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Friday 15 July 2022

Manas Qaiyrtaiuly, a reporter for RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, attempts to speak to a police officer in Almaty in June 2019.
Manas Qaiyrtaiuly, a reporter for RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, attempts to speak to a police officer in Almaty in June 2019.

For decades, Central Asian governments have kept a tight grip over information. State media dominate and serve as government mouthpieces rather than the public. The few independent outlets face growing financial pressures and efforts to stifle their reporting through a variety of means -- assaults, threats, arrests, and prosecution. Self-censorship is pervasive among journalists and bloggers.

Even in Kyrgyzstan, which boasts a vibrant and pluralistic media environment compared to its neighbors, press freedom has been on the decline. Independent journalists have been detained or harassed by trolls on social media. The ongoing trial of investigative journalist Bolot Temirov on drug charges bears the signs of political persecution, according to his colleagues.

As social media increasingly becomes the main source of news for citizens -- especially young people -- the governments seek to gain more control over those outlets, too. Internet shutdowns and website blocking are widespread, particularly during anti-government protests.

Last year, Uzbekistan made “online insult and slander” of the president a crime. And Kazakhstan recently passed a law obliging foreign social media networks and messaging apps to register locally, or potentially be shut down.

In a live discussion on July 14, I spoke with Asem Zhapisheva, founder of Masa Media, an independent news website in Kazakhstan that covers human rights, and Nikita Makarenko, a freelance journalist from Uzbekistan, to talk about the tough decisions they have to make in difficult work conditions, the line between journalism and activism, and the future of journalism in their countries.

Key takeaways:

Nikita Makarenko (Uzbekistan): “Self-censorship is a question of survival because there is no one actually to protect us. I can't judge anyone, any colleague, who has to stay before the red line and not cross it. And yes, it was very tough for everyone to decide whether to post about the Karakalpakstan [protests] or not, because we've seen those who tried to post -- for example, Gazeta.uz. Their stories were deleted and they were under pressure. Some of us have been directly told not to post about Karakalpakstan.

"Personally, I kept silent for two days, and I was feeling so bad because I love that region. I love its people. After two days, I started to post and felt a huge relief when I started to talk with people about them. I crossed some red lines. It's true. But no consequences so far. This is good.”

Asem Zhapisheva (Kazakhstan): “I'm not a journalist or a political activist. In the first place, I'm a citizen, and I'm a person who has rights and who wants for some changes to happen. So, as a citizen, I have my right to voice these concerns, and no one can take them from me.... If we look at history, all people who wanted changes were from very different backgrounds. There were doctors, there were workers, mine workers, teachers, students. So I see it as one of my responsibilities as a Kazakhstani citizen to make it better.

"And as it happens, I'm a journalist. And whenever I am at rallies, I never use my license. I never say that I'm a journalist. Whenever I'm detained, I never say that I'm a journalist. I always say that I'm just working. It doesn't matter where I work, or I don't use it as an excuse to avoid any kind of consequences because it would be unethical.”

Listen to the full conversation here:

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More on the subject from RFE/RL:

Majlis Podcast: Central Asia's Authorities Get Wise To New Media

Karakalpakstan In 'Information Vacuum' As Situation Stabilizes Following Deadly Unrest

'I Can't Handle Lies Anymore!' Kazakh Journalist Quits State TV, Citing Government Control

Uzbek Blogger Critical Of Government Gets Lengthy Prison Term

Inside Kyrgyzstan's Campaign To Silence Journalist Bolot Temirov

Kazakh Online Magazine Says Authorities Exerting Pressure Over Report On Rape Victim

Tajik Court Orders Two-Month Custody For Two Detained Bloggers

Media Watchdog Says Jailed Turkmen Journalist Subjected To Retaliation Over Coverage Of His Case, Calls For His Release

Follow @RFERL on Twitter so as not to miss our regular conversations on life and social change in Central Asia every Thursday at 3 p.m. in Prague/ 9 a.m. in Washington (7 p.m. local time in Bishkek/Almaty/Astana, and 6 p.m local time in Tashkent/Dushanbe/Ashgabat).

A Kazakh villager carries a bucket of water from a well in a desert that once formed the bed of the Aral Sea. (file photo)
A Kazakh villager carries a bucket of water from a well in a desert that once formed the bed of the Aral Sea. (file photo)

Water is arguably the most important resource in Central Asia. It is vital for agriculture, which feeds and provides livelihoods for the region’s predominantly rural population, as well as for hydropower stations that generate electricity for domestic consumption and export.

But this resource is at risk.

According to the 2019 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, temperatures in Central Asia are rising faster than the global average. Scientists predict that the region will become dryer, and more parts of it will turn into deserts. Glaciers are melting at unprecedented speed. The World Bank report published last September estimated that Central Asia could see as many as 5 million internal climate migrants by 2050.

Over the past five years, Central Asian countries have already seen some of the worst droughts, which has led to shortages of water for irrigation and hydropower. This, in turn, has pushed prices for food up and caused electricity shortages. And in 2021, the deadliest border conflict between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in years started as a water dispute between local residents, although other factors played a role too.

In a live discussion on June 30, I spoke with Shahzoda Alikhanova, a natural resources management specialist from Uzbekistan who is currently a doctoral researcher at the Durrell Institute of Conservation Ecology at the University of Kent, and Sher Khashimov, a journalist from Tajikistan, about the impact of these environmental shifts on local communities, adaptation for a hotter and dryer future, and a lack of local scientific research and policy on grappling with climate change.

Some key takeaways:

Shahzoda Alikhanova (Uzbekistan): “I would say that the biggest threat not only to Uzbekistan but across Central Asia is water shortages. Uzbekistan is a downstream country, and we are highly dependent on water resources and we don’t generate our water. But water is crucial for agricultural production. I would say that farmers will be the most vulnerable, and they would be those who suffer the most because of the increasing droughts. There are different reports saying that crop yields across Central Asia are expected to decrease by 30-40 percent by mid-century. As precipitation patterns change, landslides and mudslides mostly occur in mountainous areas while droughts affect lowlands.”

Sher Khashimov (Tajikistan): “For the most part, I don’t think people in Tajikistan understand how climate change is going to impact electricity production. Part of it has to do not only with the lack of knowledge but also with a lack of transparency on the part of the government. Usually, when the country’s energy systems face water shortages, and they are forced to shut down electricity access to certain communities in Tajikistan, the government just tells people that these are system maintenance days and they should gain access to electricity back in a few hours, maybe, a few days. But the government never acknowledges the larger systemic issues behind electricity shortages, which prevents people from understanding how it’s all connected to melting glaciers and climate change.”

Listen to the full conversation here:

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0:00 0:33:41 0:00

Read more on the subject from RFE/RL:

'Left With Just The Clothes We Were Wearing': Devastating Flood Made Kyrgyz Man An Environmental Migrant

The Curious Case Of Central Asia's Severe Electricity Shortages

Power Failure: Central Asia Relies On Coal To Get Through The Winter

Let It Rain: Anger, Frustration Increase As Central Asia's Drought Continues

Follow @RFERL on Twitter so as not to miss our regular conversations on life and social change in Central Asia every Thursday at 3 p.m. in Prague/9 a.m. in Washington (7 p.m. local time in Bishkek/Almaty/Astana, and 6 p.m local time in Tashkent/Dushanbe/Ashgabat).

We will return with a new episode on July 14.

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