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RFE/RL TASHKENT BUREAU LOSES ACCREDITATION. RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 9, No. 231, Part I, 13 December 2005 In a 12 December letter,Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry informed RFE/RL acting President JeffTrimble that it has denied the Tashkent bureau of RFE/RL's UzbekService an extension of its accreditation. The letter accused RFE/RLof violating Uzbek legislation by employing the services of stringerswho "engage in journalist activity without accreditation by theMinistry of Foreign Affairs." The ministry also suspended theaccreditation of four RFE/RL Uzbek Service correspondents who heldindividual accreditation. Trimble responded in a statement, saying,"This unwarranted action by Uzbek authorities further erodes thealready dismal state of free speech in Uzbekistan and is yet anotherattack by the Karimov government on the basic human rights of theUzbek people. While hindered, RFE/RL will not be deterred in itsefforts to report accurately and objectively about events inUzbekistan to the people of that country and throughout Central Asiaand the rest of our broadcast region." DK

JOURNALISTS PROTEST AS KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT CREATES COMMISSION ON TV TAKEOVER ATTEMPT. RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 9, No. 231, Part I, 13 December 2005 About 20 employees of Kyrgyzstan's independenttelevision company Pyramid held a protest in front of parliament on12 December as legislators set up a commission to investigate a recent attempt to take over the company (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12December 2005), akipress.org reported. The protesting journaliststaped their mouths to symbolize what they believe is an attempt to muzzle an independent media outlet. The same day, legislators set up a commission that will meet on 14 December to investigate the takeover attempt. Sultan Kurmanbaev, the director of Invest Media, said in Bishkek on 12 December that his company, which claims ownership of Pyramid, does not have ties to either Aidar Akaev, son of former President Askar Akaev, or Maksim Bakiev, son of current President Kurmanbek Bakiev. For his part, President Bakiev said on 12 December that the conflict over the ownership of Pyramid should be settled in the courts, Kabar reported. Bakiev tasked Deputy Prime Minister Adakhan Madumarov with investigating the situation. DK

RUSSIAN COMPANY BUYS KYRGYZ CELL OPERATOR FROM KAZAKH INVESTORS. RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 9, No. 231, Part I, 13 December 2005 Russia's MobileTelesystems (MTS), the country's largest cellular operator, announced on 12 December that it has acquired a 51 percentstake in Kyrgyz cellular operator Bitel from Kazakhstan's AllianceCapital for $150 million, Reuters reported. MTS also acquired an option to buy out the rest of Bitel by the end of 2006. Alliance, which reports have linked to the family of former Kyrgyz PresidentAskar Akaev, has been embroiled in a conflict with Russia's AlfaGroup since Alliance acquired Bitel this spring. MTS CEO Vassilii Sidorov played down the risks of ongoing litigation, saying, "We would not do a deal if we were not certain we could eliminate those risks." Bitel is Kyrgyzstan's largest mobile operator, with nearly500,000 subscribers and an almost 90-percent market share. MTS estimates that by 2010 there will be 2-3 million cell phone users inKyrgyzstan, akipress.org reported. DK