Kyrgyz Public TV Plan a Non-Starter

Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiev’s rejection of a proposed media law shows the government is not planning to give up its broadcasting monopoly any time soon, NBCentralAsia analysts say.



On September 4, Bakiev turned down a law that would have established a public – but not state-run – television and radio company.



The official reason given was that transforming the current State National Television and Radio Corporation into a public broadcaster would require extra money from the budget and would thus need to be coordinated with the government. The presidential administration also pointed to inconsistencies in the bill which brought it into conflict with other laws, for instance, on advertising.



According to NBCentralAsia experts, the law - which was passed by parliament – reflected a fairly pro-government position, despite the fact that it had been drafted by independent civil society figures. For example, early on in the discussions it was proposed to establish a supervisory committee with the authority to appoint a director general. But in the final version, this committee is entitled only to recommend a candidate for the post to the Kyrgyz president, who has the final say on the matter.



Observers point out that the Kyrgyz State Radio and Television Corporation – the only nationwide TV broadcaster - already fulfills some of the functions of a public television station, but that the government nevertheless uses it to promote its own interests. NBCentralAsia experts suggest that if the state retains its monopoly over nationwide broadcasting, it will always be tempted to use the channel to tout its achievements and do its opponents down.



Media-watchers say the president has moved away from the idea of setting up a public broadcaster. An additional state channel, El-TR, has been created out of the Osh-3000 television company, but it is limited in range and cannot challenge the main channel’s monopoly.



For the moment, the media reform will go no further than the establishment of a supervisory committee, which may at least force the state broadcaster to become more transparent.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)