BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz lawmakers, media outlets, and rights activists have called for the government to repeal its decision to block the websites of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Radio Azattyk, saying it has cast a shadow over the country.
At a session of parliament on October 27, lawmaker Tazabek Ikramov said the move to block access to Radio Azattyk, taken a day earlier, appears to violate Article 10 of the country's constitution, which says "censorship is illegal in Kyrgyzstan and media outlets are free to carry out their activities."
The Kyrgyz government blocked the website for two months after RFE/RL refused to take down a video of one of its news programs that reported on clashes at the border with Tajikistan.
The ministry claimed the video, produced by Current Time, a Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, "predominantly" took the position of the Tajik side.
RFE/RL President and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Fly rejected the accusation, saying the broadcaster "takes [its] commitment to balanced reporting seriously" and that after a review of the content in question, "no violation of our standards" was found. RFE/RL is appealing the decision.
Ikramov's comments to lawmakers came as dozens of activists and media representatives signed a petition demanding the government immediately unblock the websites and stop putting pressure on RFE/RL and other media outlets in the country.
Akmat Alagushev, a lawyer of the Media Policy Institute, a Bishkek-based NGO monitoring the development of independent media in the Central Asian country, called the ministry’s decision illegal.
"What we have here is a situation when a ministry files a lawsuit and asks itself to look into it. But that is absolutely illegal because the law says there must be a person or a company that files a complaint," Alagushev said.
The chairman of Kyrgyzstan’s Independent Union of Journalists, Azamat Kasybekov, noted that with the blocking of the website, "citizens who want to get truthful information will suffer from the ministry's move."
SEE ALSO: Kyrgyzstan At Risk Of Turmoil After Harsh Crackdown On Border-Deal DissentEarlier this month threats were made against RFE/RL journalists during a demonstration in Bishkek at the office of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service.
Most of the participants of the action covered their faces, avoided the camera, and refused to answer questions about their demands, though Ilimbek Israilov, the organizer of the demonstration, threatened to spray gasoline on RFE/RL reporters and use force against them.
Israilov is known for his involvement in the organization of numerous rallies to support the former deputy chief of the Customs Service, Raimbek Matraimov.
In 2019, an investigation by RFE/RL, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and Kloop implicated Matraimov in a corruption scheme involving the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars out of Kyrgyzstan.