23:54, 10 November 2004

Azerbaijan public television 'will depend on authorities'

The Law on Public Broadcasting was published by the official Azerbaijan press and thus came into force yesterday, November 9. Commenting on the publication of the law, many experts maintain skepticism about it.

For instance, Media Rights Institute Director Rashid Gadzhily points out that the budget of the public television does not indicated in the law. It will depend on the authorities financially and ultimately become their new monopoly, he holds. Mr Gadzhily considers the creation of the public television on the basis of the second national TV channel a breach of Azerbaijan's commitments to the Council of Europe, experts of which proposed creating the public television on the basis of the first national TV channel. In fact, the authorities create one more channel for their own propaganda but not a channel reflecting society's interests and spirits, he says.

Author: Zaur Rasulzade, CK correspondent

Source: Caucasian Knot