IRIN Focus on press freedom

Following the collapse of the former Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan was hailed as an island of democracy among its authoritarian Central Asian neighbours. The Kyrgyz president, Askar Akayev, fondly referred to Kyrgyzstan as the Switzerland of Central Asia - a country which seemed destined for a bright future in the early 1990s. On the heels of last October’s presidential elections, viewed by many as a sham, the feeling of optimism took a steady downturn following a well-orchestrated government crackdown on the media. Today, freedom of the press in this tiny, landlocked, mostly mountainous country of 4.5 million is under threat, raising concerns among Kyrgyz and international activists alike. “Press freedom is worse now than two years ago,” Kuban Mambetaliev, head of the Kyrgyz association of journalists in the capital, Bishkek, told IRIN on 25 May. “Ten years after gaining independence, the notion of press freedom has been transformed.” According to Mambetaliev, in the first five years of independence, the government and the media coexisted, both lacking in experience, allowing for a natural flow of information. Most newspapers were independent and political, although very few have survived today. “There are less newspapers around today, following efforts by the authorities to curb criticism of the government,” he said. “Initially, this was done by a warning given by the public prosecutor’s office. If the paper continued its criticism, court action was taken, often resulting in lawsuits and heavy fines, which the paper was unable to pay,” he added. But control of the media appears to be the mainstay of the government’s ongoing campaign. In some cases, the government has simply bought control of independent newspapers which had been overtly critical of the authorities, or placed insuperable economic pressures on the paper and its advertisers. According to Mambetaliev, the main problem was a lack of an independent judicial system, with judges who attempted to work independently of the system simply fired. “The president is a very smart person and strategist. When Kyrgyz society gets upset, he always knows what to do,” Mambetaliev maintains. “With the left hand he is authoritarian and gives orders to close newspapers or curb the activities of certain journalists, while with the right hand he is seen as a democrat when he sets them free.” Herein lay his power, he said, explaining why Akayev was now in his third term in office, despite a constitution limiting him to only two. Christopher Schuepp, country director of Internews, a US-based foundation which promotes press freedom, has called Kyrgyzstan “the best of a bad lot” in terms of media regulations. “Following last year’s elections and a crackdown on the media, however, that freedom is now even more restrictive. If I say that it is not a big problem, it must be seen in the context of Central Asia. It means only that journalists are not beaten and killed like in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan,” Schuepp said. “However, you are still left with censorship, self-censorship and economic pressure. Basically everything. They do have a pretty good media legislature, but at times it is not implemented. The judicial system is problematic. You get one decision today and a different one tomorrow - never the one you want.” Officially, censorship is forbidden by law, but unofficially this is not the case. “They have a tradition and history of threatening people, letting people know that some subjects are taboo. Journalists are paid on average US $20 per month. If someone tells you not to write something, you try to hold on to what you have, and just don’t touch the issues,” Schuepp said. According to a report by human rights watchdog Amnesty International (AI) last year, despite an amendment to the constitution guaranteeing freedom of the press, the independent media have continued to be harassed by Kyrgyz authorities. In August, tax police raided the offices of the largest independent daily newspaper, ‘Vecherniy Bishkek’. Allegedly without a formal search warrant, they threatened to arrest its editor-in-chief, Aleksandr Kim, on charges of tax evasion. This was seen as an attempt by the government to silence any criticism in the run-up to elections after the paper had published interviews with opposition politicians, AI said. According to Schuepp, press freedom began to deteriorate during last year’s presidential elections. Fearing an attenuation of his power base after 10 years in office, Akayev, a former university professor, initiated a major crackdown on the media. “Cutting off the information flow was the easiest thing to do, and then he began to use the media as a propaganda tool,” Schuepp said. Later, ‘Vecherniy Bishkek’, which had a daily circulation of 50,000, was purchased under suspicious circumstances. Asked who bought the paper, he remarked: “It’s called the family - people very close to Akayev.” Many Kyrgyz allege that the businessman who bought 75 percent of the shares of the popular paper was in fact the president’s son-in-law. “This paper has changed upside down,” Schuepp said. “The only daily newspaper in Kyrgyzstan and one of the largest independent opposition newspapers is now gone.” While there are some media outlets which continue to maintain a degree of independence, they still have their limitations, particularly when it comes to economic pressure. One such independent newspaper is ‘Delo Nomer’, the second-largest paper. According to Schuepp, it had a circulation of 80,000, but this had fallen to 50,000, due in part to the fact that there was only one printing house - which was government-run. “It dictates the price and can tell you they won’t publish your paper, and have done so on occasion,” he said. Reports have suggested that the government pressurises businesses against placing advertisements in certain publications. Given rising publishing costs, the paper is forced to increase its price to the consumer, which leads to a consequent drop in circulation. As a result, independent newspapers are now getting more expensive, he added. Recently, the largest Kyrgyz opposition newspaper, ‘Asaba’, was sued after the owner-editor, Melis Eshimkanov, made the unfortunate decision to run for the country’s presidency last year - against Akayev. The most popular mass media outlet in Kyrgyzstan, however, remains television, with roughly 20 stations in the country. During last year’s elections, the president received 90 percent of broadcast time among independent stations, while among state channels, the figure was closer to 100 percent. The other five candidates had only 10 percent of coverage time on independent channels. Schuepp maintains that the greatest threat to press freedom is an economic one. “There are still a lot of young journalists who have a sense of what freedom and democracy mean, and who try to go as far as they can. Under these circumstances it is very hard for journalists to stand up for their rights and for the rights of the population,” he said. “The government can close down any media outlet, at any time, through economic means,” he warned. Meanwhile, Mambetaliev tries to remain optimistic. “Newspapers will maintain a certain dose [sic] of freedom of speech, but under close control. Independent media outlets and broadcast stations will continue their independent form of freedom of speech, dependent on the grants and assistance of international organisations. Given already limited resources, if such aid stops, the newspapers will not survive.”