Report #16: Media Campaign Against the Parliament

Each of pro-governmental newspapers (Slovo Kyrgyzstana, MSN, Jangy Ordo) today has an article blaming the Parliament for all the bad things happening in Kyrgyzstan. They wrote that the majority of the Parliament is pro-Akaev because many of them came to the Parliament with the help of Alga, Kyrgyzstana Party. Therefore, as the newspapers argue, the Parliament is the only thing that is preventing President Bakiev to start reforms in Kyrgyzstan.

In fact, I think it is the people around Bakiev (окружение) who are doing everything to keep the current Constitution (everyone forgot that Askar Akaev wrote it for himself but did not get a chance to use it because of the March events in 2005) and to prevent any kind of reforms. They are different groups of power brokers in the White House that have clung to power with their claws.

Regarding the media campaign, I would say that throughout modern Kyrgyz history the government always blamed the Parliament for trouble, when in fact it was the people in the White House who have much more power than the Parliament, but receive absolutely no coverage in the media of their work. By contrast, the media reports which parliamentarian said what every day.

I am not defending the parliamentarians. In fact, I believe most of them are scumbags. But, blaming people who do not have much power in deciding what happens in Kyrgyzstan is cowardly.