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Week ending December 13, 2008

RFE/RL - KURKMENISTAN AUTHORITIES STIFLE MEDIA AS VOTERS HEAD TO THE POLLS - December 13 2008

(PRAGUE, December 13, 2008) Harassment against civil society and independent journalists continues in Turkmenistan ahead of Sunday's parliamentary elections, RFE/RL reports:

"Since we upped our election coverage in recent weeks it's gotten worse," says RFE/RL Turkmen Service Director Oguljamal Yazliyeva. "The authorities are restricting the work of our correspondents and contributors by cutting off their telephones and monitoring their every move." Reporters Without Borders stated in a press release on Saturday that “the perpetuation of the regime’s police state methods show that the progress Turkmenistan has supposedly made in terms of democratization is in fact very limited and cosmetic.”

[Read the full interview with Oguljamal Yazliyeva: "Covering An Election In A Closed Country"]
www.rferl.org/content/Turkmenistan_Covering_An_Election_In_A_Closed_Country/1359433.html

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Voters get little or no information about the candidates from Turkmen state media. Nonetheless, a Turkmen journalist told RFE/RL that she believes there won't be any problem with turnout on election day. "Usually, two or three days before the vote, local police officers go house to house and tell people to go to the polling stations on Sunday morning. People in Turkmenistan are afraid of the police, so they do what they are told."

[Read the full article: ["Turkmen Voters Doubt Election Will Make Any Difference"]
http://www.rferl.org/content/Turkmen_Voters_Doubt_Elections_Will_Change_Anything/1359429.html

Sazak Durdymuradov, a Turkmen journalist, teacher, and activist, had his candidacy to run in Sunday's elections rejected by Turkmen officials for unknown reasons. He told RFE/RL: "I am concerned about my own life and the life of my family members, as I was warned. I do not know the reason. What makes me upset is that I acted according to the law." Earlier this year, Durdymuradov was beaten and forcibly detained in a psychiatric clinic by secret police.

[Read the full interview: "'It's All the Same Games,' Turkmen Activist Says About Elections"]
http://www.rferl.org/content/It_Is_All_The_Same_Games_Turkmen_Activist_Says_About_Elections/1359432.html

RFE/RL’s Bruce Pannier writes: “It appears likely that the results of the December 14 elections will be of little consequence. The Turkmen president has supreme authority, with parliament serving as a rubber-stamping body.”

[Read full article ”Turkmen Parliamentary Elections Offer New Twists on Same Old Story”]
http://www.rferl.org/content/Turkmen_Parliamentary_Elections_Offer_New_Twists_On_Same_Old_Story/1359414.html

Turkmenistan ranks 171st out of 173 countries in the latest Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Index. The organization likened the press freedom situation in Turkmenistan to an “unchanging hell,” one “in which the population is cut off from the world and is subjected to propaganda worthy of a bygone age." On Thursday, RSF urged Turkmen President Berdymukhammedov to “implement reforms that show a real political desire for liberalization” in order to end the isolation of his country and his people.

BBC's international news in English and Arabic available on Nokia phones globally - December 9 2008

For the first time, the BBC’s English and Arabic international news channels are now part of Nokia’s Internet Radio application on mobile phones, following an agreement between BBC World Service and Nokia.

From today, three audio channels – BBC World Service in English, BBC World Service’s 24-hour rolling news in English, and BBC Arabic – will be available on the latest Nokia mobile phone models as part of their preloaded Internet Radio application.

All three channels will be available for live streaming 24 hours a day, offering high-quality, impartial and editorially independent news and information.

Ruxandra Obreja, Controller, BBC World Service Business Development, said: “I believe this is an innovative agreement, getting BBC exposure on one of the latest digital platforms, giving listeners from across the globe access to our distinctive and compelling content in English and Arabic.”

Karl Kathuria, Head of Digital Delivery, BBC World Service, added: “For delivery over the Internet Radio platform, we are providing an MP3-format stream that can be picked up via Wi-Fi or through a mobile data connection, mirroring our online offer in these languages. This is the first time we’ve made our live 24-hour audio streams available specifically for a mobile platform, as part of our commitment to a multi-format strategy.”

Nokia’s Head of Radio Business, Teemu Tarnanen, added: “We are excited to have BBC World Service included in the Nokia Internet Radio service. Now millions of people on the move can stay up-to-date with their favourite BBC World Service channels through their Nokia device.”

The Nokia Internet Radio application can be downloaded to various Nokia device models for free from nokia.com/internetradio and is also preloaded in selected Nokia S60 3rd edition devices.