Boletin Mayo 2007

Boletín mensual: MAYO 2007 http://www.observatorio-eurasia.blogspot.com/

UZBEKISTÁN: SIGUEN SIN REGISTRARSE AVANCES EN MATERIA DE DERECHOS HUMANOS En vísperas de la reunión de ministros de Asuntos Exteriores de la Unión Europea en la que se evaluará la actual política europea sobre Uzbekistán, Amnistía Internacional declara que el segundo aniversario de los homicidios perpetrados en la localidad uzbeca de Andiyán es un triste recordatorio de los graves problemas que sufre este país en materia de derechos humanos. Fuente: www.amnesty.org/espanol Continúa en p.9 SPY MURDER ROW POISONS RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA Britain’s relations with Russia were at their lowest point since the Cold War after the authorities in Moscow refused yesterday to cooperate with an extradition request for the man accused ofmurdering Alexander Litvinenko. Fuente: www.timesonline.co.uk Continúa en p.3 AIMING TO REDUCE RUSSIAN ROLE IN CASPIAN, AZERBAIJAN BUILDS ECONOMIC TIES WITH ASIA Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s late-April trip to South Korea underscores how Asian states are becoming an increasing factor in the Caspian Basin energy equation. Aliyev is intent on exploiting the growing oil & gas needs of China, South Korea, Japan and other nations to weaken Russia’s ability to use energy issues as a lever of geopolitical influence. Fuente: www.eurasianet,org Continúa en p.7 L'INSÉCURITÉ GRANDIT DANS LES PROVINCES AFGHANES DU NORD, JUSQUE-LÀ PLUTÔT ÉPARGNÉES La violence redouble en Afghanistan, où, une semaine après l'annonce de la mort d'un de leurs chefs militaires, le mollah Dadullah, les talibans ont revendiqué deux attentats-suicides, qui ont fait, samedi 19 et dimanche 20 mai, 24 morts et plus de 50 blessés. Fuente: www.lemonde.fr Continúa en p.10

INDICE Política...........................p.3 Economía...........................p.7 Sociedad...........................p.9 Medios de Comunicación.........................p.11 Boletín mensual: MAYO 2007 1 http://www.observatorio-eurasia.blogspot.com/ [email protected]

El Observatorio Eurasia es un proyecto que se encuadra dentro de la línea de “Historia de la propaganda y análisis de la comunicación política” del Grupo Interdisciplinario de Estudios en Comunicación, Política y Cambio Social (COMPOLITICAS), y tiene como principal objetivo el estudio, investigación y difusión de los principales fenómenos políticos, culturales y comunicacionales que tienen lugar en el antiguo espacio soviético. Coordinador Miguel Vázquez Liñán Responsable del número Carmen Llano Pérez de la Lastra

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POLÍTICA - Titulares Spy murder row poisons relations with Russia www.timesonline.co.uk (23/05/2007) Japan promotes multilateralism in Central Asia www.eurasianet.org (04/05/2007) L'Allemagne n'envisage pas un retrait d'Afghanistan, où trois de ses soldats ont été tués samedi www.lemonde.fr (20/05/2007) La OTAN no piensa ampliar su presencia militar en el Asia Central http://sp.rian.ru (23/05/2007)

SPY MURDER ROW POISONS RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA Richard Beeston, 23/05/2007, (www.timesonline.co.uk) Britain’s relations with Russia were at their lowest point since the Cold War after the authorities in Moscow refused yesterday to cooperate with an extradition request for the man accused of murdering Alexander Litvinenko. Trade relations with Russia are expected to worsen significantly after an announcement by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that it believed there was enough evidence to charge Andrei Lugovoy with the “deliberate poisoning” of Mr Litvinenko. Britain wants him to stand trial here before a judge and jury, but Moscow made it clear that this was out of the question. The stand-off comes as Russia pursues a more aggressive foreign policy and one that is increasingly hostile to the West. Writing in The Timestoday, Tony Blair argues that Britain has to build new nuclear power stations partly because Russia has become so unreliable as a partner. “We are now faced with countries, like Russia, who are prepared to use their energy resources as an instrument of policy,” the Prime Minister says. As the CPS made its announcement Yuri Fedotov, the Russian Ambassador, was summoned to meet Peter Ricketts, the Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, who urged Russia to comply with the legal request. A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: “There is no doubt at all as to the seriousness with which we regard this case. Murder is murder.” Mr Litvinenko, a former officer in the KGB and its successor, the FSB, was killed with a fatal dose of the radioactive substance polonium-210 last November. The Kremlin is already angry with Britain for granting asylum to many Russian dissidents. It could hit back against the latest move, which implies it is sheltering a murderer connected to Russia’s security services. “We obviously have political and economic connections with Russia and Russia is clearly playing an important role in international affairs,” the Downing Street spokesman added. “However, that does not in any way obviate the need for international law to be respected and we will not in any way shy away from trying to ensure that in a case such as this.” One immediate victim of the hostile climate could be BP’s joint venture to exploit a gas field in eastern Siberia. The Russian authorities are expected soon to revoke BP’s licence in favour of a state-controlled company. Similar action was taken last year against a Shell joint venture in Sakhalin. Britain and Russia have signed the Council of Europe’s Convention on Extradition, but it has had little effect. Britain had its one previous extradition request turned down by Moscow. Russia has had 17 extradition requests refused by Britain, including those for the oligarch Boris Berezovsky, Mr Putin’s main critic, and Akhmed Zakayev, a Chechen separatist accused of terrorism.

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In recent months President Putin has clashed with the West on a range of issues, including US plans for an antimissile defence system and EU criticism of Moscow’s human rights record. Mr Blair and Mr Putin are expected to discuss energy issues at a G8 summit in Germany next month. Mr Lugovoy insisted that the murder charges were politically motivated. “I did not kill Litvinenko, have nothing to do with his death and can prove my distrust of the so-called evidence collected by Britain’s justice system,” he said. Mr Lugovoy is suspected of poisoning Mr Litvinenko when the two met in London last November. Mr Litvinenko, an outspoken critic of Mr Putin, died in agony 22 days later. On his deathbed he blamed the Kremlin for his murder. The British authorities said that they expected Mr Lugovoy to be arrested and extradited. “This was a very serious crime,” Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, said. “We have ordered the Russian Ambassador to convey that information to the Russian authorities.” Mr Litvinenko’s widow Marina vowed to continue campaigning until her husband’s killer had been brought to justice, and urged the ambassador to help the British authorities. “It is important to me that my husband did not die in vain. It is also important for British people to see that those who carried out this attack on British soil are brought to justice and to see that they are protected from what people see as state terrorism,” she said. “I will not rest until I know that justice has been done.”

FUENTE: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1826835.ece JAPAN PROMOTES MULTILATERALISM IN CENTRAL ASIA Richard Weitz, 05/04/07, (http://www.eurasianet.org) Lacking powerful foreign-policy tools of its own, Japan is promoting multilateralism as it strives to expand its economic and political presence in Central Asia. A key element in Tokyo’s regional strategy is close cooperation with the United States. Japan has been diplomatically active in Central Asia of late. In 2006, former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the region’s two most influential states – Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. More recently, a large Japanese trade delegation visited Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in late April and early May. In Kazakhstan on May 1, Japanese officials expressed interest in boosting its imports of uranium from the Central Asian country. "Both sides share the recognition that Japan and Kazakhstan are mutually complimentary and strategic partners, and hope that they will develop multilayered and cooperative relations," said a joint statement. In Uzbekistan, the Japanese delegation, headed by Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akira Amari, met with top officials, including President Islam Karimov and Minister of Finance Rustam Azimov. The most notable byproduct of the visit was an agreement signed by the state-controlled Uzbekneftegaz and a Japanese government entity to conduct geological surveys of areas holding potential energy reserves. Akio Kawato, a former Japanese ambassador to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, discussed Tokyo’s objectives in Central Asia during a late April presentation, titled "Does Japan matter in Central Asia?," sponsored by the Washington, DC,-based Central Asia Caucasus Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. Kawato identified Japan’s key policy goal in the region as promoting the stabilization of Afghanistan, a development that would foster economic development and democratization throughout Central Asia. As long as the conflict in Afghanistan persisted, he maintained, Central Asians will remain worried that Islamic militants will try to exploit political openings to foment unrest. For this reason, Kawato called for a concerted international effort to pressure Pakistan into cutting off all forms of assistance to Islamic militants operating in that country’s tribal areas. Kawato spoke at length about the "Central Asia plus Japan" initiative, which presently involves annual meetings at the foreign ministerial level and other joint activities. The ambassador portrayed the informal organization as an "open" institution, which, in principle, welcomed participation by any interested state. He contrasted this approach with that underlying the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which he criticized for being a "closed" structure that aimed to neutralize Western and Japanese influence in Central Asia.

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More generally, Kawato suggested that Central Asia needed to develop a pan-continental institution, along the lines of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Kawato suggested that an OSCE-like framework could integrate the Central Asia plus Japan mechanism, the SCO, and the other regional security structures into one broad grouping of states. Another potential multilateral model worthy of emulation is ASEAN, Kawato suggested. Although Kawato reaffirmed Japanese calls for encouraging greater democratization and respect for human rights in Central Asia, he acknowledged that "unfortunately you have to make trade-offs." The ambassador cautioned that considerable time might be needed to change what he viewed as a widespread popular preference for strong authoritarian leaders. Kawato acknowledged that Tokyo struggled during the 1990s to respond to the new geopolitical realities in Central Asia. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, few Japanese diplomats knew Central Asian languages or had spent much time in the region. Although Japan proclaimed a "silk road diplomacy" toward the region, it had "no concrete content" and represented merely an "expression of our intention to be present in the ex-Soviet republics." Japan continues to lack diplomatic leverage in the region, Kawato said. Its permanent diplomatic presence in the region remains relatively small, and the government in Tokyo has signaled that it is not in position to allocate additional resources to boost it. Likewise, the country’s security presence is minimal. Development efforts, meanwhile, have been hampered by high overhead costs and complicated regulations. Even though Japan has provided several billion dollars in loans for infrastructure development in Central Asia, Tokyo is unable to keep pace with what Kawato described as the "Chinese onslaught" in the region. Central Asian leaders seem to prefer Chinese assistance because Beijing does not insist on strict lending criteria, Kawato maintained. An example of China’s determination to keep Japanese influence to a minimum could be seen during the recent Japanese trade talks in Tashkent. Shortly after meeting with Amari, the Japanese trade minister, Uzbek President Karimov received Ma Kai, head of China’s State Development and Reform Commission. Karimov later announced the signing of a Chinese-Uzbek pipeline deal. "I personally value very highly and treasure relations of friendship and trust" between China and Uzbekistan, Karimov said in comments broadcast on Uzbek state television. Given the general lack of transparency, high level of corruption, and underdeveloped legal codes in Central Asia, the Japanese government is finding it difficult to encourage private-sector investment in the region. Another speaker at the April 25 presentation, Evan Feigenbaum, the US deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, characterized Japan as one of the most important external actors in Central Asia. The repeated visits of senior Japanese government officials to the region underscored Tokyo’s real strategic and political interests in Central Asia, Feigenbaum said. Tokyo and Washington are cooperating on several important infrastructure projects designed to promote strong regional economic ties, Feigenbaum noted. Most visibly, the Japanese are constructing a bridge between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. FUENTE: http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav050407a.shtml

L'ALLEMAGNE N'ENVISAGE PAS UN RETRAIT D'AFGHANISTAN, OÙ TROIS DE SES SOLDATS ONT ÉTÉ TUÉS SAMEDI LEMONDE.FR avec AFP et Reuters, 20/05/2007, (http://www.lemonde.fr) Le président afghan Hamid Karzai "a exprimé sa profonde sympathie et (offert) ses condoléances aux familles des victimes et au gouvernement allemand", dimanche 20 mai, au lendemain d'un attentat suicide qui a tué trois soldats allemands de l'OTAN et six civils afghans à Kunduz, dans le nord de l'Afghanistan."Les ennemis de l'Afghanistan doivent comprendre qu'ils ne seront jamais capables d'empêcher les progrès réalisés dans ce pays avec leurs actes de lâcheté", a dit M. Karzai, selon un communiqué de la présidence. La chancelière allemande Angela Merkel avait également condamné samedi cet "attentat sournois", qui porte à 21 le nombre de soldats allemands tués en Afghanistan dans le cadre de la mission de la Force internationale d'assistance à la sécurité (ISAF) de l'OTAN, à laquelle la Bundeswehr participe depuis janvier 2002. "La communauté internationale est fermement tenue à aider le peuple d'Afghanistan à bâtir

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un avenir meilleur pour son pays", a-t-elle cependant réaffirmé dans un communiqué, bien qu'une bonne partie de son opinion publique soit hostile à cette participation allemande à l'ISAF. Les responsables politiques de la "grande coalition" au pouvoir à Berlin se sont prononcés dans le même sens que la chancelière. "Une prolongation du mandat (de la Bundeswehr) est justifiée", a estimé dans le journal Bild am Sonntag le vice-president du groupe parlementaire du parti social-démocrate (SPD), Walter Kolbow. "Même si ce cas est grave, nous ne devons pas le lier à notre politique générale", a-t-il ajouté. LA GAUCHE RADICALE SEULE À RÉCLAMER UN RETRAIT Pour Karl Theodor Guttenberg, le délégué de l'Union chrétienne-sociale (CSU) au sein de la commission parlementaire des affaires étrangères, "un retrait serait absurde et ne ferait qu'aggraver la menace terroriste (...) et augmenter les exigences (des terroristes) contre la communauté internationale et contre nous-mêmes", alors que deux ressortissants allemands sont actuellement détenus en otage en Irak par un groupe islamiste qui réclame le retrait des forces allemandes d'Afghanistan. Le ministre de la défense chrétien-démocrate (CDU), Franz Josef Jung, a rappelé que la mission militaire allemande dans la région de Kunduz, pourtant l'une des plus calmes du pays, n'était pas sans risque. "Malheureusement, il n'existe aucune protection à 100 % contre les attentats suicide, a-t-il dit au Bild am Sonntag. Nous devons gagner la confiance de la population. Et il est pour cela nécessaire de descendre des véhicules de patrouille", comme l'avaient fait les soldats tués samedi sur un marché. Du côté de l'opposition, seule la gauche radicale a réclamé le retrait du contingent allemand et le renforcement de l'aide finanière à l'Afghanistan. FUENTE: http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3216,36-912534@51-907647,0.html

LA OTAN NO PIENSA AMPLIAR SU PRESENCIA MILITAR EN EL ASIA CENTRAL RIA Novosti, 23/05/2007, (http://sp.rian.ru) La Alianza Noratlántica no tiene la intención de incrementar su presencia militar en el Asia Central, declaró el miércoles Robert Simmons, emisario de la OTAN para los países centroasiáticos. A la OTAN no le preocupan la coexistencia de su base militar con otra, rusa, en el territorio de Kirguizistán, ni la creación de las fuerzas de paz en el marco de la Organización del Tratado de Seguridad Colectiva (OTSC), afirmó Simmons al término de una reunión con Emomalí Rajmón, el presidente de Tayikistán. "Estamos a favor de cualquier forma de cooperación, especialmente, para incrementar la lucha contra el terrorismo", explicó él. Simmons subrayó también que la OTAN no planea reforzar su base aérea en Dushambé sino ampliar el tránsito de cargas y efectivos enviados a través de aquélla a Afganistán. La cooperación entre la OTAN y Tayikistán no impide a este último país colaborar con otros organismos o naciones, como Rusia, aseguró Simmons, al agregar que el presidente Rajmón comparte esta opinión. FUENTE: http://sp.rian.ru/onlinenews/20070523/65946968.html

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ECONOMÍA- Titulares Aiming to reduce russian role in Caspian, Azerbaijan builds economic ties with Asia http://www.eurasianet.org (03/05/2007)

AIMING TO REDUCE RUSSIAN ROLE IN CASPIAN, AZERBAIJAN BUILDS ECONOMIC TIES WITH ASIA Stephen Blank, 03/05/2007, (http://www.eurasianet.org) Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s late-April trip to South Korea underscores how Asian states are becoming an increasing factor in the Caspian Basin energy equation. Aliyev is intent on exploiting the growing oil & gas needs of China, South Korea, Japan and other nations to weaken Russia’s ability to use energy issues as a lever of geopolitical influence. Aliyev’s three-day visit to South Korea began April 23, marking a reciprocal gesture in recognition of South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun’s trip to Azerbaijan in 2006. On the first day of Aliyev’s stay in Seoul, the two leaders signed an economic cooperation pact covering energy development, construction and information technology. That agreement stands to build on an already solid foundation of bilateral cooperation. In 2006, the two governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding to search for oil and develop jointly Azerbaijan’s Inam field in the Caspian by September 2007. Energy cooperation is also extending to power generation. South Korea’s STX group is working to sign a MOU with Baku to build 10 wind generators that could potentially generate 20 megawatts of electricity, and the Korea Electric Power Corp. is poised to begin construction on a gas-fired thermal power plant. While it is obvious to analysts that South Korea is primarily seeking new energy sources and Azerbaijan new energy export markets, the significance of Aliyev’s foray to Asia is far greater than the completion of bilateral business deals. It is symbolic of the rapid expansion of East and South Asian economic influence in the Caspian Basin. This is a development that significantly increases the challenges that Russia faces as it seeks to defend its dominating energy position in the region. East Asian states’ intensified quest for access to Caspian energy points to their increased skepticism concerning the reliability of Russia as exporter and producer. South Korea, China and Japan, as well as the South Asian states of India and Pakistan, are unwilling to assume the role of supplicant to Moscow, thereby exposing themselves to bullying and blackmail on the part of the Kremlin, as has been the case with Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia. Over the past decade, East and South Asian states have all seen Russian promises broken, contracts disregarded, and projected deliveries and pipelines stalled for reasons of Russian foreign policy or bureaucratic politics. Consequently, these states see Caspian energy sources as a more reliable alternative to Russia. Even if the rapidly increasing energy demands require that they purchase Russian oil or gas, East and South Asian leaders are determined to avoid becoming energy dependent on Moscow. Asia’s thirst for new energy sources is coinciding with a desire by Aliyev to use Azerbaijan’s leverage and revenues generated by its oil and gas holdings to enhance its foreign-policy independence from Russia. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline at present serves as Azerbaijan’s primary mechanism for the enhancement of its autonomy. Aliyev is now pressing hard to build another pipeline that circumvents Russia -- trans-Caspian route that links his country to Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. In addition, Azerbaijan has committed to shipping natural gas to Georgia to make up for shortfalls created by Russia’s punitive price hike, and it is exploring export deals with the European Union, which has professed a desire to diversify its energy sources. Russian commentators have complained bitterly about Azerbaijan’s energy policies. Observers elsewhere, however, see the moves mainly as a response to the opportunities created by globalization. Whatever Baku’s motivations, recent developments -- in particular the rise of Asian states and major energy players - are likely to make it much harder for Russia to maintain its dominant position, and the ability that comes with it of imposing the Kremlin’s will on neighboring CIS states.

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Globalization appears to be helping Caspian Basin energy suppliers -- Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and now, potentially, Turkmenistan -- enhance their independence by creating multiple new export opportunities. In the months and years ahead, it will become more difficult for any one state to corner the region’s energy market. FUENTE: http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav050307.shtml

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SOCIEDAD- Titulares Uzbekistán: siguen sin registrarse avances en materia de Derechos Humanos www.amnesty.org/espanol (13/05/2007) L'insécurité grandit dans les provinces afghanes du Nord, jusque-là plutôt épargnées www.lemonde.fr (21/05/2007)

UZBEKISTÁN: SIGUEN SIN REGISTRARSE AVANCES EN MATERIA DE DERECHOS HUMANOS Amnistía Internacional, 13/05/07, (www.amnesty.org/espanol) En vísperas de la reunión de ministros de Asuntos Exteriores de la Unión Europea en la que se evaluará la actual política europea sobre Uzbekistán, Amnistía Internacional declara que el segundo aniversario de los homicidios perpetrados en la localidad uzbeca de Andiyán es un triste recordatorio de los graves problemas que sufre este país en materia de derechos humanos. El hecho de que el gobierno se siga negando a permitir una investigación independiente e internacional sobre los homicidios de centenares de personas desarmadas en mayo de 2005 hará que las relaciones de la UE con Uzbekistán sigan siendo tensas. Sin embargo, algunos sucesos recientes han dado lugar a nuevos motivos de preocupación. Sólo este año –al mismo tiempo que la Presidencia de la UE adoptaba medidas para establecer un diálogo sobre derechos humanos con Uzbekistán– dos personas integrantes del colectivo de defensores de los derechos humanos y una persona que ejerce el activismo político han sido condenadas a largas penas de cárcel. Estas tres personas estaban relacionadas de un modo u otro con los homicidios de Andiyán. Amnistía Internacional cree que han sido condenadas, al igual que otras personas, por cargos de motivación política y pide a la Presidencia de la UE que solicite la puesta en libertad inmediata e incondicional de las personas consideradas presos de conciencia. "La puesta en libertad de Umida Niazova no fue incondicional y la suspensión de la pena, concedida justo antes de que la UE comenzara el nuevo diálogo sobre derechos humanos, muestra numerosos aspectos preocupantes", señaló Dick Oosting, director de la Oficina ante la UE de Amnistía Internacional. "El establecimiento de este diálogo carecerá de credibilidad si, al mismo tiempo, se permite que las autoridades uzbecas sigan cometiendo graves violaciones con impunidad", agregó Oosting. En una carta dirigida a la Presidencia de la UE, la organización de derechos humanos señalaba también: • el deterioro de la libertad de expresión y reunión en Uzbekistán; • las persistentes denuncias de torturas u otros malos tratos generalizados a personas detenidas; • la devolución de personas a las que se considera relacionadas con los homicidios de Andiyán; • la negativa de las autoridades uzbecas a imponer una suspensión de las ejecuciones, a pesar del decreto presidencial en el que se declaraba abolida la pena de muerte a partir de 2008. "Ante unos problemas de derechos humanos tan graves y numerosos, la UE no puede enviar un mensaje equivocado a Uzbekistán ni, de hecho, a toda la región de Asia Central. Debe mantenerse firme, seguir comprometida con los llamamientos efectuados en el pasado –como el formulado en favor de una investigación adecuada de los sucesos de Andhizan– y dispuesta a formular nuevos llamamientos en defensa de las personas injustamente detenidas", indicó Dick Oosting.

FUENTE: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ESLEUR620052007

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L'INSÉCURITÉ GRANDIT DANS LES PROVINCES AFGHANES DU NORD, JUSQUE-LÀ PLUTÔT ÉPARGNÉES Françoise Chipaux, 21/05/07, (www.lemonde.fr) La violence redouble en Afghanistan, où, une semaine après l'annonce de la mort d'un de leurs chefs militaires, le mollah Dadullah, les talibans ont revendiqué deux attentats-suicides, qui ont fait, samedi 19 et dimanche 20 mai, 24 morts et plus de 50 blessés. Quatorze civils afghans ont été tués, dimanche à Gardez (sud-est), à deux heures de route de Kaboul, quand un homme a fait exploser sur un marché la charge d'explosifs qu'il portait sur lui peu après le passage d'un convoi militaire américain. Samedi, c'est à Kunduz (nord) qu'un homme s'était fait sauter près d'un groupe de soldats allemands qui s'étaient arrêtés pour faire des courses. Trois soldats allemands et sept civils afghans avaient été tués. Ces attentats font suite à trois autres, qui ont eu lieu jeudi dans la ville de Kandahar (sud), causant la mort de neuf personnes et blessant onze autres, dont le ministre de l'information, Abdou Al-Karim Khoram. Ces attentats, qui sont de moins en moins l'apanage des régions sud où les talibans sont les plus actifs, semblent confirmer la volonté affichée par des responsables de la milice islamiste de vouloir étendre la lutte à tout le pays. L'attentat de Kunduz, le plus grave depuis 2003 contre les soldats allemands, dont 3 000 sont déployés dans les provinces du Nord, fait suite à un autre, il y a un mois, qui avait tué de manière similaire neuf policiers afghans à l'entraînement. L'insécurité grandit dans les provinces du Nord, jusque-là plutôt épargnées. VICTIMES CIVILES La province de Paktia, dont Gardez est la capitale, est, elle aussi, en proie à une insécurité grandissante. L'influence des talibans, qui dans la région sont commandés par l'ex-commandant moudjahidin Jalaluddin Haqqani, ne cesse de s'affirmer. De son côté, l'OTAN multiplie aussi ses opérations et affiche publiquement des bilans impressionnants qu'il est impossible de vérifier. Dans un communiqué, l'OTAN a ainsi assuré avoir "chassé ou tué plus de 100 combattants ennemis", ces deux derniers jours, dans la zone de commandement oriental, qui comprend notamment les provinces de Paktia et Ghazni où, selon les forces de sécurité afghanes, "trente talibans ont été tués" samedi. Les forces de sécurité afghanes, qui participent en nombre plus grand aux opérations, annoncent également des bilans très lourds pour leur ennemi, mais invérifiables. Depuis le début de l'année, selon des calculs faits par les différents acteurs, plus de 1 600 personnes ont été tuées dans des circonstances liées au conflit en cours. Les civils payent un prix de plus en plus lourd, et le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) a affirmé, dimanche, que 2 000 personnes étaient sans abri à la suite des bombardements par les forces de la coalition dirigées par les Etats-Unis, qui avaient touché, fin avril, quatre villages du district de Shindand (ouest), tuant plus de cinquante civils.

FUENTE: http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3216,36-912746,0.html

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MEDIOS DE COMUNICACIÓN- Titulares Tajik Media Short of Journalists http://www.iwpr.net/ (21/05/2007) Uzbekistan: Journalist imprisoned http://www.amnesty.org/ (01/05/2007)

TAJIK MEDIA SHORT OF JOURNALISTS Saodat Asanova and Nafisa Pisarejeva, 21/05/2007, (http://www.iwpr.net/) Universities lack the modern teaching methods to turn out high-calibre graduates to work as journalists. Tajikistan has plenty of media outlets – at least 380 of them at the latest count – but almost all are short of staff. One major reason for this is that university journalism courses are under-funded and use oldfashioned teaching methods, and are failing to produce enough graduates with the skills to slot into the vacancies. Concerned at the staff shortages, the media community is looking at ways to improve the training now available, which they say is outdated and short of tutors, modern equipment and even textbooks. GAPS IN JOURNALISM TRAINING Participants in a roundtable meeting held in the capital Dushanbe at the beginning of April agreed that university courses do not meet modern requirements, that there are fewer and fewer professional journalists working in the media, and that there is little cooperation between media organisations and universities. The meeting brought together the heads of journalism faculties and departments, lecturers, and representatives of the education ministry and media organisations to identify problems and suggest solutions. Marat Mamadshoev, the editor of the Asia Plus newspaper, says the education system is in crisis. He told IWPR that one of the main problems with training is that it is centred on theory, not practice. The current state curriculum, which was approved by the education ministry five years ago and is used by all six Tajik universities that offer journalism, only three of the courses involve modern technology. With no television or radio stations, or newspapers, the universities have no facilities for students to practice their skills. “Education must be more focused on practice, so that universities educate fewer linguists than is now the case at present, and more journalists,” said Mamadshoev. Said, who graduated from Tajikistan State National University this year, said that on his course, some of the lessons came in the form of long, tedious lectures. The only classes he thought were good were mostly given by teachers who had actually worked in the media. “It would have been good if we’d been taught by more journalists with media experience, who know the fine points of the profession, the way to talk to sources and other nuances. When I started working in the media, it was the recommendations and advice these teachers gave me that helped me,” he said. He added that for some subjects, there were no textbooks either in Russian or Tajik. A graduate of the Russian-Tajik Slavic University also said she was not given adequate practical training to prepare her for working with news agencies. “We were told in purely theoretical terms how to write material – reports, articles and so on – but there was no emphasis on the fact that different types of media have their own specifics and their own requirements. For example, the Avesta and Asia Plus agencies use different writing styles for news reporting,” she said. Mamadshoev argues that in addition to modern, practical skills, students should receive a thorough grounding in more academic subjects such as law, logic and philosophy, to train young journalists to ask the questions that readers are interested in. “They should be competent at applying their knowledge. They

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should be able to combine and supplement the knowledge they receive, make decisions, solve problems, and think critically,” he said. Experts are also pushing for a selection procedure to be introduced for university enrolment, as they say there are too many students studying journalism for no good reason. Alisher, who graduated two years ago, said that in his year, there were very few students who really wanted to become journalists, and that some only enrolled to get a diploma. But those graduates who genuinely do want to work in media often find they lack the necessary skills and struggle to find work, and there are currently few recent journalism graduates working on Tajik newspapers. Alisher and Said both told IWPR that only a few of their classmates managed to find jobs.The State National University has around 700 students enrolled in the journalism faculty, and 150 graduate each year. But according to the dean of the faculty, Sangin Gulov, only a small percentage will go on to work as journalists. Gulov said the low salaries on offer at universities mean they have trouble recruiting professional journalists as lecturers, so journalists are often taught by people with little or no practical experience. While about 75 per cent of students at the six universities offering journalism courses pay fees ranging from 200 to 600 US dollars per academic year, the institutions still fail to offer their staff the equivalent of the average wage for a practicing journalist. “We have tried several times to bring in experienced journalists to teach, but they refused to work for the 54 somoni [15 dollars a month] that a lecturer receives,” Gulov said. Media experts are calling not just for courses to be brought up to date to respond to a changing market and developments in technology, but also for mechanisms to be introduced to improve the qualifications of journalism tutors. UNIVERSITIES MUST DRIVE CHANGE Rukhshona Olimova, media coordinator for the Soros Foundation in Tajikistan, argues that if standards of training are to be improved, the universities must drive change.“The universities themselves must urgently introduce innovative teaching methods of teaching and more practical lessons, as used in western universities,” she said. Alidod Rasulov, a specialist at the education ministry and deputy head of the department for universities at the Tajikistan education ministry, agrees with this view. He told IWPR that reforms in training methods are necessary to ensure new journalists have modern skills, but that it is up to universities and journalism faculties to push for these. “If they lobby for programmes and curricula to improve and modernise media education, we will be all for it - but we haven’t yet received anything,” he said. At the ministry’s department for universities, IWPR was told that reforms are required not just in media education, but in higher education as a whole. But Abdusattor Nuraliev, the head of the journalism faculty at the Russian-Tajik Slavonic University, argues that universities are not capable of dealing with this problem on their own. “There must be an analysis of the situation with journalism education and the modern media market, and universities, the media and journalist organisations must be part of that process. The problems must be identified and a special programme designed to improve education for journalists,” Nuraliev told IWPR. CALL FOR GREATER COLLABORATION At present, there is little cooperation between the media and education, with universities unaware of the needs of the media, and the latter in no hurry to work with the education sector. As part of their courses, journalism students complete work placements, but some are unhappy with the treatment they receive on these. At the same time, managers at some media outlets allege that students attempt to bribe them to pass their practical exercises. One student - Sabokhat - did her practical training at one local media outlet last year and found the staff unhelpful and even obstructive. “Not all the media outlets took interns readily, or gave students the necessary attention and help. If we ever came up with an initiative or an idea, they immediately put a stop to it,” she said. Sabokhat said the media must do more to help students, “I think that a lot depends on the media themselves. If they want good employees, then they should cooperate by helping students and giving them guidelines and direction.” Mamadshoev suggested that universities could select the most promising students from senior courses and put them forward to be trained by newspapers.

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But media outlets have been reluctant to become involved with training so far, preferring to hire staff with experience. “If the media really are interested, then they should solve these problems together with universities, so that they train the necessary specialists, but, unfortunately, the media wants staff that are already trained,” says Jovid Mukim, who is one of the few practicing journalists teaching at the State National University. Mukim said local media should become patrons of journalism faculties and departments, and establish links among universities, media outlets, media groups and international organisations. INTERNATIONAL HELP NEEDED Olimova said that while the media have the skills to train students, there is no financial incentive for them to do so. “Many of our professional journalists have the potential to work as trainers, but for financial reasons they don’t want to share their knowledge for free, ” she said. She suggested that cash-strapped teaching institutions could modernise their curriculum by enlisting the help of international organisations. “Universities should ensure that their teaching body has maximum participation in practical courses conducted by international organisations,” she said. To meet the demand for new skills, she says, the Soros Foundation launched a summer school in 2006 for journalism lecturers at Tajik universities. Taught by lecturers from the Russian city of St Petersburg, the course is designed to introduce modern teaching methods, and will take place again this summer. Many students are prevented from attending practical training courses outside the formal curriculum, as some teaching staff still forbid their students from attending them. An unofficial ban on students attending “international events” was imposed in the run-up to the 2006 presidential elections. Tajik officials, who suspected that international organisations were behind a popular revolt in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan in 2005, wanted to avoid a similar uprising in their country. A lecturer at the State National University told IWPR anonymously that some institutions continue to stop students participating in practical courses conducted by non-government groups, fearing that this will introduce them to subversive views. He says this is a short-sighted attitude, and argues that young people who were exposed to the horrors of Tajikistan’s 1992-97 civil war, are not interested in this creating an opposition. “The international community has the resources and the capacity to help students and universities to upgrade media training to international standards. Most of our Soviet-minded government officials, and those of our professors who hold totalitarian views, just narrow the opportunities available to students, who want to study and are not interested in fighting,” he said. Nurali Davlatov, who teaches at the Slavonic University, also believes it is important for students and lecturers to participate in practical courses offered by international media development organisations, as a way of learning modern techniques and fostering cooperation with the outside world. “I don’t think international organisation are going to go beyond their mandate and teach students how to create a opposition here. It’s ridiculous to assert that these practical courses will have a negative impact on the students,” he said. Mahmadjon Dodoboev, who teaches journalism at the Khujand State University in the north of Tajikistan, thinks international organisations could supply many of the resources and technology that are currently lacking. “Such equipment is very expensive, and assistance from international organisations in the shape of grants, technical assistance, textbooks and the exchange of experience among teachers would be invaluable.” Munira, a student at the State National University, said students are keen to participate in practical training sessions run by international organisations, but have been prevented from doing so. “Since last year, we haven’t been allowed to attend, even when we showed official invitations. No reason was given for this,” she said. Munira said she and her classmates were looking forward to the summer, when they will be free to attend training events out of term time. “These courses have given us much more practise than we ever get at university. Many organisations run training programmes over the summer, and most of us are looking forward to participating as we’ll be on holiday.” FUENTE: http://www.iwpr.net/?p=rca&s=f&o=335732&apc_state=henprca

UZBEKISTAN: JOURNALIST IMPRISONED Boletín mensual: MAYO 2007 13 http://www.observatorio-eurasia.blogspot.com/ [email protected]

Press release, 01/05/2007, (www.amnesty.org) Amnesty International today called for the immediate and unconditional release of Uzbekistani journalist and human rights activist Umida Niazova. The organization was reacting to news today that Umida Niazova was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment after an unfair trial. "Amnesty International considers Umida Niazova to be a prisoner of conscience, sentenced solely for carrying out her human rights activities," said Halya Gowan, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia Programme. "The authorities of Uzbekistan are obliged to guarantee the right of human rights defenders to carry out their activities without any restrictions or fear of reprisals." Amnesty International is concerned that her trial was not carried out in accordance with fair trial standards. The judge apparently did not give witnesses for the prosecution and defence adequate time to respond to questions and reportedly prompted them from their initial signed statements to the police. He also reportedly interrupted Umida Niazova repeatedly while she questioned witnesses. The access to the trial was restricted. The 32-year old Umida Niazova was detained on 22 January in Andizhan, in the south-east of the country, near the border with Kyrgyzstan, where she spent the first four days of her detention unable to communicate with the outside world. On 26 January she was moved to the capital Tashkent. She was charged with illegally crossing the Uzbekistani border under Article 223 of the Uzbekistani Criminal Code and with smuggling literature of a subversive and "extremist" nature into the country under Article 246. The main charge against Umida Niazova -- smuggling -- relates to an earlier incident on 21 December 2006 when she was detained for nine hours by transport police as she cleared customs at Tashkent airport. She had just returned from a human rights seminar in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Although she was released after questioning, police confiscated her laptop computer, flashcard and passport. Among the materials contained on the laptop was reportedly the published report on the Andizhan mass killings in May 2005 by the international non-governmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Watch (HRW). Umida Niazova has been working for HRW’s office in Tashkent as a translator. She had previously worked for the international freedom of expression NGOs, Internews and Freedom House. "By imprisoning Umida Niazova, the authorities of Uzbekistan are trying to intimidate her and other human rights activists. This is also another step in stifling freedom of expression and civil society," Halya Gowan said. Umida Niazova can appeal her sentence in the next 10 days. FUENTE: http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGEUR620032007

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