DUSHANBE - Tajikistan on Thursday told foreign embassies and organisations they must notify the government in advance of contacts with political parties, NGOs or journalists in the Central Asian state.
Foreign ministry spokesman Igor Satarov said the change was designed to guard against "the spread of propaganda".
Observers say the government of this impoverished mountainous state is on the alert after popular revolts toppled regimes in three other ex-Soviet republics, including neighboring Kyrgyzstan in March.
Satarov said diplomats and international groups, including non-governmental organisations, had "considerably intensified information activities on Tajik territory".
"Though these activities are perfectly legal and designed to promote democratic principles in Tajik society, the ministry has noted they are being used by some (Tajik) parties, NGOs, media and other people to distort information and spread propaganda.
"This could have a negative impact on information in Tajikistan, on both internal and external policies," he said.
The ministry therefore has asked all foreign missions and organisations to give advance notice of the date and subject of "public meetings planned with representatives of political parties, NGOs and the media," Satarov said.
Western NGOs have also been active in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, where popular uprisings ousted corrupt and deeply entrenched regimes in recent months.
Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov's ruling party dominated parliamentary elections in Feburary, which were blasted by both the Tajik opposition, charging irregularities, and Washington, which is vying for influence in the region against historic power broker Russia.
Rakhmonov rejected the criticism, saying his shattered country which fought a civil war in the early 1990s was only starting down the road of democratic development and would improve later.
04/14/2005 15:32 GMT