Hard-hitting Kyrgyz Paper Faces Closure

The government's recent condemnation of a leading Russian-language independent newspaper well known for investigating corruption in the highest echelons of power is being seen as the latest attempt to force it to close.

In a statement last month, government's policy adviser Osmonakun Ibraimov railed against Moya Stolitsa's sceptical reaction to President Akaev's lavish plans for celebrating the 2200th anniversary of the Kyrgyz state next year.

Ibraimov accused the paper of propagating what he called "separatist sentiment" - a reference to the fact that the paper is run by non-Kyrgyz management - and "offending national pride".

Moya Stolitsa has dismissed these accusations as "absurd". "Our paper has never been anything but utterly respectful towards the Kyrgyz nation and the state," said editor-in-chief Alexander Kim. "Speaking of the upcoming anniversary, our writers merely expressed their own opinion. They doubted that a lavish, pompous celebration is what our impoverished citizens really need at the moment."

Rights activists believe the paper has come under pressure again for its allegations of corruption among the nation's topmost officials, most notably members of the president's family.

Ibraimov's accusation of separatism - considered here as an extremely serious crimes - could lead to legal action that, if successful, would ruin the paper. It comes at a time when the independent daily is already embroiled in a series of expensive lawsuits.

Published since late 2001, the title has already been shut twice under various pretexts. Last January, the government-run printing monopoly Uchkun refused to publish it for four months. Publication resumed after international mediators intervened.

In addition to its probes into alleged corruption, the paper has angered the authorities with its intensive coverage of public protests last year, which began on March 17, when police in the southern Aksy region opened fire on peaceful demonstrators killing six.

The protests, in support of the jailed opposition parliamentarian Azimbek Beknazarov, sparked massive popular unrest across southern Kyrgyzstan and the capital.

Moya Stolitsa was one of the few newspapers that provided an alternative view of the subsequent political crisis in the country, giving a platform to protesters and opposition politicians.

Observers say the paper's pursuit of the authorities is not only motivated by its determination to expose corruption. They point out that its management have a grudge against those in power for forcing them to sell their majority stake in the popular Vecherny Bishkek newspaper in 1999. Staff at the latter subsequently left to set up Moya Stolitsa.

"Akaev and his supporters needed a powerful information outlet and ideological tool in the run-up towards the 2000 presidential elections," Kim told IWPR. "They set sights on Vecherny Bishkek, whose independent editorial policy was more than they could put up with."

Following the recent government accusations, pro-government media have unleashed a massive smear campaign against Moya Stolitsa, joined by a number of prominent Kyrgyz figures. "Moya Stolitsa disrespects our national symbols and our president, incites inter-ethnic hostility and undermines the fragile peace the nation has worked so hard to establish," said one of the latter.

The opposition has in turn accused the authorities of suppressing freedom of speech with its attacks on the paper. A committee has been set up to fight for the rights of Moya Stolitsa, headed by the well-known Kyrgyz human rights champion Tursunbek Akunov.

Akunov has called on to democratically-minded Kyrgyz citizens and international human rights organisations to condemn the Kyrgyz authorities' heavy-handed attempts to muzzle the paper.

"The authorities have decided to finish off this paper, which has consistently challenged our most sacrosanct political body, President Akaev and his family," opposition deputy Adakhan Madumarov told IWPR.

"The officials know only too well that another high-profile corruption scandal may be the last straw for our impoverished, disenfranchised population. The people may rebel for real, and that would be the end of Akaev's rule," he said.

Kuban Mambetaliev, chairman of the NGO Journalists, said freedom of speech is under threat once again in Kyrgyzstan. However, he believes civil society is now strong enough to defend its independent media.

Sultan Jumagulov is a BBC correspondent in Bishkek