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JAMMING IN AZERBAIJAN: FOREIGN NEWS OUTLETS UNABLE TO BROADCAST
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/725589/jamming-in-azerbaijan-foreign-news-outlets-unable-to-broadcast.html
15:43, 10 July, 2013
YEREVAN, JULY 10, ARMENPRESS: As Azerbaijan's October presidential
election approaches, the authorities seem more determined than ever
to restrict citizens' access to information through controlling the
country's media, taking steps to limit Internet freedom, and making
harsh examples of journalists who express critical opinions in order
to keep the broader media community in line. As reports Armenpress
referring to Al Jazeera now, it appears that Azerbaijanis are also
facing restrictions in accessing broadcast programmes from outside of
the country. Several foreign outlets have noted deliberate broadcast
interferences, known as jamming, and is a practice that violatesboth
international telecommunications regulations and human rights law.
The state has long dominated the broadcast media in Azerbaijan. Of
the country's nine national television stations, three are directly
owned by the state, and the six private stations are heavily influenced
through the state's control over advertising revenues.
The Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety has highlighted
discrepancies with the allocation of broadcasting licenses, calling
the procedure "highly political, biased, and non-transparent",
preventing potentially critical media outlets from broadcasting within
the country.
Since January 2009, foreign broadcasters have been banned from
accessing national frequencies in Azerbaijan, a move that took the
Azerbaijani services of the BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
(RFE/RL), and Voice of America off the air, effectively eliminating
the only international sources of broadcast news in the country.
As a result, many Azerbaijanis are exposed only to the state's version
of events, which prioritises coverage of President Ilham Aliyev and
First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva's activities, idolizes the late former
President - and father of the current President - Heydar Aliyev, and
heavily skews or completely omits reporting on significant events
with political implications, such as anti-government protests or
trials of political prisoners.
In the absence of independent broadcasting within the country,
satellite broadcasts from outside the country have become increasingly
important, providing citizens with valuable access to independent
information and a rare glimpse of political views that differ from
those of the ruling party.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/725589/jamming-in-azerbaijan-foreign-news-outlets-unable-to-broadcast.html
15:43, 10 July, 2013
YEREVAN, JULY 10, ARMENPRESS: As Azerbaijan's October presidential
election approaches, the authorities seem more determined than ever
to restrict citizens' access to information through controlling the
country's media, taking steps to limit Internet freedom, and making
harsh examples of journalists who express critical opinions in order
to keep the broader media community in line. As reports Armenpress
referring to Al Jazeera now, it appears that Azerbaijanis are also
facing restrictions in accessing broadcast programmes from outside of
the country. Several foreign outlets have noted deliberate broadcast
interferences, known as jamming, and is a practice that violatesboth
international telecommunications regulations and human rights law.
The state has long dominated the broadcast media in Azerbaijan. Of
the country's nine national television stations, three are directly
owned by the state, and the six private stations are heavily influenced
through the state's control over advertising revenues.
The Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety has highlighted
discrepancies with the allocation of broadcasting licenses, calling
the procedure "highly political, biased, and non-transparent",
preventing potentially critical media outlets from broadcasting within
the country.
Since January 2009, foreign broadcasters have been banned from
accessing national frequencies in Azerbaijan, a move that took the
Azerbaijani services of the BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
(RFE/RL), and Voice of America off the air, effectively eliminating
the only international sources of broadcast news in the country.
As a result, many Azerbaijanis are exposed only to the state's version
of events, which prioritises coverage of President Ilham Aliyev and
First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva's activities, idolizes the late former
President - and father of the current President - Heydar Aliyev, and
heavily skews or completely omits reporting on significant events
with political implications, such as anti-government protests or
trials of political prisoners.
In the absence of independent broadcasting within the country,
satellite broadcasts from outside the country have become increasingly
important, providing citizens with valuable access to independent
information and a rare glimpse of political views that differ from
those of the ruling party.