(June 22, 2010) Internews has set up a press center in Osh, Kyrgyzstan as an emergency response measure to build post-conflict infrastructure for the information flow about the security situation, humanitarian needs, relief efforts, political reform and reconciliation process in the South.

Southern Kyrgyzstan has been rocked by political violence that spurred ethnic clashes between the Kyrgyz majority and Uzbek minority killing over 2,000 people. Up to a million people may have been affected by the violence, including 100,000 who fled to neighboring Uzbekistan and 300,000 displaced internally, according to aid agencies.

To set up the press center, Internews worked with the Information and Coordination Center (ICC) of the Provisional Government, the local administration and other authorities in Osh. Internews staff members there are evaluating the post-violence media landscape (journalists remaining in Osh, killed, on the run, needing assistance or ready to go back to work), gathering local production crews and producing video. The video is then uploaded to Internews' FTP server in Bishkek and distributed to all Bishkek-based and regional TV channels to be aired as part of their newscasts.

Within the first two days of being launched, the Press Center has become a popular gathering place for all working journalists in Osh, including foreign media. On day one, more than 30 video stories were produced and shared among Bishkek-based TV channels. Many of them do not have their own correspondents in Osh, while others use this shared video to complement their own materials. As a result, the viewers get a fuller picture of what is happening in the South.

Jalalabad Press Center

Internews is also launching a second press center in Jalalabad based on the Osh model. The physical space, security and high-speed Internet are being provided by the Information and Coordination Center of the Provisional Government, while the start-up equipment is going to be loaned by the Jalalabad Media Resource Center.

SMS Distribution and Humanitarian Assistance for Journalists

Internews has launched an SMS (text messaging) distribution among journalists based in the South to be able to send them key information about the security situation, gather their specific requests for humanitarian and any other assistance, and share with them words of sympathy and solidarity at this difficult time.

Individual journalists have responded with requests for medical supplies and cell phone units, as these are the only means of communication and there is no way to add units in Osh or Jalalabad. To help individual journalists meet their specific needs, Internews also gathered targeted humanitarian assistance for their families.

Seminar on Conflict-Sensitive Reporting

On June 11-13, Internews conducted a seminar on conflict-sensitive reporting for a mixed audience of journalists from Bishkek, Osh and Talas. The seminar was held in Talas, the site of the original April protests against the corrupt regime of President Kurmanbek Bakiev. Israeli trainer Ilya Polonsky, a Bishkek-born news editor and field producer with first-hand experience covering the 2006 Lebanon War, events in the Gaza Strip, terrorist attacks and sectarian violence in Israel, taught the seminar.

As the seminar began, initial accounts from Osh started to pour in. A planned conflict reporting seminar in Osh had to be cancelled but the journalists trained by Polonsky went right back to work implementing some of the skills and knowledge they had obtained in the Talas seminar.

Media Assistance Coordination

In addition to supporting local journalists and media outlets in Kyrgyzstan, Internews has also initiated a coordination effort among all international organizations involved in media assistance in the aftermath of the April events.

This included finding ways to cooperate and maximize results, distributing a list of recommendations for ethical principles of covering conflict, and organizing a media forum to discuss the most pressing media policy issues.

Internews’ activities in Kyrgyzstan are funded by the US Department of State Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor as well as the United States Agency for International Development.

More Program News

Kyrgyzstan observers say vote
peaceful, CNN, June 28 - see
photos by
Masha Rasner/Internews

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