On May 29, Radio Farda launched a new live program that uses a mixture of satire and music to examine the cultural and social issues of the day. The program, “The Day After Tomorrow,” has been well-received by listeners in Iran and has attracted a lot of criticism from pro-regime websites. The moderator of the program, famous in Iran due to his many years of moderating similar shows there, recently joined Radio Farda after being forced out of his job in his native land. The hour-long program airs five days a week.

Other RFE/RL Highlights
Kyrgyz Service Broadcasts Live Interview with Deposed President
Ukrainians Worried about Press Freedom, Ukrainian Service Reports
Russian Service Reports from Harsh Crackdown on Demonstration
Turkmen Officials Refuse Entry to RFE/RL Journalist
Azerbaijani Service Covers Devastating Flood
Moldova Service Scrutinizes Treason Case against Transdniestrian Journalist
Balkan Service Assesses Chill between Serbia and Bosnia
Tajik Finance Minister Takes Questions from Online Readers
Uzbek Service Monitors Closure of Company Tied to President’s Daughter

Kyrgyz Service Broadcasts Live Interview with Deposed President
On May 20, the Kyrgyz Service broadcast an exclusive interview with deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiev, now living in Minsk, Belarus. The interview represented a breakthrough in public assessment of the former President’s stance toward events that have taken place in Kyrgyzstan since a popular revolt toppled his government and drove him into exile. Among other topics, Bakiev addressed allegations that his family is financing riots in southern Kyrgyzstan: “Criminal cases have been launched against all of my brothers. They have to hide out, they haven’t been able to contact each other—and you are talking about distributing money to organize riots. How can they do it? It’s not true, they are lying.”(Return to Table of Contents)

Ukrainians Worried about Press Freedom, Ukrainian Service Reports
Throughout May, the Ukrainian Service devoted coverage to the growing concern that freedom of the press is under threat in Ukraine. A free press is seen as one of the few lasting accomplishments of the 2004 Orange Revolution, but since the election of Viktor Yanukovych as President in this year’s elections, many worry that that accomplishment, too, will crumble. In early May, approximately 100 Ukrainian journalists and civic activists marched in Kyiv to raise their concerns about censorship, and television journalists from the private 1+1 and STB channels issued a petition complaining of an increase in censorship under Yanukovych, saying that certain issues had become taboo. International organizations such as Reporters Without Borders and Freedom House have also expressed concern about media freedom since Yanukovych’s election. The Ukrainian Service raised these concerns in an exclusive interview with Hanna German, the Deputy Head of Presidential Administration and herself a former RFE/RL Bureau Chief in Kyiv, and created a special multimedia website called “Freedom of Speech.”(Return to Table of Contents)

Russian Service Reports from Harsh Crackdown on Demonstration
Despite the recent claim by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that the “Strategy 31” movement does not bother him, multiple arrests were made on May 31 during another unsanctioned protest organized by the movement in Moscow, and the Russian Service’s correspondent on the scene said that it was the harshest police crackdown on a demonstration to date. Strategy 31 is a movement for the protection of the right to peaceful public demonstration as defined in paragraph 31 of the Russian Constitution. According to the Moscow police, over 1,000 people attended the protest and at least 130 were arrested. The Service’s correspondent in St. Petersburg reported that a Strategy 31 demonstration there met a similar fate: “They were beating people without restraint.”(Return to Table of Contents)

In May the Migration Office of Turkmenistan banned an RFE/RL journalist from entering the country even though he had a valid visa. The Turkmen Service announced that its reporter Allamourad Rakhimov, born in Turkmenistan and a citizen of Canada, arrived at Ashgabat airport early on May 19 with a visa that was initiated by his family. He had not been to Turkmenistan in 11 years and has been unable to see his immediate family in that time. But he was refused entry at the airport and was almost immediately put back on a plane to Prague. The Migration Office did not give a reason for the ban, only stating in a letter that “he is banned from entering Turkmenistan,” but Rakhimov believes the reason he was not allowed to enter is the fact that he works for RFE/RL. No RFE/RL journalist has been allowed to visit Turkmenistan since 1991. Rakhimov wrote a commentary about his ordeal for the Service’s website, and his piece attracted attention from both international media and human rights groups.(Return to Table of Contents)

Azerbaijani Service Covers Devastating Flood
The Azerbaijani Service provided extensive coverage of the massive flood that hit the country in May and closely followed how the government was handling the disaster. The flood waters left thousands of people homeless, forced many to evacuate, and caused significant damage to infrastructure and agriculture in the regions. The Service’s website posted a photo gallery and video footage that captured the devastation.(Return to Table of Contents)

Moldova Service Scrutinizes Treason Case against Transdniestrian Journalist
Throughout May, the Moldova Service closely followed the case of Transdniestrian journalist Ernest Vardanean. On April 7, he was arrested on charges of high treason and spying for Moldova. On May 19, The Moldova Service reported on his televised confession, which his friends and family believe was forced. The Service broadcast exclusive interviews and reactions from members of the European Parliament, Moldovan authorities, human rights activists, and even Vardanean’s wife. Moldovan, Russian, and Romanian press extensively cited RFE/RL on the case.(Return to Table of Contents)

Balkan Service Assesses Chill between Serbia and Bosnia
The Balkan Service devoted extensive coverage in May to the deteriorating relations between Serbia and Bosnia. On May 26, a high-level meeting between Sarajevo and Belgrade was canceled at the last minute when Haris Silajdzic, the current chair of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s rotating presidency, said he would not visit Belgrade. Siladzic refused to go because he was not given a chance to visit a Bosnian citizen sentenced to 12 years in prison, in proceedings that Bosnia considers a sham, for his actions during the departure of the Yugoslav Army from Tuzla in 1992. The Service interviewed the Bosnian ambassador in Belgrade, who explained why Silajdzic’s visit was postponed, and a number of media outlets, both Bosnian and Serbian, picked up RFE/RL’s story.(Return to Table of Contents)

Tajik Finance Minister Takes Questions from Online Readers
As part of his online interview with the Tajik Service on May 11, the Finance Minister of Tajikistan answered more than 100 questions from RFE/RL listeners. The Minister faced several questions about the controversial toll that was recently introduced on the Dushanbe-Khujand highway (see RFE/RL’s April 2010 report).(Return to Table of Contents)

Uzbek Service Monitors Closure of Company Tied to President’s Daughter
The Uzbek Service revealed on May 17 that sources close to the Uzbek conglomerate Zeromax claim the company’s operations are being wound down by the government. Efforts to contact Zeromax for confirmation were unsuccessful, but layoffs, word of looming debts, and an arrest warrant for a senior executive appeared to point to serious challenges for the company. The multibillion-dollar company is the country’s largest private employer and, among other things, owns subsidiaries that control the oil and gas industry in Uzbekistan. Zeromax is rumored to have been under the control of the daughter of President Islam Karimov, and the Uzbek Service reported that many analysts believe the dismantling of the company could reflect the succession plans of Karimov, who, at 72, may soon need to tap a successor.(Return to Table of Contents)