The Coalition for Equality, which brings together 36 civil society organizations and activists in Kyrgyzstan, has addressed the president of Kyrgyzstan and the government with an appeal to provide information about the difficult international situation.
Justice for Journalists Foundation
(JFJ)andthe undersigned organisations, stand in solidarity with the
people of Ukraine, but particularly Ukrainian journalists who now find
themselves at the frontlines of a large-scale European war.
We unilaterally condemn the violence and aggression that puts thousands of our colleagues all over Ukraine in grave danger.
We call on the international community to provide any possible assistance to those who are taking on the brave role of reporting from the war zone that is now Ukraine.
We condemn the physical violence, the cyberattacks, disinformation and all other weapons employed by the aggressor against the free and democratic Ukrainian press.
We also stand in solidarity with independent Russian media who continue to report the truth in unprecedented conditions.
Join the statement of support for Ukraine by signing it here.
#Журналісти_Важливі
Signed:
1. Justice for Journalists Foundation
2. Index on Censorship
3. International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech "Adil Soz”
4. International Media Support (IMS)
5. Yerevan Press Club
6. Turkmen.news
7. Free Press Unlimited
8. Human Rights Center "Viasna”
9. Albanian Helsinki Committee
10. Media Rights Group, Azerbaijan
11. European Centre for Press and Media Freedom
12. Association of European Journalists
13. School of Peacemaking and Media Technology in Central Asia
14. Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan
15. Reporters Without Borders, RSF
16. Association of Independent Press of Moldova, API
17. Public Association "Dignity”, Kazakhstan
18. PEN International
19. Human Rights House Foundation, Norway
20. IFEX
21. UNITED for Intercultural Action
22. Human Rights House Yerevan
23. Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor, Armenia ??
24. Rafto Foundation for Human Rights, Norway
25. Society of Journalists, Warsaw
26. The Swedish OSCE-network
27. Hungarian Helsinki Committee
28. Legal policy research centre, Kazakhstan
29. Public Foundation Notabene – Tajikistan
30. HR NGO "Citizens’ Watch – St. Petersburg, Russia
31. English PEN
32. Public organization "Dawn” – Tajikistan
33. International Press Institute (IPI)
34. The Union of Journalists of Kazakhstan
35. ARTICLE 19
36. Human Rights House Tbilisi
37. Rights Georgia
38. Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center. Azerbaijan
39. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
40. Bulgarian Helsinki Committee
41. Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD)
42. European Federation of Journalists
43. Social Media Development Center, Georgia
44. Populus Rei, Georgia
45. OBC Transeuropa
46. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
47. Journalists Union YENI NESIL, Azerbaijan
48. Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) , Istanbul
49. Baku Press Club
50. Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development Premium Times
51. Union Sapari
52. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ)
53. Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression, Armenia
54. FEDERATIA SINDICATELOR DIN SOCIETATEA ROMANA DE RADIODIFUZIUNE, Bucharest, ROMANIA
55. CD FILMS (FRANCE)
56. CFDT-Journalistes
57. Belarusian Association of Journalists
58. SafeJournalists network
59. Association of Journalists of Kosovo
60. Association of Journalists of Macedonia
61. BH Journalists Association
62. Croatian Journalists’ Association
63. Independent Journalists Association of Serbia
64. Trade Union of Media of Montenegro
65. Analytical Center for Central Asia (ACCA)
66. Trade Union of Croatian Journalists
67. European Press Prize
68. Ethical Journalism Network
69. European Journalism Centre
70. Slovene Association of Journalists
71. Investigative Studios
72. PEN Belarus
73. Public Media Alliance (PMA)
Activists
working in NGOs on the issues of diversity, minorities and social groups from
various regions of Kyrgyzstan trained effective communications with media at the workshop held in Bishkek on November 23, 2017.
The training program comprised interactive sessions and practical group exercises. Participants learned about the purposes of communications and newsbreaks, learned how to make standard events interesting for media, understood to find topics that may be of interest for the audience when covering the activities of NGOs in the context of minorities issues.
A special session was dedicated to the freedom of expression, hate speech and stereotypes, and also the skills of compiling glossaries on overcoming hate speech to work with sensitive content. During intensive group games, participants practiced the skills of communicating with journalists, and learned to hold press conferences given the model situation.
Natalya Lyubeznova, a trainer of the workshop, says that effective communications between media and communities will help activists promote significant ideas and projects important for the people.
"Acquiring the interaction skills is needed to establish contacts and relations, to understand the choice of ways of community target achievement, including through the formation of a favorable attitude, which will neutralize the public negative attitude, which was shaped due to various legal initiatives focused on the reduction of civil sector activities,” Lyubeznova emphasized.
By mid-August, Taliban militants seized much of Afghanistan; on August 15, they took control of Kabul without a fight. President Ashraf Ghani fled the country; the Taliban try to establish their rule and intend to transform Afghanistan into Islamic Emirate. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is rethinking what happened: countries are deciding how to build foreign policy relations with new Afghanistan, as well as what to do with the refugees, who, presumably, will flee the country.
Inga Siukorskaia,Director of the School of Peacemaking and Media Technology in Central Asia Inga Sikorskaya spoke with CABAR.asia Media School about how Central Asian media should cover the situation in order not to increase xenophobia in society towards refugees, and much more.
– How should the journalists report on refugees?
– According to the standards of covering diversity issues, which include such social groups as "refugees” (people who already have this status), "asylum-seekers” and "forced migrants” (those forced to move to a certain country out of fear for their lives and seeking refugee status), the journalist must first analyse how media covered this issue before and identify the gaps.
Often, the media report on such people only in crime news, or in a humiliating context, thereby instilling fear among the audience. A reporter should follow a peacemaking approach: spend a few days in a refugee camp with these people, describe what you saw, how they live, whether they have access to water, their children – to education, healthcare. Let them tell the story in their words. Find people among them who were able to reintegrate into society, and tell about them. Do not forget about ethical terminology and visual content.
During my recent trip to Afghanistan, I spoke a lot with colleagues and ordinary people and I think that in fact, no one intends to flee to Kyrgyzstan, for example. First, you will be surprised, but the Afghan people are the patriots of their country. They can bear the poverty, but the main thing for them – to stay at their homes. Second, those who want to leave Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover do not intend to go to the Central Asian countries at all; they want to go to the United States, to Europe.
– Nevertheless, our authorities have already announced they are going to accept Afghans fleeing the Taliban regime.
– Yes, they announced the intention to accept 1.2 thousand people, but it is not a sure thing that it will be Afghans. It is quite possible that they meant ethnic Kyrgyz people from Badakhshan, who were previously not allowed across the Tajik border. In addition, we must understand that Afghans have already learned the difficult lesson in Kyrgyzstan: some people, who applied for asylum, lived here for 25 years, and left or died, without receiving refugee status.
– In addition, people are afraid not so much of those fleeing the Taliban, as of the Taliban themselves, who will now go to the Central Asian countries, as some experts claim.
– The Taliban have nothing to do here either. What happened in Afghanistan is the internal political processes and the geopolitical struggle for influence in the region, which various experts and politicians used in their mainstream forecasts to spread panic.
– It turns out that journalists help such politicians.
– To some extent. Even today, sensationalised media are contributing to the creation of a negative stereotype not only about refugees, who, by the way, did not appear yet, but also about any foreigners arriving in the country. They maintain and develop a prejudice against people dressed differently, or speaking different languages.
– How does this happen?
– Our society, unfortunately, has many negative stereotypes about Afghanistan. What are the media doing against the background of general hysteria and panic? They post tweets of unknown people without even checking the facts. Authoritative media quote users who post something like, "I went out for a cappuccino, and there were millions of Pakistanis around”.
– What is wrong with this tweet?
– The problem is not the tweet, but the fact that the media reposted it. The phrase "millions of Pakistanis” is exaggerating data. By publishing it, the media commits a gross journalistic error, relaying an outrageous stereotypical perception. It can be reposted, but, according to the journalistic standards and a peacemaking approach, it is necessary to place the facts in the appropriate context. This will remove the problem and enable the audience to understand what is happening in reality. Given the complex political environment, the context should be broad, neutral, not inciting hatred or fear.
Moreover, this is not the only example. You probably noticed the materials about Bishkek residents complaining about the alleged influx of foreigners to the capital of Kyrgyzstan. These messages are also based on user-generated content. Moreover, the media not only cite online users but also use their photos. The photos of people in unusual for Kyrgyz people clothes, possibly Pakistani or Indian students, are being reposted. These clothes are called Pashtun, although it is wrong. Therefore, by creating such messages, the journalists trigger certain groups of people and this, as a result, can lead to hate crimes.
– Would it be right to create a material explaining how Pashtun clothes differ from other national clothes?
– What for? People should not be judged by what they wear. This is unacceptable for the media. Focusing on differences in a particular socio-political context leads to intolerance and hostility. Social media users do this because they are incompetent and lack a degree of journalistic responsibility. But why do the journalists allow this? This is an intolerant approach. A person can wear any clothes, if, of course, we are not talking about some kind of dress codes in official institutions; he/she can speak the most comfortable language. In case the media want to show that there really are some rumors about an alleged influx of refugees, they should conduct an investigation using the tools of Peace Journalism: to talk to these people, understand who they are, and provide the audience with a big picture.
– The media tried to clarify the situation: they published the answers of the border service on how many foreigners had arrived in Kyrgyzstan.
– What was the point of finding this out? The foreigners are always a targeted group in such countries as Kyrgyzstan, where there is a problem with tolerance. In this situation, all of a sudden, the media asked the border guards for information about the number of foreigners who arrived in the country (from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.). Why, in the current disturbing socio-political context, cover this topic in one-sided news? They should provide balanced news, and should not create fear. In addition, is Kyrgyzstan not positioning itself as a tourist destination? We should welcome any foreigners if so.
– What approach should be followed when covering refugees-related issues?
– Now, the main thing is to accurately verify the information and try to balance it. In peacemaking journalism, reporting should focus on peace rather than conflict. In Peace Journalism, there is a rule of "Three Don’ts”:
This approach enables editors and reporters to make choices, that is, decide what facts and in what context to communicate to the audience for the consideration of non-violent responses to the conflict. The conflict here means not only a military conflict but also any situation that can become a source of potential conflicts in society.
– What should journalists remember when covering refugees-related issues?
– Before creating a negative image of people who may possibly arrive from the conflict zone, which I deeply doubt, we need to understand that each of us could find him/herself in their place. Now, I updated all my training materials for journalists and included there the practice of own feelings and understanding that the world is dynamic and unstable. No one can know what will happen tomorrow. The population of any country can be involved in a military conflict. That is, any of us can become a refugee and forced migrant in another country. Because of the appearance, language, cultural differences (which do not comply with some stereotypes in society), with the "support” of unethical, incompetent journalists, any person can be attributed to a target group hated by others.
Title photo: AFP / Scanpix / LETA
This publication was produced as part of the mentorship programme under the Development of New Media and Digital Journalism in Central Asia project delivered by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) with support from the UK Government. It does not necessarily reflect the official views of IWPR or the UK Government
The School of
Peacemaking and Media Technology in Central Asia announces an annual
competition among students from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan and any countries,
studying journalism and mass communication, law, cultural studies, and
anthropology, to participate in research and media monitoring projects.
Over the past five years, more than 50 students have completed research internships.
This internship is scheduled for the period from December 15 to January 20, 2022.
In some cases, a student can start an internship earlier.
Due to the epidemiological situation, it is likely that an internship will be carried out in a distance format.
The selected interns will be trained in new analytical tools, will have access to databases, and together with the team, will conduct a few studies.
Participation in the project is a good practice, upon completion of which an internship confirmation letter will be issued. An important criterion for selecting interns is language proficiency, perseverance, attentiveness, a clear application of methodology and indicators in practice, a desire to work with large amounts of information.
Participation in the project is a good practice, upon completion of which an internship confirmation letter will be issued. An important criterion for selecting interns is language proficiency, perseverance, attentiveness, the use of methodology and indicators during research, a desire to work with large amounts of information on the Internet.
Topics for this year:
COVID-19 pandemic and information manipulation
Electoral processes
Xenophobia and hate speech
Terrorism Threats and Media Narratives
A letter of motivation and a CV indicating the contacts of at least two referees should be sent to peacemakingandmediaca@gmail.com until 18:00 Bishkek time, December 5, 2021, marked "For internship".
Applications sent after this deadline will not be considered. The team does not comment on the selection methods and does not respond to letters of inquiry after the end of the call.
The School of Peacemaking and Media Technology in Central Asia announces an annual a competition among students from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan and any countries, studying journalism and mass communication, law, cultural studies and anthropology, to participate in research and media monitoring projects.
Over the past five years, more than 50 students have completed the research internships.
This internship is scheduled for the period from December 15 to January 20, 2022.
In some cases, a student can start an internship earlier.
Due to the epidemiological situation, it is likely that an internship will be carried out in a distance format.
The selected interns will be trained in new analytical tools, will have access to databases and, together with the team, will conduct a few of studies.
Participation in the project is a good practice, upon completion of which an internship confirmation letter will be issued. An important criterion for selecting interns is language proficiency, perseverance, attentiveness, a clear application of methodology and indicators in practice, a desire to work with large amounts of information.
Participation in the project is a good practice, upon completion of which an internship confirmation letter will be issued. An important criterion for selecting interns is language proficiency, perseverance, attentiveness, the use of methodology and indicators during research, a desire to work with large amounts of information on the Internet.
Topics for this year:
COVID-19 pandemic and information manipulation
Electoral processes
Xenophobia and hate speech
Terrorism Threats and Media Narratives
A letter of motivation and a CV indicating the contacts of at least two referees should be sent to peacemakingandmediaca@gmail.comuntil 18:00 Bishkek time, December 5, 2021 marked "For internship".
Applications sent after this deadline will not be considered. The team does not comment on the selection methods and does not respond to letters of inquiry after the end of the call.
The report shows the results of monitoring, documenting and case analysis related to discrimination and violence during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the study of hate speech against minorities and vulnerable groups in the selected online content.
The report contains the data that cover the period from February 15, 2020 thru March 10, 2021.
The study represents the analysis of cases relating to eleven vulnerable social groups:
· female victims of violence and abduction;
· persons with disabilities, including inmates;
· internal migrants;
· labour migrants;
· the elderly people;
· people living with HIV;
· LGBT people;
· children under 15;
· foreigners victims of racial attacks;
· Muslims;
· ethnic Chinese
In addition, the report contains a separate subsection with the case of Kamil Ruziev, the human rights defender based in Karakol, Issyk Kul region. He was arrested in May 2020 on a reasoned charge and was morally coerced, surveilled and illegally questioned even though he was ill with COVID-19.
The media should help
the society better know the online environment. It is important to detect the
reliable sources, differentiate between quality information, facts and fakes,
carry out unbiased journalistic investigations amid the existing hate speech,
trolling and disinformation.
The School of Peacemaking and Media Technology in CA with the support of the Media K Internews (Kyrgyzstan) documents cases of verbal aggression in the online environment as part of the ongoing monitoring and analysis of hate speech.
The hate speech dynamics in public space demonstrates that it remains at a high level.
The results gathered as of the World Press Freedom Day showed that almost one-third part of the monitored content contained hate speech in various forms. It was especially noticeable in online discussions about the referendum on amendments to the constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, local and extraordinary presidential election that was held in 2021[1].
The outbreak of intolerance and distorted information was found in the last days of April 2021 amid messages about the armed conflict in the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border.
The intense public and political agenda of Kyrgyzstan aggravated by the crisis during the COVID-pandemic encourages the journalists and internet users to voice their opinions more actively. However, it is often accompanied by fake news, unverified information and deliberate misrepresentation of information.
Amid this situation, the experts reported correlations between hate speech, trolling and not always reliable messages that are spread in social media both by identified and fake accounts. Endless data flows, verbal aggression, disinformation make the audience doubt whether information is reliable. Therefore, journalistic investigations about facts, scope of distribution of such information, its actors and purposes are highly required.
The media should play the key role by using new approaches of creating and distributing content to protect and promote truthful information, by encouraging the audience to improve their media literacy skills and to offer opportunities, to evaluate information critically.
The World Press Freedom Day means to raise awareness of governments and the society on the need to respect and protect human rights to the freedom of expression, and to highlight the importance of complying with high standards and ethics for journalists, internet content creators. It will help improve the information ecology and create long-term measures to respond to hate speech and fake news.
[1]Hate speech on the internet during early presidential election in Kyrgyzstan, January 2021, http://ca-mediators.net/ru/ru_news/5396-yazyk-vrazhdy-i-sarkazm-v-internete-v-period-dosrochnyh-prezidentskih-vyborov-v-kr.html
The pandemic has allowed the authorities to further abuse technology and restrict freedom of speech.The restrictions around coronavirus have made people around the world more reliant on the internet as a means of communication – often involving criticism of how the authorities have handled the crisis. Attempts by governments in Central Asia to suppress such censure have generated even more discontent, highlighting ongoing debates about online expression in the region.
IWPR: The pandemic and lockdown have made people spend more time online. Based on this, has Covid-19 influenced the level of internet freedom of speech in Central Asia?
Inga Sikorskaya: The period of the pandemic has become one of the gloomiest for freedom of speech in Central Asia. The authorities have responded with strict restrictive measures that suppressed freedom of speech and the press and increased the risks of threats and attacks against journalists and bloggers, especially those who wrote about coronavirus.
On the one hand, we became dependent on digital technologies. On the other, many measures affected internet freedom as it became the main platform for sharing information during social isolation.
The authorities silenced journalists and refused to accredit media outlets when they covered coronavirus during the lockdown. In Kyrgyzstan, in March-April 2020 the authorities forced bloggers to apologise for criticism that the government had responded poorly to the pandemic.
In Uzbekistan in July 2020, a security agency supervisor forced the administrator of the Troll.uz Telegram channel to delete a post about corruption during the pandemic. In another case, unknown people called bloggers and reminded them of their criminal liability for "spreading panic” in posts about coronavirus.
Insults and threats were directed against independent journalists in Tajikistan who reported on Covid-19 when the authorities denied there were any coronavirus cases in the country. A range of independent web resources were blocked and access to information restricted.
The level of hate speech in the media and on the internet has increased slightly during social isolation because of the increase in comments from people who shifted to the online sphere.
The situation increased the growth of xenophobia and Islamophobia. According to the results of our last survey on the influence of Covid-19 on discrimination, the main targets of hate attacks online in Kyrgyzstan were Muslim pilgrims who returned from hajj just before lockdown. Some users not only accused them of spreading coronavirus, but also urged other people to punish them.
Another target group among hate distributors were ethnic Chinese, the main target of media xenophobia in Kazakstan. In Uzbekistan, there was online hate speech against migrant workers who returned due to the pandemic.
In fact, the dynamics remain the same as in previous years. The only change is in the amount of recorded hate speech against various social groups and the political context that affected narratives of intolerance in the public space.
For example, in Kyrgyzstan – which experienced a disputed parliamentary election, an extraordinary presidential election, a referendum and political shock - hate speech spread on the internet much faster than in quieter neighbouring countries.
Most of the methods that are used to regulate the internet in Central Asia are authoritative and promote censorship. This trend can be seen in other states that experience digital authoritarianism. Instruments are used to strengthen social and political control and to suppress civil liberties. Despite the fact that digital society does suffer from fakes, the implementation of technologies related to online control and regulation requires guaranteed personal data confidentiality and the rule of law. It is difficult to assume that the governments of Central Asian countries will be willing to do this.
Therefore, the problem of fake accounts is best solved by cooperating with technology companies, digital giants such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter. These companies are already actively involved in this issue, developing new algorithms, rules, promoting openness, transparency and their own regulatory mechanisms [alongside] freedom of expression.
Recent trends show a steady decline in internet freedom for several years in a row. There are three main challenges that will further threaten the freedom and development of journalism in Central Asia.
Firstly, this is an increase in the level of online threats, which continue in the offline environment. During the election campaigns of 2020 and 2021 in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakstan, journalists and Internet activists faced an increase in bullying, attacks and seizure of equipment while covering political processes live on the internet.
Therefore, more attention needs to be paid to the digital and physical security of media workers and all fighters for the freedom of expression.
Secondly, there are disinformation campaigns organised on the internet which often aim to entrap the media or active users. This is directly related to a digital tribalism trend. This is when discussion group members or trolls evaluate information not on the basis of compliance with generally accepted standards of evidence or common understanding, but on the basis of whether it supports the values and goals of a given digital tribe and whether this information is confirmed by their leaders.
The third challenge is the continued use of hate speech on social media platforms and under articles by online news agencies. Most of the documented incidents fall under the umbrella of freedom of expression and, if necessary, are regulated by the development of correct polemics, education and social disapproval.
However, there is a danger that the dissemination of hateful content could provoke outbreaks of offline violence against minorities and social groups. Therefore, the media community must act carefully here, with an understanding of the flexible structure of hate speech so as not to cause a baseless attack on freedom of expression.
The pandemic has changed not only attitudes but also technologies. Censorship will grow through the expansion of technology and the export of digital authoritarianism in Central Asia's big neighbours, Russia and China. The surveillance and control of internet freedom advocates will grow. This challenge to democratic principles and human rights shows that we are moving in the opposite direction. Only new, alternative strategies can win.
These can be joint programmes of digital companies, media, civil society and governments, which must agree on a basic set of rules and values, taking into account the importance of preserving freedom of expression for the development of an open and inclusive society.
Timur Toktonaliev is IWPR’s Central Asia editor.
Inga Sikorskaya, a former senior IWPR editor for Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, now heads the School of Peacemaking and Media Technologies research organisation. She warns that government responses to freedom of speech amid the crisis heralds a worrying trend for future attempts to control online expression.
Female journalists and activists have discussed the situation with gender stereotypes and stigma on the Internet and have learned to understand discrimination and tools to counter, assess risk factors to improve their psycho-emotional state during aggression in the online sphere.
The workshop was organized by the School of Peacemaking and Media Technology in Central Asia with the support of the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI).
Women participants from different regions of Kyrgyzstan have gathered at the training organized under the project designed to promote gender equality and women’s rights via monitoring, documenting, analysis of the level of stereotypes, stigma regarding women in the media, on the Internet and public discourse.
Female journalists and activists, many of whom encounter threats, aggression, and stereotypical behavior in their professional activities have learned about modern methods of detection of gender intolerance on the internet, preventive techniques and ways to mitigate negative consequences.
Women participants have trained to determine the kinds of discrimination and to discern between them during group practice sessions on detection and classification of discrimination.
The last session focused on the analysis of psycho-emotional state of journalists and activists during their work. Many participants have understood how to use their innate resources and to organize mental self-help by means of analytical exercise and interactive discussion designed to detect risk factors and develop personal defense mechanisms.
The research "Gender stereotypes in the media sphere of Kyrgyzstan” was also presented during the event. It demonstrated frequently used stereotypes, intolerance and threats regarding women in Kyrgyzstan.
The participants of the event discussed the recommendations prepared on the basis of the research. The recommendations will be directed to the authorities, the media, and civil society organizations.
School of Peacemaking and Media Technology in
Central Asia with the support of Media K Internews in the Kyrgyz Republic
Project presents the "Hate Speech and Sarcasm in the
2021 Kyrgyzstan Presidential Election Discourse ” research held from December 15, 2020 to January 20,
2021.
The research was aimed to find hate speech in the discussions about early presidential election in Kyrgyzstan based on multilingual media monitoring and content analysis of selected online media outlets and social media. The level of reported hate speech during the presidential election campaign was two times less than that during the parliamentary election. However, it does not mean that the society’s culture of polemic or the level of network ethics has increased.
Experts explain it by passive election campaign, "early” election, undifferentiated list of candidates, "social burnout” of journalists, users, speakers because of a lot of public and political events that reflected on lower concern for the events and affected the public discourse. The researchers have studied the hate speech trends and dynamics, classified it by types of intolerance and identified reasons of prevalence of one trend over another one.
Moreover, a range of ironic and sarcastic comments and images containing obscene vocabulary, slang, discriminatory expressions was found on social media and forums posted under materials in online media outlets. Sarcasm was often used to add to the negative public perception of a certain individual and to disguise hate speech.
Also, flawed arguments that caused discrepancies in wording, distortion of opponents’ positions were reported in online discussions and in the media. This type of hate speech was revealed in anti-western rhetoric, drawing false parallels between candidates and various identities, formation of dehumanizing metaphors based on comparison of people and animals, according to the report.
The experts recommend developing and implementing public awareness campaigns regarding the efficiency of tolerant technologies in public discourse, continuing to introduce editorial media practices of politically correct vocabulary and stylistics based on pluralism of opinions and freedom of expression. Also, minority, social and discriminated groups must have a voice, and the public awareness on constitutional rights should be raised. In addition, responsible work with comments (moderation, pre-moderation) posted under articles published in the media must be promoted among journalists.
Military men near the aftermarket during mass clashes, Osh, June 201
Training’s participants on mediation and conflict management are building the Tower of Peace, Bishkek, April 2011
Training in destroying stereotypes for journalists, Bishkek, April 2012
Workshop on production of team reporting in multinational journalist groups, Bishkek, August 2012
The School of Peacemaking and Media Technology in Central Asia announces an annual competition among students from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan,…
25 journalists and media workers from various regions of Kyrgyzstan have been trained to counter the propaganda of violent extremism and hate in…
Within the current context, media and journalists in Central Asia face the following dilemmas: How to cover issues happening in Afghanistan now? How to communicate information to the audience while describing the Taliban, whose image has been presented mainly in reports on terrorist attacks for almost 20 years? Can journalists offer audiences updated and redesigned narratives about a seemingly ex-terrorist group, while complying with standards and ethics?
Conflict-sensitive approaches, peace and solutions journalism tools, and new media formats can help create strategies to offer audiences a sufficiently clear and objective story.
Not Terrorists Anymore?
Kazakhstan was the first Central Asian country to officially remove the Taliban from the list of banned terrorist organisations. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Astana took this step based on "the importance of developing trade and economic cooperation with present-day Afghanistan and understanding that this regime is a long-term factor”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan soon reported the same decision, emphasising that it was "aimed at strengthening regional stability and maintaining a dialogue”.
In mid-September 2024, the media reported on the "unofficial visit” of the head of Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security Saimumin Yatimov to Kabul and his meeting with the Taliban security chiefs. It was noted that the visit was made to "strengthen bilateral relations between Tajikistan and the Taliban”.
Official Dushanbe has not yet made any statements on this, however, at the time of writing this article, the Taliban were not on the list of terrorist and extremist organisations. Economic interests play their role. Tajikistan exports electricity to Afghanistan and has reopened five markets in border towns where goods are traded on both sides. Foreign trade turnover between the two countries totalled about $46 million in the first six months of 2024.
In Uzbekistan, the Taliban were not included in the 2016 list of 22 terrorist organisations banned by the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan. After the Taliban came to power, official Tashkent opened the Uzbek-Afghan border for the delivery of essential goods and humanitarian aid.
This August, Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov visited Kabul. According to media reports, Aripov met with Taliban leaders and discussed bilateral relations and strengthening trade and business between the two countries. As a result, five trade and investment agreements were signed in the energy, agricultural, and industrial sectors.
Turkmenistan had been in contact with the Taliban representatives even before they came to power amid growing tensions over the paramilitary attacks across Afghanistan. On September 11, 2024, in the border town of Serhetabad, Turkmenistan and the Taliban representatives relaunched the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Natural Gas Pipeline Project. This large-scale project was first initiated almost 10 years ago.
The pipeline is expected to transport up to 33 billion cubic metres of natural Turkmen gas to South Asia annually.
On the one hand, the Central Asian region is becoming an important partner for Afghanistan offering infrastructure and trade projects and increasing cooperation with the regime in Kabul. This cooperation is taking place despite violations of the rights of women, girls, and minorities, restrictions on media freedom, arbitrary executions, and active calls by the UN and other international human rights bodies to put an end to such violations. The regime’s representatives in Kabul are still on the UN Security Council Consolidated Sanctions List.
On the other hand, Central Asian countries are concerned about security issues.
For example, in early September, a suicide bomber, a member of ISIS (an organisation banned in Central Asia), detonated an explosive device near the Kabul prosecutor’s office killing 6 people and injuring 13.
This fact and the length of the common Central Asian border with Afghanistan, which is more than two thousand kilometres long, pose a danger of infiltration into the region by members of ‘sleeper terrorist cells’.
Where Do We Start?
Define the unified terminology you will use in reporting on Afghanistan-related topics.
How should we describe the formerly banned and terrorist Taliban movement now?
Refer to international documents. Look up the UN-used terminology in the Case Law Database. In the latest speech of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, the regime in Kabul is referred to as the ‘de facto authorities’. This is quite a correct phrasing as it does not legitimise the authorities but only shows the reality.
In statements and reports of the European Union, the authorities in Kabul are called ‘the Taliban’. Many foreign media – BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, and others – also use this term. For the Central Asian media, it is less acceptable because for several years, the phrase ‘the Taliban’ was necessarily labelled in brackets as ‘the terrorist and banned movement’.
The following is a list of terms that may be acceptable to use.
To use definitions correctly, it is necessary to update editorial guidelines and compile a list of terms for reporting on Afghan issues.
More precise terminology is necessary to create a balanced and impartial narrative when describing events related to Afghanistan.
What Events Should I Select for Reporting?
The most suitable topics may include:
Human Rights and Other Sensitive Topics
Many media avoid reporting on this sensitive issue amid Central Asian countries’ selective cooperation with Afghanistan. However, reporting on human rights violations is a journalist’s ethical obligation.
The exclusion of women and girls from education and employment opportunities, as well as from public spaces, continues in Afghanistan. Extreme forms of violence occur. In addition to forced early marriages and sexual violence, the Taliban has adopted a decree on public flogging and stoning women to death.
The UN Women estimates that since the Taliban came to power, they have adopted 70 documents restricting women’s rights and freedoms. Such policy is carried out with no regard for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which Afghanistan ratified in 2003.
At the end of August 2024, the law on ‘Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice’ was announced by the de facto authorities, which prohibits women from saying anything out loud in public and demonstrating their faces outside the house. This law cements policies that completely erase women’s presence in public – depriving them of their autonomy, attempting to render them into faceless, voiceless shadows.
Pay attention to the following topics:
Use Teamwork to Prepare the Material
Teamwork and cross-border reporting are great methods to gather information from different sides. Create a team of journalists and experts from several countries, including Afghanistan. Identify the topic and the person responsible for finalising the gathered information.
Citations, Statistics, and Online Resources
To keep up to date, create a similar list of Afghan media and keep track of the information. Pay attention to Afghan media amu.tv, which is based abroad. It has a separate constantly updated section on cooperation with Central Asia.
When reporting on violations of women’s rights and violence against women, in addition to using international reports, monitor incidents of gender discrimination on Rukhshana.media. This is an Afghan women’s media organisation created in memory of Rukhshana, a young woman stoned to death in Ghor province for running away after a forced marriage.
Be careful with citations. If you are going to use official press releases, it will be necessary to give some explanation in brackets after phrases such as ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ (note: This is the title of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan used by the de facto authorities since 2021), etc. The same should be considered when republishing materials from Afghan official media. If you use Russian-language versions of Afghan websites, it is worth double-checking the information several times, as problems with translation accuracy are common.
If references to Afghan statistics are needed, you can use data from the National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA). However, there is no comprehensive information available. There is a lack of data on the ethnic composition of the population. This problem dates to 1979, the last time a population census was conducted. After a failed attempt in 2008, another census began in 2013 and was expected to be completed in six years. According to the Minority Rights Group, it was decided that the census would not include questions on language or ethnic background for fear that the results would be too politicised and lead to another failed census. However, the census was never completed.
What Background Information Should Be Used?
Reports on issues in Afghanistan should always contain background information to better explain to the audience what is happening. Since the Central Asian aspect is more focused on the events after August 2021, it is necessary to mention the process of peace negotiations in Afghanistan, why all the conditions of the Peace Deal were not fulfilled, and how the society lived before that.
For example: "De facto authorities came to power in Kabul after the previous Afghan government led by President Ashraf Ghani collapsed amid the US troops withdrawal from the country in August 2021. Earlier, in February 2020, a Peace Deal was signed between the US and the Taliban in Doha (Qatar) after more than eighteen years. The Deal addressed a reduction in violence, withdrawal of foreign troops, the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, and guarantees that Afghanistan won’t again become a refuge for terrorists. However, the Taliban failed to fulfil several conditions of the Peace Deal. The Taliban was formed in Pakistan in the 1990s after the Soviet Union’s troops withdrew from Afghanistan. Many of its early militants were trained in Pakistani madrassas. After NATO troops’ deployment, Pakistan gave the Taliban refuge”.
Such background can be shorter or longer according to the topic you are reporting on.
If the material is to cover the state structure of Afghanistan, the focus should be on comparing the Constitution of the country legally in force since 2004 with the draft Constitution that de facto authorities proposed and then abandoned.
It is also important to note that Afghanistan is a party to several international conventions, such as the Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (1984), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979), the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (1965), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). In addition, the country ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (2002), the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (2000), the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography (2000). Explore the report describing the impact of the situation on human rights.
It is necessary to use the links to these documents in the context of human rights reporting.
Visual Design of the Materials
When using visuals, such as illustrative photos or collages, it is important to consider the nuances of traditional dress that identify different groups. If you want to show a group of Afghan men wearing dastmols (Persian: دستمال) – traditional headscarves, you need to know that these are most often soft-textured, black, grey, white, brown, mixed tones of these colours, or brown and turquoise scarves in a checked pattern.
The group of people from the de facto government can be identified by the white or black turbans on their heads. If it is not possible to find original photos, search for such illustrations.
A man wearing a red and white chequered scarf of hard texture represents Arabic or Middle Eastern style and the use of such an illustration would be wrong.
When designing visuals for the material on women’s issues, it is correct to refer to a woman’s head and face garment in the Afghan dialect as chodari (Persian: چادری) rather than burqa. It is most often a blue-coloured garment, but other colours are also found.
