KHUJAND, December 6, 2008, Asia-Plus — Organizations of political parties in the Sughd province have had difficulties with access to media for a number of reasons.
Representatives of political parties remarked this, while participating at a roundtable meeting formally titled “Political PR for Political Parties” that was held in Khujand on December 5.
Organized by local NGO Fourth Power, the meeting brought together representatives of political parties functioning in the province and local media.
Representatives of political parties, in particular, noted that both state-run and independent media accept materials for publishing or broadcast mainly for money. Moreover, there is no guarantee that newspaper will publish materials even if they are paid. According to them, some media are allegedly engaged in selective propaganda and “black PR.”
Speaking at the meeting, the representative of the Islamic Revival Party (IRPT) Mulloabbos Rajabov, noted, “We have problems mainly in cooperation with local media. Therefore, people know about us due to foreign media whose reporters participate in all our events.”
The similar roundtable meeting was held in the city of Isfara as well. The project, which is supported by the UK Embassy in Dushanbe, also includes holding of eight trainings for political parties to train them in cooperating with media.
