Komil Allamjonov, the chief of the board of trustees of the Public Fund for Support and Development of National Mass Media, commented on the publications of online media outlets, which reported receiving warnings from the Agency of Information and Mass Communications.

According to him, every citizen, journalist, blogger or media should be able to defend themselves and demand that their rights are respected, and for this the "protection should not depend on certain individuals but should be based on the law."

“We can compare the current Uzbek media with a newborn baby, we see that, of course, it needs support and protection so that it can get up and start walking. It was this very protection that was one of the duties of the AIMC, ”he said.

Komil Allamjonov explained the reason behind raising the status of the fromer Press and Information Agency under the previous government and its incorporation to the Presidential Administration, as well as why the position of the agency’s director was equated to the position of first deputy adviser to the president, if earlier it was equated to a minister.

“Because in 90% of cases the media conducts citizen oversight over the activities of state bodies, ministries, departments, committees and mayors’ offices, that is, the executive branch. This means that if the Agency is part of the Cabinet of Ministers, and the position of the director is equated to the position of other ministers, then it would be difficult for the director to influence with words, to defend and demand, if necessary, to hold accountable. In that state of affairs it would have been impossible to raise the media to its current level, ”he said.

He pointed out that amendments to regualtions, drafting of new ones are conducted faster at the Presidential Administration level, which is ranked higher than the government.

“AIMC has been appointed as some sort of a guardian for a newborn baby. It is for this reason that, in order to revive the media, even if journalists or bloggers made some mistakes or there were cases of violation of the law, we turned a blind eye. Four years have elapsed since then. The media fought, pushed, argued, quarreled with other children, and over time it grew up, became more mature, showed its first teeth and started to “walk on tis own”. The guardian who watched all this also slowly began to let it go. In a word, the media has been released into adulthood,” he underscored.

He believes that "the time of lofty words about the unconditional protection and security of the media is now over."

“Now every journalist and blogger must, first of all, be able to defend themselves in the framework of laws. They must have a good knowledge of laws and work in accordance with the principles of journalistic ethics. In fact, there must be order here too. It is very important,” said Komil Allamjonov.

According to him, the events of the past week have shown that the time has come for the media when it can speak out, react to any attacks, protest and openly discuss issues, but also abide by the laws. He said that in fact this is a sign that the concept of freedom of speech, created under the leadership of the president, is working.

“Thanks to the freedom of speech, you can speak out of the pressure that is being exerted on you, freely express your opinion on equal terms with state bodiesthat has spoken out against you. This is a signal that the days when state bodies would “punch on your nose” and tell you to “keep quiet” are over. Of course, there are many difficulties, but nobody told it would be easy. That is why this time we kept silent, observed how the situation would roll out and did not comment on it. Debates are only beneficial, they temper,” he said.

Komil Allamjonov supported the media and indicated that they are on the right track.

“Most importantly, bear in mind that there could be ones who would hinder or resist this process, but it is useless. The big wheel started running. And nothing can stop it. Because the concept of this reform was developed very thoroughly!" he pointed.

He added that “the officials who called us bad because of our work, in the future when they resign and become ordinary citizens, will get to know that the media relieves the pain of people”.