President Japarov Addresses Freedom of Speech in Country
Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov recently spoke to the Kabar state news agency about freedom of speech and human rights in the country. According to Japarov, it is impossible to limit freedom of speech in Kyrgyzstan as the people have lived with it since ancient times and they will continue to do so. He criticized those who claim there is no freedom of speech in the country, calling them “false patriots” who want to overthrow the republic under the guise of freedom of speech.
Japarov assured that the government will not allow malicious individuals who want to incite riots in the country by spreading propaganda that does not conform to the nation’s values and traditions. He also stated that those citizens who want to use real freedom of speech to criticize the government and reveal corruption are beneficial to Kyrgyzstan.
The President also claimed that Kyrgyzstan has a higher level of democracy than other countries, even though some citizens use the concept of democracy in the wrong direction. Japarov criticized world human rights and freedom of speech rankings, claiming that they are made by instigators who hide behind freedom of speech.
The article also mentioned the recent detention of 11 current and former employees of the media outlet Temirov Live. The Interior Ministry initiated criminal proceedings against them for “calling for riots” based on content found on their social media pages.
Japarov stressed that his government will not accept conditions that do not correspond to the nature of the Kyrgyz people and that promoting policies that go against their values would only morally destroy the state and the people.
The article ended with the information that the detained individuals will be kept in Bishkek pretrial detention center 1 until March 13. All of them are former or current employees of Temirov Live.
