The PDF version is available at http://www.rferl.org/reviews/
RFE/RL REVIEW
The Best of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Reporting
-----------------
August 27-September 9, 2005
RFE/RL COVERS KATRINA... In its coverage of the disaster along the U.S. Gulf Coast and in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina, RFE/RL broadcasting focused on persons from its broadcast area caught up in the storm, the unprecedented scope of the damage and the outpouring of domestic and international support and resources to aid rescue attempts.
RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service contacted the family of a student from Tatarstan who was on a work-and-travel program in the U.S. and marooned in New Orleans by the floods. Interviewed in Kazan for a September 1 broadcast, a friend of one of the families told RFE/RL: "We learned today that the girls are still in the flooded area, in the disaster area. They locked themselves in a house, along with fifteen other Russian students. They had some food, water and medical supplies, but they could not be evacuated because when they called the authorities when it all began, they were told they should get out of there by their own means, that there was no transportation for them." The Russian Service was in touch with the Russian consulate in Houston concerned about this and other groups of Russian students. Eventually, they all made it to safety.
New York-based Central News correspondent Nick Krastev went to New Orleans and reported for all services on the huge undertaking for rescue and restoration. Two of Krastev's English-language articles, as well as an audio slideshow photographed and narrated by Krastev, are included in a 5-part series of articles on the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina issued on September 8-9; the articles and slideshow may be accessed at http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/33f8eace-7d71-47f0-8e3c-d0084ff5e4dd.html.
** The Director of RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, Ferit Agi, may be reached by email at <agif@rferl.org>; the Director of RFE/RL's Central News department, Kestutis Girnius, may be reached by email at <girniusk@rferl.org>.
...REMEMBERS BESLAN All RFE/RL language services in news reports noted the first anniversary of the massacre in the southern Russian town of Beslan, which started on September 1, 2004 when gunmen seized the local school, taking hostage hundreds of children and adults. Two days later, the hostage-taking ended in a chaotic battle, as Russian forces stormed the building. Explosions and gunfire resulted in the deaths of more than 330 hostages, including 186 children.
RFE/RL's Russian Service took the lead in examining what happened and why, focusing in roundtable discussions with experts and analysts on many of the questions that remain unanswered a year later, on the lack of accountability and official explanation (http://www.svoboda.org/programs/PR/2005/pr.090105.asp; http://www.svoboda.org/programs/sp/2005/sp.090305.asp).
Two RFE/RL correspondents trying to cover the anniversary from Beslan were harassed by authorities and not allowed to do their jobs. A correspondent for RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service traveling from Chechnya was stopped before he got to Beslan and, despite showing journalistic credentials, was turned back. Russian Service correspondent Yuri Bagrov was in Beslan September 1, at a press center, when he was taken to a police station, interrogated and forced to return to his hometown of Vladikavkaz.
A Moscow-based RFE/RL Central News correspondent for Central News, Claire Bigg, did manage to get into Beslan. She visited former hostages, spoke to several children and mothers who survived but bear severe psychological, as well as physical scarring. Her reports were widely used by RFE/RL services throughout the commemorative week (Bigg's English-language reports on the Beslan anniversary can be found at http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/08/b9f587ee-90d3-4d13-a7b1-4f9160037026.html, http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/d1a54856-5409-4192-aa5b-77a04e27f92d.html and http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/817E70D5-15C0-495B-86C3-230B54A4DAA3.html; a special "Remembering Beslan" webpage can be found at http://www.rferl.org/specials/beslan-anniversary/).
** The Director of RFE/RL's Russian Service, Maria Klein, may be reached by email at <kleinm@rferl.org>; the Director of RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service, Aslan Doukaev, may be reached by email at <doukaeva@rferl.org>; the Director of RFE/RL's Central News department, Kestutis Girnius, may be reached by email at <girniusk@rferl.org>.
RADIO FREE IRAQ COVERS BAGHDAD STAMPEDE... RFE/RL's Arabic Service, known as Radio Free Iraq (RFI), had a correspondent on the scene near Imamain bridge on August 31 -- the day a large, densely packed procession of Shiite pilgrims panicked, trampling hundreds of people underfoot and causing hundreds more to fall to their death in the Tigris River. The correspondent recorded the immediate sorrow, shock and anger of the crowd that had been spooked by rumors of suicide bombers near the shrine (an English-language report on the tragedy can be found at http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/08/72dce442-4b49-4adb-a5e3-c2c6af1231ba.html and http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/9/A21C661F-946F-45F2-BC6C-533878AF2EDE.html).
The traditional procession August 31, revived after the fall of Saddam, commemorates the anniversary of the martyrdom more than 1,000 years ago of Imam Musa Kadhim, one of Shiite Islam's holiest figures. Police began cordoning off the area the night before and it was extremely difficult for RFI reporters to move about the city. Nevertheless, RFI Baghdad correspondent Nabil al-Haidari was able to get close enough to describe the scene, saying: "the fence of the bridge was (broken) from the pressure of the masses of the people and tens or hundreds of them fell in the river, in the water, some of them crushed between each other."
In Prague, RFE/RL's Central News contacted the office of President Jalal Talibani and interviewed his spokesman Kamran al-Karadaghi, a former RFI deputy director. Al-Karadaghi confirmed that hundreds had died in the incident.
Programming on the following day, September 1, included messages of condolences from world leaders and international reaction, as well as unique stories of Baghdad residents crossing religious divides to help one another. RFI correspondent Layla Ahmad went to the Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiya in Baghdad to talk to Sunnis there who had put their own lives at risk, trying to save drowning Shiite pilgrims, many of them women in traditional, heavy garments. Layla also interviewed members of the River Police and their effort to clear the waters of hundreds of corpses and return them to their relatives for burial. Ahmad was taking risks herself in going to Adhamiya, a Sunni neighborhood known for its hostility towards non-residents. Other RFI correspondents filed reports from Baghdad hospitals, interviewing relatives of the victims and medical staff dealing with the crisis.
** The Acting Director of Radio Free Iraq, Sergey Danilochkin, may be reached by email at <danilochkins@rferl.org>.
...INTERVIEWS OIL MINISTER In an exclusive interview with Radio Free Iraq that aired September 7, Iraqi oil minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum stressed the importance of protecting the country's oil production and pipelines. He told RFI Baghdad correspondent Layla Ahmad that new measures were introduced at the beginning of September to safeguard the oil wells and refineries.
Al-Ulum said that, in recent weeks, attacks on oil facilities are on the rise. According to al-Ulum, "The Oil Ministry has recently noticed an increase in terrorist operations targeting oil facilities used for the transport of crude oil and oil products. It has been especially so in Baghdad. It seems the terrorists intend to isolate Baghdad from other regions by focusing on three targets: electricity, water, and oil, in addition to striking at citizens' security. The [Oil] Ministry, in cooperation with the Committee for Infrastructure and the Committee for Energy provides protection for the oil facilities. Measures were adopted in this regard a week ago, and the prime minister has approved them, for the protection of infrastructure in Baghdad."
** The Acting Director of Radio Free Iraq, Sergey Danilochkin, may be reached by email at <danilochkins@rferl.org>.
MILLENNIUM JUBILEE THE FOCUS OF TATAR-BASHKIR SERVICE COVERAGE RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service actively covered a month of events that led up to the Millennium Celebrations in Kazan, from August 25-30. RFE/RL correspondents were at every major event, reporting on the important political meetings, as well as the millennium festivities (an English-language report on the millennium festivities can be found at http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/8/9B37D2CD-1FCF-4B70-90B0-49C56C91B2B3.html).
The World Tatar Congress opened in Kazan on August 29 with a critical statement by Executive Committee Chairman Renat Zakiro, who claimed that Moscow is diverting resources from Russia's national minorities: "The federal authorities don't think about the preservation and development of nationalities," he said, adding that "Tatarstan alone has to look after" Tatar interests. The final day of the congress, August 30 included a historical presentation on "The Golden Horseshoe", a "Millennium in the Sky" air show featuring MiG-29 and Su- 27 fighters, a "Kazan Forever" performance at the city's central stadium, an open-air concert attended by more than 120,000 spectators and, at night, a fireworks display with 1,000 volleys -- one for each year. One thousand guests were invited to participate in the Congress, including representatives of the Tatar diaspora, presidents of the post-Soviet states, local and Russian politicians, business leaders and prominent cultural figures.
Among the major political events of the Millennium, the Tatar- Bashkir Service gave special attention to Tatar president Mintimer Shaimiev's speech August 30, in which he said "Kazan has become a Eurasian capital" and that Tatarstan serves as "a good model for the entire Russian Federation... but our potential is far from exhausted." In a familiar balancing act, Shaimiev also praised Russian President Vladimir Putin for delivering part of his speech in Kazan in Tatar (http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/8/A578F716-ACCD-4979-83C2-051FCFA9E2D5.html), calling it "a signal of respect for all languages and peoples' traditions."
** The Director of RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, Ferit Agi, may be reached by email at <agif@rferl.org>.
STRONG WORDS FROM FORMER RUSSIAN OFFICIAL ON RFE/RL NORTH CAUCASUS BROADCAST Former Russian Security Council Secretary Ivan Rybkin made a strong appeal to President Vladimir Putin to begin peace negotiations with Chechnya during an interview with RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service broadcast on August 28, adding that if Putin can't find negotiators he should resign (English transcript at http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/8/8C3C2960-6D68-40E2-9706-578089C9FD5E.html).
In the half-hour interview with RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service, Rybkin said that separatism, rather than international terrorism, is behind the ongoing fighting in Chechnya and went on to reject the Russian government's position that there is no one to negotiate with among the Chechen resistance. According to Rybkin, "I for my part say quite clearly that negotiating partners do exist, they can be found in the mountains [of southern Chechnya], in Moscow, and in Grozny, and outside Russia, and you can negotiate with the people who really have an influence on real developments in Chechnya." He urged that such talks be genuine, saying "for heavens' sake don't conduct negotiations just for show with those partners you have conjured up and appointed yourselves... And if you cannot find interlocutors with whom to negotiate a solution to this most grave and bloody conflict in the Russian North Caucasus, then you should resign, the whole presidential team, rather than seek a third term [for President Putin]. Then we will find negotiating partners and resolve this problem for the good of all the peoples of Russia, and above all of the Russian and Chechen peoples."
In the interview, RFE/RL asked Rybkin what has changed since he wrote an open letter to Putin in 2002 calling for peace talks. Rybkin described how the crisis has worsened over the years, saying: "There are mercenaries and soldiers of fortune [in Chechnya] but above all we are faced with a people in revolt, when a gigantic group of federal forces -- 80,000, 100,000 men-- is powerless to do anything. And Russian military commanders go on reporting that over the past year they have killed 2,000 militants, who subsequently rise from the dead like the proverbial phoenix. For that reason, it is necessary to engage in patient negotiations as I already said, to negotiate for 25 years if need be, and systematically find a solution to the problem."
Rybkin said: "People are living in poverty in the republics of the North Caucasus -- I stress, of the Russian North Caucasus. [...] The extremely difficult upheavals have attracted Russia's attention because it is impossible to conceal what happened in Ingushetia [in June 2004], the exodus [of Avars] from [the Chechen village of] Borozdinovskaya [in June 2005], and the terrible tragedy in Beslan. All this is on the conscience of those people who bear ultimate responsibility for the situation in the North Caucasus, not permitting anyone to try to resolve it, imposing personal control and not letting anyone else come even one millimeter closer. I mean Russian President Vladimir Putin, Federal Security Service Director Nikolai Patrushev, and the heads of the special services."
** The Director of RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service, Aslan Doukaev, may be reached by email at <doukaeva@rferl.org>.
RFE/RL FOLLOWS UNCERTAIN FATE OF UZBEK REFUGEES Several RFE/RL language services broadcast a report filed September 7 from the Uzbek refugee camp in Romania that is serving as a temporary home for some 439 Uzbeks (http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/9/799CA65E-841E-4F5E-8876-D3B299BE76F2.html).
Kazakh Service correspondent Saida Kulikova, who speaks fluent Uzbek, traveled to the camp in the Romanian city of Timisoara and spoke with several eyewitnesses of the protest rally and shooting in Andijon May 13. A nine -year-old boy gave this account to Kulikova: "I went to the demonstration with my mother. Then, at around 3:30 PM, two helicopters appeared. After they were flying for a while they troops) started to fire... You know as fruits fall down when you kick the tree -- making a 'top, top' sound. Injured and dead people were falling down one after another, exactly like that: top, top. Thank God, my mom and I survived."
The refugees in Timisoara who spoke to RFE/RL said government forces opened fire on protesters without warning. One 40-year-old woman said: "[Uzbek President Islam] Karimov has been deceiving the people for 15 years. We went to the demonstration protecting our rights. Nobody came to talk to us. They were only shooting without warning. We did not think that they would open fire. There were ordinary people demonstrating [on the square]. They fired on all of them. When we think about those people, who were killed at the demonstration, even nowadays we tremble with fear." Several refugees told RFE/RL there should be an international investigation to tell the world the truth about Andijon. A woman in the camp said "if we are guilty, we will be held responsible. If Karimov is guilty, he has to be held responsible. We demand this."
This young woman, like the other refugees, is now waiting to be resettled to a country where she can feel safe. But it remains unclear where they will end up, or when they will go. The office of the UN High Commissioner for refugees says there are representatives in Timisoara from at least 10 possible destination countries, including the United States, Australia and Canada.
** The Acting Director of RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, Sojida Djakhfarova, may be reached by email at <djakhfarovas@rferl.org>; the Director of RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, Merhat Sharipzhan, may be reached by email at <sharipzhanm@rferl.org>.
RFE/RL LOOKS AT MUSLIMS IN THE WEST Half a dozen RFE/RL language services worked with Central News correspondents to produce the first in a larger package of stories about Muslim minorities living in the West. A three-part series released September 2 provided programming material on several important themes.
Part One, titled "Family's Hearts Are in England, Their Roots in Iran" (http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/564e072a-f85b-4743-ab0e-18eb6835c3f1.html), Central News correspondent Jan Jun looked at the lives of the estimated 1.5 million members of Britain's Muslim community from the point of view of a family living in a London suburb. The profile of the Faridy family traced their immigration to Britain from Iran after the 1979 revolution there and how the parents and two adult sons born in Britain feel about life in the West.
The second article in the series, "Young People Struggling To Cope With Social Exclusion, Deprivation, Discrimination" (http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/3ba30e5a-b09e-459e-b66c-e2a603da66b5.html), is a report by Central News correspondent Robert Parsons, who traveled to London to speak to disaffected young Muslims about their lives and to social workers trying to help them cope with their sense of anger and alienation.
Part Three -- "Radical Believes Suicide Bombers Acted With Right Intentions" (http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/6527882e-6393-487c-92e5-71a08336af59.html) -- deals with the aftermath of the London suicide bombings. Authorities in Britain now have expanded powers to deport foreigners who promote terrorism, and they have already barred one prominent radical cleric, Omar Mohammad Bakri, from returning to Britain. RFE/RL correspondent Kathleen Moore spoke to an associate of Bakri, who described the London bombings as a "martyrdom operation."
** The Director of RFE/RL's Central News department, Kestutis Girnius, may be reached by email at <girniusk@rferl.org>.
RADIO FREE AFGHANISTAN PREPARES FOR ELECTIONS Six weeks before the September 18 parliamentary elections, Radio Free Afghanistan began expanding and adapting programming to provide as much information as possible to voters on every aspect of the elections. * A popular feature is a 24-hour election hotline for listeners to record their questions, which are then responded to in daily bulletins, announcements and discussions. Major concerns registered by Radio Free Afghanistan listeners on the hotline were about security and the power of the warlords; major complaints - lack of organization and information; major interest -- in campaigning for women and nomads. * Every Sunday, Radio Free Afghanistan broadcasts a live, call-in question-and-answer show from its Kabul bureau in both Dari and Pashto languages. Officials from the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) give answers to some of the hot-line queries, as well as questions relayed by RFE/RL correspondents in the provinces and live callers. Starting September 11, the show will expand from a weekly to a daily broadcast. * Election issues are also a major topic now on Radio Free Afghanistan's weekly, two-hour, live call-in-show, moderated from Prague every Thursday. Four guests in the Kabul studio and experts hooked in by phone from other countries respond to up to 20 phone calls with comments and questions from listeners. * Two weekly roundtable discussions take a deeper look at domestic issues. One is about national themes and the other deals with regional matters. * The service has also introduced a daily, 15-minute special election broadcast, on two provinces at a time. The broadcast in Dari and Pashto gives an overview of the election campaign in the given provinces, interviews with candidates and views of voters and is updated and repeated up to 4 times throughout the day. All 34 provinces will be covered. * Public service announcements produced in cooperation with the Joint Electoral Management Body are aired regularly. * Radio Free Afghanistan's web site has been redesigned featuring news that is now updated hourly throughout the day in Dari and Pashto. RFE/RL has also launched, on September 9, a special "Afghanistan Votes" website (http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/) dedicated to the parliamentary and provincial elections. The website features a list of "frequently asked questions" about the poll (http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/FAQs.asp), basic information on all registered Afghan political parties, with enhanced descriptions of the 12 major parties (http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/parties.asp), updated profiles of prominent politicians (http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/candidates.asp), press reviews of Afghan and foreign newspaper editorials that are updated at least twice a week (Afghan press review: http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/afghanpress/archives/2005/09.asp; foreign press review: http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/intpress/archives/2005/09.asp), an election timeline of important dates (http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/electoral-timeline.asp) and a list of useful facts about Afghanistan, including major dates in Afghan history, an introduction to current history, and a glossary of helpful terms (http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/background.asp)
** The Acting Director of Radio Free Afghanistan, Alexander Lukashuk, may be reached by email at <lukashuka@rferl.org>.
U.S. AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES ARMENIAN CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans addressed Armenia's current hot topic, constitutional reform, in an interview aired on September 1 by RFE/RL's Armenian Service (http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeniareport/report/en/2005/09/3A5A61A5-BD9F-4CEC-A67C-35163D223D01.asp). He stressed the importance of preventing fraud in the upcoming constitutional referendum to be held before December. Evans said "the U.S. has made it very clear in a number of ways that this referendum should be carried out as a free and fair vote of the Armenian people," adding that constitutional reform would be a step forward for Armenia. He dismissed opposition fears that an amended constitution would leave a loophole for President Robert Kocharian to seek a third term in office in 2008, saying this is not a realistic prospect.
The Armenian Service held a round-table discussion in its Yerevan Bureau September 3 to examine opposing views on the issue. Two leading members of the Armenian Parliament, deputy speaker Tigran Torossian, a member of the ruling coalition and leader of the "Justice" opposition bloc Shavarsh Kocharian sharply differed in their recommendations. Shavarsh Kocharian urged Armenian voters to say No to constitutional changes, arguing that a new constitution could allow incumbent president Robert Kocharian to run for a third term, or become Prime Minister. Under the proposed changes to Armenia's constitution presidential powers would be considerably weakened and those of the parliament strengthened. The parliament would have a major say in appointing and dismissing the country's prime minister. Some members of the opposition are concerned that this would allow president Kocharian to ensure himself a majority in parliament in the next parliamentary elections scheduled for 2007 and thus become prime minister.
** The Director of RFE/RL's Armenian Service, Hrair Tamrazian, may be reached by email at <tamrazianh@rferl.org>.
RFE/RL in the News
RFE/RL UZBEK CORRESPONDENT SENT TO PRISON A correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Uzbek Service based in Namangan, in Uzbekistan's Ferghana Valley near Andijon, has been sent to prison for six months for allegedly insulting a security officer. The correspondent, Nosir Zokir, was summoned to court in Namangan on August 26, tried without the presence of defense counsel or the examination of witnesses, and sent directly to prison.
Zokir was sentenced under Article 140 of the Uzbek criminal code, which makes it a criminal offense to insult a member of the security forces. The criminal complaint was based on an angry phone call Zokir made to security police in Namangan on August 6, in which Zokir protested attempts to pressure a local poet, Khaidarali Komilov to lie about an interview he gave Zokir that was broadcast in early August.
For months, Zokir, an experienced correspondent in his mid-fifties who has filed news reports with RFE/RL for eight years, has been targeted by local media that have published slanderous and untruthful articles about his family and lifestyle, as well as his work for RFE/RL. The campaign against Zokir intensified after the bloody suppression of an uprising in Andijon in mid-May and after the Uzbek Service broadcast Zokir's interview with Komilov, who criticized the government's handling of Andijon. Zokir has been summoned to the local police station several times because of his reporting; at one point, service to his home and mobile phones was cut off.
An RFE/RL news release about Zokir's imprisonment, released August 29 (http://www.rferl.org/releases/2005/08/357-290805.asp), was widely quoted by international wire services and western media.
** The Acting Director of RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, Sojida Djakhfarova, may be reached by email at <djakhfarovas@rferl.org>.
DIFFICULT TIMES FOR RFE/RL, OTHER INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS IN GEORGIA A worsening human rights environment and fresh crackdown on press freedom in Georgia is complicating work for RFE/RL's Georgian Service.
According to Tbilisi-based Georgian Service correspondents, military officials are refusing to speak to the service since it aired critical reports about the Ministry of Defense. RFE/RL's Koba Liklikadze, who specializes in covering military issues, learned that a high-ranking defense ministry official had issued a ban on giving any kind of information to "unfriendly" reporters such as himself. Liklikadze learned of this ban while investigating allegations that four Georgian soldiers serving in Iraq had reportedly been deported for drunkenness (additional detail on the Liklikadze case and other signs of declining media freedom in Georgia can be found in an August 25 article posted to the website of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, "Georgian Journalists Protest Government Meddling" http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/cau/cau_200508_301_1_eng.txt).
The Georgian Service hosted a roundtable discussion on August 31 in its Tbilisi studio about the worsening state of media freedom in Georgia (audio available at http://www.tavisupleba.org/programs/roundtable/2005/08/20050831063029.asp). The discussion centered on the recent arrest and effort to discredit one of Georgia's most popular journalists -- Shalva Ramishvili, co-owner and anchor of TV 202, the last remaining independent television station in Georgia. Ramishvili gained fame as host of a late night political talk show, "Debates," that served as a major outlet for opposition views. Despite Ramishvili's arrest on August 27, the show continued with a new host, Irakli Kakabadze -- who on September 7 was beaten so severely he had to be hospitalized. Since then, various journalists take turns as host of "Debates," including RFE/RL's Koba Liklikadze, who served as host on September 8 and 9.
On September 8, Liklikadze's guest on "Debates" was author and publicist Ghia Nodia, who spoke about his recent article, "Is Georgia Approaching a New Revolution?" in which he detailed the intensifying attacks on opposition members of parliament, media and critics of the government.
** The Acting Director of RFE/RL's Georgian Service, David Kakabadze, may be reached by email at <kakabadzed@rferl.org>.
RFE/RL'S NORTH CAUCASUS DIRECTOR INTERVIEWED BY COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS The Director of RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service, Aslan Doukaev, gave a lengthy interview to the Council on Foreign Relations about the situation in Russia one year after the Beslan tragedy (the interview was posted to the CFR website on September 1 http://cfr.org/publication/8793/interview_with_aslan_doukaev_on_russias_security_situation_after_beslan.html).
Doukaev told CFR staff writer Lionel Beehner that the security situation in Beslan remains "out of control" and is "getting worse". He said a spate of attacks are being carried out by underground groups that oppose local authorities in Dagestan, as well as Ingushetia -- both of which have long borders with Chechnya. According to Doukaev, the continuing war in Chechnya "is the main catalyst for instability in the whole region" and that unless a solution is found in Chechnya, "instability is going to spread to neighboring republics."
** The Director of RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service, Aslan Doukaev, may be reached by email at <doukaeva@rferl.org>.
AWARDS FOR RFE/RL CORRESPONDENTS IN KYRGYZSTAN... Three Bishkek-based journalists working for RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service have received awards for excellence. The journalists -- Kyias Moldokasymov, Bubukan Dosalieva and Jarkyn Temirbaeva -- were included on the honors list released by the office of Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiev on Kyrgyz National Independence Day, August 31, for their contributions to the cultural life of the country.
Temirbaeva joined RFE/RL as a regional correspondent in Osh province 11 years ago. Now living in Bishkek, she reports on social policies and human rights issues. Temirbaeva was the reporter who interviewed protesters from southern Kyrgyzstan who set up a tent city in Bishkek and were then evicted by force and deported to their home districts -- one of the incidents that sparked the Kyrgyz "Tulip Revolution". She was also the first journalist to interview imprisoned opposition leader Feliks Kulov, who is now Kyrgyzstan's Prime Minister.
Dosalieva is a popular Kyrgyz Service moderator known for her lively and dynamic approach. Before joining RFE/RL in 1995, she was a TV announcer. In 2003, she received the Golden Pen award for excellence in broadcasting. Dosalieva is working on youth programs for the Kyrgyz Service and helping to update and revitalize program formats.
Moldokasymov joined RFE/RL in 1996 and was served as RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service Bishkek Bureau chief for seven years. He now manages an expanded bureau, that was renamed Azattyk Media in April. Moldokasymov is best known for moderating the popular Kyrgyz Service call-in program "Voice of the People;" he is also now the host of a new joint RFE/RL- KTR television weekly program, "Inconvenient Questions".
** The Director of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, Tyntchtykbek Tchoroev, may be reached by email at <tchoroevt@rferl.org>.
...AND BELARUS Lyubov Luniova, a Minsk-based correspondent for RFE/RL's Belarusian Service, is one of five winners of this year's "Dzmitry Zavadski Prize" for excellence in journalism (http://www.svaboda.org/articlesfeatures/man/2005/9/084CE847-616D-4D70-8458-D88BD75E8CD8.html). The award is sponsored by the Russian ORT Channel 1 and former colleagues of Dzmitry Zavadski, an ORT cameraman who went missing in Minsk in July 2000. Two ex-members of Belarus' elite Almaz police unit were sentenced to life in 2002 for kidnapping and killing Zavadski, but his body has never been found.
Luniova, who started working for RFE/RL ten years ago, is being recognized for her reporting on human rights issues, giving voice to protesters, prisoners of conscience and those the Lukashenka government tries to silence. She will accept the honor at an award ceremony to be held in Minsk September 16. ** The Acting Director of RFE/RL's Belarus Service, Bohdan Andrusyshyn, may be reached by email at <andrusyshynb@rferl.org>.
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Copyright (c) 2005. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. "RFE/RL Review" is a weekly compilation of the best programming produced by the 19 services of the RFE/RL broadcast network. RFE/RL broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of programming a week in 28 languages to 20 countries in Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central and Southwestern Asia.
Managing Editor: Sonia Winter <winters@rferl.org>
For more information about any of the stories mentioned in "RFE/RL Review," or to learn more about RFE/RL, please contact Martins Zvaners at <zvanersm@rferl.org> or by calling +1-202-457-6948.
RFE/RL REVIEW
The Best of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Reporting
-----------------
August 27-September 9, 2005
RFE/RL COVERS KATRINA... In its coverage of the disaster along the U.S. Gulf Coast and in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina, RFE/RL broadcasting focused on persons from its broadcast area caught up in the storm, the unprecedented scope of the damage and the outpouring of domestic and international support and resources to aid rescue attempts.
RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service contacted the family of a student from Tatarstan who was on a work-and-travel program in the U.S. and marooned in New Orleans by the floods. Interviewed in Kazan for a September 1 broadcast, a friend of one of the families told RFE/RL: "We learned today that the girls are still in the flooded area, in the disaster area. They locked themselves in a house, along with fifteen other Russian students. They had some food, water and medical supplies, but they could not be evacuated because when they called the authorities when it all began, they were told they should get out of there by their own means, that there was no transportation for them." The Russian Service was in touch with the Russian consulate in Houston concerned about this and other groups of Russian students. Eventually, they all made it to safety.
New York-based Central News correspondent Nick Krastev went to New Orleans and reported for all services on the huge undertaking for rescue and restoration. Two of Krastev's English-language articles, as well as an audio slideshow photographed and narrated by Krastev, are included in a 5-part series of articles on the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina issued on September 8-9; the articles and slideshow may be accessed at http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/33f8eace-7d71-47f0-8e3c-d0084ff5e4dd.html.
** The Director of RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, Ferit Agi, may be reached by email at <agif@rferl.org>; the Director of RFE/RL's Central News department, Kestutis Girnius, may be reached by email at <girniusk@rferl.org>.
...REMEMBERS BESLAN All RFE/RL language services in news reports noted the first anniversary of the massacre in the southern Russian town of Beslan, which started on September 1, 2004 when gunmen seized the local school, taking hostage hundreds of children and adults. Two days later, the hostage-taking ended in a chaotic battle, as Russian forces stormed the building. Explosions and gunfire resulted in the deaths of more than 330 hostages, including 186 children.
RFE/RL's Russian Service took the lead in examining what happened and why, focusing in roundtable discussions with experts and analysts on many of the questions that remain unanswered a year later, on the lack of accountability and official explanation (http://www.svoboda.org/programs/PR/2005/pr.090105.asp; http://www.svoboda.org/programs/sp/2005/sp.090305.asp).
Two RFE/RL correspondents trying to cover the anniversary from Beslan were harassed by authorities and not allowed to do their jobs. A correspondent for RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service traveling from Chechnya was stopped before he got to Beslan and, despite showing journalistic credentials, was turned back. Russian Service correspondent Yuri Bagrov was in Beslan September 1, at a press center, when he was taken to a police station, interrogated and forced to return to his hometown of Vladikavkaz.
A Moscow-based RFE/RL Central News correspondent for Central News, Claire Bigg, did manage to get into Beslan. She visited former hostages, spoke to several children and mothers who survived but bear severe psychological, as well as physical scarring. Her reports were widely used by RFE/RL services throughout the commemorative week (Bigg's English-language reports on the Beslan anniversary can be found at http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/08/b9f587ee-90d3-4d13-a7b1-4f9160037026.html, http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/d1a54856-5409-4192-aa5b-77a04e27f92d.html and http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/817E70D5-15C0-495B-86C3-230B54A4DAA3.html; a special "Remembering Beslan" webpage can be found at http://www.rferl.org/specials/beslan-anniversary/).
** The Director of RFE/RL's Russian Service, Maria Klein, may be reached by email at <kleinm@rferl.org>; the Director of RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service, Aslan Doukaev, may be reached by email at <doukaeva@rferl.org>; the Director of RFE/RL's Central News department, Kestutis Girnius, may be reached by email at <girniusk@rferl.org>.
RADIO FREE IRAQ COVERS BAGHDAD STAMPEDE... RFE/RL's Arabic Service, known as Radio Free Iraq (RFI), had a correspondent on the scene near Imamain bridge on August 31 -- the day a large, densely packed procession of Shiite pilgrims panicked, trampling hundreds of people underfoot and causing hundreds more to fall to their death in the Tigris River. The correspondent recorded the immediate sorrow, shock and anger of the crowd that had been spooked by rumors of suicide bombers near the shrine (an English-language report on the tragedy can be found at http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/08/72dce442-4b49-4adb-a5e3-c2c6af1231ba.html and http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/9/A21C661F-946F-45F2-BC6C-533878AF2EDE.html).
The traditional procession August 31, revived after the fall of Saddam, commemorates the anniversary of the martyrdom more than 1,000 years ago of Imam Musa Kadhim, one of Shiite Islam's holiest figures. Police began cordoning off the area the night before and it was extremely difficult for RFI reporters to move about the city. Nevertheless, RFI Baghdad correspondent Nabil al-Haidari was able to get close enough to describe the scene, saying: "the fence of the bridge was (broken) from the pressure of the masses of the people and tens or hundreds of them fell in the river, in the water, some of them crushed between each other."
In Prague, RFE/RL's Central News contacted the office of President Jalal Talibani and interviewed his spokesman Kamran al-Karadaghi, a former RFI deputy director. Al-Karadaghi confirmed that hundreds had died in the incident.
Programming on the following day, September 1, included messages of condolences from world leaders and international reaction, as well as unique stories of Baghdad residents crossing religious divides to help one another. RFI correspondent Layla Ahmad went to the Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiya in Baghdad to talk to Sunnis there who had put their own lives at risk, trying to save drowning Shiite pilgrims, many of them women in traditional, heavy garments. Layla also interviewed members of the River Police and their effort to clear the waters of hundreds of corpses and return them to their relatives for burial. Ahmad was taking risks herself in going to Adhamiya, a Sunni neighborhood known for its hostility towards non-residents. Other RFI correspondents filed reports from Baghdad hospitals, interviewing relatives of the victims and medical staff dealing with the crisis.
** The Acting Director of Radio Free Iraq, Sergey Danilochkin, may be reached by email at <danilochkins@rferl.org>.
...INTERVIEWS OIL MINISTER In an exclusive interview with Radio Free Iraq that aired September 7, Iraqi oil minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum stressed the importance of protecting the country's oil production and pipelines. He told RFI Baghdad correspondent Layla Ahmad that new measures were introduced at the beginning of September to safeguard the oil wells and refineries.
Al-Ulum said that, in recent weeks, attacks on oil facilities are on the rise. According to al-Ulum, "The Oil Ministry has recently noticed an increase in terrorist operations targeting oil facilities used for the transport of crude oil and oil products. It has been especially so in Baghdad. It seems the terrorists intend to isolate Baghdad from other regions by focusing on three targets: electricity, water, and oil, in addition to striking at citizens' security. The [Oil] Ministry, in cooperation with the Committee for Infrastructure and the Committee for Energy provides protection for the oil facilities. Measures were adopted in this regard a week ago, and the prime minister has approved them, for the protection of infrastructure in Baghdad."
** The Acting Director of Radio Free Iraq, Sergey Danilochkin, may be reached by email at <danilochkins@rferl.org>.
MILLENNIUM JUBILEE THE FOCUS OF TATAR-BASHKIR SERVICE COVERAGE RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service actively covered a month of events that led up to the Millennium Celebrations in Kazan, from August 25-30. RFE/RL correspondents were at every major event, reporting on the important political meetings, as well as the millennium festivities (an English-language report on the millennium festivities can be found at http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/8/9B37D2CD-1FCF-4B70-90B0-49C56C91B2B3.html).
The World Tatar Congress opened in Kazan on August 29 with a critical statement by Executive Committee Chairman Renat Zakiro, who claimed that Moscow is diverting resources from Russia's national minorities: "The federal authorities don't think about the preservation and development of nationalities," he said, adding that "Tatarstan alone has to look after" Tatar interests. The final day of the congress, August 30 included a historical presentation on "The Golden Horseshoe", a "Millennium in the Sky" air show featuring MiG-29 and Su- 27 fighters, a "Kazan Forever" performance at the city's central stadium, an open-air concert attended by more than 120,000 spectators and, at night, a fireworks display with 1,000 volleys -- one for each year. One thousand guests were invited to participate in the Congress, including representatives of the Tatar diaspora, presidents of the post-Soviet states, local and Russian politicians, business leaders and prominent cultural figures.
Among the major political events of the Millennium, the Tatar- Bashkir Service gave special attention to Tatar president Mintimer Shaimiev's speech August 30, in which he said "Kazan has become a Eurasian capital" and that Tatarstan serves as "a good model for the entire Russian Federation... but our potential is far from exhausted." In a familiar balancing act, Shaimiev also praised Russian President Vladimir Putin for delivering part of his speech in Kazan in Tatar (http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/8/A578F716-ACCD-4979-83C2-051FCFA9E2D5.html), calling it "a signal of respect for all languages and peoples' traditions."
** The Director of RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, Ferit Agi, may be reached by email at <agif@rferl.org>.
STRONG WORDS FROM FORMER RUSSIAN OFFICIAL ON RFE/RL NORTH CAUCASUS BROADCAST Former Russian Security Council Secretary Ivan Rybkin made a strong appeal to President Vladimir Putin to begin peace negotiations with Chechnya during an interview with RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service broadcast on August 28, adding that if Putin can't find negotiators he should resign (English transcript at http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/8/8C3C2960-6D68-40E2-9706-578089C9FD5E.html).
In the half-hour interview with RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service, Rybkin said that separatism, rather than international terrorism, is behind the ongoing fighting in Chechnya and went on to reject the Russian government's position that there is no one to negotiate with among the Chechen resistance. According to Rybkin, "I for my part say quite clearly that negotiating partners do exist, they can be found in the mountains [of southern Chechnya], in Moscow, and in Grozny, and outside Russia, and you can negotiate with the people who really have an influence on real developments in Chechnya." He urged that such talks be genuine, saying "for heavens' sake don't conduct negotiations just for show with those partners you have conjured up and appointed yourselves... And if you cannot find interlocutors with whom to negotiate a solution to this most grave and bloody conflict in the Russian North Caucasus, then you should resign, the whole presidential team, rather than seek a third term [for President Putin]. Then we will find negotiating partners and resolve this problem for the good of all the peoples of Russia, and above all of the Russian and Chechen peoples."
In the interview, RFE/RL asked Rybkin what has changed since he wrote an open letter to Putin in 2002 calling for peace talks. Rybkin described how the crisis has worsened over the years, saying: "There are mercenaries and soldiers of fortune [in Chechnya] but above all we are faced with a people in revolt, when a gigantic group of federal forces -- 80,000, 100,000 men-- is powerless to do anything. And Russian military commanders go on reporting that over the past year they have killed 2,000 militants, who subsequently rise from the dead like the proverbial phoenix. For that reason, it is necessary to engage in patient negotiations as I already said, to negotiate for 25 years if need be, and systematically find a solution to the problem."
Rybkin said: "People are living in poverty in the republics of the North Caucasus -- I stress, of the Russian North Caucasus. [...] The extremely difficult upheavals have attracted Russia's attention because it is impossible to conceal what happened in Ingushetia [in June 2004], the exodus [of Avars] from [the Chechen village of] Borozdinovskaya [in June 2005], and the terrible tragedy in Beslan. All this is on the conscience of those people who bear ultimate responsibility for the situation in the North Caucasus, not permitting anyone to try to resolve it, imposing personal control and not letting anyone else come even one millimeter closer. I mean Russian President Vladimir Putin, Federal Security Service Director Nikolai Patrushev, and the heads of the special services."
** The Director of RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service, Aslan Doukaev, may be reached by email at <doukaeva@rferl.org>.
RFE/RL FOLLOWS UNCERTAIN FATE OF UZBEK REFUGEES Several RFE/RL language services broadcast a report filed September 7 from the Uzbek refugee camp in Romania that is serving as a temporary home for some 439 Uzbeks (http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/9/799CA65E-841E-4F5E-8876-D3B299BE76F2.html).
Kazakh Service correspondent Saida Kulikova, who speaks fluent Uzbek, traveled to the camp in the Romanian city of Timisoara and spoke with several eyewitnesses of the protest rally and shooting in Andijon May 13. A nine -year-old boy gave this account to Kulikova: "I went to the demonstration with my mother. Then, at around 3:30 PM, two helicopters appeared. After they were flying for a while they troops) started to fire... You know as fruits fall down when you kick the tree -- making a 'top, top' sound. Injured and dead people were falling down one after another, exactly like that: top, top. Thank God, my mom and I survived."
The refugees in Timisoara who spoke to RFE/RL said government forces opened fire on protesters without warning. One 40-year-old woman said: "[Uzbek President Islam] Karimov has been deceiving the people for 15 years. We went to the demonstration protecting our rights. Nobody came to talk to us. They were only shooting without warning. We did not think that they would open fire. There were ordinary people demonstrating [on the square]. They fired on all of them. When we think about those people, who were killed at the demonstration, even nowadays we tremble with fear." Several refugees told RFE/RL there should be an international investigation to tell the world the truth about Andijon. A woman in the camp said "if we are guilty, we will be held responsible. If Karimov is guilty, he has to be held responsible. We demand this."
This young woman, like the other refugees, is now waiting to be resettled to a country where she can feel safe. But it remains unclear where they will end up, or when they will go. The office of the UN High Commissioner for refugees says there are representatives in Timisoara from at least 10 possible destination countries, including the United States, Australia and Canada.
** The Acting Director of RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, Sojida Djakhfarova, may be reached by email at <djakhfarovas@rferl.org>; the Director of RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, Merhat Sharipzhan, may be reached by email at <sharipzhanm@rferl.org>.
RFE/RL LOOKS AT MUSLIMS IN THE WEST Half a dozen RFE/RL language services worked with Central News correspondents to produce the first in a larger package of stories about Muslim minorities living in the West. A three-part series released September 2 provided programming material on several important themes.
Part One, titled "Family's Hearts Are in England, Their Roots in Iran" (http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/564e072a-f85b-4743-ab0e-18eb6835c3f1.html), Central News correspondent Jan Jun looked at the lives of the estimated 1.5 million members of Britain's Muslim community from the point of view of a family living in a London suburb. The profile of the Faridy family traced their immigration to Britain from Iran after the 1979 revolution there and how the parents and two adult sons born in Britain feel about life in the West.
The second article in the series, "Young People Struggling To Cope With Social Exclusion, Deprivation, Discrimination" (http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/3ba30e5a-b09e-459e-b66c-e2a603da66b5.html), is a report by Central News correspondent Robert Parsons, who traveled to London to speak to disaffected young Muslims about their lives and to social workers trying to help them cope with their sense of anger and alienation.
Part Three -- "Radical Believes Suicide Bombers Acted With Right Intentions" (http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/6527882e-6393-487c-92e5-71a08336af59.html) -- deals with the aftermath of the London suicide bombings. Authorities in Britain now have expanded powers to deport foreigners who promote terrorism, and they have already barred one prominent radical cleric, Omar Mohammad Bakri, from returning to Britain. RFE/RL correspondent Kathleen Moore spoke to an associate of Bakri, who described the London bombings as a "martyrdom operation."
** The Director of RFE/RL's Central News department, Kestutis Girnius, may be reached by email at <girniusk@rferl.org>.
RADIO FREE AFGHANISTAN PREPARES FOR ELECTIONS Six weeks before the September 18 parliamentary elections, Radio Free Afghanistan began expanding and adapting programming to provide as much information as possible to voters on every aspect of the elections. * A popular feature is a 24-hour election hotline for listeners to record their questions, which are then responded to in daily bulletins, announcements and discussions. Major concerns registered by Radio Free Afghanistan listeners on the hotline were about security and the power of the warlords; major complaints - lack of organization and information; major interest -- in campaigning for women and nomads. * Every Sunday, Radio Free Afghanistan broadcasts a live, call-in question-and-answer show from its Kabul bureau in both Dari and Pashto languages. Officials from the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) give answers to some of the hot-line queries, as well as questions relayed by RFE/RL correspondents in the provinces and live callers. Starting September 11, the show will expand from a weekly to a daily broadcast. * Election issues are also a major topic now on Radio Free Afghanistan's weekly, two-hour, live call-in-show, moderated from Prague every Thursday. Four guests in the Kabul studio and experts hooked in by phone from other countries respond to up to 20 phone calls with comments and questions from listeners. * Two weekly roundtable discussions take a deeper look at domestic issues. One is about national themes and the other deals with regional matters. * The service has also introduced a daily, 15-minute special election broadcast, on two provinces at a time. The broadcast in Dari and Pashto gives an overview of the election campaign in the given provinces, interviews with candidates and views of voters and is updated and repeated up to 4 times throughout the day. All 34 provinces will be covered. * Public service announcements produced in cooperation with the Joint Electoral Management Body are aired regularly. * Radio Free Afghanistan's web site has been redesigned featuring news that is now updated hourly throughout the day in Dari and Pashto. RFE/RL has also launched, on September 9, a special "Afghanistan Votes" website (http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/) dedicated to the parliamentary and provincial elections. The website features a list of "frequently asked questions" about the poll (http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/FAQs.asp), basic information on all registered Afghan political parties, with enhanced descriptions of the 12 major parties (http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/parties.asp), updated profiles of prominent politicians (http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/candidates.asp), press reviews of Afghan and foreign newspaper editorials that are updated at least twice a week (Afghan press review: http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/afghanpress/archives/2005/09.asp; foreign press review: http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/intpress/archives/2005/09.asp), an election timeline of important dates (http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/electoral-timeline.asp) and a list of useful facts about Afghanistan, including major dates in Afghan history, an introduction to current history, and a glossary of helpful terms (http://www.rferl.org/en/specials/elections/background.asp)
** The Acting Director of Radio Free Afghanistan, Alexander Lukashuk, may be reached by email at <lukashuka@rferl.org>.
U.S. AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES ARMENIAN CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans addressed Armenia's current hot topic, constitutional reform, in an interview aired on September 1 by RFE/RL's Armenian Service (http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeniareport/report/en/2005/09/3A5A61A5-BD9F-4CEC-A67C-35163D223D01.asp). He stressed the importance of preventing fraud in the upcoming constitutional referendum to be held before December. Evans said "the U.S. has made it very clear in a number of ways that this referendum should be carried out as a free and fair vote of the Armenian people," adding that constitutional reform would be a step forward for Armenia. He dismissed opposition fears that an amended constitution would leave a loophole for President Robert Kocharian to seek a third term in office in 2008, saying this is not a realistic prospect.
The Armenian Service held a round-table discussion in its Yerevan Bureau September 3 to examine opposing views on the issue. Two leading members of the Armenian Parliament, deputy speaker Tigran Torossian, a member of the ruling coalition and leader of the "Justice" opposition bloc Shavarsh Kocharian sharply differed in their recommendations. Shavarsh Kocharian urged Armenian voters to say No to constitutional changes, arguing that a new constitution could allow incumbent president Robert Kocharian to run for a third term, or become Prime Minister. Under the proposed changes to Armenia's constitution presidential powers would be considerably weakened and those of the parliament strengthened. The parliament would have a major say in appointing and dismissing the country's prime minister. Some members of the opposition are concerned that this would allow president Kocharian to ensure himself a majority in parliament in the next parliamentary elections scheduled for 2007 and thus become prime minister.
** The Director of RFE/RL's Armenian Service, Hrair Tamrazian, may be reached by email at <tamrazianh@rferl.org>.
RFE/RL in the News
RFE/RL UZBEK CORRESPONDENT SENT TO PRISON A correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Uzbek Service based in Namangan, in Uzbekistan's Ferghana Valley near Andijon, has been sent to prison for six months for allegedly insulting a security officer. The correspondent, Nosir Zokir, was summoned to court in Namangan on August 26, tried without the presence of defense counsel or the examination of witnesses, and sent directly to prison.
Zokir was sentenced under Article 140 of the Uzbek criminal code, which makes it a criminal offense to insult a member of the security forces. The criminal complaint was based on an angry phone call Zokir made to security police in Namangan on August 6, in which Zokir protested attempts to pressure a local poet, Khaidarali Komilov to lie about an interview he gave Zokir that was broadcast in early August.
For months, Zokir, an experienced correspondent in his mid-fifties who has filed news reports with RFE/RL for eight years, has been targeted by local media that have published slanderous and untruthful articles about his family and lifestyle, as well as his work for RFE/RL. The campaign against Zokir intensified after the bloody suppression of an uprising in Andijon in mid-May and after the Uzbek Service broadcast Zokir's interview with Komilov, who criticized the government's handling of Andijon. Zokir has been summoned to the local police station several times because of his reporting; at one point, service to his home and mobile phones was cut off.
An RFE/RL news release about Zokir's imprisonment, released August 29 (http://www.rferl.org/releases/2005/08/357-290805.asp), was widely quoted by international wire services and western media.
** The Acting Director of RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, Sojida Djakhfarova, may be reached by email at <djakhfarovas@rferl.org>.
DIFFICULT TIMES FOR RFE/RL, OTHER INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS IN GEORGIA A worsening human rights environment and fresh crackdown on press freedom in Georgia is complicating work for RFE/RL's Georgian Service.
According to Tbilisi-based Georgian Service correspondents, military officials are refusing to speak to the service since it aired critical reports about the Ministry of Defense. RFE/RL's Koba Liklikadze, who specializes in covering military issues, learned that a high-ranking defense ministry official had issued a ban on giving any kind of information to "unfriendly" reporters such as himself. Liklikadze learned of this ban while investigating allegations that four Georgian soldiers serving in Iraq had reportedly been deported for drunkenness (additional detail on the Liklikadze case and other signs of declining media freedom in Georgia can be found in an August 25 article posted to the website of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, "Georgian Journalists Protest Government Meddling" http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/cau/cau_200508_301_1_eng.txt).
The Georgian Service hosted a roundtable discussion on August 31 in its Tbilisi studio about the worsening state of media freedom in Georgia (audio available at http://www.tavisupleba.org/programs/roundtable/2005/08/20050831063029.asp). The discussion centered on the recent arrest and effort to discredit one of Georgia's most popular journalists -- Shalva Ramishvili, co-owner and anchor of TV 202, the last remaining independent television station in Georgia. Ramishvili gained fame as host of a late night political talk show, "Debates," that served as a major outlet for opposition views. Despite Ramishvili's arrest on August 27, the show continued with a new host, Irakli Kakabadze -- who on September 7 was beaten so severely he had to be hospitalized. Since then, various journalists take turns as host of "Debates," including RFE/RL's Koba Liklikadze, who served as host on September 8 and 9.
On September 8, Liklikadze's guest on "Debates" was author and publicist Ghia Nodia, who spoke about his recent article, "Is Georgia Approaching a New Revolution?" in which he detailed the intensifying attacks on opposition members of parliament, media and critics of the government.
** The Acting Director of RFE/RL's Georgian Service, David Kakabadze, may be reached by email at <kakabadzed@rferl.org>.
RFE/RL'S NORTH CAUCASUS DIRECTOR INTERVIEWED BY COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS The Director of RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service, Aslan Doukaev, gave a lengthy interview to the Council on Foreign Relations about the situation in Russia one year after the Beslan tragedy (the interview was posted to the CFR website on September 1 http://cfr.org/publication/8793/interview_with_aslan_doukaev_on_russias_security_situation_after_beslan.html).
Doukaev told CFR staff writer Lionel Beehner that the security situation in Beslan remains "out of control" and is "getting worse". He said a spate of attacks are being carried out by underground groups that oppose local authorities in Dagestan, as well as Ingushetia -- both of which have long borders with Chechnya. According to Doukaev, the continuing war in Chechnya "is the main catalyst for instability in the whole region" and that unless a solution is found in Chechnya, "instability is going to spread to neighboring republics."
** The Director of RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service, Aslan Doukaev, may be reached by email at <doukaeva@rferl.org>.
AWARDS FOR RFE/RL CORRESPONDENTS IN KYRGYZSTAN... Three Bishkek-based journalists working for RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service have received awards for excellence. The journalists -- Kyias Moldokasymov, Bubukan Dosalieva and Jarkyn Temirbaeva -- were included on the honors list released by the office of Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiev on Kyrgyz National Independence Day, August 31, for their contributions to the cultural life of the country.
Temirbaeva joined RFE/RL as a regional correspondent in Osh province 11 years ago. Now living in Bishkek, she reports on social policies and human rights issues. Temirbaeva was the reporter who interviewed protesters from southern Kyrgyzstan who set up a tent city in Bishkek and were then evicted by force and deported to their home districts -- one of the incidents that sparked the Kyrgyz "Tulip Revolution". She was also the first journalist to interview imprisoned opposition leader Feliks Kulov, who is now Kyrgyzstan's Prime Minister.
Dosalieva is a popular Kyrgyz Service moderator known for her lively and dynamic approach. Before joining RFE/RL in 1995, she was a TV announcer. In 2003, she received the Golden Pen award for excellence in broadcasting. Dosalieva is working on youth programs for the Kyrgyz Service and helping to update and revitalize program formats.
Moldokasymov joined RFE/RL in 1996 and was served as RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service Bishkek Bureau chief for seven years. He now manages an expanded bureau, that was renamed Azattyk Media in April. Moldokasymov is best known for moderating the popular Kyrgyz Service call-in program "Voice of the People;" he is also now the host of a new joint RFE/RL- KTR television weekly program, "Inconvenient Questions".
** The Director of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, Tyntchtykbek Tchoroev, may be reached by email at <tchoroevt@rferl.org>.
...AND BELARUS Lyubov Luniova, a Minsk-based correspondent for RFE/RL's Belarusian Service, is one of five winners of this year's "Dzmitry Zavadski Prize" for excellence in journalism (http://www.svaboda.org/articlesfeatures/man/2005/9/084CE847-616D-4D70-8458-D88BD75E8CD8.html). The award is sponsored by the Russian ORT Channel 1 and former colleagues of Dzmitry Zavadski, an ORT cameraman who went missing in Minsk in July 2000. Two ex-members of Belarus' elite Almaz police unit were sentenced to life in 2002 for kidnapping and killing Zavadski, but his body has never been found.
Luniova, who started working for RFE/RL ten years ago, is being recognized for her reporting on human rights issues, giving voice to protesters, prisoners of conscience and those the Lukashenka government tries to silence. She will accept the honor at an award ceremony to be held in Minsk September 16. ** The Acting Director of RFE/RL's Belarus Service, Bohdan Andrusyshyn, may be reached by email at <andrusyshynb@rferl.org>.
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Copyright (c) 2005. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. "RFE/RL Review" is a weekly compilation of the best programming produced by the 19 services of the RFE/RL broadcast network. RFE/RL broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of programming a week in 28 languages to 20 countries in Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central and Southwestern Asia.
Managing Editor: Sonia Winter <winters@rferl.org>
For more information about any of the stories mentioned in "RFE/RL Review," or to learn more about RFE/RL, please contact Martins Zvaners at <zvanersm@rferl.org> or by calling +1-202-457-6948.