[HCDX] Kyrgyz state radio suspends BBC broadcasts

["Zacharias Liangas " <greekdx@xxxxxxxxx>]

Kyrgyz state radio suspends BBC broadcasts
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gDvUn4d1bW-
TIEdv6CGRlflqIz2wD94SJPMO0
By LEILA SARALAYEVA - 1 day ago

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) - Kyrgyzstan's state radio station has taken 
BBC programming off the airwaves, days after withdrawing broadcasting 
rights from U.S.-funded Radio Liberty's Kyrgyz Service.

The British broadcaster said Friday on its Web site that no explanation was 
given for the suspension, but negotiations are ongoing with the head of the 
Kyrgyz National Television Corporation in hopes of resolving the situation.

Melis Eshimkanov, who heads the state broadcaster, cited unspecified 
technical reasons for the suspension of BBC programs.

Government pressure on the media in Kyrgyzstan has increased in recent 
years amid growing economic uncertainty in the impoverished Central Asian 
country. Most Kyrgyz people rely on state-controlled broadcasters as their 
main source of news.

The BBC has broadcast news programs three hours daily on the state radio 
station in Russian and Kyrgyz. It has been operating in the former Soviet 
nation since the mid-1990s.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Kyrgyz Service, Radio Azattyk, also has 
had its radio frequencies withdrawn, which Eshimkanov said was due to 
shortcomings in contractual obligations. Radio Azattyk has declined to 
comment.

Ata-Meken opposition party leader Omurbek Tekebayev said the move to 
shut down Radio Azattyk's broadcasts is part of a broader effort to clamp 
down on independent media in the country.

"Radio Azattyk's news coverage has made it one of the most influential 
media concerns in Kyrgyzstan, as people in the regions always tune it to 
learn about the latest and most objective news on developments in the 
country," Tekebayev said.

All Central Asian countries - which also include Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, 
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - are ranked by international rights groups 
as the worst offenders for absence of free expression.

Journalists have suffered the most severe harassment in Turkmenistan and 
Uzbekistan, where they are routinely subjected to intimidation and arrest.

The BBC was forced to close its World Service operation in Uzbekistan by a 
campaign of official harassment after its coverage of the government's 
violent suppression of a protest in the eastern town of Andijan in May 2005.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America are also banned 
from broadcasting from within Uzbekistan.

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Zacharias Liangas , Thessaloniki Greece 
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