PRESS RIGHTS AND CONSTRAINTS IN KYRGYZSTAN: THE FIRST YEAR OF PRESIDENT ATAMBAEV
Abstract
The article discusses a new era of human, press, and political rights protections in Kyrgyzstan. However, the interim administration of President Roza Otunbaeva and the accession of her democratically elected successor, President Almazbek Atambaev, on December 1, 2011, failed to produce the anticipated significant commitment to restore and safeguard press rights. Drawing on interviews with journalists and mass media experts in Bishkek and Osh, this article examines the press rights situation and restraints in the first year of the Atambaev administration. It concludes that the achievement of a strong press rights record will be neither easy nor swift in light of Kyrgyzstan’s Soviet-era and post-independence history, economic constraints, and political fragility.
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