Media News - Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Kyrgyz activists call for Europe’s help over websites

Shouting "Freedom!" and waving banners, Kyrgyz protesters appealed Monday to European organizations to help them regain access to independent news websites they say have been blocked by the state. Internet users in the mainly Muslim Central Asian nation have been unable to access websites such as ferghana.ru, a leading news website, and paruskg.info, a local opposition website, for about a week. At a rally outside the Kyrgyzstan office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, about 50 activists rallied to urge European officials to intervene. Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov, addressing reporters earlier in the day, said he was unaware of any websites being blocked. Kyrgyz telecommmunications officials said it could be a technical glitch related to regulation policies in neighbouring Kazakhstan. Rally participants said the websites have been inaccessible since a March 10 protest against a government decision to raise utility prices in the town of Naryn. They said the Kyrgyz-language radio station of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has also been unavailable in most parts of the country for days. Officials could not be reached for comment on the possible reason. (Reuters)

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