OSCE Media Rep Calls for Media Freedom; Kyrgyz Opposition Leader Starts Twittering

I see the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media has a statement out now about allowing unimpeded media cover of the crisis in Kyrgyzstan.

The new Representative, Dunja Mijatovic, said:

"The media freedom situation has dramatically deteriorated - information Internet sites have been blocked, media outlets have been closed down and journalists have been attacked. Local and international media should be able to exercise their professional duty of reporting without any hindrances, so that citizens' right to information is respected." 

I'm glad some office of the OSCE has spoke out now besides the chair, who has made only a brief and vague staetment. The situation for media of course was already bad before the outbreak of violence with closure of sites, intimidation of reporters and even murder of journalists. And now sites are being blocked and it's not clear if Western reporters are able to function or arrive in larger numbers but we are seeing AP reports and of course EurasiaNet with reporters on the ground.

Interestingly, Rosa Otunbayeva has put out a message now that the opposition is in power and has taken the resignation of the previous government -- but with rumours that Bakiyev has fled to Osh in the south, events that pit the country's two disperate regions against each other may still be in the pike.

Nearly the first thing she did was get a Twitter account going at @otunbayeva and is putting out announcements of people's patrols (druzhinniki) in uniform and out. P.S. The People's Power is tweeting to you by Hootsuite at times.

So far, on Twitter, anyway, Rosa has 271 followers and is following 27 people. Let's hope there are more in real life. That 10 to one ratio isn't bad for a famous politician, but we'd look for those numbers to go up and for her to listen to more tweets from the peeps, too.

Her party's website doesn't seem to be functioning in either the Russian or Kyrgyz versions -- with Rosa's last tweet one hour ago I wonder how her mobile phone/social media connection is working, too.