DUSHANBE, December 21, Asia-Plus — On Wednesday December 20, Dushanbe hosted a conference formally titled “Public TV and International Experience.”
The conference staged by Internews-Tajikistan Public Association and the Friedrich Ebert Fund CO in Tajikistan brought together representatives from Tajik TV stations, lawyers, president’s executive office and international experts.
The conference considered issues related to problems and prospects of development of public television in Tajikistan, legal documents regulating activity of TV in Tajikistan, as well as international experience and legal requirements of activity of the public TV.
Mahmoudkhon Sarayev, a chief specialist with the informational-analytical department of the president’s executive office, told Asia-Plus that not only the government but also the public will get benefit from the creation of public television in Tajikistan. “The public TV may become a key factor to contribute to creation of democratic society,” Sarayev said, noting that there were attempts to set up the public television in Tajikistan.
“However, the creation of such television is not so easy case ad the majority of stations that were set up as public broadcasters have turned into the commercial broadcasting stations, losing their initial tasks,” said Sarayev, “The others have fallen under direct influence of the state structures.”
“In many countries across the world public television receives some their funding from the state budget and the other part is subscription fees,” said the president’s office official, “Tajik viewers are not ready yet for such system.” Besides, Tajik laws regulating activity of electronic media do not contain the ‘public television’ notion and therefore they do not fix its status, financing sources nd regulation of tis activity, according to him.
Lawyer Junayd Ibodov said in an interview with Asia-Plus that the public television should provide pluralism of opinions. According to him, the public television should adhere to three principles: informing; educating and entertaining. He added that it is necessary to lay legal foundation for functioning of the public broadcasters, which would include all aspects of functioning of them.
