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CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA: ARMENIA HAS MOST FAVORABLE MEDIA ENVIRONMENT IN 2011
EurasiaNet.org
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/64020
Aug 9, 2011
NY
It's no secret that the Caucasus and Central Asia are inhospitable
places for free speech and independent journalism. But a recent
survey by IREX, an international organization that promotes civil
society, found even countries that experienced so-called "color"
revolutions have been unable to produce lasting, positive changes in
their respective media environments.
In examining regional trends, experts said during a recent roundtable
discussion that freedom of speech, mass media independence and
related issues tended to improve immediately in Georgia after the
2003 Rose Revolution, as well as in Kyrgyzstan following the 2005
Tulip Revolution. But the gains proved fleeting, as the Georgian and
Kyrgyz media environments over time have reverted to close to the
point where they were before those revolutions, panelists said.
The roundtable coincided with the release of IREX's 10th annual
Media Sustainability Index (MSI) for Europe and Eurasia. The
survey represents an effort by the NGO "to measure the strength and
viability of any country's media sector." Although known mainly for
promoting educational exchanges, IREX is involved in a wide variety
of civil-society related activities, including media development.
The 2011 findings confirmed that Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are
among the most repressive states on earth. On a scale of 0 to 4,
with 4 representing a free media environment, the IREX survey gave
Turkmenistan a 0.35 and Uzbekistan a 0.56 rating. IREX deemed Armenia,
with a 2.09 rating, to have the most favorable media climate in the
Caucasus and Central Asia in 2011.
Given political developments in both countries, roundtable panelists
portrayed Georgia and Kyrgyzstan as disappointing performers in
terms of media freedom. Over the past decade, Georgia's MSI rating
has remained basically flat, going from 1.82 in 2001 to 1.85 in 2011.
Kyrgyzstan's has risen slightly over the same period, going from
1.29 to 1.66. Both of those rankings qualified the countries' media
environments as "unsustainable mixed systems," according to IREX.
Serbia and Ukraine, which also experienced "color revolutions,"
also saw only modest gains.
Some countries which did not have color revolutions have outpaced, or
at least kept up with their "color revolution" neighbors, according
to the IREX survey. Over the last decade, for example, Tajikistan's
media environment has improved more than Kyrgyzstan's, and Kazakhstan's
has improved nearly as much, according to survey. Armenia's ranking
has likewise improved more over that timeframe than Georgia's.
"There can be a spike" immediately after the revolutions, said Leon
Morse, managing editor of the MSI. "So far none of these [revolutions]
have had lasting impacts." Frequently, post-transition countries have
strong legal protection for the media in theory, but in practice the
laws are ignored, he added.
A positive media environment depends heavily on a strong, independent
judiciary, civil servants who are dedicated to implementing laws
related to access to information, and "simply having leaders who are
committed to following these laws," Morse said.
Georgia and Kyrgyzstan do not meet those criteria, participants in
the roundtable said.
"The Georgian constitution and the legal environment in Georgia offer
quite strong protection for freedom of press and freedom of speech,"
said Anastasia Mirzoyants, a project manager at InterMedia. "However,
the problem with the media environment is that the rules and
regulations are quite frequently violated by the government, and the
government uses legal, extralegal and financial means to make sure
it is able to control the content ... of the news."
Josh Machleder, vice president for Europe and Eurasia programs
at Internews, said Kyrgyzstan's media environment had given back
almost all of the gains made since the downfall of Askar Akayev's
regime in Bishkek. "Now, we're back where we were in 2005," he told
the roundtable.
While there have been some positive steps, such as the recent
decriminalization of libel, the rise of hate speech since last
summer's violence in southern Kyrgyzstan last year has led to
questions about how to reconcile that with freedom of expression,
he said. "Media development happens in waves," he said. "There are
advances and retreats."
The roundtable discussion, titled "Lessons from Other Transitions:
Challenges for Independent Media in Europe and Eurasia," was hosted
by the National Endowment for Democracy.
Editor's note: Joshua Kucera is a Washington, DC,-based freelance
writer who specializes in security issues in Central Asia, the Caucasus
and the Middle East. He is the editor of EurasiaNet's Bug Pit blog.
From: Baghdasarian
EurasiaNet.org
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/64020
Aug 9, 2011
NY
It's no secret that the Caucasus and Central Asia are inhospitable
places for free speech and independent journalism. But a recent
survey by IREX, an international organization that promotes civil
society, found even countries that experienced so-called "color"
revolutions have been unable to produce lasting, positive changes in
their respective media environments.
In examining regional trends, experts said during a recent roundtable
discussion that freedom of speech, mass media independence and
related issues tended to improve immediately in Georgia after the
2003 Rose Revolution, as well as in Kyrgyzstan following the 2005
Tulip Revolution. But the gains proved fleeting, as the Georgian and
Kyrgyz media environments over time have reverted to close to the
point where they were before those revolutions, panelists said.
The roundtable coincided with the release of IREX's 10th annual
Media Sustainability Index (MSI) for Europe and Eurasia. The
survey represents an effort by the NGO "to measure the strength and
viability of any country's media sector." Although known mainly for
promoting educational exchanges, IREX is involved in a wide variety
of civil-society related activities, including media development.
The 2011 findings confirmed that Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are
among the most repressive states on earth. On a scale of 0 to 4,
with 4 representing a free media environment, the IREX survey gave
Turkmenistan a 0.35 and Uzbekistan a 0.56 rating. IREX deemed Armenia,
with a 2.09 rating, to have the most favorable media climate in the
Caucasus and Central Asia in 2011.
Given political developments in both countries, roundtable panelists
portrayed Georgia and Kyrgyzstan as disappointing performers in
terms of media freedom. Over the past decade, Georgia's MSI rating
has remained basically flat, going from 1.82 in 2001 to 1.85 in 2011.
Kyrgyzstan's has risen slightly over the same period, going from
1.29 to 1.66. Both of those rankings qualified the countries' media
environments as "unsustainable mixed systems," according to IREX.
Serbia and Ukraine, which also experienced "color revolutions,"
also saw only modest gains.
Some countries which did not have color revolutions have outpaced, or
at least kept up with their "color revolution" neighbors, according
to the IREX survey. Over the last decade, for example, Tajikistan's
media environment has improved more than Kyrgyzstan's, and Kazakhstan's
has improved nearly as much, according to survey. Armenia's ranking
has likewise improved more over that timeframe than Georgia's.
"There can be a spike" immediately after the revolutions, said Leon
Morse, managing editor of the MSI. "So far none of these [revolutions]
have had lasting impacts." Frequently, post-transition countries have
strong legal protection for the media in theory, but in practice the
laws are ignored, he added.
A positive media environment depends heavily on a strong, independent
judiciary, civil servants who are dedicated to implementing laws
related to access to information, and "simply having leaders who are
committed to following these laws," Morse said.
Georgia and Kyrgyzstan do not meet those criteria, participants in
the roundtable said.
"The Georgian constitution and the legal environment in Georgia offer
quite strong protection for freedom of press and freedom of speech,"
said Anastasia Mirzoyants, a project manager at InterMedia. "However,
the problem with the media environment is that the rules and
regulations are quite frequently violated by the government, and the
government uses legal, extralegal and financial means to make sure
it is able to control the content ... of the news."
Josh Machleder, vice president for Europe and Eurasia programs
at Internews, said Kyrgyzstan's media environment had given back
almost all of the gains made since the downfall of Askar Akayev's
regime in Bishkek. "Now, we're back where we were in 2005," he told
the roundtable.
While there have been some positive steps, such as the recent
decriminalization of libel, the rise of hate speech since last
summer's violence in southern Kyrgyzstan last year has led to
questions about how to reconcile that with freedom of expression,
he said. "Media development happens in waves," he said. "There are
advances and retreats."
The roundtable discussion, titled "Lessons from Other Transitions:
Challenges for Independent Media in Europe and Eurasia," was hosted
by the National Endowment for Democracy.
Editor's note: Joshua Kucera is a Washington, DC,-based freelance
writer who specializes in security issues in Central Asia, the Caucasus
and the Middle East. He is the editor of EurasiaNet's Bug Pit blog.
From: Baghdasarian