Center for Civil Society International ([email protected])
Wed, 21 Oct 1998 10:12:43 -0700 (PDT)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 12:53:04 +0400
From: Alexis Martin <[email protected]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Newspapers closed in Kyrghyz Republic
Friends,
Vecherny Bishkek, the largest newspaper in the Kyrghyz Republic, wrote on
Tuesday, 20 October, that the Commission of Morality under the Ministry of
Justice, created on October 6, has decided to close down three newspapers
accusing them of "publishing pornography, vulgar and unnatural scenes that
are harmful to human dignity and the religious feelings of citizens, and for
promoting violence and aggression." The three newspapers are Pashamba,
Limon, and Kaptama.
Pashamba is a tabloid published by the same company that publishes Asaba, a
political newspaper that is known for its independent writing. Limon, is a
tabloid published by the same company that publishes AKI Kyrghyzstan, an
economic and political journal that is known for its criticism of the
government. Asaba and AKI Kyrgyzstan use these tabloids to finance their
less profitable, politically oriented newspapers.
The publisher of Limon, Marat Tazabekov, states that he learned about the
closure of his newspaper from a television broadcast on the state television
channel last Wednesday. On Monday, he received written confirmation that the
case would be tried under the criminal code and an explanation of the
charges from the state prosecutor. On Tuesday afternoon, he received a
notice that the court had ordered the police to "nalozhit arest na
redaktsiyu" and to stop publication of the paper. Tazabekov says that he
had never before received a warning that he was in violation of the law.
The official decision against Tazabekov cites four articles, published by
Limon, that are said to be violations. One of these articles is an advice
column published on 16 October, in which a young girl writes, "Recently, I
had an abortion. Until then, I used the calendar method to avoid pregnancy,
but as you can see, it was not very effective. I do not want to have to go
through that again. Can you please advise me how not to get pregnant again?"
A gynecologist from a Bishkek clinic answers her question with information
about various birth control methods.
Alexis Martin
Director, Internews
Kyrghyz Republic
[email protected]
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