United States Agency for Global Media

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly visits Central Asia

June 3, 2022

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly visits Central Asia

PRAGUE — During visits to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan this week, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) President & CEO Jamie Fly met with top government officials, human rights activists and independent journalists to discuss the vital role that RFE/RL`s journalism plays in advancing democracy in the region.

In Uzbekistan, Fly met with Tanzila Narbaeva, Chairwoman of Senate, the upper house of the Uzbek parliament, Asadjon Khodjaev, Director of the Agency of Information and Mass Communications in addition to several other government institutions. Fly discussed with the Uzbek government RFE/RL’s interest in improving its ability to report from inside Uzbekistan for its Uzbek audiences. RFE/RL had to close its bureau in Tashkent in 2005 after government pressure on RFE/RL journalists. He also called on the government to stop blocking RFE/RL’s Uzbek language website.

Fly also met with Komil Allamjonov, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Public Foundation for Support and Development of National Mass Media as well as a group of Uzbek bloggers and activists to discuss the state of media freedom in Uzbekistan.

During his visit to Kazakhstan, Fly met with Aida Balaeva, deputy head of the Presidential Administration, Roman Vassilenko, the Deputy Foreign Minister, Askar Umarov, the Minister of Information and Social Development. In meetings with the officials, Fly discussed RFE/RL’s commitment to independent reporting for Kazakh audiences and the Kazakh government’s plans to reform Kazakhstan’s media law.

During Fly’s visit, RFE/RL launched a Special Project “Victims of Bloody January” with a list and stories of victims of the January 5-8 uprising in Kazakhstan and held an event in Almaty with other media organizations and human rights groups to discuss the effort to uncover the truth about those who were killed.

About

Find out more

Contact Martins Zvaners
Deputy Director of Media and Public Affairs, Washington, DC

Related links

RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service

RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service, known locally as Radio Azattyk, provides Kazakh audiences with a trusted, independent and alternative source of local, regional and national news for millions of residents in a country where the government overwhelmingly seeks to control press. In January 2022, Kazakh police opened fire on and detained several Service journalists covering the fuel price protests in Almaty. The Kazakh government also censored the Service website within the country.

RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service

RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service, known locally as Radio Ozodlik, is an essential source of independent news and information for audiences that are otherwise dependent on official media. It is unique in bringing “accountability journalism” to its audiences, and in countering government disinformation and Russian propaganda inside the country. Investigative reporting is a focus for the Uzbek Service, targeting the corrupt practices of the country’s top officials.