Kyrgyz authorities have blamed Internet disruption that occurred in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, on October 24 on technical problems.
Officials at Aknet, a major telecommunications provider in Kyrgyzstan, yesterday reported technical issues that prompted internet access disruption in Bishkek. Unconfirmed reports suggested internet access disruptions might also be occurring in elsewhere in the country.
Kyrgyzstan’s mobile operator MegaCom noted yesterday that it resolved the technical problem.
As far as Internet in Tajikistan is concerned, the Internet access disruptions that reportedly occurred in Dushanbe and the northern part of the country continued until 6:00 pm. There was a problem with the Internet speed.
Some experts attribute this to the Internet disruption problems in Kyrgyzstan.
“Whenever there are some protests in Kyrgyzstan, they have problems with the Internet and communications. And then our Internet speed drops. If it's not related, then why it does not occurred on other days? Most likely this is due to the political situation in this country,” a specialist of one of Tajikistan’s ISPs told Asia-Plus in an interview.
Recall, at least a dozen activists and politicians in Kyrgyzstan were detained on October 23 in what their supporters say is a reprisal for their opposition to a government plan to hand over the territory of Kempir-Abad water reservoir to Uzbekistan as part of a border demarcation agreement.
Demonstrators reportedly held a picket in the evening on October 23 to demand the release of the arrested people and an end to political persecution.
Besides, Internet was disrupted in Kyrgyzstan in October 2020 as protests break out over alleged vote rigging in parliamentary elections.
It is to be noted that the Tajik internet now has four fiber exit points to the rest of the world. Most in use are the ones linking the capital, Dushanbe, to the Eurasian internet backbones through Russia, transiting via Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan before crossing Kazakhstan.
About twelve Internet service providers (ISPs) now operate in Tajikistan. Today, they operate normally.
