Despite legislation protecting freedom of speech and the press in Tajikistan, in practice freedom of expression is severely limited. For six years major opposition parties and their newspapers were banned. The government of Tajikistan continues to employ a variety of tactics to limit political content in the remaining media. It intimidates journalists and editors through threats and "guidance" sessions. Government-run printers often refuse to print newspapers that run controversial material. Foreign journalists whose reporting displeases the government have lost their accreditation. A burdensome licensing process has kept independent radio stations off the airwaves. As this report went to press, on the eve of Tajikistan's November 6 presidential elections, the government had quashed all but one independent newspaper in the capital covering political affairs.
Tajikistan has been considered one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists. At least fifty and perhaps up to eighty journalists have been murdered in connection with Tajikistan's civil war and its aftermath, yet not a single investigation has resulted in prosecution for these killings. The general absence of law and order in Tajikistan is exacerbated for journalists given the heightened risks associated with their professional duties. This is one of the most important factors that contributes to self-censorship there.
Tajikistan's civil war officially ended with the General Agreement for the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan, signed by the government and the United Tajik Opposition (UTO). As envisaged in the peace agreement, the ban on UTO parties and their media was lifted in August 1999. However, the current political climate provides little hope that independent political views will be easily incorporated into the Tajik media. In reality, the peace agreement's slow implementation has meant freedom of expression has continued to be significantly curtailed. The formal ban on UTO parties and their newspapers was only lifted two years after the peace accord was signed. Furthermore, attempts to promote government-UTO efforts to implement the peace process have been minimal and have enjoyed limited success, at least until the summer of 1999, when scheduled presidential and parliamentary elections drew nearer, and the government and UTO each made concessions to allow for the holding of these elections. UTO members have in practice had little access to the state-controlled television and radio. Their efforts to express their views through the independent press have met with obstructions and other difficulties. The political opposition not belonging to the UTO enjoys no access whatsoever to the state media, and has in recent months been subjected to increasing press curbs.
As this report went to press, restrictions on freedom of expression had reached crisis proportions. On October 18, 1999, to protest the government's obstruction of the presidential candidate registration process, the UTO suspended its participation in the Commission on National Reconciliation (CNR), the body responsible for overseeing the implementation of the peace accord-thereby halting the peace process-and withdrew from the Central Electoral Commission. They called for, among other things, equal access to state media for presidential candidates. The one Dushanbe-based newspaper which had published the views of the UTO and other opposition parties, Junbish, ceased publication in mid-October 1999, following threats and harassment from authorities, and after its regular state printer refused to print it. Finally, the presidential race was limited to one candidate, President Rakhmonov, a bare two weeks before the elections. Two of the candidates were denied registration by the Supreme Court, and the third, from the Islamic Renaissance Party, although his candidacy was registered at the last moment, withdrew, claiming the late acceptance was only a face-saving measure designed to make the election look more democratic. As this report went to press, the Islamic Renaissance Party had called for a boycott of the elections, and there were fears that their candidate's name would appear on the ballot paper, despite his request to have his registration annulled.
As of this writing, only one independent newspaper in Dushanbe with significant political coverage, Biznes i politika, (Business and Politics), is in print. Its content, however, is largely pro-governmental. No independent radio stations have been licensed to operate, and the newspapers of most opposition political parties are unable to publish. Independent television and television production stations continue to experience administrative and legal harassment, and access by opposition political figures to the state media is close to nonexistent.