You know what makes the Umida Niazova case all the worse? Well, according to Bill Weinberg, it just helps those shills at RFE/RL do their real job a little easier.
The ugly regime in Uzbekistan is certainly giving Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty all the grist they need for their propaganda mill.
Apparently, if human rights abuses didn’t exist in Uzbekistan, it would be necessary for RFE/RL to make them up.
This all makes me wonder… Why, if Uzbekistan’s is an “ugly regime,” is propaganda such a bad thing? And what is the qualitative difference between RFE/RL reports on human rights abuses in Uzbekistan and those from HRW. I suppose that somewhat journalistic tone is all just a cover for their wicked propaganda…
[/sarcasm]*
*By which I mean, I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with RFE/RL, and I think Weinberg is an ignoramus.
This post was written by...
Nathan Hamm – author of 2040 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan founded Registan.net in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural factors shape risks and opportunities. Follow him on Twitter or drop him a line.
{ 5 comments }
Nathan, It is against US law for RFE/RL to broadcast propaganda, believe it or not the news reports are supposed to be objective and factual according to the law. HRW has no such legal restrictions.
Dear Nathan,
If we were talking about usinfo.gov or even Voice of America, I would be more inclined to talk about propaganda. However, RFE/RL runs stories that don’t rubberstamp US policy, for example: April 30, Iran’s Presence Key to Iraq Security Conference, http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/04/db32ff50-2b49-47b0-9232-52e9cefb8953.html , and Violence Rages in Iraq Despite Security Plan, April 25, at http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/04/853f929c-c6a2-4ecf-8049-943185531cf9.html
Like Laurence, I am more inclined to doubt HRW than RFE/RL.
Woah, woah, woah…
This just goes to show that sarcasm doesn’t communicate well on the internet.
I think RFE/RL is definitely a high quality straight news organization. Most of my posts and newswire links are from them. I was merely trying to point out that Bill Weinberg (about whom I have a quite low opinion) is a jackass. And, that RFE/RL aside, what’s so bad about propagandizing against Uzbekistan’s government if it’s so bad? I want to point out that Weinberg’s “The US is always worse” worldview is childish.
Really, in person, the dry humor and sarcasm comes across quite well.
Sorry, Nathan,
I also feel very protective of RFE/RL–given that their budget just keeps getting decapitated–and they give great value to us all!!
Yeah. . . . gotcha. . . .
No worries. In my opinion, it is always incumbent on the communicator to be clear. When readers interpret the piece differently than the author intended, then it is the author’s fault.