…especially right now in Kyrgyzstan, it seems.
Last week, both the head of Kyrgyzstan’s National Security Council under Askar Akaev, Bolot Djanuzakov, and Russian political scientist Aleksandr Knyazev were attacked near their homes on the night of December 9. Knyazev has been critical of the Kyrgyz government (you can find his work on his website), and he claims that his attackers said that the assault was for his “politics.”
Via CPJ, Gazeta.ru reports that several Russian analysts and journalists who report for Russian publications received threatening letters this week saying, “Knyazev wouldn’t listen the first time. Listen, we warned you. Leave our Kyrgyzstan and don’t meddle in our lives.” A reporter for BaltInfo, Aleksandr Evgrafov received the message in the form of a beating, during which he was told not to write “bad things” about Kyrgyzstan and shouldn’t try to rehabilitate former Kyrgyz officials.
And it’s not just Russians who are being targeted in this latest round of attacks on critics and independent voices in the media. The Osh Shamy received a new year’s card containing a threatening message and a bullet.
The letter said: “Your lies do not cost anything. But they might cost you something though — your youth. This is our New Year’s Eve announcement. The other two [bullets] are in the AK-47′s magazine. For now, consider this the most humane attitude towards you. But those who do not appreciate [our message] will be punished.”
One of the paper’s journalists, Kubanychbek Joldoshev was beaten in early November.
Routine attacks on the press or former officials are sadly not a surprise for Kyrgyzstan anymore, but attacks on Russian analysts and journalists, critics or not, and a night letter campaign seem like a worrying new development.
This post was written by...
Nathan Hamm – author of 2040 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan founded Registan.net in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural factors shape risks and opportunities. Follow him on Twitter or drop him a line.
{ 12 comments }
As you stress, Nathan, attacks on the press in Kyrgyzstan have become very routine. Not only media professionals, but the bloggers and commentators on once notoriously vocal diesel.elcat.kg have been intimidated into silence, all potentially explosive items of discussions are closed down by moderators while the reports of individual bloggers being summoned and threatened by various security agencies are abundant. Akipress and 24.kg have degraded into mere republishers of the officialdom. You will not see them carry statements of human rights groups or report on trials of opposition activists.
While violence against Messrs.Kniazev and Evgrafov are absolutely abhorrent, there is no need to differentiate them by their ethnicity or citizenship. While it is known that both of them carry Russian passports, in the eyes of the local despots it does not make any difference. You can recall the recent case of Andrei Zatoka and others in Turkmenistan. Perhaps, if Russia was known for the highest standards of press freedom and professional safety of journalists – it would have been completely another matter.
I guess that what strikes me as noteworthy about the targeting of Russians is that it is a signal that whoever is doing the targeting doesn’t care about the potential diplomatic blowback.
No, there is no concern and there is won’t be any blowback. Russia simply doesn’t care. And what could it do?
Though, Bakievites are too trying to spin the story as if some ‘third parties’ are trying to provoke discord with Russia.
Yeah, right!
I really don’t think Russia would do anything more than threaten not to make loans it wouldn’t make anyway. But it seems like there’s a glaring lack of the cautiousness toward Russia that one usually sees out of the Kyrgyz government. I’ll admit that I haven’t been paying the closest attention, but I get the sense that since the summer at least, Bakiev’s government has been more confident about its ability to act without concern for how Russia will react. (And the Zatoka situation probably communicated that Russia’s reaction will “fix” the situation.)
This may be a really dumb thought, but is there a possibility that someone in Russia thought that journalistic freedom was somewhat overrated and kind of waved this thing through?
It makes me wonder what their positions are on their own governments. Perhaps criticism of the Russian federation is implied through their criticism of the Kyrgyz government?
The latest attack on Gennady Pavlyuk confirms the pattern of well orchestrated campaign against the most visible Russian journalists in Kyrgyzstan.
Nathan, keep up the good work!
Thanks for the update, Edil. Why do you think there’s been such an explosion of attacks over the last week?
Oh where do we start?
Hike in energy and communal tarrifs, controversial ‘constitutional reform’ – de facto coup d’etat, trials of several opposition leaders expected to end in jailing – I point the finger to Жаныш Бакиев, the head of the presidential secret service who has the cart blanche from his brother and is said to have several criminilized mini death squads. Before they used criminals, hence the special forces handgun found on top contract killer now arrested Жумабек Закирбаев. Now they use the criminalized elements within the security services. Most visible case is the murder of Bakiev’s former head of administration Медет Садыркулов this spring.
Edil–is there some way I can get in contact with you? Shoot me an e-mail with your e-mail if you don’t mind, I want to ask you some stuff about Kyrgyzstan.
Thanks.
yes Kyrgyzstan’s has been plunging deeper int authoritarianism.
The people in KGZ know but dont care because they cant do anything. The government has been able to intimidate the population by holding strong each of the vital sectors – police, the economy, the judiciary and the government ministries. Not to mention they liaisons they have created with dubious businessmen with their own “militia’s”
What about the students? DO they care? are they afraid?
maybe readers of this article could help spreading virtual discontent by joining this anti-Bakiyev facebook group. Its not a lot, but its a beginning.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=100000606161725#/group.php?gid=216173572806&ref=mf
Just read Timothy Garton Ash’s ‘The Magic Lantern’ – an account of some of the events in the 1989 Eastern European revolutions. He twice uses the quote:
“Those who start by storming Bastilles will end up building new Bastilles”
Couldn’t help but think that this rather summed up Bakiev’s regime.
Garton Ash goes on to detail the ingredients needed for a successful ‘revolution’:
“… an absolute insistance on non-violencewith the active, highly inventive use of mass civil disobedience, skillful appeals to Western media, public opinion and governments, and a readiness to negotiate and compromise with the power-holders, while refusing to be co-opted by them. It embraces occupation strikes and peaceful demonstrations, but also secret talks. The pressure of public protext is brought to bear, through an opposition elite, for the purpose of peaceful transfer of power by dialogue and compromise.”
Can anyone see any of the above in their crystal ball?