Not all employees of Azattyk Radio are U.S. citizens

Not all the employees of Azattyk radio station are the citizens of the U.S., United States Ambassador to Kazakhstan Kenneth J. Fairfax said during an online-conference at Tengrinews.kz. The diplomat noted that Azattyk radio is the Central Asian division of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) that broadcasts in 21 countries in 28 languages. “Despite of the fact that Azattyk radio is funded by the U.S. government, many of its employees are citizens of other countries, including Kazakhstan,” he added. Fairfax said that 400 full-time and 750 part-time journalists of different nationalities work for RFE/RL. The organization is sponsored by the U.S. Congress through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for all non-military, international broadcasting sponsored by the U.S government. The BBG's stated mission is to promote and sustain freedom and democracy by broadcasting accurate and objective news and information about the United States and the world to audiences overseas. “Nevertheless, we have to note that the U.S. government does not interfere into the work or editorial decisions of RFE/RL,” the diplomat said. According to Fairfax, the use of the independent Board to ensure professionalism and unbiasedness of the bodies created by the government is normal practice in the United States. “As I said before, the Federal Reserve Bank was created by the Congress to make sure that issuance of money is controlled professionally and does not depend on political decisions,” he compared.