In November, the temperature dropped sharply and it once again became clear that the energy and gas supply organizations were not ready for the autumn-winter season.

Power outages and natural gas supply interruptions have become quite common in almost every single district of the country, restrictions have been imposed on electricity supply in many settlements.

Exhausted and irritated with the problems in the supply system, being cold at home, people started expressing their discontent on social networks.

On November 22, Kun.uz website published an article under the heading “Give the people electricity and gas!” – a painful topic on social networks”, summarizing the views expressed by the people.

Regarding the article, our editorial office received a warning letter signed by the AIMC Director Asadjon Khodjayev on November 23.

In the letter, AIMC objected to the statements made by Facebook users Dilshod Odilov and Ulugbek Khamdam that were included in the article.

“The material highlights the problems in the supply of electricity and natural gas to the population in a one-sided way,” the warning letter reads.

“The reasons for the decline in natural gas production in the country, the measures taken by the government to provide electricity, natural and liquefied gas to the population, in particular, a number of reforms carried out in the sphere were not mentioned in the article,” the letter said.

Although the text of the article did not contain any word or term regarding the government, the AIMC head claimed that “the government of Uzbekistan was accused of committing crimes against the population in the material.”

In fact, the material was about how people reacted to problems in the power supply system. It was not focusing on criticizing the government. The material intended to reflect the reality – in this case, the views expressed by citizens on social networks.

It is a fact that electricity is cut off for hours all over the country. This can be seen from the complaints on social networks and the thousands of appeals addressed to our editorial office.

Now take a look at the matter from a different prospective: the coronavirus pandemic is not over yet, it is still ongoing. People don’t have electricity and gas for even cooking in their house. Entrepreneurs are stalling, poultry and greenhouse crops are affected badly. In such a situation, should the mass media focus on a number of reforms carried out in the sphere (intended but not implemented yet in full) to modernize the existing energy complexes?

Will it yield any tangible result if the mass media says “everything is fine, people are pleased with the reforms”, when it is completely not true? Are the agencies directly responsible for the reforms doing their job properly? Fulfilling their duties?

Kun.uz covered scores of reforms aimed at modernizing the energy sector in its articles throughout the year. Tons of materials have been published about the new gas fields discovered at places, the attempts to increase natural gas production and the modernization of power transmission lines. Correspondents of our website took part in the press tours organized by the Ministry of Energy, and the information provided by the officials was disseminated to the population. But there was no mentioning of it in the letter. None at all to date.

Besides, the accuracy of the information provided by the information services of the Energy Ministry and its affiliated organizations and enterprises in their reports on the work being done to improve the situation in the sector is still questionable. Actually, the AIMC’s objections should be addressed to them, shouldn’t they?

One of the main tasks of the mass media is to highlight the problems of the population. The issue of electricity and gas was raised at the meetings of the President, the Chairperson of the Senate of Oliy Majlis Tanzila Narbayeva and the Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov.

“It should be noted that the material on the Kun.uz website shows a one-sided approach to the problem emotively. There have been cases of accusing the country’s government of committing crimes against the population. This has led to a negative public perception of the government’s efforts in this direction, which may undermine confidence in the ongoing reforms in our country to provide social support and create conditions for a prosperous life.

In view of the above, it is necessary to ask to thoroughly study the issues raised in the materials distributed to the general public on the websites registered as the mass media, and to ensure the objectivity and reliability of information.

If the management of the Kun.uz website does not take the necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such a situation in the future, it will have serious legal consequences,” the letter concludes.

Kun.uz editorial office sees the AIMC Director-General’s letter as exerting pressure on freedom of journalistic activity.

It won’t be wrong to say that this behavior smells of “Old Uzbekistan”.

It has become quite common to blame the media workers, not the bureaucrats who created the problem. If this “struggle” was focused on solving the existing issues, rather than criticizing journalists, the population would benefit more.

There is a problem that afflicts a large part of the population. It has been written and is being written. Therefore, these problems were heard in the appropriate instances. Now it is expedient for the parliament, the government and the relevant ministries and departments to accept the problem and take measures to eliminate it.

Kun.uz will continue to cover the existing issues impartially and within the limits of its legal rights.