberty relays.
VIII. MP critical of ban on Radio Liberty relays.
IX. Radio Liberty ban sign of authorities’ “weakness”—paper.
X. Azerbaijan stops Radio Liberty relays.
I. Azerbaijan’s media fear greater curbs.
Radio Liberty’s mediumwave broadcasts in Azerbaijan
were resumed on 4th May, on the instructions of Communications Minister
Nadir Ahmadov. Relays of the station’s Azeri-language programmes
had been halted two weeks earlier by the authorities in Baku, who said
that the US-funded station had not obtained a licence required to rebroadcast
locally.
The suspension had provoked expressions of “grave
concern” from the US State Department, while Azerbaijani opposition leaders
and supporters of Radio Liberty, who viewed the ban as politically inspired,
had organized rallies in Baku, Istanbul and New York to demand that the
service be restored.
According to the Azerbaijani news agency ASSA-IRADA,
President Heydar Aliyev ordered the minister to make an exception and allow
Radio Liberty relays to resume “before the question of a licence had been
resolved.”
The president’s decision was prompted by concern
that the issue might affect talks with the USA, the Baku newspaper ‘Azadlyg’
said on 5th May. “Observers think that if broadcasting is not resumed,
the US government could give a cold reception to high-ranking Azerbaijani
officials due to arrive in the USA soon to discuss political, economic
and security issues. But the head of state did not allow this,” the
paper said, quoting the Turan news agency.
‘Azadlyg’ described the decision to allow the resumption
of Radio Liberty relays as “a compromise.” Noting that two Radio
Liberty correspondents in Baku who were “renowned for their unbiased position”
had been sacked on 4th May, the paper speculated that the head of Radio
Liberty’s Azeri service, Mirza Khazar, may in turn have made concessions
to the authorities. “Listeners will witness a softening of the opposition
position in reports,” it concluded.
Officials in Baku insisted all along that the ban
was an administrative measure rather than a political move. This
in turn provoked statements by opposition figures, cited by the Azerbaijani
news agency Turan, that “in a presidential election year, the authorities
have grossly violated the rights of citizens to have access to full and
reliable information.” In the elections, due towards the end of this
year, President Aliyev is expected to stand again.
Radio Liberty had broadcast its Azeri-language programmes
via a local transmitter under an agreement signed in 1993. Six months
ago, the government decreed that all media must re-register. But
the head of Radio Liberty’s Azeri service said it had not received any
warning that its status had been changed.
Eric Johnson, of the US-funded Internews project
which is helping to develop independent media in the Former Soviet Union
(FSU), noted that the latest Azerbaijani government provisions requiring
mass media to register with the Ministry of Information were “much stricter”
than in any other FSU country. In his words, “it requires lots of
documents, most of which have the potential for being impossible to obtain,
and it also creates a situation where the medium’s ‘licence’ can be revoked
for just about any reason.”
Other foreign radio stations who want their programmes
relayed in Azerbaijan will also be required to obtain a licence from the
Information Ministry, as well as having to register with the Justice Ministry.
This is one of several provisions of a cabinet decision in April on licensing
all publishers and broadcasters.
Restrictive legislation has been a feature of the
media climate in Azerbaijan since April 1993, when a presidential decree
restored censorship, which had been briefly outlawed by the National Assembly
since July 1992. Currently, local TV and radio stations are required
to submit documents to three ministries and to pay a registration fee of
almost 4,000 dollars. In the view of the Azeri news agency Turan,
“state bodies have every opportunity to control or exert pressure on independent
TV and radio stations and publishing companies in Azerbaijan.”
BBC Monitoring Research, May 7, 1998
II. President steps in to allow Radio Liberty back on air.
The Azeri authorities have rescinded an order preventing
the broadcast of programmes by the US-funded Radio Liberty on mediumwave
under a special instruction issued by President Heydar Aliyev, the Azerbaijani
news agency ASSA-IRADA reported on 5th May.
The Ministry of Communications had stopped the broadcasts
on 20th April on the grounds that the radio station did not have the necessary
licence.
“When he found out about this, President Heydar
Aliyev instructed the Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Information
and the Press to deal with the matter and resolve it in a legal fashion,”
the agency said.
The ministries drew up the necessary documents,
but the process of granting Radio Liberty a licence was delayed by the
need to resolve a number of “organizational issues,” the agency added,
citing a report it had received from the two ministries.
“Concerned at this, President Aliyev issued a special
instruction to the leadership of the Ministry of Communications—as an exception—to
resume rebroadcasts of Radio Liberty on mediumwave before the question
of a licence had been resolved,” it said.
Communications Minister Nadir Ahmadov issued an
instruction on resuming the broadcasts on 4th May.
ASSA-IRADA news agency, Baku, May 5, 1998
III. Radio Liberty must obtain licence—minister.
Azerbaijani Communications Minister Nadir Ahmadov
has said that the US-funded radio station, Radio Liberty, still needs to
obtain a licence to use his ministry’s equipment despite the fact that
broadcasts on mediumwave and FM have now resumed on the instruction of
President Heydar Aliyev.
In an interview published in the Azerbaijani opposition
newspaper ‘Azadlyg’ on 6th May, Ahmadov said that the president’s verbal
instruction to resume broadcasting “temporarily” came after the US embassy
appealed over the suspension of mediumwave broadcasts imposed on 20th April.
“Now Radio Liberty does not have a time limit to get a licence. But
I repeat. They have to get a licence,” Ahmadov said.
He also rejected speculation that there had been
any political motives behind the decision to stop the broadcasts.
“Radio Liberty is listened to in Azerbaijan anyway, no matter whether it
is on mediumwave or not. Along with mediumwave, Liberty is broadcast
in our country on seven other frequencies. Radio Liberty reports
are published in newspapers. I do not see any politics here,” the
minister was quoted as saying.
Radio Liberty broadcasts resumed on 4th May under
a special instruction issued by President Heydar Aliyev, the Azerbaijani
news agency ASSA-IRADA reported the same day.
It said the process of granting a licence was delayed
by the need to resolve a number of “organizational issues.” “Concerned
at this, President Aliyev issued a special instruction to the leadership
of the Ministry of Communications—as an exception—to resume broadcasts
of Radio Liberty on mediumwave before the question of a licence has been
resolved,” it said.
ASSA-IRADA news agency, Baku, May 5, 1998
IV. Radio Liberty applies for Azeri broadcast licence.
Radio Liberty’s acting director, Jeffrey Trimble,
and Radio Liberty’s Azerbaijani Service director, Mirza Khazar, filed an
application with Azerbaijani Press and Information Minister Siruz Tebrizli
on 24th April. The document contains a request to consider the appeal
and accompanying documents as an application to obtain a licence to broadcast
Radio Liberty’s programmes on mediumwave in Azerbaijan. The authors
of the appeal write that they would like the resumption of the broadcasts
of Radio Liberty’s programmes on mediumwave as soon as possible under the
contract signed in 1993 [between Radio Liberty and Azerbaijani government]
and the laws of Azerbaijan.
On 24th April the spokesman of the [US] State Department,
James Rubin, voiced serious concern about the Azerbaijani government’s
decision to stop Radio Liberty’s broadcasts. “We are trying to persuade
the Azerbaijani government that freedom of the press must be defended,”
Rubin said.
Turan news agency, Baku, April 25, 1998
V. Radio Liberty official says ban not “political.”
“We intend to resort to protest actions in the form
of pickets, hunger strikes and so on,” a member of the working group of
the committee to protect the rights of Radio Liberty, Zakir Mammadov, told
[a] press conference [on 24th April]. He said that the committee
had addressed an enquiry to the presidential executive office about the
ban on Radio Liberty broadcasts in Azeri. The head of the political
department of the presidential staff, Ali Hasanov, replied that “as long
as we are in power, nobody can exert any pressure on us, but the radio
station should get a licence.”
Zakir Mammadov also said that a meeting of the committee’s
working group with Minister of Communications Nadir Ahmadov had been scheduled.
In turn, a member of the working group, Alimammad Nuriyev, pointed out
that the ban on broadcasting Radio Liberty programmes on mediumwave was
a violation of article 50 of the republic’s constitution. He expressed
the opinion that this ban was connected with the forthcoming presidential
elections. The view was expressed at the press conference that all
journalists should assert the rights of their colleagues as if they were
their own, since new ordeals awaited the free press in the form of pressure
from above.
A telephone conversation was held with the head
of the Radio Liberty Azeri service, Mirza Khazar, during the press conference.
He stated on the phone that the ban on the radio station’s broadcasts did
not have a political character. Asked whether Mirza Khazar had contacted
President Heydar Aliyev, he replied that he had not. He is certain
that the issue can be solved at the level of the Ministry of Communications.
Mirza Khazar also said that the US embassy in Azerbaijan had come to grips
with the settlement of the problem.
Turan news agency, Baku, April 24, 1998
VI. “Political dictatorship” put Radio Liberty off air, activists say.
The committee to protect the rights of Radio Liberty issued a statement [on 23rd April] on the broadcasts of this radio station’s Azeri-language programmes being stopped on mediumwave. That the Azerbaijani authorities maintain that there are no political motives to this action has sparked off the indignation of all democratic forces, the statement says. The Azerbaijani authorities, in the presidential election year, have grossly violated the rights of citizens to have access to full and reliable information. Such a step can be rated as the desire to create an information blockade in the country and to deprive the citizens of a free press, the statement says. The action of the authorities is a violation of the international convention on freedom of speech, as well as of the UN Declaration on Human Rights. The authors of the statement think that the Azerbaijani leadership is in fact using political dictatorship. The appeal is signed by 23 heads of political parties, public rights organizations and the republic’s mass media.
Turan news agency, Baku, April 23, 1998
VII. Minister explains ban on Radio Liberty relays.
The news about the Communications Ministry stopping
the broadcasts of Radio Liberty on Azerbaijani territory has caused quite
a stir recently. The event itself and its reasons are still being
interpreted in different ways. In order to clarify the issue completely,
our correspondent turned to Communications Minister Nadir Akhmadov.
[Correspondent] Mr Akhmadov, could you give
information to our readers about the prevention of Radio Liberty’s broadcasts
in Azerbaijan and the reasons for it?
[Akhmadov] First of all, I would like to note
that the issue is not the way many people are presenting it when they say
“the Ministry of Communications closes Radio Liberty.” The question
is of ceasing the part of Radio Liberty’s broadcasts which are made using
equipment of the Ministry of Communications in Azerbaijan. The reason
is connected with the need to obtain special consent (a licence) at the
Ministry of Information and the Press.
Under the law adopted on 4th October 1997, those
who are engaged in this type of activity should obtain a licence.
Recently the broadcasts on mediumwave using equipment of the Ministry of
Communications were stopped because Radio Liberty did not get a licence.
Before taking this step we informed them on the 16th [April]. On
18th-19th April I was personally in touch with Mirza Khazar [the head of
Radio Liberty’s Azerbaijani service]. He said that he did not know
about the existence of this law and at the same time he acknowledged that
he had not approached the Ministry of Information and the Press.
I would also like to say that Radio Liberty will
[continue to] broadcast on shortwave in the republic. If a licence
is obtained soon, it is likely that the issue of opening the same waveband
[mediumwave] will be reconsidered. If it takes a long time this equipment
could be used for other purposes.
Finally, I would like to say that as one of the
state bodies engaged in implementing state laws, the Ministry of Communications
is trying to settle all the issues within the framework of the law.
Our republic is taking the path of democracy and we should, first of all,
respect the republic’s laws ourselves. From this point of view, the
step we have taken is right and is based on the existing laws of the republic.
‘Nakhichevan,’ Baku, April 22, 1998
VIII. MP critical of ban on Radio Liberty relays.
The Milli Majlis [parliament] has held its
regular sitting. Once again, parliament faced a quorum problem, but
this was not the only problem. The Milli Majlis again turned into
a scene of reckoning between the authorities and the opposition. . . .
[Correspondent] Referring to the ban on Radio
Liberty broadcasts [being relayed locally] on mediumwave, [MP for the People
Front of Azerbaijan Party Ali] Kerimov said that in conditions of arrested
development of the press and the existence of censorship, the radio was
the only source of unbiased information, adding that it had not been closed
for technical reasons. In Ali Kerimov’s opinion, the Milli Majlis
should rate this as an infringement of freedom of speech. Ali Kerimov
also said that [the opposition] was given no opportunity to appear on Azerbaijani
television. [Chairman of the Azerbaijani State TV and Radio Company]
Nizami Hudiyev said that the opposition did make use of the television.
He said that [PFAP leader] Abulfaz Elchibey had been invited to appear
and turned down the invitation.
[Hudiyev] Abulfaz Aliyev [Elchibey] said: Let
me consult with the executive body whether or not I can come. Three
or four months have passed since he went off in January and Abulfaz Aliyev
is still wondering what decision will be taken by the executive body and
whether he will come. This means that the man cannot think independently,
the executive body has to give permission.
[Correspondent] Addressing Kerimov, the Press
and Information Minister Siruz Tebrizli said:
[Tebrizli] What law are you talking about?
What democracy are you talking about today? You know that the situation
is changing in Azerbaijan because people understand that it is a good thing
to talk about morals and decency, but it is a tragedy when women of indecent
behaviour talk about morals and decency.
[Correspondent] Ali Kerimov was not given the
possibility to reply. But he said the following in front of the ANS
camera:
[Kerimov] It’s hard to understand Sirus
Tebrizli’s statement to our seven-million strong nation that there is no
censorship in Azerbaijan. And I think that it would have been very
difficult for a man of morals to tell such a lie. I would like to
ask him if he, as press and information minister, cannot express his thoughts
without using abusive language.
ANS TV, Baku, April 21, 1998
IX. Radio Liberty ban sign of authorities’ “weakness”—paper.
Hasan bey Zardabi [founder of the first Azeri democratic
newspaper ‘Akinci,’ 1875-77] wrote approximately 120 years ago that the
press should be the mirror of society and report accurately so that people
can learn what is good and what is bad. Even though today’s Azerbaijani
press cannot report properly about the country’s news and, in particular,
news about the concealed wheeling and dealing of top officials due to certain
restrictions, it tries to cover the news as carefully as possible and in
code. . . .
Even though Radio Liberty serves Azerbaijani interests,
it is not the property of Azerbaijan from a legal point of view, but is
independent. [Article Five] of the law on the mass media clearly
states that this law applies to the mass media which is established on
the territory of the Azerbaijani Republic. However, our Communications
Ministry is guided by the amendment on licences to that law (5th November
1996). The licensing of a mass media entity is understood as a restriction
on it.
Do not disgrace yourselves, gentlemen! Instead of
breaking the mirror, make yourself into normal human beings. Act
in such a way that the mass media will not be able to find any failings
in you and be on your side. In fighting against them you show your
own weakness and prove that whatever they say is true.
‘Mukhalifat,’ Baku, April 21, 1998
X. Azerbaijan stops Radio Liberty relays.
The Azerbaijani department of the Svoboda [Liberty] radio station stopped broadcasting on the medium and FM waves across the republic’s territory on [20th April], following a decision of the Communications Ministry. The station is to pay for the licence for transmitting programmes in Azerbaijan, the ministry told an Interfax correspondent. In the meantime, the station’s management said in its programme that its agreement with the ministry on broadcasting in the Azerbaijani language across the country has been in force since 1993. The station made prompt payments in keeping with this agreement, they said.
Interfax news agency, Moscow, April 20, 1998
This is Radio Mir [a regular slot of the CIS Mir
TV and radio company on Russian Mayak radio]. The 10th edition was
prepared by the Kazakh office in Almaty. This is Balziya Mirkhaizova.
Good morning.
Boris Berezovskiy and Rupert Murdoch, who owns News
International, have recently got together to buy a TV company in Kazakhstan.
Unfortunately, it is not yet known what particular channel they bought
there. However, this is not the main point. The main point
for everyone in the country, and above all for the authorities, is foreign
presence in the Kazakh mass media. The number of sensitive nuances
and developments which are arising in this sphere is breathtaking, and
it offers much food for analysis and forecasts.
The situation becomes even more interesting in the
light of a statement made by the Kazakh Prosecutor-General’s Office not
long ago which said that legal action would be taken regarding violations
of the law on the press. It was made clear from the beginning that
this legal action would not be directed against any particular publishing
house or particular artists or authors of particular articles. Kazakh
Prosecutor-General Yuriy Khitrin started legal action not only to take
specific measures against those guilty [of violations], but also to make
crime prevention in this sphere more effective and to raise the issue of
improving laws on the media, the official statement said.
After the appearance of the Berezovskiy-Murdoch
duo on the Kazakh scene there is no doubt that the warning of the Prosecutor-General’s
Office has nothing to do with journalists who are in general loyal to the
authorities, but that it concerns foreign investors in the Kazakh media
and their plans for information expansion into our country.
Ostankino Radio Mayak, Moscow, May 18, 1998
II. Murdoch’s News Corp. Invests in Russia.
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. made its first foray
into eastern Europe last week when it agreed to acquire a substantial interest
in PLD Telekom, Inc.
Formerly Petersburg Long Distance, Inc., PLD is
a publicly traded, New York City-based holding company that participates
in ventures providing telecom services in the Russian Federation, Belarus,
and Kazakhstan. News Corp. said the move was intended to capitalize
on the growth of the telecom services market in the former Soviet Union.
Further, News Corp. said it was negotiating to sell
half of the PLD interest to Logo VAZ, which News Corp. described as “a
major Russian industrial conglomerate.” News Corp. has its headquarters
in Sydney, Australia.
The Russian play is an odd investment for News Corp.,
which is best known for its film, TV, and newspaper assets. Its major
investments in telecom services have been in concerns capable of delivering
content produced by its FOX Group.
News Corp. does have substantial interests in direct-to-home
satellite video providers British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC (BSkyB) and
STAR TV in Asia.
In the U.S., News Corp. has agreed to merge its
majority-owned DBS (direct broadcast satellite) licensee, American Sky
Broadcasting (ASkyB), into Primestar, Inc. News Corp.’s News America
subsidiary owns various Internet properties, including TV Guide Entertainment
Network, Fox News Online, and Fox Sports Online.
But the PLD Telekom interest marks News Corp.’s
first investment in a common carrier. A spokesman at News Corp. would
not elaborate on Mr. Murdoch’s official statement.
“PLD has established itself, through a focused capital
investment program over a number of years, as a major participant in providing
state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure, products, and services
in the former Soviet Union,” said News Corp.’s chairman and chief
executive officer.
Marion Boucher Soper, a fixed-income securities
analyst at Bear, Stearns & Co., said she expected News Corp. to “remain
interested” in modest-sized acquisitions in Europe. She noted that
the PLD announcement followed News Corp.’s failed attempt to buy into Spanish
TV concern Mediaset.
TR International, May 1, 1998