Piramida TV’s Strange Weekend

Michael Hedges - December 12, 2005

Reports differ slightly, but it appears Kyrgyzstan is about to lose its only marginally independent television station. And it appears fueled by hostilities between those in and out of power.

Depending on the source, Interfax, Itar-Tass or RAI-Novosti, “unidentified” men attempted to occupy Piramida TV studios and offices in the capital, Bishkek, around midnight Friday or early Saturday morning.  Interfax reports the men “demanded that the staff immediately leave,” but they left instead. Earlier Friday, the station reported on-air that as many as ten “law enforcement officers” came to the channels offices. Itar-Tass quoted station director Elina Chernyavskaya saying people came to the offices Friday morning, announced themselves as the new owners, said the staff was dismissed and the “new program” would be “purely entertaining.”

Calls went out from station personnel to parliamentarians and media NGOs, who came to the rescue and called police, said Interfax. The police told another source the callers were expecting a riot. Saturday about 100 demonstrators gathered in front of the Piramida offices, according to Itar-Tass.

Peculiar difficulties struck Piramida (Pyramid) TV another time, in 2004, when government communications authorities shut down the transmitter for 40 days. It was a technical problem, said the National Communications Agency Director Kubanichbel Begaliev to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the fault of old equipment. Station Director Andrei Tsveltkov suggested that, just maybe, the shut down had more to do with a political discussion program featuring ruling politicians alongside opposition leaders. The station returned to the airwaves exactly one day after George Soros paid a visit to Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev.

We do remember Askar Akayev, yes? His fifteen minutes of global fame came in March this year when he fled the country as demonstrators stormed the presidential palace protesting rather peculiar parliamentary elections. Safely tucked away at a health resort near Moscow, Mr. Akayev blamed American NGOs Freedom House and the National Democratic Institute for “training and financing” what was then briefly called the Daffodil Revolution. He resigned a few days later. The National Democratic Institute had sponsored the aforementioned political discussion program on Piramida TV.

Current Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiev met in late November with Mir TV and Radio Company chairman Victor Senin and announced that a radio station, Mir-Bishkek, would be launched. President Bakiev told Mr. Senin that he was “ready to support you in any way possible.”

Moscow-based Mir operates radio and television stations and produces programs in many countries of the former Soviet Union, particularly Central Asia. According to company information, Mir provides “program editorial staff” and distributes Russian language programs produced by REN TV.

Sorting through sketchy details, it appears Piramida TV pledged shares to Aeropag against a $100,000 loan sometime after the parliamentary elections. Aeropag may or may not own all or part of KOORT TV, a private TV rival. Aeropag then sold its 50% stake in Piramida to another company, Invest Media, which now may or may not own all or part of both or either TV station. Confused? Sometime before the parliamentary elections current President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s son Aydar may – or may not – have purchased all or part of Piramida TV. People working for Piramida TV apparently have no idea who, exactly, owns the station.

Before former President Akayev’s hasty departure, KOORT TV was owned son-in-law, Adil Toigonbayev. Maybe it still is.

Two of the unidentified men visiting Piramida TVs offices Friday -  Arkan Karin and Valery Khaiznikov – identified themselves as consultants hired to transform the station by one of its owners, a local ad agency. Mr. Karin was a TV host on Israel’s Russian language Channel Nine. To the assembled staff on Friday they said work for both KOORT TV and Piramida TV and they wanted a few Piramida TV staffers to work for KOORT TV, “since they have the same owner” and produce one news program. 

Saturday (December 10) a presidential spokesperson issued a terse statement, reported by Interfax, saying "Kurmanbek Bakiyev has nothing to do, either directly or indirectly, with today's situation at the Pyramid television channel. Pyramid is a private enterprise, and it is the exclusive right of the shareholders what to do with their shares. Unsubstantiated accusations of the head of state being involved in these events, accusations that are not backed up by facts, are provocative."

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