Most Tajik media try to avoid covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Some of them do it after receiving ‘instructions’ from the authorities, others say they fear for the Tajik migrants in Russia.
From the very beginning of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, two popular media in Tajikistan – the Asia Plus news agency and Radio Ozodi (RFE/RL’s Tajik Service) – created special sections on their websites titled “Ukraine” and “War in Ukraine”. In these sections, they constantly cover the events in Tajik and Russian, publish analytical materials and interviews with the experts about the impact of this crisis on Tajikistan.
Other independent media – “Avesta” news agency, “Your.tj”, “Tajikistan”, and “USSR” news websites also cover the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Sputnik Tajikistan (a news agency owned by the Russian government) also created a special section “Russian Special Military Operation to Defend Donbas”, which hosts materials supporting Russia.
Immediately after the beginning of the conflict, on February 24, the voice of the Tajik government – the Khovar National News Agency – published a news piece “UN Secretary-General called on Putin to make peace and stop the ‘violent invasion’ of Ukraine”. However, shortly after, the social media users noticed that the publication was deleted from the website.
Media expert Irshod Sulaymoni notes that now, the state media of Tajikistan, including TV channels and Khovar agency, do not cover this topic at all. Although, some state radio stations report the news about the conflict.
In particular, the Khovar State News Agency published only several news stories since the beginning of the conflict, February 24, 2022. Most of them are messages from the Tajik officials.
For example, on February 24, the Khovar agency published an address of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan to the citizens of Tajikistan living in Ukraine. “Due to the introduction of martial law by the authorities of Ukraine from February 24, 2022”, they were recommended, “to follow the instructions of the headquarters of the State Emergency Service, and, if possible, stay in their homes”. However, it did not mention the beginning of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The Jumhuriyat newspaper’s website, the official media of the Tajik government, also published several reports about the conflict. Most of them were minor news and statements by Tajik officials.
We should note that even the press service of the President of Tajikistan does not mention the situation in Ukraine in the report about the visit of the Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko and her meeting with the President of the Republic of Tajikistan. Although, according to TASS, Matviyenko informed the President of Tajikistan about the current situation in Ukraine during this meeting. “…I was instructed [by Vladimir Putin – Ed.] to inform you about the current situation in Ukraine,” Matviyenko said.
Tajik state TV channels (there are no private nationwide TV channels in Tajikistan) did not cover the events in Ukraine at all. The representatives of state media and some heads of independent media say they refused to cover the military conflict after receiving the ‘instructions’ from the authorities. At least two representatives of the two state-owned media confirmed to CABAR.asia that they were ‘advised’ to ignore the events.
“The people from the security services came to us and recommended not to publish anything on this issue.”
“At first, we published one or two news pieces about the military conflict, and then, the people from the security services came to us and recommended not to publish anything on this issue. Based on this ‘recommendation’, we are now avoiding publishing materials on this topic,” the deputy chief editor of one of the state media anonymously told CABAR.asia.
According to journalists, earlier, the Tajik authorities demanded from the state and independent media of Tajikistan not to cover the events in GBAO, where social protests began after the death of a Roshtkala district resident during the arrest.
The Tajik authorities did not make any statement regarding the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Tajikistan was among the countries that abstained from voting for a UN resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Caring for Migrants’ Situation
Irshod Sulaymoni, who is also the editor of the Tajik section of the Asia Plus news agency, says that Asia Plus constantly covers the events in Ukraine. He adds that Asia Plus is doing its best to remain neutral.
“Asia Plus has not decided on specific terms in coverage of conflict and uses the terms common in the global media,” said Irshod Sulaymoni.
One of the most acute issues in the coverage of these events is the sources of information. Many experts say the Tajik independent media receive more information from the Russian sources and, therefore, are biased in coverage of the events.
However, the representatives of the RFE/RL’s Tajik Service say they present both sides’ views on the issue.
The Head of the RFE/RL’s Tajik Service Salim Ayubzod says their main sources of information are the RFE/RL’s reporters in Russia, Ukraine, and neighbouring countries.
In addition, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service is subscribed to all global, regional, and local news agencies working in both countries. Popular influencers and citizen journalists can also serve as additional sources of information.
“Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, we created a special department in our office for receiving, collecting, and verifying their materials. Before publishing such videos or photos, experienced professionals carefully check them. We are not using the materials we could not verify,” Ayubzod said.
According to Ayubzod, the most important thing is to cover the situation as it really is. The main problem in preparing reports on these events is the verification of materials sent by social media users and citizen journalists.
Another difficulty that journalists face is the search for local specialists and experts. However, this problem exists also in the coverage of other issues.
“The specialists hardly agree to talk to us. Some of them say that participation in our interviews can cause problems for them. There are so many people openly expressing their opinions on social media, but when we invite them, for example, to the “Gapi Ozod” [“Free talk” – Tr.] debate show, they refuse,” Ayubzod said.
From the very beginning of the armed conflict, some Tajik journalists and media experts urge the Tajik media on social networks to be careful when covering these events, considering that more than a million Tajik migrants live in Russia.
In particular, Khurshed Atovullo, the Head of Centre for Journalistic Investigations in Tajikistan and founder of the Farazh and Samak newspapers, said the reason his media avoided talking about these events was that he did not want “more than one million labour migrants in Russia to suffer”.
He also confirmed that people close to the authorities advised them to refrain from commenting on this issue so that the Russian authorities would not resort to deportations and pressure on migrants.
“Imagine how many Tajik migrants work in Russia to make a living. If, for example, we would publish materials condemning Russia, they will be deported, and, by doing so, we would do no good but only harm the society,” Khurshed Atovullo said.