Media Controversy Helps Spur Protests in Kyrgyzstan

Opposition supporters are again staging protests in various locations across Kyrgyzstan. President Askar Akayev's threat to file a lawsuit against a leading opposition-leaning media outlet appears to have played a role in sparking the latest round of demonstrations.

Demonstrators at several rallies on February 22 complained about alleged government action to hinder the ability of opposition candidates to participate in the election campaign. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. In the mountainous Naryn Region, for example, several thousand protesters blocked one of the country's key trade arteries, a highway stretching from the capital Bishkek to the Chinese border, demanding that the government permit opposition candidates to campaign in the local election district. Smaller protests occurred in other regions, including one that attracted a crowd of about 500 in the southern city of Jalal-abad. Kyrgyzstan's parliamentary election will be held February 27.

On February 21, administration critics demonstrated in Bishkek, calling for an immediate end to what they said was government harassment of opposition media outlets. They especially criticized Akayev's threat to sue the newspaper Moya Stolitsa Novosti (MSN) over the publication of an article that linked the president's family members to allegedly shady business dealings.

In comments broadcast on state television February 17, Akayev accused the newspaper of carrying out "systematic information terror" and resorting to "malicious insinuation." He went on to say that he would not sue the newspaper for libel if MSN published a "proper denial" of the allegations contained in the original article published February 8.

In addition to the president's complaint, MSN is facing possible legal action by some of the state's largest companies -- including Kyrgyztelekom and Kyrgyzgaz. Corporate representatives, speaking at a February 19 news conference, said that MSN's February 8 article linking Akayev family members to their respective companies had hurt their reputations, adding that they intended to sue for unspecified damages.

Akayev critics responded with a statement that characterized the president as intent on stifling media freedom. The February 21 statement, issued by the 41 participants of a civic forum, alleged that Akayev sought to control media outlets as part of a plan to run in this fall's scheduled presidential election. Kyrgyzstan's constitution would appear to prohibit Akayev from seeking another term. The president himself has indicted that he will not run, but has nonetheless kept his options open. The leader of the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society, Edil Baysalov, suggested that Akayev was preparing the ground for a possible nationwide referendum that could lift, or change the constitutional provision limiting a president's tenure.

Akayev's administration has long faced criticism from political opponents about alleged media manipulation. Several members of Akayev's inner circle reportedly have substantial holdings in key media outlets. For instance, the president's son-in-law, Adil Toigonbayev, owns several media outlets, including the influential newspaper Vecherny Bishkek.

Outlets controlled by friends and relatives of the president have strongly favored Alga Kyrgyzstan – a pro-presidential political movement, in their coverage of the parliamentary campaign, Baysalov said. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. He added that since December media outlets with close ties to Akayev have charged prohibitively high rates for political advertisements, effectively preventing candidates not aligned with the administration from broadcasting campaign ads.

"Central television channels are, in effect, blocked even for the richest independent candidates," Baysalov said in a recent interview. "Even if one assumes that some opposition [candidates] are well financed, barriers to media advertising are still high. They have to overpay 2-3 times more than its costs to advertise laundry detergent powder."

With their access to television and radio limited, opposition supporters have employed several tactics in trying to get their message out to the Kyrgyz electorate, including public demonstrations and the use of electronic media. The opposition garnered attention in January with a series of protests over the exclusion of prominent Kyrgyz diplomats from the election campaign. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Also in January the owner of the opposition-leaning Gazeta.kg website, Ulan Melisbek, accused a pro-government web outlet, Kyrgyzinfo.kg, of planting a bogus story designed to discredit his publication. Representatives of Kyrgyzinfo.kg denied any wrongdoing and demanded an apology. Yet, Melisbek, in a recent interview with EurasiaNet, showed no signs of backing down. He predicted that the government's campaign to stifle opposition media would not succeed, and might ultimately backfire. "They [pro-government media outlets] pursue one goal, but. ... all they gain is public censure," Melisbek said.