The director of the Agency for Information and Mass Communications under the Presidential administration, Asadjon Khodjaev, accused three online publications of bias and warned of “serious legal consequences”.
He wrote about them on November 23 in the letter addressed to the editorial office of Kun.uz. The reason for the threats was the publication of critical posts from social networks on the publication’s website about problems with electricity and natural gas in Uzbekistan. The materials didn’t mention the Cabinet of Ministers, but the head of the AIMC saw in the text “an accusation to the government of Uzbekistan of committing a crime against the population”.
On November 20, the head of the department also expressed in his letter a negative attitude towards the publication of the news of the online edition Gazeta.uz, which compared the statistics of patients in special hospitals and the data of the Ministry of Health concerning the patients with coronavirus.
The journalists didn’t justify themselves and gave their arguments in explaining the news “The President instructed to optimize COVID hospitals” that was written on the basis of the message from the press service of the head of state on November 17. The text notes that “today, in 89 institutions throughout Uzbekistan, 17.5 thousand beds have been given for patients with COVID-19. At present, 6570 patients are being treated in these institutions…”.
The editorial notes that “since the above text clearly refers to patients with coronavirus and hospitals for patients with coronavirus. The site reposted the message with a note that according to the statistics of the Ministry of Health on the evening of that day, 2123 patients were being treated for coronavirus. Before publication, the editorial office sent a request to the press service of the Ministry of Health, but received no prompt comment”.
Shortly after the publication of the news, the Ministry of Health published a clarification, which says that the figure 6570 includes not only patients with coronavirus, but also patients with acute respiratory diseases, patients with suspected coronavirus, and also with severe cases of pneumonia and an unconfirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. Gazeta.uz reposted this clarification.
In his letter, the director of the AIMC wrote that the publication of information based on unverified data and the attitude expressed in this regard “led to the formation of a wrong opinion among the public”.
It is further noted that “this, in turn, may cause negative opinions and judgments regarding the actions of the country’s government taken in this direction”.
Similar threats were in the letter to Podrobno.uz news agency for the article with awkward questions for the Ministry of Health. Why patients, who have not been diagnosed with coronavirus, are treated in the centers together with COVID-19 patients? Or, for example, why does Uzbekistan not provide statistics on patients with pneumonia separately? It also expresses the author’s opinion that this patient counting system has serious potential for possible manipulation of numbers. For this, the AIMC also warned about “serious legal consequences”.
The first point in the tasks and functions of the Agency is “ensuring the implementation of the constitutional rights of citizens to freedom of speech and information, strengthening the role of the media in the socio-political and socio-economic development of the country, creating equal conditions for them in the media market, as well as protecting the rights of journalists”.
In an editorial commentary, Podrobno.uz noted that “if this desire is again trampled down by kersey boots, and by the body that should protect the media from officials, nothing good can be expected”.
The high-ranking official recalled by his actions the bad times of Karimov’s rule. An analysis of the publications, that aroused the anger of the head of the AIMC, showed only the correct operation of online publications with the facts and reports of official departments. The authorities are thus trying to justify their actions during the ongoing collapse with heating and electricity supply in the first wave of cold weather. Pending bad weather in the coming days, the AIMC, with its threats to editorial offices, is trying to hide the helplessness of the government at the time when millions of Uzbeks are outraged by the cold and darkness.
For nine months of this year, the Agency issued 90 submissions and warnings to the representatives of Uzbek media sphere. What exactly caused the objection of the AIMC is not reported. The official statement says that the claims are related to the “moratorium on checking business entities and holding them accountable in a pandemic, as well as some difficulties in obtaining and verifying information, in cases where certain media disseminate fake and unverified information or information that is contrary to the law. The Agency confined itself to oral warnings only”.
British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Timothy Torlot expressed his concern about the events on the social network.
“I am surprised and upset to observe, as it seems, the AIMC’s approach to supporting the mass media has recently changed,” the Ambassador emphasized. “A democratic society cannot be built without reliable, independent media.”
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