On 24 September, representatives of the media sector will have a meeting with the political parties running for the election to Jogorku Kenesh (the Parliament). The meeting will discuss the freedom of speech in Kyrgyzstan. The initiators of the event will present the Freedom of Speech Agreement to share with the future Parliament members their perception of the reforms and laws that regulate media sphere, democracy and human rights.
The idea to put together the Agreement was first proposed at the workshop on “Development of Kyrgyz Media Sector through Dialog” that was organized by the European Partnership for Democracy under the scope of “Media Dialog” project. The workshop was attended by journalists, media experts, representatives of state
bodies and media organizations. The participants established an Initiative Group that drafted the Freedom of Speech Agreement.
“Media Dialog” project facilitates the work of the Initiative Group and is helping to organize the upcoming meeting, because it strongly believes in the importance of the dialog between the media sector and future Parliament members. 16 political parties that are running for the election to the Parliament have received invitations to participate. By accepting the invitation, the parties will demonstrate their commitment to the notions specified in the Freedom of Speech Agreement. The meeting will enable the parties to start a dialog regarding the priorities and suggestions that are brought forwards by the media sector.
The leading media outlets, journalists, nongovernment organizations, bloggers, opinion-makers, and experts have already endorsed the Agreement. To demonstrate their support, they publish posts in social networks with the following hashtags – #ДоговорСвободыСлова #СөзЭркиндик
“24kg” Information Agency, “AKIpress” Information Agency, “Azattyk” Radio, “Vechernii Bishkek” Information Agency, “Novye Litsa” Newspaper, “Factcheck.kg” Internet Portal “PolitClinika” Online Newspaper, “Internews” Media Organization and “Journalists” Publish Association have already published the Agreement and the respective news on their platforms.
