Fergana.ru, Bishkek, 17 Dec 2008 – Minor financial and technical problems taken care of, the National TV and Radio Corporation resumed BBC radio broadcasts (according to the BBC Kyrgyz Bureau web site).
BBC has been broadcasting in Kyrgyz these last twelve years, paying the National TV and Radio Corporation for the use of its frequencies. The latter put an end to the broadcasts on December 1, 2008, without so much as a word of explanation.
In October, the National TV and Radio Corporation stopped broadcasting programs of US Congress-sponsored RL\RFE. It was done unilaterally and abruptly, in defiance of the contracts already signed. The Kyrgyz authorities insist on knowing the content of the broadcasts in advance. The Americans predictably called this demand unacceptable.
BBC management visited Kyrgyzstan and made a compromise with the authorities. These latter were probably promised subtlety in criticism of the regime. RL in the meantime is traditionally more focused on the opposition. The Kyrgyz authorities have only themselves to blame for this state of affairs because they are usually reluctant to participate in disputes with their political opponents in front of live mikes.
The Kyrgyz authorities know the RL policy because they themselves used this resource trying to topple ex-President Askar Akayev in the late 2004 and early 2005.
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