Radio Free Europe has issued a statement on a “very disturbing” case that smacks of “deliberate interference” by the Kazakh government , Internet users have been prevented for more than five weeks from accessing the Kazakh-language website of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Access to the Kazakh site was interrupted on April 11 and has continued despite RFE/RL’s repeated requests to the Kazakh government and KatzTelecom, the state run telecom operator, to restore service. Because KatzTelecom is the main Internet service provider for central Asia, access to Kyrgyzstan. Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have also been blocked. RFE/RL has provided alternate access to its websites through proxy sites in all four of the affected Central Asian Countries, but the original sites remain blocked. RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service, operating from Prague and Almaty, broadcasts Kazakh language programming daily via satellite, short wave, and state-owned AM radio. Until April 11, programming was also available via the Internet. Find more details at the RFE/RLwebsite.
Radio Free Europe Accuses Kazakhstan of Deliberate Interference
