Media News - Monday, June 30, 2008

German foundation, EU pull out of Uzbek journalist training program

The Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a prestigious German organization, announced the suspension of a EUR 1m European Union-backed program to train Uzbek journalists, citing problems with the authoritarian government in Tashkent. Peter Kappinger, the foundation's Brussels representative confirmed its decision to stop the most ambitious countrywide media project sponsored by the European Union in Uzbekistan. The program had been aimed at training independent journalists in a repressive state where media freedom does not exist. In the end, however, the Uzbek government's meddling in the program forced the Adenauer Foundation to pull out. Kappinger said the Uzbek government basically wanted to reduce by half the program's activities, such as setting up press clubs in provincial capitals and a model project on accessing information. International media-freedom groups had criticized the foundation's joint initiative with the EU, saying it was being carried out with a government that suppresses freedom of speech and persecutes independent journalists. It's not the only blow for the EU's efforts to engage in a dialogue on media freedom with Uzbekistan. This month, Uzbekistan canceled an EU-sponsored press-freedom seminar to be held in Tashkent. The gathering was supposed to bring together representatives of press freedom and human rights groups as well as Uzbek officials. Instead, Tashkent held its own conference on 'press freedom' which defended the country's policy toward the media. Activists called the gathering 'a sad farce.' (RFE/RL)

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