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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 001407 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND SCA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAO KG
SUBJECT: Local Media Reaction to Incident at Manas Airport 
 
 
BISHKEK 00001407  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Local media reaction to the September 26 
incident involving a U.S. KC-135 Stratotanker and a Kyrgyz 
Airlines TU-135 has largely been restrained, by local 
standards.  Some outlets have played up the fact that the 
Kyrgyz plane involved in the accident occasionally 
transports President Bakiyev.  Some outlets have placed the 
blame with the U.S., but most have kept reporting largely 
factual. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Pro-government Vechernyi Bishkek, the largest paper 
in Kyrgyzstan, has published diagrams of the accident and 
has confined its reporting to facts.  The paper interviewed 
a passenger on the TU-154 who said that at the time of 
impact, the plane "shook, as if a car hit a hole at high 
speed."  The passenger reported that stewards began serving 
soft drinks, and it was only when the plane returned to the 
airport did the passengers realize what had happened. 
 
¶3. (U) Pro-government Komsomolskaya Pravda, which publishes 
news from both Russia and Kyrgyzstan, interviewed a TU-154 
pilot who happened to be at Manas airport at the time of the 
accident.  The pilot described the factual detail of the 
incident, but adding the detail that the runway at Manas has 
a large bump in it, limiting pilot's vision.  Opposite the 
article written in Bishkek, a similar article written from 
Russia appeared.  The only real difference between the two 
was that the Russia-based article was shorter. 
 
¶4. (U) Pro-government MSN reported that a governmental 
commission has been formed to study the incident.  While the 
paper also reports the facts of the accident, it also quotes 
a local non-governmental organization that calls on the 
leaders of Kyrgyzstan to "reconsider in the shortest term" 
the agreement between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Manas 
Airbase in order to "maximize" the safety of the citizens of 
the country. 
 
¶5. (U) Pro-government Obshestvenniy Reyting also largely 
reported the same facts reported elsewhere, but praised the 
skill of the pilots of the TU-154 in ensuring that there 
were no injuries or loss of life during this incident. 
 
¶6. (U) Pro-government Slovo Kyrgyzstana also reported the 
facts of the incident accurately.  However, the paper also 
declared on September 29 that the crew of the KC-135 were at 
fault in the incident.  Slovo Kyrgyzstana also quotes Manas 
Airbase Commander COL Reese that the U.S. and Kyrgyzstan are 
going to conduct separate but parallel investigations of the 
incident. 
 
¶7. (U) The new anti-American Megapolice newspaper also 
declares that the American pilot was at fault for the 
incident.  The paper quotes the Director of the Civil 
Aviation Department saying that the air traffic controllers 
were not at fault.  He also goes on to say that recordings 
of conversations between the planes and the controllers are 
being transcribed.  In another article, a writer claims that 
fuel dumping by pilots based at Manas Airbase is continuing. 
The writer says that 35 people have been poisoned by eating 
mushrooms tainted by fuel, with six children having died. 
 
¶8. (U) In opposition Belyi Parohod, an article appears about 
how American pilots regularly disobey the directions of the 
Kyrgyz air traffic controllers.  They cite an example of an 
American pilot being denied permission to land, but landing 
anyway.  In another case, they cite a time when an American 
plane stopped on the runway and turned off all external 
lights theorizing that it was done to "check the nerves of 
the controllers." 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment: The relatively muted reaction of Kyrgyz 
media so far has been surprising.  The media here thrive on 
conspiracy theories and most can find ways to blame the 
 
BISHKEK 00001407  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
United States for almost anything under the sun.  To date, 
reporting has largely been factual and restrained.  While 
some outlets have already decided who is at fault in this 
incident, it would have been expected that many more would 
have preordained the results of the investigation. 
Unfortunately, this restraint is most likely not a sign of a 
maturing media environment.  More likely, this is an example 
of the media echoing the restrained response of the 
government. End comment. 
 
Yovanovitch