Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Kyrgyz Republic has been considered an island of democracy in a largely autocratic region. However, the latest administration has spent the last two years reshaping the country into a populist ethno-state. 

This text was originally published on 18 October 2023 by our partner media outlet Lossi36.

One of the first groups targeted by the country’s current president Sadyr Japarov in his nationalistic agenda was the media. This is a common tactic by those with dreams of total control and has provided Japarov with the foundation to pass a series of deleterious legislation for the once proud democratic stronghold. As more independent media outlets continue to become targets, the prospects of preventing this backsliding become increasingly grim. 

Weaponizing legislation

In August 2021, the “On Protection from Inaccurate (False) Information” law was passed in the Kyrgyz Republic. This legislation, part of Japarov’s larger “spiritual-moral development” agenda, gave Kyrgyz officials the authority to suspend the activity of any online portal that shares false information or that “defames the honour, dignity and business reputation of another person.” The vagueness of the law allows nearly anyone who disagrees with a publication to bring a case against the publisher. 

The implications of the legislation are extremely dangerous as government officials could easily use this law to bring claims against whistleblowers of corruption and prevent them from speaking out. Unfortunately, this is only one of a slew of laws that breach the right to freedom of the press in the Kyrgyz Republic. 

Among these laws was a new directive to impose fines on those who distribute “harmful information” in an effort to protect children. Much like previous laws, the wording of the legislation is extremely vague, employing language such as “denying family values” or “justifying violence,” concepts open to a number of interpretations, making it a perfect tool for targeted censorship.

In the fall of 2022, Japarov’s administration went a step further in attacking the freedom of press through targeted amendments to the “Law on Mass Media.” Among the proposed reforms were penalties for “abuse of freedom of speech” and a prohibition on foreign nationals from opening media outlets in the Kyrgyz Republic. This law is still under discussion and many drafts of the law have been scrapped following public discussion. However, many in the media sphere are already preparing for the worst, especially those who have already been shut down through the law on inaccurate information.

Guilty of stating the facts

Expectedly, the writers of this legislation have been quick to employ it to shut down their perceived enemies within the media sphere. Member of Parliament Nadira Narmatova, who has also proposed punishing organisers of women’s marches and banning TikTok, has been a particularly staunch advocate for this crackdown on media freedoms. In October 2023, Narmatova launched a petition calling for the closure of Azattyk, Kloop, and Kaktus.Media. Since then, the majority of them have been temporarily blocked in the country. 

Read more on Novastan: Closure of Radio Azattyk sparks discontent from civil society and international human rights activists

In November 2022, Azattyk became the first victim to have its bank accounts frozen and access to its site blocked. Azattyk was shut down using the inaccurate information law with the claim that one of their videos was inciting “ethnic hatred.” The video in question covered the armed conflict on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, which many Kyrgyz government officials believed to be more sympathetic to Tajikistan. The government later blocked Azattyk’s bank account in early 2023 utilising the loose phrasing of the  law “On countering the financing of terrorist activities and the legalisation (laundering) of criminal proceeds.” While the decision to close down Azattyk was ultimately annulled in July 2023, the use of this law to at least temporarily shut down a reputable news site set a new precedent. 

The next major independent media outlet targeted was Kloop, which was presented with a lawsuit in August 2023 for engaging in journalism despite being registered as an NGO. Among other unsubstantiated claims, Kloop was also tried for encouraging “sexual deviancy” and suicidal ideation by increasing stress levels in its readers. In actuality, Kloop regularly posts fact-checked articles that reveal cases of corruption among government officials and businessmen in the Kyrygz Republic. Many of these articles target the president, who has also publicly stated his distaste for the organisation. 

Read more on Novastan: In Central Asia, the Freedom of Press is in Decline

Kloop was eventually shut down on 13 September by the Kyrgyz Republic’s Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy after refusing to pull the offending articles. Despite the shutdown, Kloop remained steadfast in their position, posting a defiant response to their website stating, “We, in turn, will not stop our work for a minute, no matter how much pressure the Kyrgyz authorities put on us. We will continue to inform you about everything important that is happening in our country, no matter how uncomfortable it may be for those in power.” Kloop also provided links for their followers on other platforms still reachable in the Kyrgyz Republic. 

Established news sites have not been the only victims of this campaign against the freedom of the press. In the last two years, over 30 bloggers, journalists, and activists have been jailed for speaking out against the government. Notable were the arrests of 27 members of the “Kempir-Abad Defence Committee” who were detained for just meeting to discuss their opposition to the Kempir-Abad negotiations in October 2022. Earlier that year, another well-known blogger and human rights activist, Bolot Temirov, was detained and stripped of his citizenship after posting videos to his YouTube channel investigating cases of corruption in the government under murky suspicions of fraud. 

Cultivating troll farms 

Not surprising, amidst this crackdown, the amount of pro-government misinformation has increased precipitously. One of the main offenders has been the Kyrgyz National Television and Radio Corporation (NTRC), which has reportedly created a number of bot accounts that have attacked opposition leaders. There also appears to be several troll farms functioning to post content solely propping up the current administration, including the Telegram channel za.sadyr.zhaparov which regularly posts about all of the ways Japarov is improving the country. The government has also arranged staged press conferences to drum up support for more controversial legislation. 

Read more on Novastan: Kyrgyzstan: Journalists complain about attempts to hack their accounts

While the international community calls for the Kyrgyz Republic to stop breaching the freedoms of their citizens, Kyrgyz officials have continued to sharpen their sticks. Soon new legislation will be passed that will give Japarov carte blanche to overturn any decision of the Constitutional Court that he deems immoral. Given the lengths that Japarov has already gone to silence those who oppose him, he will undoubtedly make full use of this new power once granted. As the situation in the country continues to deteriorate, one of the few forms of recourse that remains is to somehow find a way to reach his base in the rural regions of the Kyrgyz Republic and show them how this legislation can affect them as well. 

Sydney Millar for Lossi36

Novastan update:

During the plenary session on March 14, 2024, the deputies of the Kyrgyz Parliament Zhogorku Kengesh adopted in the third reading the bill “On Foreign Representatives”, which amends the Law “On Non-Profit Organizations”.

According to the bill, non-profit organizations that receive funds from abroad and carry out so-called “political” activities will be recorded in a special register as “foreign representatives”. These non-profit organizations (18,500 in the country in total) must submit additional reports every six months on their activities and the members of their governing bodies. They must also provide a description of the content they produce and/or distribute, indicating where it comes from and where it is intended to be sent or distributed.

The law gives authorities broad surveillance powers and poses an additional challenge for many independent media outlets, which rely on donations, grant funding, and financial support from international media foundations. The bill was criticized by the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and media and civil society representatives, but to no avail.

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The post Leaving the island: Japarov’s campaign to silence independent media appeared first on Novastan English.

Almost every year, countries in Central Asia are placed at the bottom of NGO Reporters Without Borders’, annual ranking for the freedom of press. Every country has dropped in ranking, compared to the previous year.

The position of media coverage in Central Asia has never been renowned for its freedom. However, it seems that this year marks a turning point. 

In the NGO Reporters Without Borders’, new report as published on the 3^rd May 2023, it is noted that if ‘the Russian invasion in Ukraine and the deployment of the Kremlin’s propaganda […] has darkened the whole region [of Eastern Europe]’, Central Asian countries have also seen a sharp decline in their freedom of press since last year.

In a ranking of 180 countries, the nations that are in theory the most liberal in the region, such as Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, are regressing. Kyrgyzstan is undergoing the most substantial evolution by dropping fifty rankings from 72^nd place to 122^nd place. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan fell twelve lines and is now positioned 134^th. Uzbekistan fell by four points (now at 137^th) due to the rise of attacks against the media.

The Remarkable Fall of Kyrgyzstan 

The deterioration of the freedom of press in Kyrgyzstan is evidenced by multiple attacks against journalists since 2022, as well as the promulgation of the law against false information in summer 2021. Under the scope of this law, the Kyrgyz government is intensifying the campaign against Kyrgyz service of the Radio Free Europe, known locally as Azattyk, in demanding the withdrawal of its licence on the 27^th April. At the end of October 2022, the Ministry of Culture blocked Azattyk as it refused to remove a video addressing the confrontations between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, at their border. 

Amnesty International asserts that this decision was a ‘blow to media freedom’, whilst the Committee to Protect Journalists has called it ‘a deeply chilling message.’ Reporters Without Borders speaks of ‘increasingly severe censorship’ in Kyrgyzstan.

Read more on Novastan: Closure of Radio Azattyk sparks discontent from civil society and international human rights activists

Last January, the independent media service Kloop found itself in a similar situation. The Ministry of Culture had threatened to block Kloop’s website if the editors refuse to withdraw an article on the inflating of construction costs by a state agency.

Last November, the journalist Bolot Temirov was extradited to Russia following a politically motivated trial, after he had denounced cases of corruption on his YouTube channel, Temirov Live.

Kazakhstan and Online Censorship

In Kazakhstan, media censorship is issued more discretely by blocking websites that might unsettle power. A report by the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) indicates that authorities are obstructing access to the Azattyq website, the Kazakh service of Radio Free Europe.

Read more on Novastan: “An escalating manifestation of Russophobia” – Kazakhstan at the epicentre of an information war

From the snap presidential election of November last year till this January the access to the websites of Radio Azattyq and Current Time, another branch of Radio Free Europe, was blocked.

Kazakhstan has also promulgated a law ‘on the mass media’, a pretext to regulate, or even censor, the information that is available on the internet and particularly the information spreading in social media.

Pressure on Journalists in Uzbekistan

As in the previous year, Reporters Without Borders notes that in Uzbekistan, ‘the situation for the media has only slightly improved since the death of President Islam Karimov in 2016, and criticism of the government remains difficult.’ Nevertheless, Uzbekistan has gained twenty-four points in 2022.

Notably, the report indicates that the Uzbek authorities have ‘extensive’ control of the media and that many bloggers have close ties to the government. The country enforces ‘repressive’ laws on the media and ‘widespread surveillance, censorship and auto-censorship’, reports Gazeta.uz.

Read more on Novastan: Pressure from Russia increases on Central Asian media outlets

‘The large and medium media platforms, as well as bloggers with an audience of over 5,000 people, are subjected to intense pressures and censorship,’ as reported to Novastan by an Uzbek blogger with a small audience. ‘However, there are exceptions, with some channels having less than 1,000 to 2,000 subscribers who are also now facing pressure’, he continues.

Another Uzbek journalist with a critical stance on the government tells Novastan about the recent pressure imposed by the authorities upon journalists and bloggers, ahead of the constitutional referendum of the 30^th April 2023. ‘I know of at least three examples where managers of Telegram channels and journalists have been summoned to the State Security Service for a conversation’, he testifies.

Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, Always Bottom of the Ranking

Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, whose political regimes are the most repressive, remain at the bottom of the ranking. Compared to last year, Tajikistan drops one position on the list, now ranking 153^rd place. According to the NGO, the country has transitioned from a ‘difficult’ to a ‘very difficult’ position with regard to its freedom of press. The report notes that more and more journalists are choosing to exile.

Over the past year, repression has intensified against all forms of opposition, particularly in the Gorno-Badakhshan region and against the Pamiris ethnic minority. Certain activists for the community, who have been exiled, have been extradited to their countries of origin and sentenced to long-term prison sentences.

Read more on Novastan: Human rights in Tajikistan: Interview with the UN Special Rapporteur

Turkmenistan ranks 176^th place and remains among the five worst-ranked countries. Reporters Without Borders notes that censorship in Turkmenistan increased after Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow’s son, Serdar Berdimuhamedow, rose to power in March 2022.

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The post In Central Asia, the Freedom of Press is in Decline appeared first on Novastan English.

Ever since February 24, 2022, coverage of the war in Ukraine has been complicated for Central Asia.  Between voluntary omission by official media and pressure on those who dare call the “special operation” a war and invasion, the independent press in Central Asia is being tested by the Kremlin and its restrictive federal agency Roskomnadzor.With significant dependence on Russian network infrastructure, as well as the dominance of Russian content in information distribution, what kind of space do Central Asian media agencies have to exercise digital sovereignty?  An analysis of the Central Asian media landscape under persistent Russian influence.This article was originally published on Novastan’s French website on 14 October 2022. It is a turnaround of events that speaks volumes about the freedom of speech in Kazakhstan. Beeline, the main Kazakh operator, had announced the withdrawal of certain Russian channels broadcasting on national territory, including Channel One Russia and NTV, Kremlin propaganda machines. However, the group went back on their decision on 3 October, says Kazakh media outlet Vlast, following an interview with the Russian Ministry of Digital Development. “In Astana, the interruption of Russian television channels broadcasting is keenly discussed, and the majority is in favour. But the thing is that nothing changes,” explains Kazakh political commentator Dimash Alzhanov to Novastan. Despite pressure from civil society, Kazakh television remains under Russian influence, something which is also true of written press media.

Indeed, an investigation by MediaZona revealed that Moscow blocked certain independent Central Asian media websites by means of the federal agency Roskomnadzor. The state censorship agency sent warning letters to Russian-speaking Kazakh and Kyrgyz press services, demanding that they remove various articles related to the war in Ukraine. This specifically affected Kloop in Kyrgyzstan, in addition to Katel and NewTimes in Kazakhstan.

Censorship of the war in Ukraine

According to director of Kyrgyz media outlet Kloop, quoted in the MediaZona article, Roskomnadzor blocks Internet websites employing the word “war” and not “special operation,” the official term to designate the invasion of Ukrainian by the Kremlin. Although these “warnings” only apply to media within Russian borders and do not restrict Central Asian media agencies inside their own countries, Dimash Alzhanov stresses the fact that these gestures are implemented in order to “impose certain sanctions” and to silence them. The director of the Kazakh public foundation Legal Media Center, Diana Okremova, affirmed in an interview with MediaZona that “some of Roskomnadzor’s actions can be qualified as elements of information warfare.” Blocking Central Asian websites dates to before the beginning of the war in Ukraine. According to the MediaZona article, Roskomnadzor has been expanding control over Central Asian media for several years, forcing some to erase content mentioning citizen suicides, something prohibited under Russian law.  This was the case in 2017 with the Kazakh site Rika.tv, and the Tajik website Asia-Plus in 2019.

Central Asia: Russia’s “information space”

Consequently, Central Asia and its media have been commanding Russia’s attention for some time. “They have been influencing us for about ten years. Russia is trying to attract Central Asian countries into its own information space. The Russian Federation uses television channels as a means to disseminate its propaganda,” explains Dimash Alzhanov. In Kazakhstan, some Russian channels will still be broadcasted because both countries have signed an intergovernmental cooperation agreement on the airing of mass information. For Russia, “the idea is to mix information – even disinformation – and entertainment. These shows use Kazakhs in their programmes to make them ‘less Russian,’ and to ensure that society increasingly watches Moscow-made content,” analyses the political scientist.

Information consumption leans heavily towards Russian-language content

In an interview given to Vlast, political scientist Shalkar Nurseitov explains that the real issue in Central Asia is “the ease of access to Russian media. Most citizens have access to media spreading the Kremlin’s agenda, and those who lack critical thinking believe propaganda.” In 2019 and 2021, international organisation Internews led a study in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan about media consumption patterns of the population. The results, reported by Kazakh outlet Masa Media, showed that 30% of respondents receive their news via television in Kazakhstan, while the percentage is higher in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In Kazakhstan, the vast majority of viewers watch television in Russian, with only 11% watching in Kazakh. Furthermore, over half the respondents read newspapers, magazines, and websites in Russian, while only a little over 8% consumed written material in Kazakh.

Pressures from within

“If the broadcasting of Russian channels is limited, it does not mean that the problem of freedom of speech will be resolved in Kazakhstan,” said Dimash Alzhanov. “The issue of information manipulation by those in power remains, and therefore freedom of speech may only be guaranteed by a balanced political system.” In April 2022, NGO Reporters Without Borders published a report exposing the pressure that online Central Asian media agencies have been subjected to by national authorities since the beginning of the conflict. Official news websites and state channels in Central Asian republics have avoided using the words “war” or “invasion” since last February, or do not even mention it, as is the case in Tajikistan. This is also what happened in Kazakhstan at the start of the invasion in Ukraine, when, according to Dimash Alzhanov, state media purposely avoided mentioning the subject.  This matches the period in which President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev did not know how to position himself and whether he should support Vladimir Putin or not. RSF also points out that Central Asian countries are not well ranked in terms of freedom of the press.  Uzbekistan is ranked 157^th out of 180 countries on the Press Freedom Index, while Kyrgyzstan is 79^th.  Kazakhstan sits at 155^th, while Tajikistan at 162^nd, and Turkmenistan at 178^th. Dependence on Russian networks The media landscape in Central Asian countries can also be explained by their structural dependency on Russia. In Kazakhstan, for instance, “at least 95% of internet traffic goes through Russia,” explains Talgat Nourlybaiev to Kazakh media site 365.kz. According to Gregory Joubert, former student at the French Geopolitical Institute and specialist on Kazakh cyberspace, it is through data that Russia exerts control in Central Asia first and foremost.  This is done through “Russian Big Tech,” namely Mail.ru, Vkontakte, or Yandex. Therefore, telecommunications in Central Asia remain a major means of influence for Moscow, forming part of its information strategy. “Russia can theoretically interfere in the Central Asian informational sphere by restricting access to certain resources, given that telecommunication operators in Russia are legally bound to respond to demands.”  Thus, as the former student researcher explains, “if Russia had the ambition to attack Kazakhstan for instance, internet structure would be significant.”

Written by Emma Collet for Novastan’s French website.

Translated to English by Emma Bekrine.

Edited by Mari Paine.

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The post Pressure from Russia increases on Central Asian media outlets appeared first on Novastan English.

The Turkmen authorities have announced the launch of an instant messaging and email platform developed by domestic companies. These new applications will provide the Turkmen people  with alternatives to Western websites − the majority of which are blocked in Turkmenistan – but it also risks facilitating mass surveillance of internet users. This article was first published on Novastan’s French website on 29 March 2021. On 12 November, the official Turkmen government news agency reported that on the previous day, the Deputy Prime Minister for Transport, Communications and Trade, Bairamgeldi Ovezov, had presented the two new digital innovation projects to President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. According to US media outlet Eurasianet, Tmchat is an instant messaging service for creating group chats, making video calls and sending files. It is a local equivalent to WhatsApp or Telegram. The free Android application was developed by the Turkmen telephone operator Altyn Assar. According to Eurasianet, the second project, Sanly.tm, is a standard email service with a storage volume of 1GB. It was developed by the country’s leading internet service provider, Türkmentelekom. Local media outlet Business Turkmenistan reported that the two applications were presented to the general public in early December by Türkmenaragatnaşyk − the government agency in charge of promoting new technologies in the country − on the 25th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s permanent neutrality policy.

This launch campaign, however, does not reflect the country’s digital infrastructure. According to the NGO Freedom House, Turkmen internet remains one of the slowest and most expensive in the world. The government also employs mass surveillance on the few foreign platforms still authorized in the country. In reality, there is a paradoxical relationship between the Turkmen authorities and new technologies, which over the past few years have sparked uncertainties for the public and opportunities for the authorities.

With forced digitalization come contradictions

Tmchat and Sanly.tm are not the Turkmen government’s first attempts to develop internal digital services: since 2018, Ashgabat has announced the launch of nearly ten applications, social networks and messaging services created by Turkmen companies. And for a good reason; Turkmenistan’s digitization is considered a strategic priority for its President, asserts Eurasianet. Last December, he publicly demanded that the country’s engineers master “innovative technologies” such as 5G and Big Data as quickly as possible. Read more on Novastan: In Tajikistan, government control still slows down internet After Arzuw, Yashlyk and Iminami − copies of Facebook or its Russian equivalent VKontakte − failed to gain popularity, at the end of 2018, Turkmenistan launched its first messaging company called BizBärde, and more recently a video hosting site called Belet. The official Turkmen Portal then presented this YouTube replica as a platform for online access to major local and international channels, including the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, as well as most Russian media. However, the cost of using this platform is 10 manats (2.3 euros) per month, a significant amount in a country where the average salary was no higher than 200 euros (170 GBP) per month in 2020. This frantic search for alternatives is mainly due to the fact that Western and Russian platforms are all but impossible to access in Turkmenistan. The specialized site Coda Story reminds readers that the most popular social networks (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube), messaging services (Messenger, Telegram), and also IT development sites like Github are theoretically inaccessible from Turkmenistan. The government is indeed projecting its political isolationism into the digital sphere, drastically limiting access to foreign and independent sources of information, as well as access to platforms where anti-regime protests could be organized. The latest victim of this censorship is Wikipedia: according to the NGO International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), the online encyclopedia was blocked last March after comments criticizing the President of Turkmenistan were made by the American Embassy. These comments were published several years ago by WikiLeaks, and had been posted on Berdimuhamedow’s Wikipedia page in Russian. This presents a contradiction that does not work in the favour of locally developed services, such as BizBärde, Belet, and soon perhaps Tmchat and Sanly.tm. The Turkmen people are increasingly wary of government-sponsored platforms, which therefore remain largely unused by the population. According to Turkmen Portal, the app’s developers have announced that they will wait until they reach 10,000 users before expanding to the iOS platform, which remains too expensive for the time being. Altyn Assar, probably aware of internet users’ hesitation, hastened to praise the security of his messaging service: in addition to the possible setting of a two-factor authentication (2FA), all the data would be stored on servers − reliable and inaccessible to third parties − in other words, to law enforcement agencies.

Content blocked, malicious codes, and wide-spread or targeted surveillance

This public mistrust is the product of numerous surveillance scandals and arrests of opposition members, who have spoken out on platforms still accessible in Turkmenistan. Eurasianet recalls that the government tightly controls the online activity of journalists, bloggers, students and key activists within its territory. Several opposition members, once exiled in Russia, have reportedly returned to Turkmenistan with the help of Russian domestic intelligence, as reported by independent Turkmen news outlet Chronicles of Turkmenistan. The population has long relied on VPNs to access foreign resources and partially hide their identity when using the internet, but soon after the establishment of a new government cybersecurity service in September 2019, these applications started to be targeted by authorities, reports the NGO IPHR. The only messaging service still tolerated in the country is IMO, a subsidiary of the Chinese company Joyy. Read more on Novastan:Turkmenistan: according to the authorities, there are no restrictions on the use of the Internet Today, the Turkmen government controls the digital sector, which relies on offensive technologies acquired from foreign companies. The Canadian Citizen Lab and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) have revealed that the Ministry of Communications and the Turkmenistan Secret Police (MNB) are using malware sold by European companies, including FinFisher, sold by the German-British company Gamma Group for wiretapping, de-anonymization and remote control of computers. According to the American media outlet Radio Free Europe, the Turkmen government has more recently held talks with the German company Rohde & Schwartz about the acquisition of technologies that would allow certain sites to be blocked or make eavesdropping possible. 2020 and the global pandemic have only accentuated this struggle for internet control. Radio Free Europe states that VPN users are being targeted and more online resources have been blocked, while Ashgabat continued to proclaim that no cases of Covid-19 have been identified in the country.

Is digital technology serving the diversification of the Turkmen economy?

The “made in Turkmenistan” stamp used in the branding of these applications is another step towards full control of the digital space by the regime of Gourbanguly Berdimuhamedow. By eliminating Western, Russian or Chinese platforms and then replacing them with national services, Ashgabat consolidates its ability to block content that it deems unfavourable, track down opponents under their true identity and spread official discourse without obstacles. In short, it is a shift from offensive and costly methods to techniques that are certainly “softer” , but cruelly more effective as Turkmen internet users sign up to online platforms for “free” . Defining Tmchat and Sanly.tm as just a way for the ruling party to gain social control would risk masking the government’s second ambition in the field. In a period of economic crisis worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, Turkmenistan is banking on the creation of a digital industry capable of attracting foreign investors who look to outsource in low-cost labour markets, following Belarus’ example. Ashgabat hopes that this policy of “digital development of the economy” will eventually make it possible to generate a new source of foreign income, in particular by boosting its tourism sector and increasing hotel bookings, bus services, and other forms of transportation, says Chronicle of Turkmenistan. However, the government is still struggling to create the right conditions for this political project to grow. The country undoubtedly lacks qualified specialists in programming, system and network administration, and even cybersecurity. Blocking resources that are useful to computer science students − in particular Github and other digital libraries − considerably reduces the likelihood of progress in the field. It is also difficult to go abroad to study, and the few people who decide to return to Turkmenistan, cannot have their degrees recognized as equivalent. Little hope remains that Turkmenistan will become the new El Dorado for digital companies in the near future. Despite a general drop in internet prices, announced on February 8 by Business Turkmenistan, a fixed and unlimited connection at Türkmentelekom still amounts to 170 manats, around 40 euros, a month. This sum does not guarantee speed: according to Speedtest‘s measurements, the country ranks 175 (out of 175) for the speed of fixed internet lines, with only 2.77 megabits per second (Mbit/s) in download going down in February 2021, compared to 53 Mbit/s in Kazakhstan and 82 Mbit/s in Russia.  

Written by Vadim Alinov

Translated from French by Alice Coveney

Edited by Maya Ivanova

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The post Turkmenistan launches national messaging services appeared first on Novastan English.

After a controversial comedy show on YouTube, Kyrgyzstan’s culture minister discussed stronger state control of musicians. Artists and parts of civil society reacted with indignation and criticised the lack of support for culture in the country.

This article was originally published on Novastan’s German website on 16 January 2021.

A group of comedians pokes fun at a guest. This format, known in stand-up circles as “roast”, has also become popular in Russian-speaking countries in recent years. A particularly successful example is the Internet show “Chto bylo dal’she” (“What happened next?”) whose videos have millions of viewers on YouTube. A recent attempt to introduce the format in Kyrgyzstan, however, ended in scandal.

After just two episodes, the show “V pi#du zvezdu” (which can be roughly translated as “F#ck the star”), hosted by the Kyrgyz pop singer Kural Chokoev, caused a stir on social media. The first guests were the former The Voice Russia finalist Kairat Primberdiev and the singer Kairat Kyrgyz. Some viewers saw in the show’s profanity and off-colour jokes a sign of “social degradation” and called for a boycott of its sponsors.

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In response to these critics, Chokoev decided to end the project and delete the recordings from his YouTube channel. “Your opinion is very important to me. If our videos and our content have hurt someone, of course we apologize,” he said in a video published on Instagram. Primberdiev also recorded an apology.

The government wants harsher laws

The scandal also reached the minister of culture, Nurjigit Kadyrbekov, who expressed his indignation at the show. “Unfortunately, the laws don’t provide any leverage against independent singers. But we will hopefully find a way to get them to act morally,” he announced on 9 January on the Ministry of Culture’s Facebook page. He also evoked measures against Chokoev and Primberdiev, including broadcast and concert bans for the two singers. As the online media Kloop.kg notes, these would be the first bans of this kind in the history of independent Kyrgyzstan.

Kadyrbekov also spoke out in favor of a fundamentally stronger state control of musicians: “It would not be bad to license singers for their work,” the minister said. “Otherwise, the ministry will keep being blamed for all the nonsense of whistlers and singers.”

Action followed. On 12 January, the Ministry of Culture said in a statement that it had revoked a cultural award granted to Chokoev in 2011 and suggested the presidential administration should take back the title of “honoured artist of the Kyrgyz Republic” given to Primberdiev in 2017. In addition, neither artist will be invited to any state-organized cultural events in the near future.  

Strong criticism from civil society

The minister’s words were met with strong criticism from civil society. In a public statement, the Committee for Civil Control, a non-governmental organisation, demanded Kadyrbekov’s resignation. “His words … are ominous, outrageous and unprecedented in terms of unlawfulness and unconstitutionality in the entire history of sovereign Kyrgyzstan,” the statement said, at the same time noting that Kyrgyzstan is bound by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. “This threat is not only directed against the singers, but against each and every one of us.”

“Censorship is like poison gas: a powerful weapon that can injure you as soon as the wind changes its direction,” said lawyer Saniya Toktogazieva on Facebook. Everyone, she explains, can express their dissatisfaction with certain forms of expression, but such criticism must always consist in “more words, not silencing others”.

Media personalities and cultural workes also expressed their views, as reported by the online media Kaktus: “The show, of course, sucks. But if the Ministry of Culture even tries to withdraw Kairat and Kural’s awards, I will voluntarily return all my awards to the minister,” said the television presenter Erkin Ryskulbekov.

Little support for the arts in Kyrgyzstan

In fact, there has so far been little state intervention in Kyrgyzstan’s independent cultural scene. Beyond the funding of public institutions such as the Philharmonic, the Ministry of Culture actually plays almost no role, neither through restrictive measures nor through financial or material support. The exception is an article in the penal code on “inciting interethnic, racist, religious or interregional hostility” the authorities often use to take action against cultural content. For example, the blogger Elmirbek Sydymanov was arrested in 2017 for inciting interregional hostility after he said in an Instagram video that Kyrgyzstan’s southern regions were “not developed”.

In this way, Kyrgyzstan differs greatly from its Central Asian neighbours, who interfere more actively in cultural life. For example, Kazakhstan launched the Ruhany Jańyrý (“Spiritual Renewal”) program in 2017 to promote contemporary Kazakh culture. In Uzbekistan there has been a licensing system for pop musicians since the early 2000s, coordinated by the state agency O’zbekkontsert (“O’zbeknavo” before 2017).

With the state’s inaction in terms of cultural funding in mind, the reaction of Kyrgyzstan’s minister of culture seems inappropriate to some, to put it mildly. “Who paid for Kairat Primberdiev’s international trips when he praised our country? The Ministry of Culture? Of course not. Who invests in the work of our artists? The Ministry of Culture? NO,” commented the journalist Meerim Osmonova on Instagram.

“I’ve already had enough of the populists who come to power and make decisions for their own sake,” she added, probably in reference to the fact Kadyrbekov did not become minister of culture until October, when Sadyr Japarov became prime minister (he has since then been elected president). “Is mat [obscene or vulgar language in Russian] the biggest problem in our country? Perhaps the Ministry of Culture should deal with Sadyr’s fans, who use mat every other word, rather than our artists? “

 A “cultural revolution” in the making

The current legal situation in Kyrgyzstan provides for freedom of expression as a fundamental right and prohibits censorship of any kind. But that could change with the upcoming constitutional reform. The first draft of the new constitution foresaw a ban on content that “harms the morality and culture of the people of Kyrgyzstan“. After a referendum where voters chose to switch to a presidential rather than parliamentary form of government, constitutional reform is now planned for spring.

Read more on Novastan: Kyrgyzstan elects Sadyr Japarov and opts for presidential government

At the same time, the past few months have brought increasing politicisation in the country’s pop music. The Kyrgyz superstar Mirbek Atabekov, for example, was a prominent participant in protests last October where he spoke out in favour of a change in the political class alongside young activists. In the summer, Primberdiev also declared that he would no longer take part in political election campaigns: “I am ashamed of the fact that I used to perform at campaign concerts. I apologize to the Kyrgyz people.”   

According to Chokoev’s recent declaration, he also viewed “W pi#du zvezdu” as a socio-political act. “The main aim of the project was a desperate attempt to draw the attention of state bodies to the development of culture in our country,” he writes, pointing out that even the national epic, the Epic of Manas, is promoted by civil society and individual artists. Instead of a constructive discussion about the problem, the Ministry of Culture acted “by default” through penalties.

“I have a lot to say, a lot of suggestions and dreams! It cannot go on like this. I declare a CULTURAL REVOLUTION!” said Chokoev. “How often have I taken part in international competitions on my own and waved the flag for my Kyrgyz people alone! This project was a step that I had to take.”  

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On 18 January, the State Awards Commission refused the Ministry of Culture’s application to revoke Primberdiev’s title of honoured artist of the Kyrgyz Republic, as Kloop.kg reports. There is “no legal basis for depriving the singer Kairat Primberdiev of his title” because he has not broken any law.

On the same day, Kadyrbekov invited the two singers to a meeting, the Ministry of Culture announced. In addition to the show, they discussed projects to promote Kyrgyz culture abroad “in a friendly atmosphere”.

Florian Coppenrath
Founder of Novastan Deutsch

For more news and analysis from Central Asia, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, Linkedin or Instagram.

The post Kyrgyzstan: threat of censorship looms after controversial comedy show appeared first on Novastan English.

Despite going up in the rankings, Tajikistan’s internet is still among the slowest in the world, lagging behind its Central Asian neighbours.

This article was originally published on Novastan’s French website.

Internet users in Tajikistan have been complaining about slow Internet for years. Hence their surprise upon learning that their country had gone up six places in the American company Ookla’s Internet speed rankings. Each month, Ookla publishes an index of mobile and fixed broadband Internet speeds known as the Speedtest Global Index. 

Despite this improvement, Tajikistan is only 127^th out of 138 for mobile network connections. It lags behind other countries in Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are respectively in 101^st, 103^rd and 125^th position for mobile connections in September 2020.

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Measuring mobile network rather than broadband speeds is more relevant here because of the high number of mobile users, particularly in isolated mountainous areas, as explained by the Russian media Sputnik. Tajikistan has nevertheless gone from 109^th to 90^th place in fixed broadband in the same period, overtaking Uzbekistan (96^th) and Turkmenistan (196^th, in last place).

The improvement reported by Ookla is all relative when Tajik users still must wait until late at night to use basic messaging services such as Signal, Viber or Whatsapp, Eurasianet notes. This follows the creation of a state-run agency with a monopoly on data traffic. As the American Russian-language TV channel Current Time describes, since 2016 all Internet service providers (ISPs) must purchase and forward their data through the Unified Electronic Communications Switching Center, which is under the authority of the State Telecommunications Service.

A centralised system since 2016

The idea of creating an agency such as the Unified Electronic Communications Switching Center (EKTs, after its Russian-language acronym) dates back to 2006. Apparently under pressure from government agencies in charge of telecommunications, the Tajik government decided to bring the liberalisation of this increasingly lucrative market to an end. Tojiktelecom, one of the country’s nine operators, was then chosen to build the centre.

The project did not see the light of day until 2016 when President Emomali Rahmon signed the decree “on the Unified Electronic Communications Switching Center”. Since then, ISPs must buy the Internet traffic they distribute to consumers from the EKTs. Service providers are therefore cut off from their own connections to the global network, leading to worse connectivity: according to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the international bandwidth per user in Tajikistan in 2017 was 2.2 kilobit per second (kbits/s) against 66.8 kbits/s in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Soaring costs for users

The creation of the EKTs has also had a lasting impact on the price of digital services in Tajikistan. As reported by Sputnik, every gigabit now costs $50,000 (£38,000) to ISPs, against $10,000-20,000 (£7,500-15,000) in neighbouring countries. This cost is a result of a sudden 10% increase in subscription prices for individuals and businesses. On top of that, there is a 5% excise duty on communications and a fee of 0.8 somoni (£0.05) per month to use a SIM card.

Telecommunications in Tajikistan have thus gone from being an important driver of the country’s economic growth to one of the most expensive industries in Asia. According to the British company Existent, 1GB of mobile data costs on average $4.65 (£3.50). In Kyrgyzstan, a country in a similar geographical position, the average price is $0.10 (£0.07). Between 2013 and 2019, incomes in this sector in Tajikistan have decreased from 540 million to 275 million US dollars, according to Tajik media Asia-Plus.

Local testimonies show this could in fact be part of a strategy for government agencies to take over the communications market. A Beeline insider told Eurasianet she suspected the authorities of switching off the internet and then requiring additional payments from providers to restore it. Others attribute such practices to the proximity of the director of the State Telecommunications Agency, Beg Sabur, to the president. Emomali Rahmon’s daughter is married to Beg Sabur’s son.

Since 2016, several international ISPs have decided to leave Tajikistan, including Beeline’s subsidiary.

An open door to censorship?

As an obligatory passage for all connections outside Tajikistan, the EKTs is able to apply mass surveillance, but also block any content or user identified as a threat by the country’s security services.

Still according to Eurasianet, the government is behind the blocking of independent news sources in Tajikistan such as Radio Ozodi, the Tajik branch of the American media RFE/RL, and Asia Plus. It could also be responsible for local or national blackouts. For example, in 2018 the internet in the Gorno Badakhshan autonomous region was cut off for over a week during local protests. Last September, in the run up to the 11 October presidential election, platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter were offline during the live broadcast of the opposition politician Muhiddin Kabiri, Current Time reports.

By acting as a bottleneck, the EKTs is a cheaper alternative to the SORM systems in place in many post-Soviet countries. All Russian internet and telephone service providers are now equipped with these boxes, giving the authorities direct access to users’ data. Belarus is the only other post-Soviet country to use a system like Tajikistan’s.

As Current Time notes, this system could lead to severe security issues for Tajikistan. In case of cyberattack against the EKTs, the attackers could theoretically intercept all communications going through the centre, and even take down the entire country’s network. It’s an additional risk for Tajikistan’s economy, when NetBlocks estimates the total cost of an hour-long shutdown at 820 867 somoni (£54,500). That being said, as the Russian media Meduza notes about Belarus’s similar system, shutting down Internet access externally is very difficult even when communications are so centralised.

The long road to diversification

Telecommunications are, then, high-stakes in Tajikistan, which already experienced higher prices in the Soviet era because of its geographical position. The Tajik internet now has four fibre exit points to the rest of the world. Most in use are the ones linking the capital, Dushanbe, to the Eurasian internet backbones through Russia, transiting via Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan before crossing Kazakhstan. Tajikistan also set up a link with Afghanistan in 2009, during the American intervention, and more recently with the Xinjiang region in China.

Several projects are being examined to allow Tajikistan to regain its status of crossroads between the post-Soviet space, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Far East. The Digital CASA (Central Asia South Asia) project, for example, has been planning to set up fibre optic lines between Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2016. The initiative hopes to consolidate the digital sector in the four countries and accelerate the development of online services, whether public or private. However, the cost of installing infrastructure, the recurring conflicts in the cable routing regions, and the Covid-19 crisis have temporarily put a halt to the negotiations.

Restoring the telecommunications sector represents a long-term investment for Tajikistan. Beyond mere economic development, it means letting people enjoy the opportunities created by a decentralised network based on a plurality of interconnected nodes. The benefits look numerous and within reach, from public services in remote areas to education and health during a pandemic. To do this, however, the Tajik government will have to thoroughly review its relationship with the various actors in the field and particularly with those who have benefited from the state’s control of the internet.

Vadim Alinov

Translated by Valentine Baldassari

The post In Tajikistan, government control still slows down internet appeared first on Novastan English.