Media Mysteries Come and Go in Kyrgyzstan

Just as soon as one media mystery is solved in Kyrgyzstan, another seems to arise. A prominent telecommunications entity reportedly linked to President Askar Akayev's family revealed recently that it has acquired a significant stake in Pyramida TV, apparently ending a long-running controversy over the station's ownership structure. At the same time, questions concerning the murky origins of a new Russian-language channel are being asked in Bishkek.

Pyramida, one of the most influential independent media outlets in Kyrgyzstan, for months has been the subject of speculation about the station's ownership. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. In an interview published August 18 by the AKIpress news agency, Erkin Jamanbaev, the general director of Areopag, confirmed that the telecommunications company had purchased an interest in Pyramida. He stressed that Areopag had not obtained a "controlling package," but he declined to reveal the extent of the company's holdings in Pyramida.

Areopag appears to be closely connected with Akayev's administration. The president's son, Aidar, is said to play a prominent role in Areopag, and the company's former general director, Nurbek Turdukulov, now serves as the deputy minister of transport and communications.

Jamanbaev said the sale occurred "about a month ago," about the same time Pyramid management released a strongly worded statement denying any change in ownership. That statement was designed to dispel rumors that circulated in June and July in which Pyramid supposedly sold a majority of its shares to Akayev's son-in-law Adil Toigonbaev. Toigonbaev owns several media outlets, including the most popular newspaper Vecherny Bishkek and the popular TV station KOORT.

Some media observers in Central Asia believe Kyrgyz leaders are interested in increasing their influence over mass media outlets in order to boost incumbent authority's electoral prospects in upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections in 2005.

Before Pyramida's ownership became an issue, station executives found themselves embroiled in a dispute with regulatory officials. Pyramid lost its VHF signal and was forced to broadcast on the shorter-range UHF signal for about six weeks this spring because of a technical problem with a transmitter it shared with several other stations. Officials then appeared to block Pyramida from resuming VHF broadcasting after the transmitter was fixed -- until Akayev personally intervened to end the impasse. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

As the Pyramida ownership issue seems to settle, attention is now focusing on a new channel, NTS, which is reportedly funded in part by Alyans, a Russian energy company. The station is still in its infancy and has not begun broadcasting. Nevertheless, it is facing lots of questions, so far unanswered, concerning its origins and aims.

The station reportedly has already obtained permission to broadcast. If confirmed, some media observers wonder how NTS could clear the bureaucratic hurdle with relative ease at a time when state regulators have otherwise been slow to consider license applications, including renewal requests from already existing broadcasters.

Speculation also surrounds the station's intended programming orientation. There is an unconfirmed report making the rounds in Bishkek that claims presidential hopeful Kurmanbek Bakiyev has an interest in the new station, and intends to use the channel as a vehicle to boost his electoral chances. Another rumor holds that the Russian government, via Alyans, wants to use the media outlet as a means to pressure Kyrgyz authorities into cooperating with Moscow's geopolitical agenda in Central Asia. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Adding another layer to the NTS mystery, reports are circulating in Bishkek that many Pyramida employees are jumping to the new channel. However, prominent Pyramida employees are reluctant to go public with any announcements about a shift. For example, Alexander Kulinsky, host of Pyramida's National Democratic Institute (NDI)-funded talk show Nashe Vremya, said he would "most likely" not be working at Pyramid in the future. In response to questions of whether he would work at NTS, he said had not made a decision concerning a future job and refused to comment about the new television station.

According to local media experts, NTS could begin broadcasting as early as October. Whenever it does go on the air, it appears certain that it will strive to be Pyramida's chief competitor, not only for viewers, but for Western assistance as well.

In the past, Pyramida produced two programs that received funding from Western non-governmental organizations: Nashe Vremya and Bez Retushi. However, the recent changes at Pyramida come at a time when Western donors are re-evaluating the grants. If Pyramid's content remains high-quality and independent, it may still get grants, said Amy Schultz, the senior program manager in Kyrgyzstan for NDI, which has funded Nashe Vremya for more than five years.

"We're open to working with Pyramida, and we're open to working with other venues," Shultz said. "Our interest is in high-quality programming more than who the owners will be, and our interest is in reaching the widest audience."