DUSHANBE, August 24, 2012, Asia-plus — Internet access to Tajikistan’s leading independent news agency Asia-Plus has remained cut off for already 24 days. The communications service agency has blocked Internet access to Asia-Plus illegally.
Against the background of not always convincing successes of Tajikistan in economic and social spheres, a relative freedom of speech has always been a real and universally recognized achievement of our country.
Of course, a periodic glitch has been observed in freedom of speech in our country and we have “forbidden” themes, but compared to our neighbors Tajik journalists have always worked in more favorable conditions. We have independent news agencies, TV stations and newspapers, Tajik journalists openly write about shortcomings existing in our society, criticize blunders of the government. All this is useful for our society: problems of thousands of ordinary people are solved every day due to publications of journalists.
We think that liberal policy in the field of media is a deliberate choice of the head of state. President Emomali Rahmon has repeatedly noted this.
But it seems that not all officials are ready to accept this – some of them are not well educated, while others lack legal literacy.
Internet access to Tajikistan’s leading independent news agency Asia-Plus has been cut off for the third time over the past three months. For the last time, Tajik Interne providers blocked an access to the Asia-Plus website on August 1 following just another order from Beg Zuhurov, the head of the Communications Service under the Government of Tajikistan.
The communications service agency has again cited “technical reasons” for blocking access to the Asia-Plus website.
Several websites have been blocked since July 24, when the government forces launched a special operation in Khorog.
Representatives from the Communications Service have made it known that Internet access to the news agency Asia-Plus was cut off because of some materials posted on the website and some readers’ comments. We realize that the communications service agency and those who instruct them behind the curtain may dislike these articles. But the problem is that the only way to shut down media is to go to the law and adduce solid arguments; otherwise, we cannot call ourselves a rule-of-law state.
The main question, which we and our readers are interested in, is “Why do actions by Beg Zuhurov run counter to president’s policy?” or may be the policy of Emomali Rahmon has changed but we are unconscious of this?
We hope that it is not so and we a re currently preparing lawsuit against illegal actions of the communications service agency.
