Government urged to reverse radio licence decision

The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urged the Tajik government to reverse its decision to deny a radio licence to the independent Tajik news agency, Asia Plus. “We are very concerned that after an unreasonable delay, the authorities have denied a licence to Asia Plus,” said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper in a statement on Friday. “We call on the State Committee for Television and Radio to speed up its procedure for awarding licences, and to reconsider its refusal of a licence to Asia Plus,” she added. Government officials routinely deny independent television and radio stations broadcast licences, and although 15 independent television stations operate in the republic, most are located in the north, far from large population areas and with very limited audiences. There is only one independent radio station in Tajikistan, and it too, has only local reach, the statement said. Asia Plus applied for a licence in 1998 to set up a radio station in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, where only state-run television and radio stations operate. The agency received a brief reply from the State Committee for Television and Radio on 8 July, 2002, stating that a second radio station in Dushanbe was “unnecessary”. Criticism from the CPJ is another sign that Asia Plus is gaining more international support in its battle to establish an independent radio station in the capital. Earlier, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) sent a letter to the Tajik authorities regarding this issue. "Last week I called Mr Goibov, deputy head of the State Committee on TV and radio broadcasting, and asked him why they refused the licence to Asia Plus but did not get a comprehensive answer," political and media officer for the OSCE, Maxime Filandrov, told IRIN from Dushanbe. "He explained that it was the decision of the Commission on licensing and nothing else," he added. The OSCE is holding regular discussions with the local media and diplomats to try and build up support from the local community. According to Filandrov, the only effective way to convince the authorities to reverse the decision is to lobby various parties. "Lobbying in the media and in the state structures, and raising the question through embassies is the best way," he explained, adding that there was also a problem with the law on licensing. "The main problem is that the existing media law is not precise enough on the question of licensing and gives full authority to the State Committee on TV-radio broadcasting to deal with this issue," he maintained. On 25 May 2001, the Committee adopted a new regulation on the rules of licensing of TV and radio stations, allowing the refusal of a licence on the simple motivation that it is "unnecessary". Asia Plus has welcomed the international support and is also pursuing the case through the Board of the National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan (Nansmit). Meanwhile, in a related but positive development, Nansmit received an answer from the Tajik General Prosecutor's Office regarding the ban on private television stations in the Central Asian nation broadcasting programs produced by Asia Plus. The Prosecutor sent an official letter to the Committee asking it to stop infringing the law on "TV and Radio broadcasting". "It is a big victory for Nansmit and Asia Plus," Filandrov added.