Ambassador to the US Zamira Sydykova of Kyrgyzstan
Sydykova was born in what is now Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
Sydykova received a grant for Res Publica in the amount of $24,000 from Time Warner, which was promised to her by the companys chairman and CEO Richard Parsons at the Courage ceremony in New York.
When she returned to Kyrgyzstan in October 2000, Sydykova found still more roadblocks in her way.
In January 2002, Sydykova joined with seven other independently owned media houses to protest continued political pressure from the state-owned publishing monopoly, Uchkun, which would find one excuse or another to block printing of their publications if the government disliked their articles.
Sydykova said these were absolutely acts of vengeance for her critical articles.
Though the newspaper doesnt reach most rural people, Sydykova said they can hear her on the radio, where she is a frequent commentator.
Sydykova is apprehensive about pressures against the independent media and new political activists.
being the governor of the Talas Oblast had chosen to be silent.
Sydykova was editor-in-chief of Res Publica, an independent newspaper founded in Kyrgyzstan in the wake of the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, is a leader in the independent media in Central Asia.
It is obvious that Ambassador Sydykova is passionate about democracy and improving the situation in Kyrgyzstan, now it is up to the whole country to make the new government work, like the Ambassador pointed out, it is not only the responsibility of the government to follow all of the promises that they have made, but it is also the responsibility of the people to be involved in making the right changes, voicing their opinions and making suggestions.
Sydykova said she came to understand that through her newspaper, she could contribute to the struggle against Akayev.
Sydykova lives in Washington with her husband Giias, an attorney; the couple has a son currently studying in Florida.
Sydykova said that her predecessor, Baktybek Abdrissaev, who had been in Washington since 1996, was part of the old guard that identified with Akayev and his autocratic style of leadership.
But the building is too small, and Sydykova said she's likely to move the mission to Embassy Row, along Massachusetts Avenue.
It took US 15 years to get to where we are right now, with freedom of speech and a free press, Sydykova said through her translator and economic attach, Sarina Abdysheva.
Sydykova had traveled on numerous occasions to North America as a representative of the democratic aspirations of the people of Kyrgyzstan.
Sydykova was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the USA and Canada.
In 1997, Sydykova was charged in connection with reporting on rampant corruption in a government gold-mining company.
Sydykova was convicted and sent to a labor camp.
In 1995 Sydykova was charged with slander, after publishing information about President Akaev’s foreign bank accounts.
Sydykova was delighted to have the opportunity to be in an elite and growing group of women in the DC area.
Despite the pressure, Sydykova has found a way to continue publishing Res Publica.
Sydykova said the students will help improve the future of Kyrgyzstan when they carry home their US.
On US State Department assistance winning the abolishment of Decree 20, which restricted media freedoms, and in funding an independent publishing house, Sydykova expressed a concern that this was too little, too late.
New book by Zamira Sydykova is published.
NEW BOOK BY ZAMIRA SYDYKOVA IS PUBLISHED.
any details on the regime conditions for Sydykova.
Sydykova expressed disappointment with the low level of US.
Zamira Sydykova is chief editor of the newspaper ResPublika in Bishkek that recently published secret documents critical of the government.
Sydykova says there are also violations of the right to peaceful assembly and politically motivated charges against opposition leaders.
Ambassador Sydykova was a leading activist of the opposition movement in her country and an award winning journalist.
Sydykova had published an article in the newspaper, Argument, in October 2000, a few days prior to the presidential election, in which she claimed that the deputy spokesman owned part of a company.
Before the distribution of this issue Zamira Sydykova had had an interview with the secretary of state, Mr.
Zamira Sydykova is editor in chief of the opposition “Res Publica” daily.
Ex-chief editor of the newspaper Respublika Zamira Sydykova is the Ambassador to Washington, and ex-journalist of the newspaper MSN Rina Prijovoit is the Ambassador to Austria and Kyrgyz Representative at the OSCE.