Kyrgyzstan: in the capital, media will not be accredited during emergency situation
On March 30, the commandant of Bishkek officially announced that the commandant’s office didn’t intend to issue accreditation to journalists for their work during a state of emergency in the capital.
The Media Policy Institute commented on the commandant’s refusal, saying that his decision didn’t meet the law.
“The actions of the commandant of Bishkek, Almaz Orozaliev, regarding the refusal to issue accreditation to journalists during a state of emergency doesn’t meet the norms of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Constitutional Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On a state of emergency”,” the Media Policy Institute noted.
In particular, the commandant’s decision contradicts articles 20 and 31 of the Kyrgyz Constitution. The article 20 says that “the adoption of by-laws and regulations restricting the rights and freedoms of person and citizen” is prohibited. Consequently, the right guaranteed by the article 31 of the Constitution to “freedom of expression, freedom of speech and the press” can be limited only on the basis of the protection of a specific purpose mentioned in a concrete law, and be proportional to the imposed restrictions, but not the sole decision of the commandant of the city of Bishkek.
The Constitutional Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On the state of emergency” establishes that during a state of emergency, the Kyrgyz Republic is guided by the principles of legality, transparency and temporality. In the Decree of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic “On the introduction of a state of emergency in the territory of the city of Bishkek,” dated March 24, an exhaustive list of the commandant’s powers is defined, where there are no provisions allowing Almaz Orozaliev to impede the activities of the media.
On the contrary, paying particular attention to the principles of legality, transparency and the importance of the interaction of state bodies with the media during crisis situations, the Law establishes that the local commandant “establishes a special procedure for accrediting journalists in a territory in which a state of emergency has been introduced and the procedure for their work” (paragraph 9 of article 17).
“We draw attention to the fact that this wording must be considered not only as the commandant’s right, but also as an obligation to establish the procedure for accrediting journalists, since the Constitutional Law “On the state of emergency” doesn’t provide for alternatives in the form of refusal to accredit journalists. Accordingly, Orozaliev’s refusal to accredit journalists doesn’t meet the law,” the Media Policy Institute emphasizes.
