Uzbek media reporting under fire

'Business as usual' on Uzbek TV

A war of words has broken out in the Uzbek and Russian media over how this week's outbreak of violence in Uzbekistan has been reported. BBC Monitoring looks at what both sides are saying:

Uzbek media outlets were initially slow to report the shootings and bombings that began on Sunday. Since then, the country's state-controlled newspapers have carried government statements on the attacks, but the emphasis has been firmly on "business as usual".

"Life continues as normal," states a front-page article in Friday's Russian-language Narodnoye Slovo, illustrating the point with two pictures of market traders at work. The article states that there was no panic among the people and that public transport was working to schedule.

But the paper leads with a story on new Uzbek-made minibuses and taxis which have been leased to the Tashkent transport authorities.

Some Russian mass media outlets are trying to derive benefit from the catastrophe in Uzbekistan. Unbelievable articles based on rumours have been written Khalq Sozi

Another paper, the Uzbek-language Khalq Sozi, reports messages of condolences on the attacks sent by world leaders to President Karimov. Its headline story concerns a new sodium plant being built in the northwestern region of Karakalpakstan.

Uzbek TV's evening news bulletin on Tuesday led with a visit by the former Lithuanian president, Valdas Adamkus. Only much later in the bulletin did the TV carry a report by the Interior Ministry statement that 20 people had blown themselves up.

False rumours

Some Russian media outlets have been unconvinced about the way the Uzbek authorities have kept the public informed about the attacks.

"The extremely sparse information about the events is giving rise to a mass of rumours about the explosions in the country. Most of them prove to be false," Sergey Ponomarev, a correspondent for Russia's Channel One TV, reported from Tashkent on Thursday.

"So far, the authorities in the republic have not made any announcement about who is behind the terrorist acts. Today, the Ozbekiston newspaper published only a scanty official statement," he said.

"The news bulletins are mainly made up of reactions condemning terrorism. People can find out about that by leafing through the newspapers. The events of the past few days are discussed in the teahouses or at the bus stop."

Security has been tight since the attacks

Russian media reports of events in Uzbekistan have, in turn, been roundly criticised in the Uzbek press.

"It is worth noting that some mass media outlets are trying to derive benefit from the catastrophe in Uzbekistan. Unbelievable articles based on rumours have been written," Khalq Sozi stated.

"There are publications which like sensational events, and which are trying to gain a reputation by exaggerating them."

It singled out the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta and the Russian NTV channel for criticism, alleging that they had "distorted facts and delivered untrue reports".

Poster campaign

The Uzbek authorities have, meanwhile, urged people to remain vigilant.

"Dear compatriots! This is our common responsibility - to protect peace in the country, the former calm life of children, women and the elderly," a flier posted by Tashkent city commission said.

A wanted poster seeking eight suspects has been displayed at Tashkent's airport. The suspects include four men from the capital or surrounding region, three men from Bukhara and a woman.

"These are the names we know, but we are searching for more people," an Interior Ministry official told the Associated Press.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.