DUSHANBE, July 5, 2012, Asia-Plus — Ministers, department heads, and local authorities will begin to give news conferences on the results of the past six-month’s work beginning on July 9.
We will recall that by president’s decree issued in September 2011 ministers and local authorities give half-yearly news conference starting from last January. The decree noted that in case of necessity, ministers and department heads may give news conference several times a month.
Before that, they were giving quarterly news conferences. President Emomali Rahmon in March 2005 signed a decree obligating ministers, department heads, and local officials to give quarterly news conferences.
Heads of news agencies and media organizations consider that it deteriorated the already difficult access to socially significant information in the country.
Chairman the National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan (Nansmit) Nouriddin Qarshiboyev notes that the quarterly news conferences were one of the main ways of getting first-hand information, “though they were mainly like reports of ministries and departments on the work done.” Chairman of Tajik Journalists’ Unit (TJU) Akbarali Sattorov considers that the quarterly news conference were a good initiative of the president, though the quality of those news conferences left much to be desired.
