MOSCOW, Jan 17 (AFP) - A global media watchdog censured Kazakhstan on Monday for shutting down an independent Internet site that reported the state's closure of an opposition party amid jitters in this authoritarian ex-Soviet republic following a peaceful democratic revolution in Ukraine.
Reporters Without Borders said in a statement that the site of the opposition group Ak Zhol was closed days after it reported the government's decision to bar the opposition Democratic Choice party from taking part in upcoming parliamentary elections.
"Ukraine's recent 'orange revolution' seems to have scared the Kazakh regime, which is stepping up its control over news and information and which has realized that to muzzle the opposition you must not only ban political parties but also eliminate them from the Internet," the group said in a statement.
A Kazakh court has ruled that Democratic Choice is an "extremist" party. Reporters Without Borders said the government or local Internet providers have blocked at least 10 sites since 2002 on political grounds.
Analysts have speculated that opposition in authoritarian former Soviet republics of Central Asia may rise following street demonstrations in Ukraine that finally brought a Western-leaning opposition leader to power after his rival's fraudulent win in elections was annulled.
01/17/2005 16:01 GMT - AFP