NGOs concerned about new media registration

Internews, an international media watchdog supporting independent media in emerging democracies, along with Kyrgyz NGOs, is concerned over recent government efforts to change the registration process for media outlets. "There is the risk that they will make the registration and re-registration process longer and more complicated," Nicolas Ebnother, country director for the group told IRIN from the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, on Wednesday. The fact that requests would have to be approved by a panel of government officials would impede press freedom, he warned, saying it could limit some organisations, funds, judicial persons and other structures from having media activity. His comments came one day after a leading Kyrgyz rights group criticised the change in media registration procedures in the mountainous Central Asian state of five million, saying it restricted freedom of the press. According to a report by the Associated Press on Tuesday, the order by Justice Minister Kurmanbek Osmonov, also deputy prime minister, signed in October, required a board of officials in the Justice Ministry to approve the registration of all media outlets. Edil Baisalov, executive director of a coalition of humanitarian groups called 'For Democracy and Civil Society', said the move had increased the chances of independent media outlets being denied registration. Even before the change, some registrations were denied by the ministry, the report claimed. In a statement, the coalition said that the order was "violating freedom of speech and press without any grounds, was discriminatory and contradicted the country's constitution and some other laws," and called on the ministry to reconsider the change. But Ebnother remained more cautious, saying it was still too early to say what exactly the implications would be. "We have to see how the Ministry of Justice will implement these measures," the media activist explained, noting they would like to get comments from the Vice-Minister of Justice who is responsible for the implementation of the new measures. And while Internews had yet to have information of any media outlets encountering difficulties since the publication of the new measures, Ebnother conceded: "We are surprised to discover this document through unofficial sources and more than two months after it was issued. It is an internal document of the Ministry of Justice but seriously concerns all present and future mass media," adding: "In these circumstances, an official announcement and some explanation are the least the Ministry of Justice and government could provide." Although Kyrgyzstan had been praised as an island of democracy in the 1990s - and the most liberal of the former Soviet Central Asian republics - Bishkek has increasingly been criticised for what some say is a rise in human rights abuses and restrictions of press freedom. Internews is a non-profit organisation that supports independent media, produces and distributes innovative television programming, conducts extensive trainings for Kyrgyz media outlets and provides legal consultations to journalists. The organisation's mandate is to support freedom of expression, objective and balanced reporting, and pluralism of opinions in mass media, and to provide reliable and objective materials to mass media groups. Internews activities are primarily funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). [For further information on the activities of Internews in Kyrgyzstan see: www.internews.kg]