Authorities of Chechnya ask local media to cover local negative phenomena

Workers of Chechen mass media were recommended to "reorient themselves" and "truthfully and objectively cover the events underway in the republic without silencing and concealing negative phenomena" - this was the task put in front of the heads of local mass media by Shamsail Saraliev, Minister on Foreign Relations, National Policy, Press and Information of Chechnya.

"Today, our mass media have passed over to a qualitatively new level of development; and it is marked not only in the republic, but abroad. At the same time, our media also exhibit a trend towards concealment of some problematic issues. The society has the right to know not only about positive changes in the republic, but also about problem issues, which now are topical in the Chechen society. They should not hide that fact that we have problems, like any other society, - careless bureaucrats, asocial phenomena, corruption, bribery and so on, and these problems should not be silenced," said the Minister at the sitting on May 24.

According to his version, President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov has "untied media's hands in good sense of this word." "Certainly, nobody likes criticism, but we all live in this republic and cannot ignore that our society still has the bureaucrats and phenomena, which hamper our progress on the way of creation and development. By holding back the truth, we play into the hands of negligent officials, corrupt employees and other negative phenomena in our society," Mr Saraliev has noted.

The Minister has added that criticism should be constructive, duly verified, documentarily confirmed and addressable - otherwise, the society would just lose trust to mass media. "Moreover, such materials should be traced and brought to the logic end," he has emphasized.

The work of the republic's printed and television mass media is causing serious complaints in a certain part of local residents. They believe that media are excessively praising the leaders and give much more coverage to the positive phenomena in local life, in fact ignoring many problems that the Chechen society is facing.

"Now, it's practically impossible to watch our television or read our newspapers. Everywhere they have one and the same. Everything starts with Ramzan Kadyrov and ends with him either. Certainly, the republic's leadership has done quite a lot and continues doing, but it does not mean that everything is fine here, and we have no problems," Said Khasan Takaev, a resident of Grozny.

An activist of a local public organization Islam by name agrees with him. "I think that bribery and corruption are the most serious today's problems that we face. It's even worse than terrorism," he believes.