Uzbek Government Tightens Grip on Web

The Uzbek government has introduced new registration procedures in order to tighten its hold over the media, and has now extended its reach to the internet as well.



Last week, the cabinet of ministers signed off on a resolution requiring “further improvement” of the procedures for media registration. In comments to state-run domestic media, Otkir Joraev, the deputy chief of the government’s Print and Information Agency, said the step would contribute to the country’s ongoing “democratisation and liberalisation”.



Media-watchers note the fact that for reasons unknown, the text of the government order was not published in the state media.



Judging by the summarised version, though, it is clear that the main thrust of the document is to include internet-based publications in the list of media required to apply for registration from the government.



In his remarks, Joraev explained that the internet needed to be included since in his view, the medium is often used to communicate calls for violent regime change, war, violence, terrorism, religious extremism and separatism.



Media-watchers inside the country say this is not the case, and argue that this is merely another step to bolster state censorship.



As one media expert told NBCentralAsia, the Uzbek government has always regarded the internet as “one of its most dangerous enemies”. For instance, one can be fined for looking at news websites that the government deems “mendacious and hostile”.



Uzbekistan has no independent internet publication operating with a local domain name and reporting on current affairs. The authorities strive to exert tight controls over access to foreign websites, and block any sites of which they disapprove. The government has recently started developing websites of its own, carrying news and analysis in a bid to fend off external criticism.



So the public is left with a choice between the official version of political, economic and other developments, and the tabloid press which publishes entertainment but not much else.



However, as one media expert pointed out to NBCentralAsia, controlling the internet has always presented technical difficulties, and the Uzbek authorities will therefore be well aware that introducing compulsory registration for web-based media is not the most perfect of measures.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)