Radio show may promote democracy

A new programme on Tajikistan's independent radio station, Asia Plus, is expected to boost debate on pluralism and democracy in the impoverished nation, still reeling from the effects of five years of civil war. "Our intention is to strengthen democracy and we will keep on doing our best," Scott Kearin, country director for the US-based National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) who are funding the initiative, told IRIN, on Thursday from the Tajik capital, Dushanbe. On Tuesday, Asia Plus, a popular radio station in the capital, broadcasted a one-hour talk show entitled "Your Position" on the benefits of multi-party democracy, involving Rematullov Zarioz, chair of the Social Democratic Party and a presidential adviser, along with Mahuddin Kabiri, deputy chairman of the Islamic Renaissance party, an erstwhile Islamist opposition group during the civil war. Also participating was Shurob Sharipov, head of the strategic research centre in the president's office. They answered questions from the commentator and contributors in what is thought to be the first radio talk show of its kind in the country. "It's a country in transition and it's very hard to predict exactly what will happen in the future but we have hope for these programmes," Kearin maintained, adding that such an initiative could reach more people compared to seminars and workshops. NDI is a non-profit organisation working to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide by providing practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices and institutions. The group is also sponsoring a television debate show on the independent TV station SM1 in the northern city of Khujand. Vladimir Sotirov, Representative of the UN Secretary General in Tajikistan told IRIN that the show was an extension of many discussions taking place in the country. "This programme was on radio and could attract a wider audience to such discussions," he said. "It shows people that different points of views can be expressed in public," he said, adding that this was just the beginning and the impact has to be awaited. With a population of 6.2 million, Tajikistan is the poorest of the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia. Soon after independence a five-year civil war between 1992 and 1997 devastated the country.