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March 30 - April 05, 2015

Media Monitoring Report for Kyrgyzstan
Posted on April 13, 2015

Compiled by Caitlin Murphy

Report Content:

  1. Corruption
  2. Politics & Government
  3. Russian Language Debate
  4. Society

All articles translated from Russian, unless otherwise indicated*

1. Corruption
24.kg, State-owned media, 30 March 2015

Kanzhar Kadyraliyev arrested for one month

  • The brother of a Member of Parliament of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, Kanzhar Kadyraliyev, has been and will be jailed for one month.
  • His is a representative from Osh, in Southern Kyrgyzstan.
  • The Social Democratic Party is holds the majority in the Kyrgyz Parliament.
  • Kadyraliyev has been charged with cheating, extortion, and arbitrariness.
  • Kyrgyzstan is rife with problems of nepotism in government. 
Vb.kg, Privately-owned media, 30 March 2015

The Minister of Health had been criticized for not fighting corruption

  • The Parliamentary Committee on Anti-Corruption wants to monitor the Ministry of Health under the Law On Combatting Corruption. 
  • Last year 5 areas of corruption and 34 ongoing corrupt schemes were identified within the Ministry of Health.
  • Anti-corruption commissions with an appointed commissioner have been assigned to every government ministry, except within the Ministry of Health.
2. Politics & Government
Vb.kg, Privately-owned media, 31 March 2015

Kyrgyzstan will close Mosques that don’t meet standards

  • Within the Kyrgyz Republic, mosques must register with, and be approved by the state.
  • Of 2 600 mosques in Kyrgyzstan, only 2 055 have been registered.
  • The unregistered mosques are subject to inspection and possible closer.
  • Also the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations has been amended such that now prayer rooms, called namazkana, also need to be registered.
Vb.kg, Privately-owned media, 2 April 2015

Dishonest politician distract voters from the problems of the Kyrgyz Republic

  • The raiding of the offices and homes of the lawyers of the NGO ‘Bir Duino – Kyrgyzstan’ has been called a violations of the constitutional guarantees of Advocacy and the immunity status of layers. 
  • The warrant was issued not against the lawyers, but against certain foreign citizens, by the judges of the Osh City Court.
  • The raids were conducted by the National Security Committee, which works toward curtailing extremism and terrorism.
  • Human Rights activist Ismailov Tolekan claims that dishonest politicians in the region are manipulating voters by finding enemies to divert attention away from poverty, unemployment, and failed reforms because of corruption and inept officials.
3. Russian Language Debate
24.kg, State-owned media, 31 March 2015

The Russian Embassy in Kyrgyzstan receives appeals against the abolition of the official state of the Russian language

  • The Chairman of the National Commission on State Language, Egemberdi Ermatov, has recommended the abolition of the official status of the Russian language as it “hinders the development of the state.”
  • The Ambassador of the Russia Federation to the Kyrgyz Republic, Andrei Krut’ko, has appealed for this not to go through, claiming that the Russian language has allowed many ethnic Kyrgyz to access the world community to a greater extent.
  • On top of that, Krut’ko says that the maintenance of the state of the Russian language, is the old solid way to guarantee harmonious inter-ethnic relations. 
Vb.kg, Privately-owned media, 1 April 2015

Erkin Mamkulov: Do not politicize the issues of language

  • Vecherniy Bishkek (vb.kg), held a roundtable on the status of the Russia language in Kyrgyzstan.
  • The ex-Kyrgyz Ambassador to Ukraine, Erkin Mamkulov, has warned against the dangerous possibilities of politicizing language.
  • He claims that those who want the removal of Russian from the state language are political actors who have selfish interests and hope to remove opponents and competitors from political arenas. 
  • He cited the recent Ukrainian revolution and how language was politicized in the process. 
4. Society
24.kg, State-owned media, 1 April 2015

Anwar Sartaev: Kyrgyzstan needs to form a union for soldiers

  • Chairman of the Kyrgyz NGO, ‘Institute of Military Ombudsman,’ Anwar Sartaev, calls for the formation of a Soldiers’ Union because there is currently no government agency for the protection of the rights and freedoms of military personnel. 
  • In Kyrgyz law at present, soldiers are not permitted to form unions. 
Vb.kg, Privately-owned media, 30 March 2015

Freedom of speech in Kyrgyzstan is considered excessive

  • In Bishkek was held an open discussion on the theme “Freedom or Security: how much is acceptable state intervention in the affairs of the media.”
  • Many people expressed the sentiment that Kyrgyz journalists had too much ‘freedom of speech,’ such that improper journalistic practices were accepted.
  • Examples of improper journalistic practices given were the use the unregulated materials, and malpractice in the preparation of news materials.
  • Some speakers called for greater governmental rule regulating journalistic practices.
  • Others disagreed, saying that within the government there are at least three of four laws directly related to the regulation of journalistic practices, and that the burden of responsible journalism should be ruled by editorial boards.
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