(JuHI/IFEX) – According to a 29 June 2000 statement by the Osh Media Resource Center, the Kyrgyz Republic’s State Commission on Radio Frequencies issued a decree that obliges Osh TV to cease broadcasting on the fifth VHF channel (a very high frequency), and to switch to the twenty-third channel on UHF (an ultra high frequency). […]
(JuHI/IFEX) – According to a 29 June 2000 statement by the Osh Media Resource Center, the Kyrgyz Republic’s State Commission on Radio Frequencies issued a decree that obliges Osh TV to cease broadcasting on the fifth VHF channel (a very high frequency), and to switch to the twenty-third channel on UHF (an ultra high frequency). This will not only require viewers to have special receivers in order to receive Osh TV programming, but will also result in the television station’s reaching fewer viewers. Osh TV is a private television station based in Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan, which broadcasts mostly in Uzbek and caters mostly to the town’s ethnic Uzbek population.
The 29 June decree, signed by the chairman of the State Commission, Esen Topoev (who is also Kyrgyzstan’s defense minister), rejected Osh TV’s appeal to extend its licence to broadcast on the VHF fifth channel, set a 1 July deadline for the station to cease broadcasting on the channel, and assigned the Kyrgyz National Agency for Communications (NAC) to oversee its implementation.
According to Khaliljan Khudaiberdiev, the Osh TV director who had previously contacted a number of governmental agencies in an effort to find support, the State Commission’s decree contradicts the presidential administration’s official position on Osh TV’s case. On 16 May, prior to the issuing of the decree, Khudaiberdiev received an offical letter from the Kyrgyz president’s aide and press secretary, Osmonakun Ibraimov, informing him that the NAC has prepared all relevant and necessary documents for prolonging Osh TV’s licence on VHF broadcasting, and assuring him that a settlement was imminent.
The issue of switching Osh TV’s broadcast frequency first arose in October 1997, when the newly-formed NAC revoked the licences of all private TV stations in Kyrgyzstan. There were further efforts on the part of this agency to revoke Osh TV’s licence in 1998, but they failed due to Osh TV’s strong resistance. This resistance allowed Osh TV to bring the case to the presidential administration’s attention. In March 1999, the NAC, under pressure from the president’s administration, agreed to allow Osh TV to broadcast on VHF for nine months. After this period expired, Osh TV was obliged to switch to UHF broadcasting on channel twenty-three.
According to Khudaiberdiev, the process of changing from VHF to UHF broadcasting is extremly costly. About 2 million soms (US$42,675) is needed to change the equipment and infrastructure necessary for UHF broadcasting. More importantly, the change of frequency could result in the loss of a majority of Osh TV’s audience. Khudaiberdiev did not rule out the possibility that this process might lead to Osh TV’s closing.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– calling on him to do everything in his power to ensure media freedom in his country
– asking that his administration respect Kyrgyzstan’s international press fredom obligations
– expressing the hope that this issue will be solved within a short time frame
– also calling on him to review the cases of Moldosali Ibrahimov of “Akyikat” newspaper (see IFEX alerts of 26 and 22 June 2000) and Hakimjon Husanov of Mezon TV
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:His Excellency Mr. Askar Akayev
President of the Kyrgyz Republic
Fax: +996 312 21 69 22 / 21 86 27
E-mail: ghpress2@rhl.bishkek.suPlease copy appeals to the source if possible.
