Zamira Sydykova, the editor-in-chief of Kyrgyzstan’s opposition weekly Res Publica, on October 10 received the "Courage in Journalism Award" from the International Women’s Media Foundation. Her paper has faced mounting pressure since 1993, when the government of Kyrgyzstan began backtracking on its economic and political reforms. In 1995, she was banned from journalism for 18 months, after being accused of slandering President Askar Akayev. In 1997, Sydykova spent time in a labor camp for her newspaper’s expose of abuses at a state-run gold mine. After her release, she was again banned from work in journalism for 18 months. This year, the government levied fines on the paper that are the equivalent of its entire annual budget. Despite the pressure, Sydykova has found a way to continue publishing Res Publica. In addition to donating her prize money, she secured a pledge from the media giant Time Warner AOL to underwrite Res Publica’s publication costs for the next year. EurasiaNet spoke to Sydykova about press freedom and the approaching presidential election on October 29. [For background see Kyrgyzstan Election Watch]. Her comments follow:

EurasiaNet: How would you describe the media’s ability to cover the elections in Kyrgyzstan?

Sydykova: We’re experiencing a lot of different pressures right now, and this comes on the eve of the presidential elections. For instance the government right now has stepped up the repression that is going on in the country, especially in respect to independent media in the republic. So we are experiencing financial pressures. I am not just talking about my newspaper, Res Publica, either. The situation is affecting all independent-minded publications in the country. It is affecting the distribution of news in the country. Some delivery services are refusing to [distribute] newspapers in remote regions of the republic.

EurasiaNet: Is the campaign environment free and fair?

Sydykova: Absolutely not. Of course we cannot say the elections in Kyrgyzstan will be completely fair. The European Council right now is planning to send a team to monitor the upcoming elections. And this will not be for a specific amount of time. This group will be monitoring the events throughout the elections. This shows that right now there are deep concerns and worries about potential electoral violations and fraud.

A lot of people in our country -- who are really great at what they do, who by rights should really be the politicians in power -- they have been excluded from the presidential elections. And this was done under various circumstances. For example, they are entangled in different trials going on in the republic. And so they do not have the necessary means to enter a presidential election. And they have also been excluded for not knowing the Kyrgyz language that well. There is a linguistic commission operating in the republic, and if you do not know the language well, you are excluded from participation in the presidential elections. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. And thus many good and honorable people did not have the opportunity to take part in this process.

EurasiaNet: Has anything changed as a result of the criticism of last year’s parliamentary elections?

Sydykova: I think basically what happened is that during the parliamentary elections, the authorities figured out all the possible violations and fraud that they could get away with. For instance, they looked at the reaction of the international community and they saw that nothing is really happening. Political parties and journalists are protesting, but nothing is really happening as a result. So they see that they can continue to engage in fraud and do whatever they feel is

necessary to win the election. Nothing is changing in the country. The authorities realized that criticism of the Central Electoral Committee isn’t going to make them change. Nothing was improved from last time. No mistakes have been corrected. Everything [the electoral abuses] that was [happening during the parliamentary elections] remains the same.

EurasiaNet: Are journalists still being harassed?

Sydykova: Of course journalists are being harassed in the country. And everything is being done so that freedom-minded publications will not reach their readers. Of course they [government authorities] are not killing journalists and they have stopped putting free thinkers in jail. But they are entangling them in different trials that take up all of their time. And they’re fining the newspapers. And of course this puts financial restraints on the mass media, and so the independent newspapers cannot be published because of these financial limitations.

EurasiaNet: After Akayev’s re-election, what do you think will happen in terms of press freedom?

Sydykova: I think he will shut down the newspapers he thinks he does not need. He will basically shut down all the newspapers that are interfering with his program, or that are standing in his way. And free-minded journalists are considering leaving the country and becoming dissidents abroad. This is the situation that is now developing in Kyrgyzstan. In Central Asia right now, the leaders are trying to use the threat of international terrorism to fight against democracy.

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Posted October 12, 2000 © Eurasianet
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