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May 4-10, 2015

Media Monitoring Report for Kyrgyzstan
Posted on May 19, 2015

Contents

  1. Nationalism
  2. Media and hate speech
Compiled by Caitlin Murphy
1. Nationalism

Vb.kg, Privately-owned media, Accessed on 6 May 2015
Singer Beck Borbiev raises wave of nationalism on social network

  • On May 5, Kyrgyz Constitution Day, Borbiev demanded that telecommunications operator MegaCom abandon support of subscribers in the Uzbek language.
  • Borbiev wrote that if the company did not meet his demands by May 15, he would organize protests across the country.
  • He urged all willing to give up the use of the operator’s services.
  • When the company refused, the singer called for protests. The first protest is scheduled to take place May 15 near the telecommunication office’s central operation in Bishkek.
  • Notably, Uzbeks make up the second largest ethnic group in Kyrgyzstan.
  • The Kyrgyz National Security Committee (SCNS) has not yet taken action against the singer.
  • Last year the singer travelled to Mink where he accused the ousted President Bakiev of felonies at Bakiev’s home where he has been granted asylum by the Belarussian government.
2.     Media and hate speech

24.kg, Privately-owned media, Accessed on 4 May 2015
The Kyrgyz media agenda generates hate speech and internet threats

  • According to the School of Peacekeeping and Media Technology, media laws in Kyrgyzstan are too lenient on the use of hate speech in the media, and hate-related internet threats.
  • This message was delivered on the World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd.
  • Experts say that the leniency, with which these concerning issues are dealt, is the result of larger socio-political content.
  • The media group analyzed media over the last four months. They identified 7 main topics, most of which included “hate speech” language.
  • One of the main search topics was “Chinese expansion” in Kyrgyzstan
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