Kyrgyz opposition daily seized ahead of protests

All copies of a Kyrgyz opposition newspaper Forum have been confiscated by police forces ahead of a planned anti-government protest, the paper's owner says.

"The print run of 7,000 copies has been seized," the newspaper's editor-in-chief Ryskeldi Mombekov said.

The opposition forces were planning to hold a protest on Wednesday in capital Bishkek due to the rising public discontent over an economic slump in the poor ex-Soviet republic.

In the meantime, several websites critical of the government have been inaccessible in Kyrgyzstan in recent days, drawing opposition complaints. The government has denied blocking access to the sites.

US-based rights group Freedom House said the government was also exerting pressure on broadcasters.

"Once considered a regional leader on issues of freedom of expression, the Kyrgyz government has begun putting pressure on independent media organizations, leading to increased self-censorship," Freedom House claimed in a statement on Monday.

Opponents say President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who came to power in 2005 after street protests toppled his predecessor, has tightened his grip on power and failed to alleviate poverty and corruption.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120971§ionid=351020406.