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2007 Assessment

Kyrgyz Republic: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Kyrgyz Republic: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Media
Indicators		Score
5	Are media and free speech protected?	100
6	Are citizens able to form print media entities?	56
7	Are citizens able to form broadcast (radio and TV) media entities?	50
8	Can citizens freely use the Internet?	88
9	Are the media able to report on corruption?	50
10	Are the media credible sources of information?	30
11	Are journalists safe when investigating corruption?	67

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are media and free speech protected?

5a: In law, freedom of the media is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments: Comments: The current constitution was adopted on January 15, 2007. It contains all regulations on human rights and mass media that were in the previous edition of the constitution adopted in 1998. According to Article 36 of the constitution, culture, arts, literature, science and the mass media are free. This clause makes the mass media an object of the cultural sphere rather than the political or socio-economic spheres. Article 65 says that no laws shall be made to abridge freedom of speech and the press is also included.

References: The Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic as of January 15, 2007

5b: In law, freedom of speech is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: According to Article 14 of the constitution, every citizen has a right to free thoughts, speech and print and expression of thoughts and views.

Are citizens able to form print media entities?

6a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to form a print media entity.

Score:

100

Comments: The government doesn't create barriers to form media entities. There is no evidence for this year of the government's resistance to the creation of any print media.

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek

6b: In law, where a print media license is necessary, there is an appeal mechanism if a license is denied or revoked.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The Law on Mass Media.

6c: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a print media license within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek

6d: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a print media license at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek

Are citizens able to form broadcast (radio and TV) media entities?

7a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to form a broadcast (radio and TV) media entity.

Score:

100

Comments: There may be problems with the distribution of broadcast bandwidth. The government might freeze the process, saying that there is no bandwidth, or they may announce a bid that contains discriminative conditions for media.

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek

7b: In law, where a broadcast (radio and TV) media license is necessary, there is an appeal mechanism if a license is denied or revoked.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The Law on Mass Media

7c: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a broadcast (radio and TV) media license within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek

7d: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a broadcast (radio and TV) media license at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek

Can citizens freely use the Internet?

8a: In practice, the government does not prevent citizens from accessing content published online.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek

8b: In practice, the government does not censor citizens creating content online.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek

Are the media able to report on corruption?

9a: In law, it is legal to report accurate news even if it damages the reputation of a public figure.

Score:

YES

Comments: The law requires that journalists should provide reliable information but prohibits damaging personal honor and dignity. Individuals who think that their honor and dignity was damaged by the media can appeal to the court, which shall make a decision. The media might deny requests for damaging information from the person concerned.

References: The Law on Mass Media of July 2, 1992, Article 17

Peer Review Comments: I believe that the the resolution of "honor and dignity" cases is contingent on demonstrating that the allegations of the media source were factually wrong, similar to libel/slander standards elsewhere. Burdens of proof are different and "honor and dignity" cases are often used to intimidate media in the region.

9b: In practice, the government or media owners/distribution groups do not encourage self-censorship of corruption-related stories.

Score:

100

Comments: It depends on who is involved in the story. The media is selective in covering corruption.

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek

9c: In practice, there is no prior government restraint (pre-publication censoring) on publishing corruption-related stories.

Score:

100

Comments: There might be some censorship in government-related media, but I do not know any proven facts about it.

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek

Peer Review Comments: The Vecherny Bishkek, Kyrgyz Tuusu and other pro-governmental organizations would never publish corruption issues seriously discrediting the president. This is especially true for Russian-speaking organizations, which tend to approve of any president who is pro-Russian.

Are the media credible sources of information?

10a: In law, print media companies are required to disclose their ownership.

Score:

YES

Comments: The law only stipulates who has the right to establish a mass media entity. There are no requirements to disclose ownership.

References: The Law on Mass Media of July 2, 1992, Article 5

10b: In law, broadcast (radio and TV) media companies are required to disclose their ownership.

Score:

YES

Comments: There is no requirement to disclose ownership.

References: The Law on Mass Media of July 2, 1992, Article 5

10c: In practice, journalists and editors adhere to strict, professional practices in their reporting.

Score:

100

Comments: Journalists often violate professional codes of conduct, especially journalists who are partisan in their practice and actively involved in politics.

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek

Comments of the media representative institute to the Draft Code of Ethics of Kyrgyz Journalists. www.monitoring.kg

Peer Review Comments: Journalists are members of this corrupted culture, and of course they report in the framework of their awareness.

10d: In practice, during the most recent election, political parties or independent candidates received fair media coverage.

Score:

100

Comments: All candidates have the same amount of media coverage on national state broadcasting and print media. This provision is under regulation of the Election Committee.

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek

Peer Review Comments: It seems that in the last months, www.24.kg, www.akipress.kg and www.kabar.kg, the national TV, favor certain pro-governmental parties.

Peer Review Comments: In fact a court case was recently filed in which an opposition member claimed a violation of the "equal coverage" principle, and won.

10e: In practice, political parties and candidates have equitable access to state-owned media outlets.

Score:

100

Comments: During the last parliamentary elections, as OSCE stated, "The state media were obliged to allocate to candidates fixed amounts of time and space, free of charge, from the start of the official campaign. At the same time, at least one-third of a given time had to be devoted to televised debates.

Prior to the first round, the state broadcaster KTR adhered to its legal requirements to grant free time for candidates, including allocation of time for debates."

However, recently two opposition parties said that National Broadcasting TV didn't find time for them and one party said that they were offered airtime from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m.

References: OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report 27 February and 13 March 2005, Warsaw, 20 May, 2005

National Broadcasting Company does not provide time for election campaign said parties, Dec. 03, 2007, www.akipress.kg

Peer Review Comments: Some political parties have more access.

Are journalists safe when investigating corruption?

11a: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no journalists imprisoned related to work covering corruption during the study period. A YES score is positive. NO: A NO score is earned if any journalist was jailed because of his/her work covering corruption during the study period. The causal relationship between the official charges and the journalist\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the journalist was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek

11b: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

Comments: Mr. Kairat Birimkulov was seriously injured on March 16, 2007. At that time, he was investigating corruption in Kyrgyz Temir Zholu (Kyrgyz Railways). On March 14, two days before Birimkulov was attacked, Kyrgyz Temir Zholu Director Nariman Tyuleyev filed a defamation suit against the journalist in connection to his broadcast, according to Public Association Journalist, a Bishkek-based press freedom group. The first court hearing was scheduled for March 19, the group said.

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek

www.monitoring.kg

[ LINK ]

11c: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of journalists being killed because of their work covering corruption-related issues during the study period. A YES score is positive. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases where a journalist was killed in relation to his or her work covering corruption-related issues in the study period. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s work may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is a reasonable guess that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Elmira Toktogulova, Director, Media Consult Public Association, August 17, 2007, Bishkek