Post-Soviet Media Law & Policy Newsletter

        Mutual criticism and insults, tough confrontation have driven a wedge between the Armenian parliament and national television at the end of this week. 
    The conflict started with criticism of Armenian MPs by Armenian national television.   The lawmakers retaliated by issuing a resolution to establish a new television programme “An hour in parliament” to be on the air every Sunday exactly at the same time when Director of the Armenian television Tigran Nagdalyan presents his own programme. 
        The TV staff offended by the move fired back, showing in an evening news cast a deputy’s chair, a fig (a gesture of extending clenched fist with a thumb between index and middle fingers generally accompanying a refusal to comply with a request), and presumably using obscene language which could be easily guessed although the voice was silenced. 
        The Armenian parliament has been at loggerheads with its own newspaper.  The parliament issued a resolution dismissing editor in chief of the ‘Aiastani Anpapetutyun’ newspaper, Liza Chagaryan, in connection with “perpetual distortion and incorrect coverage of the activities of the parliament, lowering its prestige, creating a negative image of the National Assembly in the eyes of the public and running the newspaper proceeding from personal likes and dislikes.” 
        The editor in chief removed from her post barricaded herself in her office with a group of the newspaper staff loyal to her and declared that she was not going to give in.  Meanwhile, the newspaper is issued by a new editor in chief with the rest of the staff. ITAR-TASS news agency (World Service), Moscow, October 16, 1998 

        In future, all films to be shown on television must be dubbed into the state language or have Latvian subtitles.  This is provided in the amendments to the radio and television law, adopted [on 29th October] on their third reading.  The new law also stipulates that the amount of broadcasting time in foreign languages in programmes made by broadcasting organizations may not exceed 25 per cent of the total daily broadcasting time, instead of 30 per cent as previously.  Laura Lucane has more details: 
[Lucane]      The amendments to the radio and television law provide that the National Radio and Television Council will no longer have the right to declare competitions for the opportunity to broadcast on cable television, and in future the cable stations themselves will be able to decide with which broadcasting organizations they want to collaborate.  But the main change is that in future all films can be seen by viewers in the original language with subtitles in Latvian, or else dubbed into the state language. 

Latvian Radio, Riga, October 29, 1998 

        The media do not always bring to its viewers and listeners the whole complexity of the situation in Tajikistan, the chairman of the Mir Interstate Television and Radio Company (MTRK), Gadilbek Shalakhmetov, believes.  He said this [on 24th October] at a meeting between Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov and the heads of the Mir company’s branches in the countries of the Commonwealth [of Independent States, CIS], who have arrived in Dushanbe for the 14th meeting of the company’s board of directors. 
        He said that once the president had given an objective and clear description of the situation, the participants in the meeting reached a conclusion on the stabilization of the political situation in the country. 
        Shalakhmetov expressed the hope that independent interstate channels of MTRK Mir would soon be operating, similar to the channels of the European Union.  In this connection, the company’s chairman noted the importance of opening a satellite station in a local branch of MTRK Mir, enabling Tajikistan to move into the broad international information arena. 
        According to Zafar Saidov, the Tajik president’s press secretary, during the meeting, Rahmonov highly appraised the work of the MTRK Mir and urged the company to continue to work towards strengthening its integrational links in the CIS. 
        Also [on 24th October], the board of directors will hold a working meeting to discuss current problems and future prospects.  A festive ceremony of the opening of the satellite station will take place in the Tajik branch of MTRK Mir on 25th October. 

ITAR-TASS news agency (World Service), Moscow, October 24, 1998 

II.  Independents to cooperate with state broadcasters. 

        A press conference of heads of Tajikistan’s non-state TV and radio stations was held on 12th October at Asia-Plus news agency.  Journalists were briefed on the results of the fifth conference of AIEMM (Association of Independent Electronic Mass Media) of the Republic of Tajikistan, which has just ended in Dushanbe. 
        Executive director of the association, Khabibullo Makbulov, said that the main priorities of this public organization were the protection of rights and interests of its members, furthering free development of the republic’s mass media and raising the professional level of journalists.  A total of 19 private and public TV and radio companies from virtually all regions of the republic are members of the association, which has operated in the republic since 1996.  The association has increased its size with four new members—Isfara TV, Guli Bodom TV company (Kanibodom), Pamir TV company (Khorugh) and NIC radio station (Dushanbe).  The Tajik association is a collective member of the Association of Independent Electronic Mass Media of Central Asia. 
        Directors of regional TV companies especially stressed their readiness to cooperate with state television and to implement joint projects.  Participants at the press conference told journalists about their meeting with the chairman of the state TV and radio company of the Republic of Tajikistan. 
    The chairman of the committee Sayf[ullo] Rahimov said, in particular, that his department also intended to defend the rights of regional stations and to cut short attempts by local administrations to take TV and radio stations under their control.  The meeting advanced the idea of setting up a new national TV channel, using the resources of state and non-state TV companies. 

Asia-Plus news agency, Dushanbe, October 13, 1998 

        Turkmenistan is to reduce the number of Russian Public TV broadcasts shown on republican television because of the “indecent” content of films and the rising cost of this rebroadcasting, ITAR-TASS news agency reported on 20th October. 
        President Saparmyrat Niyazov said at a meeting with staff from the national television company that only news programmes would be shown in the evenings, given that the films aired by the Russian channel were usually “of no cinematographic or artistic value” and often “abounded in indecent scenes.” 
        He said that another reason for reducing Russian Public TV broadcasts was “endless arguments over payment,” compounded by the fact that it has become very expensive of late.  “This year alone, relaying its programmes will cost Turkmenistan 6-8m dollars,” Niyazov said. 

ITAR-TASS news agency (World Service), Moscow, October 20, 1998 

        Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has signed a decree “On improving state management of information,” according to which a State Agency for News and Information of Ukraine (SANIU) is being created.  It is the successor to the National Agency for Information Technology [as received] under the president and is subordinated to the Information Ministry. 
        The decree also supported the Cabinet of Ministers’ proposal on creating a state joint-stock company, “Ukrainian TV and radio broadcasting” (Ukrteleradio), and a state joint-stock company “Ukrainian publishing and printing” (Ukrvydavpolihrafiya).  Their share capital will include 100 per cent of shares of state joint-stock enterprises in the news and information sphere that are not subject to privatization.  Within six months the government is to take appropriate measures connected with the establishment of these companies. 
        UNIAN learnt at the press service of the head of state that the decree was signed with the aim of increasing the effectiveness of state information policy, supporting national TV and radio producers, printed mass media, publishing and printing in conditions of restricted funding, improving and reducing management structures and further forming the state’s information infrastructure. 

UNIAN news agency, Kiev, September 21, 1998