DUSHANBE, September 24, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- A roundtable meeting entitled “Development of Legal Foundation of Media Activity as Condition for Democratization of Society” took place in Dushanbe on September 24.

Organized by the National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan (Nansmit) under financial support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the event discussed issues related to activity of media in Tajikistan and the country’s draft law “On the Press and Other Media” as well as amendments proposed to the draft law by Tajik journalist community.

The meeting members also considered legal foundation of activity of media in Germany and Germany’s experience in development of media.

The Nansmit head Nouriddin Qarshiboyev, in particular, noted that Tajik journalists were currently discussing the country’s media law in new edition and it would be timely to study experience of other countries  in order to enhance legal foundation of activity of Tajik media as “fourth power.”

Two German experts – Dr. Peter Schiwy, media lawyer and professor at German School of Administrative Sciences, and Dr. Thomas Kunze, Regional Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for Central Asia – acquainted Tajik journalists and experts with legal foundation of activity of media in Germany as fourth power under conditions of democracy and told them about eternal dispute, competition and complementarity between state-run and public TV.