Kyrgyz officials issue ultimatum to RFE/RL

"That a government selling itself to the world as reformist would blatantly demand prior censorship to keep a popular broadcaster on the air is outrageous," said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova. "We call on the Kyrgyz authorities to abandon the Soviet mentality of censorship and immediately return RFE/RL to the airwaves. The Kyrgyz public deserves a plurality of news sources, including those 'too negative and too critical' of the government."