Kyrgyzstan Takes Press Freedom Beating

No one ever said Central Asia is a safe place to be a journalist. So it’s not surprising when media rights watchdogs issue annual reports detailing just what a rotten region it is for press freedom. 

Central Asia registered its only significant change in Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) 2010 press freedom index, released on October 20, in Kyrgyzstan. The country slipped from 125 to 159 (out of 179). Some of the fall can be credited to the last months of Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s brutal reign and bloody overthrow, but RSF attributes Kyrgyzstan’s precipitous slip “to the hatred campaign that accompanied the political turmoil.” 

Bishkek's attempts to blame the unrest on foreign and local media don't help either. 

This year's OSCE chair, Kazakhstan – which is about to hold a prized OSCE summit – ranks an embarrassing 162, only a spot above Uzbekistan and following both Libya and Somalia. 

Turkmenistan is still competing with North Korea and Eritrea for bottom place. 

The report was likely compiled before Tajikistan started its recent campaign to blame independent media for abetting terrorists and block independent websites. The country only fell from 113 to 115. It remains, surprisingly, the freest press in Central Asia.