KYRGYZ STATE TV CHANGES DIRECTORS, BUT NOT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 001400

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DEPT FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV KPAO KG
SUBJECT: KYRGYZ STATE TV CHANGES DIRECTORS, BUT NOT
DIRECTION

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Classified By: CDA Lee Litzenberger, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. Promised reforms of the Kyrgyz State
Television and Radio Corporation (KTR) have ground to a halt
in advance of the December 16 parliamentary elections.
Acting General Director Melis Eshimkanov said that his
primary problems were dealing with bloated staffing, but
acknowledged that he was under pressure to ensure that news
reports toed the (government) party line. With the official
campaign period open, political parties have complained that
KTR is up to its "old tricks," reserving prime advertising
slots for the pro-presidential Ak Jol party. Although
Eshimkanov speaks as a champion of reform, it is likely he
was appointed to assure the best possible coverage for Ak Jol
during the campaign. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Promised reforms of the Kyrgyz State Television and
Radio Corporation (KTR) have ground to a halt in advance of
the December 16 parliamentary elections. While the promised
independent board of directors was appointed in mid-2007,
almost half the board resigned in late October, eliminating a
quorum, when it appeared possible that an independent
candidate would be elected new general director. The Kyrgyz
White House seized the opportunity, and days later appointed
former Member of Parliament Melis Eshimkanov as Acting
General Director. Following the historical trend of prior
KTR Directors, Eshimkanov had previously been the head of an
independent newspaper (the formerly pro-opposition Kyrgyz
language Agym),but he had left the ranks of opposition when
offered the ambassadorship to Switzerland last summer (he
eventually declined the offer but has become a supporter of
the President).


3. (C) In a November 23 meeting with PAO, Eshimkanov spoke
openly about the challenges he faced. Unlike the highly
scripted meetings we have had with former KTR directors,
Eshimkanov discussed his plans with enthusiasm and apparent
candor -) and without a staff minder taking copious notes.
He acknowledged that he regularly faced pressure from the
White House to ensure that news reports toed the party line.
But he also said that he has told President Bakiyev not to
make the "mistake of Akayev" and use KTR to bludgeon the
opposition and exert so much control over the news that
viewers feel disenfranchised. Eshimkanov said he would be
aggressive in protecting the few independent commentary
programs on the channel, and said he was interested in
looking for more new types of political programming, possibly
even a segment focused on the United States.


4. (SBU) Eshimkanov claimed that his primary troubles were
not political pressures, but management issues related to the
monsterous, creaky state organization he now presides over.
He described many of the 1,500 staff as people with no
particular role other than collecting their salaries. With a
wry smile, Eshimkanov described how several oblast governors
have already called for him to be fired because he replaced
regional reporters with better trained reporters from
Bishkek. Eshimkanov also discussed his attempts to improve
the quality of equipment at KTR.


5. (SBU) While Eshimkanov preferred to focus on management
issus, observers and political parties complain that KTR is
up to its old tricks now that the parliamentary election
campaign has opened, stacking the deck against opposition
parties. Pro-presidential party Ak Jol receives prime time
slots for its advertisements, while most other parties are
relegated to less-popular times. Video editors have
complained that KTR refused to show advertisements for
opposition parties without making onerous changes not
required of the pro-government parties. Evening news
programs on KTR focus almost exclusively on the president and
his party.


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6. (C) Comment: KTR remains a vital tool and money-maker
(from advertisements) for the government, and it will
approach any changes to the structure of the organization and
the content of its reporting with caution. Eshimkanov openly
mused if he would last until the new year before being fired.
He said that Bakiyev had offered him the position of State
Secretary twice, but that he had declined, preferring to try

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his hand at making KTR work like a professional television
station. Unfortunately, even though Eshimkanov speaks like a
champion of reform, it is also likely that Bakiyev put him in
place to ensure that the best possible media coverage for the
pro-presidential Ak Jol party.
LITZENBERGER