KYRGYZSTAN (ANS) -- Is the press losing its freedom in Kyrgyzstan? An anonymous source who spoke to ANS by e-mail on condition of anonymity said that with he described as all the recently “disappeared journalists” in Russia, Ukraine, and Central Asia, “

it would seem that freedom of the press is simply a fairy tale being spun for the political and economic advancement of the ruling elites.”

That statement, the source told ANS, is currently being put to the test in the small, former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev will in a number of ways, the source commented, decide the fate of a free press on May 24.

The parliament of Kyrgyzstan recently passed a bill which, upon approval, will give the president the right to appoint radio and television executives, and affirm the state’s monopoly on national broadcasting.

The source told ANS that Nina Ognianova with the Committee to Protect Journalists has said, “If signed, this law would neuter the modest press freedom gains of recent years by giving the state total control over broadcasting.”

Citizens are concerned.

The anonymous source told ANS that “Sergey,” a former high official in the police, (whose actual name is being withheld for security reasons), “sees journalists being encouraged to regurgitate government propaganda instead of being allowed to freely report the truth.”

As a result, the source told ANS, Sergey is forming an educational center for the training of journalists in the defense of truth, human rights, and principles of democracy. Having already obtained agreements with one of the nation’s largest universities, Sergey is attempting to find like-minded people to spearhead the creation of such a freedom center.

Freedom of the press is important, the anonymous source told ANS, because so many other freedoms are dependent upon the right to speak the truth, such as freedom of religion. Kyrgyzstan has been the one nation in all of Central Asia, the source commented, where freedoms such as these have been permitted, though often reluctantly.

For more information regarding this bill, see www.cpj.org/news/2008/europe/kyrgyz15may08na.html  and www.iwpr.net/?p=rca&s=f&o=344442&apc_state=henh

Jeremy Reynalds is a freelance writer and the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "The Face of Homelessness." Additional details are available at http://www.HomelessBook.com He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@comcast.net. Tel: (505) 400-7145. Note: A higher resolution JPEG picture of Jeremy Reynalds is available on request from Dan Wooding at danjuma1@aol.com.