Protests greet UN secretary general's Kyrgystan visit

Moscow - A visit by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to the Central Asian republic of Kyrgystan was marked by protests on Saturday.

Around 50 journalists and civil rights activists demonstrated in the capital Bishkek against the closure of an independent television station.

Two opposition newspapers were also shut down recently after being accused by the authorities of insulting President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

Officials in the former Soviet republic have also blocked access to websites critical of the government.

Stan TV was shut down for using "cloned software," the news agency Interfax quoted a police spokesman as saying.

A reporter at the network denied this, saying the closure was a reprisal for "our honest reporting of what is actually happening in this country."

The protesters had planned to hand a petition to Ban, but were prevented from doing so by police.

A UN official said the secretary general urged President Bakiyev to uphold media freedom during their meeting on Saturday.

Kyrgyzstan is a part of a Central Asian tour by Ban, which will also take him to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/316991,protests-greet-un-secretary-generals-kyrgystan-visit.html.