DUSHANBE, January 4, 2011, Asia-Plus — Ministers, department heads, and local officials will begin to give news conferences on work carried out in 2011 on January 9.
By President’s decree issued in September 2011 ministers, department heads, and local authorities will give half-yearly news conferences. The also decree notes that in case of necessity, ministers and department heads may give news conferences several times a month.
Commenting on this decree, chairman of the National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan (Nansmit) Nouriddin Qarshiboyev noted that it would deteriorate the already difficult access to the socially significant information in the country.
“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,” the media watchdog head stressed.
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.
We will recall that President Emomali Rahmon in March 2005 signed a decree obligating ministers, department heads, and local officials to give quarterly news conferences.
