Shows
MajlisHuman Rights Watch Calls Out 'Worsening' Situation In Central AsiaHuman Rights Watch (HRW) just released its annual report about the human rights situation around the world https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025. The report points to a deterioration in rights in Central Asia in such areas as civil society, freedom of media, the judicial process, the rights of minority groups and vulnerable segments of the population, and more. Joining host Bruce Pannier to discuss the report are Syinat Sultanalieva, HRW’s researcher covering Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and Hugh Williamson, HRW’s director for Europe and Central Asia.2025-01-2644 minMajlisTajik Government's Crackdown In Gorno-Badakhshan Enters Third YearTwo years have passed since the Tajik government launched its crackdown on residents of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, or GBAO. On May 16, 2022, police and security forces attacked peaceful protesters in the GBAO capital, Khorugh, and dozens of people were killed in the weeks that followed. After the shooting stopped, the state’s repression of the region continued with the arrests of hundreds of GBAO natives – including this month, when at least 35 residents of GBAO’s Yazgulom district were detained. Joining host Bruce Pannier to discuss the Tajik government’s crackdown in GBAO are guests Syinat Sultanalieva, a researcher covering Kyrgyzstan and Taji...2024-05-2648 minMajlisThe Crackdown On Kyrgyzstan's Independent MediaWhile Kyrgyzstan's independent media scene has been slowly deteriorating for two years, January 15 marked a turning point with raids by law enforcement officers at media outlets and homes of journalists. At least 11 people were detained and ordered into police custody for two months. Kyrgyzstan’s parliament is again considering a restrictive draft media law compared to legislation used by Russia to shut down media outlets there. Joining host Bruce Pannier to look at the crackdown on Kyrgyzstan’s independent media and what might be coming if the draft media law is approved are guests Tattuububu Ergeshbaeva, director of the Tandem - La...2024-01-2152 minMajlisKyrgyz Authorities Tighten Their Grip On PowerSince late October 2022, when more than two dozen opposition politicians, activists, and journalists were detained, the Kyrgyz government has been going after perceived opponents and critics. Investigative journalist Bolot Temirov was deported in November; the government blocked RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service websites and froze its bank account from late October 2022 until July this year; and the campaign continues. Between August 28 and September 7, Kyrgyz authorities moved to shut down an independent media outlet, detained a leading opposition member of parliament, and prepared to strip the Constitutional Court of its powers over a previous ruling that supported women’s rights. Joining host...2023-09-1040 min
Asian Studies CentreHuman Rights Violations in TajikistanSteve Swerdlow, Neil Clarke, Syinat Sultanalieva discuss human rights violations in Tajikistan, chaired by Faisal Devji2022-07-081h 26
The Naked Pravda‘Queer Science Fiction in Russian’: What space epics and tech dystopias tell us about post-Soviet minority activismLGBTQ activists in the Russophone world face obstacles that many in the Anglophone world do not, but that means they also find ways to survive that defy the imagination. One way queer Russian speakers have found to work through those life-and-death decisions is writing science fiction. Through stories about augmented reality, lesbian seduction in space, sentient plants, and more, activists have offered political commentary on post-Soviet oppression that’s impossible to find in the mainstream opposition.
To understand how Russophone writers are using sci-fi to map out the region’s political future, “The Naked Pravda” reached out to schol...2020-03-2731 min
Suite (212)EXTRA: Against Simple Answers: Art, sexuality and society in KyrgyzstanSince becoming independent from the collapsing Soviet Union in 1991, Kyrgyzstan has attracted some attention in the West for its two revolutions (in 2005 and 2010) and the 'gay propaganda' bill introduced to its parliament in 2014, but never passed. Sometimes referred to by European liberals as 'the Switzerland of Central Asia' for its relatively democratic constitution, Kyrgzystan has a complicated relationship with its Soviet past, a fascinating artistic history and a vibrant queer and feminist culture fighting hard against virulent homophobia and misogyny.
In this episode of Suite (212) Extra, Juliet Jacques - who has twice visited Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, and written extensively about...2018-10-081h 11