Subject: Re: Osh Uzbek newspaper stopped publishing?
From: nickmegoran (nickmegoran@infotel.kg)
Date: Thu Jul 20 2000 - 09:08:46 EDT
Dear Morgan,
Alisher's response to your question about whether Mezon has stopped
publishing was a full one, but I would like to add a political aspect
to the story. The nature of the paper altered quite significantly in
the run up to the parliamentary elections this February, as the
journalists working for it changed. The original journalists left for
two reasons: low pay, and because the paper became increasingly an
advertising vehicle for Davron Sobirov. In fact, in the run up to the
elections it ran almost only articles which praised Sobirov, and in
effect ceased being a 'news'paper. Readership plummeted, and the paper
lost the respect it had had amongst certain sections of the Uzbek
intelligentsia in Osh. It is no coincidence that the paper stopped
printing almost immediately after the elections: it had served its
purpose.
There is talk that it will re-open, but its debts are heavy and
Sobirov would appear to be short of cash. This is witnessed by the
continuing saga of the unfinished cultural centre he is building at
the base of Solomon's Mount, which is in danger of becoming a rather
embarrassing folly. The court battles he faced in the election, along
with an extravagant election campaign, rather exhausted the coffers.
The fate of Mezon highlights a problem confronting the development of
'independent' media in Kyrgyzstan. Although the conditions exist for a
relatively free press, and there are many excellent, free-thinking
journalists, it is extremely hard for a paper to survive
without the backing of rich and influential financiers. They can then
use that paper for their own political ends.
Nick.
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