Undisclosed truths or “bosses” behind a “mask of transparency”

The 3 May is World Press Freedom Day.  On this day, some issues that were raised in a few countries of the world, relating to freedom of speech and press are being considered.  Issues relating to the inviolability and security of journalists, freedom of expression, access to information, its processing, editing, and dissemination are being mooted.  Unfortunately, journalism remains the second most dangerous field in the world after mining.  The number of journalists who have disappeared, been killed, or arrested worldwide is increasing, not decreasing.

Journalists are often defamed in matters unrelated to their professional activities and it is common for them to be charged with the accusation of betrayal of the state, extortion, fraud, sexual, racial or religious offenses under criminal law.  While many journalists have been arrested in many parts of the world, journalistic reports have indicated that they were charged with offenses not related to their journalistic activities.  This leads to the general conclusion that no journalist has been arrested in their relevant country.  However, the real situation is sadder and scarier than described.

A journalist is a bridge between society and the state, and journalists inform the public of the events that occur during their work.  However, in order for media representatives to do their job, the state and public organizations must be sufficiently open and transparent.  Without this, journalism is neither free nor is the state open.

In Uzbekistan, after 2016, the transparency of state bodies was ensured.  People began to recognize the ministers. Those who were afraid to talk about the problems faced in everyday life heard strong criticism about them from the President.  People have learned to speak.  Of course, until 2016, this was not good news for those who opposed freedom of speech, for those who avoided freedom of expression, for those who were afraid of transparency.

It’s been six years since those events.  So, are the changes still going on? Are the state and public organizations and their leaders as open to the media and journalists as they were yesterday?  Which agency or official is still closed to the media in today’s era of free speech?  With this question, QALAMPIR.UZ held a microphone to reporters.

"...it is not openness."

ANORA SODIKOVA, journalist of the internet publication «Rost24»:

- Most organizations continue to spread unfounded information.  They want to say, "Look, we’re open to everyone».  Praising what they themselves and the policies of their organizations did by sharing videos about them is not openness.

For example, the government of Tashkent city has a lot of information in its telegram channels.  They post videos of work they are doing in areas.  But if we ask some questions: «demolition» issues on the city, or how to spend the budget, we will never get an answer.  It is a sign they are not open to the media.

Not only the government of the capital, but also other governments and ministries are busy with self-promotion.  There is a lot of information, but not what we need.  When we ask questions about suspicious activity in relation to their work, they remain close-mouthed.

I can give no concrete example of an official who answers difficult questions or who always speaks openly to journalists.  Most officials are closed to journalists.  Even in response, they often confine themselves to general issues.

I can say that Davletov (ed. – the Minister of Justice Ruslanbek Davletov) is an official who openly responds to journalists.  He speaks openly.  It is difficult to interview other officials.  Davletov will also answer only when he organizes the conference.  However, he does not want to give an honest answer to journalists when we ask for an interview by separate application.

Safayev (ed. - First Deputy Speaker of the Senate Sodik Safayev) is also a man who openly talks to journalists at meetings.  However, he also often limits himself to general statements in response to sensitive questions.

At events, many officials run away from journalists like thieves who are afraid of being caught.

“I'm not satisfied with that."

YULDUZ OLIMOVA, journalist of the news program «Markaziy studiya» (Central Studio)
- I used to work a lot with the republican traffic police.  It depends on the head of the information service of the organization.  Akmal Yunusov previously served as the press-secretary of the organization.  While we were calling or writing through Telegram, he used to quickly respond and arrange interviews.

Then the head of the press service changed.  I do not remember his exact name.  When I called them and asked them about the interview, they appealed to me to give them the lists of questions in advance.  On request, they wanted me to give them questions in advance, and they were going to record the answers to the questions in their media center without using our cameras, and then send us that "record"... I am not used to working in this manner.  I must ask the questions face to face, and based on the interviewee’s answer, I will ask further questions.

I used to work for the radio.  At that time, I was given a weekly report.  For example, the number of accidents, the causes of accidents, the percentage of intoxication, the percentage of speeding that used to be reported.  I repeatedly appealed to the traffic police saying: “I need statistics for this year or for the last two months».  They don’t provide the statistics monthly.

" Ministry of Health does not respond"

IBRAT SAFO, BBC journalist:

- The Ministry of Health is not answering the BBC’s questions.  This was especially seen during the pandemic.  I do not know why.

Journalists now want to interview the head of state, but this is not happening.

«Who is the head of the press service under the State Security Service? »

KARIM BAHRIYEV, journalist, writer, translator:

- The State Security Service is closed.  Who is the head of the press service? What is he doing? I don’t know.

«The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a very closed organization»
JAHONGIR OLIMOV, journalist of «Zamon» (period) news program:

- The General Prosecutor’s Office is closed to journalists.  Khayot Shamsutdinov (edited – Press Secretary of the Prosecutor General’s Office) is active on social networks.  However, in many cases, the officials are difficult to reach to get comments, or TV interviews.  To make a statement on a social network is different, but there are times when it’s hard to comment and interview.

From the officials I think that Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov (former according to the time of publication) is also very closed-mouthed.  The Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulaziz Kamilov will not appear on any TV channels except «Uzbekiston 24».  The interview is also a very complex issue for him.  However, in recent times, there are many necessary topics that need to be discussed with an interview.  Both Abdulaziz Kamilov as an official and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a state organization are very closed.

« They would rather applaud the Information and Mass Communications Agency (IMCA) than give necessary information»
MOTABAR NURMUKHAMMEDOVA, journalist of «Zamon» news program:

«Not one, but several appeals to the Ministry of Health have remained unanswered».  Recently, I sent a letter requesting an interview.  Unsurprisingly however, we didn’t get an answer. 

All state bodies are open for PR of themselves.  If a journalist seeks an answer to a complaint and asks a question, excuses are prevalent.

In medicine, the new minister also chose the style of the old minister.  Here, the press service did not respond to journalists' requests in a timely manner, creating a closed image of the whole system.

The rest of the organizations, instead of providing accurate and objective information to the public, quickly fulfilled the requirements of the IMCA (Information and Mass Communication Agency under the Presidential Administration) and easily switched to social networks.

If your question is relevant, all officials will answer.  There wasn’t a time that I didn’t receive an answer to my question from any official.  However, we used to face to a lot of problems until we got this official and we could communicate through the press service of the organization.

It is easier to react to sensational event.  It is also the initiative of Information and Mass Communication Agency.  If it is necessary to silence the IMCA, the representative of the relevant organization reacts to the issues with unfounded justifications, defending his organization.  It is easier to say: «We made a statement, please check it out » rather than to talk to journalists.

«I appealed to the prosecutor’s office»

LOLA ISLAMOVA, journalist:

- The central bank is closed to the press.  This organization answers the questions too late, or sometimes they do not answer clearly.  I wrote a statement to the prosecutor’s office on this matter.

«Saidov is closed to the media»

ILYAS SAFAROV, journalist of the Internet publication KUN.UZ:

- On the site where I personally work, various ministries and departments are distributed among journalists for joint work.  Therefore, I can only answer according to the activities of the organizations I work for.

I think the most secretive of them is the Ministry of Agriculture.  I don’t know why?  However, getting information from this ministry is very difficult.  The interview process with an official practically takes months.  According to my information, the Ministry recently dismissed the press secretary and began working with a new employee.  I hope that everything will change for the better.

I tried several times to talk to the Minister of Public Education (Ed. - Bakhtiyr Saidov), but I received no answer.  Perhaps, it doesn’t depend on the ministers themselves, but I have the impression that the minister is closed to the media.

«The former minister didn’t use to give an interview at all»

AZIZA KURBONOVA, journalist:

- As far as I know, the State Asset's Management Agency is completely closed to journalists and the press.  It holds no briefings.

The Ministry of Construction has the same problem.  The press secretary has changed. There is some development on the social networks.  However, the questions remain open until the minister himself (ed. Botir Zokirov) conducts a large and open dialogue on the construction.  Illegal constructions, critical articles concerning the quality of construction, written frequently on public news editions are not commented on by the second party.

The press service is also weak because the minister or the head of the organization is not open to the press.  That is, a press secretary, in spite of being professional, will not be able to conduct his activity correctly and consistently. Because in many cases it is impossible to refute or make a statement, it is difficult to form the image of the organization, to provide the necessary information in the media.

The former Minister of Health (ed. Abdukhakim Khojibov) never gave an interview to any state or private TV channels.

In practice, we also see leaders who are open to the press and as a result over-publicized.  Some prefer not to appear at all in the media.  Others appear in only public media, avoiding private TV channels.  Each situation is different.

There are cases when some leaders of the organization have good charisma, personality, and reputation in the media, and they have good contacts with journalists.  That is why information about the organization is often published timely and positively.

I mean, there are the situations that a positive image of a leader can be seen as an image of an organization or a field.  I do not think this is right.  The fact that the minister or the head of the organization has a “good image” does not mean that the that area is “excellent.”  Most journalists, and sometimes I, prefer to go as far as possible, without touching the field which has a «beloved» or «sympathetic» figure.  Nevertheless, that tact is no good in journalism. Sometimes, the opposite of it is observed.  For example, even if an organization or field leader who does not have an excellent image for journalists does their job well, there are still journalists who do not want to impartially cover the incident due to previous «deficiencies in work », and have no power to do so.

«Ortikhodjaev should give an interview»

NARGIS KASIMOVA, journalist:

- In my opinion, the Ministry of Economy is closed to journalists and media.  Clear economic indicators are not being performed.  When I searched the websites of STAT.UZ, OPENGO.UZ, I saw that the information is incomplete and outdated.

Among the officials, I can say that Ramatov (ed. – First Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan) is closed to the media.  In fact, all our ministers are closed because they do not want to give open interviews or they do not want to do the interviews.

In most cases, many problems are raised on social networks.  In fact, assistant executives of organizations monitor social media.  They have such responsibilities.  However, there is no positive answer to the issues raised in social networks. In rare cases, the answer is reported.

There are so many conflicts between buildings and nature today, including illegal constructions, cutting down trees, etc.  Why are these buildings being built without a plan whilst also consulting with the city authorities?  This is under question, and it has to end there.  There is no public interview on the subject.  People don’t know what’s going on.  Everyone’s suing for their territory and trying to keep it.

As governor of the city, Ortikhodjaev will have to give an open interview about whether the city has a «master plan» because the buildings are very chaotic.
«The incompetence of the press0secretary is also a factor».

SHUHRAT LATIPOV, journalist of the Gazeta.uz Internet edition:

Compared to other state bodies, for me, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Road Traffic Safety Service (RTSS) and in some ways the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade work with journalists less openly.

For example, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mostly gives interviews to journalists at press conferences or with foreign publications and in most cases does not respond to inquiries.

The traffic police did not respond to requests.  It does not invite press to events and is generally less transparent in their activities.

The problem with the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade is that there are still some unanswered questions.

I do not know the real reasons why these authorities are not willing to respond to requests. This usually depends on the head of the organization’s openness to the media, his willingness to listen to constructive criticism and work with public opinion. However, the incompetence of the press secretary of the organization also can be a reason.

As a positive example, I would like to mention the Minister of Justice Ruslanbek Davletov, the Minister of Finance Timur Ishmetov and former head of the Ministry of Public Education, current Minister of Information Technologies and Communications Sherzod Shermatov.

There’s a closure under the disguise of "transparency of information"

Sunnatilla Abdullayev, Editor-in-Chief of QALAMPIR.UZ:

- We used to know Norbayeva as «angel of openness».  The Senate of the Oliy Majlis (Parliament) of the Republic of Uzbekistan has changed a lot since her arrival.  Recently, however, this transparency has not been felt and is probably disappearing.  In fact, the live broadcast stopped after eight minutes during the last plenary session of the Senate.  Despite the heated discussion in the media and the public, no one commented on the situation.  High-level officials assured the public that they would be open and honest and that there would be no going back.  We don't want empty reassurances, or false implications of moving forward honestly.  

Ministries and departments also seem to follow the Senate.  Although every agency has a press service and dozens of employees, journalists cannot get answers to their questions.  Such problems also exist with the journalists of QALAMPIR.UZ.  Following in the footsteps of “big bosses”, the lower house, the Legislative Chamber of the Parliament, has been closed to the media for six years.

When we wait for the answer to a question, we want the answer from a reliable source or from representatives of ministries and agencies.  This will benefit people.  Unfortunately, today the heads of the press service themselves act as officials in the interaction of the media and ministries, not as a link between the press and the organization, and holds work for personal PR.

The pages of ministries and departments on social networks are so numerous that sometimes you do not know which page of the ministry or department will respond to the appeal published in the media.  At least on behalf of each organization, the press-secretary, the press service and the organization itself should maintain a page in the social network.  There are also departments and administrations.  This creates a number of challenges in data collection, centralization, and analysis.  For example, yesterday at QALAMPIR.UZ an article was published about the involvement of students of the University of Public Security in forced labor in Almazar district.  As we were waiting for comments from the city government of Tashkent, the administration of Almaznar district, the National Guard, the University of Public Security and the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations, the official statement was posted on the Telegram channel with 187-members of the Information Service under the National Guard, not on the Telegram channel with 14,000-members.  Many students and media representatives were unaware of this.  The fact that reports, information, statements, and comments and are transmitted through small channels seem to be an attempt to hide this under the guise of «information openness» instead of sharing through the main pages of organizations.  

Abdukodir Tashkulov, Minister of Higher and Secondary Special Education, is another official who remains closed off to the media.  Although the Ministry’s press service has started working with journalists, the Minister is still behind closed doors for the media.  Therefore, the problem is the Minister.

As for the ministers, there are not enough fingers to count the number of them closed off to the media.  In addition to the Deputy Prime Minister Aziz Abdukhakimov, Minister of Justice Ruslanbek Davletov, Minister of Information Technologies and Communications Sherzod Shermatov and Minister of Culture Ozodbek Nazarbekov, and other ministers respectively.  Press secretaries remain partially or completely closed off from the media.