Conflict between journalists and the Minister of Culture and Information Mr. Ermukhamet Ertsybaev has been a constant theme since May of 2006, when journalists protested the Minister's “authoritarian methods”. Last month, protest erupted again when Mr. Ertsybaev had television journalists from the station ERA ejected from a March 2 event. By Monday, March 5, journalists were calling for Mr. Ertsybaev's resignation; by March 8, ejected journalist Yuliya Isakova, had filed a lawsuit against the Minister; and by March 14, Prime Minister Karim Masimov had publicly supported Mr. Ertsybaev but also publicly advised him to apologize to Ms. Isakova. To me, this all sounds like good news, or, perhaps, at least familiar. . . . everybody does their job . . . . differences settled by lawyers and not weapons . . . . . and everybody gets to have an opinion .
A reporter for the Law and Justice newspaper, Oralgaisha Omarshanova, has been missing for twenty days. Previously, Ms. Omarshanova had moved in response to receiving threats via telephone. What makes this especially troubling: Ms. Omarshanova often focussed upon business and corruption stories. She had been investigating the possible criminal links of an ethnic Chechen family allegedly involved in the March 17th mass brawl in Malovodnoye and Kazatkom townships.
Poster, World Freedom Day 2006: UNESCO
Event news, RFE/RL Newsline, multiple dates
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
