OSCE, Vienna, 12 Dec 2008 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, expressed concern today over the temporary suspension of broadcasts in Kyrgyzstan of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and the Kyrgyz-language service of the BBC.
“Both RFE/RL and BBC are reputable public-service sources of information for Kyrgyz society. Their suspension would be a loss to pluralism, which is a major OSCE commitment in the media field,” said Haraszti.
In his letter to Foreign Minister Ednan Karabayev, Haraszti described the decision by the National TV and Radio Broadcasting Corporation to temporarily take the RFE Television and Radio programmes and BBC Kyrgyz-language services off the air as a “drawback to the democratic changes that the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic seeks to implement”.
“I welcome the fact that BBC’s Kyrgyz-language service is provisionally back on air since 10 December 2008, despite the fact that their contract is not extended yet,” said Haraszti.
“I urge the authorities to renew the contracts of both RFE/RL and BBC, so that they can resume full operation in the nearest future,” said Haraszti.
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