(Adil Soz/IFEX) – Kyrgyzstan’s “MSN” and “Res Publica” newspapers are facing government pressure over reports published in the papers on an alleged secret government session last December. According to Zamira Sadykova, a senior editor of “Res Publica” newspaper, the papers received an official notice demanding they disclose their sources for the report or face legal […]
(Adil Soz/IFEX) – Kyrgyzstan’s “MSN” and “Res Publica” newspapers are facing government pressure over reports published in the papers on an alleged secret government session last December. According to Zamira Sadykova, a senior editor of “Res Publica” newspaper, the papers received an official notice demanding they disclose their sources for the report or face legal proceedings.
In mid-January, the newspapers reported on a secret session held by the government in December 2004, during which the prime minister had allegedly given orders to “neutralize” members of some opposition parties “by any means necessary, including murder”. In addition, “Res Publica” newspaper published a letter from Presidential Administration Deputy Head Bolot Zhanuzakov to Prime Minister Nikolay Tanayev, in which the deputy head proposed a number of measures intended to obstruct the activities of opposition politicians during the upcoming parliamentary elections. State officials have denied the allegations.
During a press conference at the AKI-press news agency, Zhanuzakov called on local media to avoid a “media war” in Kyrgyzstan. “The report was purposely written by experts to discredit the president and the government of the country,” Zhanuzakov told the conference. He also called the reports “a black PR [public relations] campaign aimed at inciting enmity in society and provoking conflict.” Zhanuzakov promised to resign if the author of the report could prove that the session had really taken place.
Tanayev said that he planned to file a lawsuit against the newspapers who reported on the alleged secret government session. The prime minister added that the newspapers would be forgiven if they publicly apologised and published a retraction equal in size to the report.
Abdil Segizbayev, a presidential press secretary, stated that acts of “information terrorism” committed by opposition media were on the increase. “Various reports about the government session and decisions taken were published to discredit the authorities, who had done nothing wrong,” Segizbayev said. “[This] information is being reprinted by opposition media outlets in order to agitate people and cause a scandal over the parliamentary candidates, in case [the opposition] loses the election,” he said.
