Address of Akezhan Kazhegeldin
to the meeting of the movement For a Fair Kazakhstan
Almaty, 10th September 2005
Dear Colleagues! Comrades in the political struggle!
I wish I could be today with you to participate in the discussion of
most pressing issues in the life of Kazakhstan as a state. However, the political regime
in our country sometimes forces us to work for the benefit of our homeland far away from
it.
On behalf of my associates, members of the movement For a Fair
Kazakhstan who live abroad, I would like to welcome our meeting and urge all democratic
parties and movements, all the patriotically minded fellow citizens of Kazakhstan to back
the single presidential candidate of Kazakh democratic opposition, Zharmakhan Tuyakbai. We
believe in his readiness to spare no effort in the fight for victory.
From the rostrum of this congress, I would also like to urge
independent politicians not affiliated with our movement to drop their leadership
ambitions for the sake of our nation, to join our block and urge their supporters to vote
for Zharmakhan Tuyakbai at the forthcoming elections.
Dear colleagues, let's concentrate on the importance of the forthcoming
political event: for the first time in history the incumbent President will be challenged
by a candidate nominated by a broad-based opposition front who enjoys support of the
entire spectrum of political forces, from the left to liberals.
What the authorities want most today is to split this united front, to
set off several opposition candidates. The authorities will be able then to manipulate the
votes, to “saw” them and to fabricate their landslide victory for yet another time. We
all hope that patriotism and common sense will get the upper hand.
Let's fight for our presidential candidate in earnest, with all our
heart! Our common victory at the forthcoming election will signal the beginning of an era
of justice, true democracy and respect of the rights of all. We are fed up with the
demagogy about the long path to freedom and democracy! We are fed up with corruption and
theft in the status of government politics! We are fed up with the tales of a bright
future. The Kazakhs and Kazakhstanis deserve a bright present.
Do you remember that in Brezhnev era the propaganda kept repeating a
stale slogan “All in the name of the man, all for the benefit of the man.” Humorists
added then that all knew the name of that man very well. The Soviet Union was full of
pictures of our “Dear leader” decorated with orders like a Christmas tree. Today we
see same posters, hear same slogans, and tell each other same anecdotes about our
officials.
We should fight for our victory in the elections in earnest. We should
not spare effort. But at first we should make sure that the 2005 election is finally free
and fair. It's not enough that an opposition candidate could take part in the election. We
need to obtain places on election commissions at all levels. We need to ensure that
independent observers are present at each of the polling station. But first and foremost,
Zharmakhan Tuyakbai and his supporters need to get access to air on TV on a par with
candidate Nazarbayev.
From the very first day of the election campaign, we should demand,
actually force the Khabar and other state-run and budget companies to strictly
abide by the principle of candidates' equality. With a stopwatch timer in our hands, we
should control on a daily basis how often and for how long this candidate is on air and
how rare and how short the coverage of our candidate's program is in the official media
outlets. This will provide us with reasons for protests, for a wave of pressure, first and
foremost, at the international level.
In the same way we should prepare our people for monitoring at polling
stations and exit-pools, i.e. polling of voters when their exit the station. We should
support any NGOs who wish to get involved in this and provide them with stable
communication with our candidate's headquarters.
If violations at polling stations become aggressively brazen like it
was the case during the parliamentary elections and the results announced by the central
election commission are a far cry from the results of the polls, this would mean that the
results are rigged and do not reflect the people's will. Then the people will have the
right to directly express their will – in the streets, by way of rallies and protest
actions.
We recognize this right of the people; we must warn the authorities in
advance that we reserve the same right for ourselves. The Kazakh Constitution,
international human rights and civil freedoms laws guarantee this right. We should declare
the monstrous “laws” that the Kazakh Majilis – itself illegal in fact – has passed
to suppress the political activity of citizens after elections, anti-constitutional and
void. We know whom we elect too. We will be able to defend our choice too.
Dear comrades! The outcome of the election will depend on the way we
conduct this election campaign. But this campaign will define not only whether our
candidate will become a president or not, it will also define whether Kazakhstan will
undergo a transit from authoritarianism to democracy by peaceful means or shocks are ahead
for us like it was in neighboring Kyrgyzstan.
Let's every day tell officials – akims, members of the central
election commission, ministers who will finance the President's election campaign – the
following: "Gentlemen, justice will be restored shortly, you will be punished if you
commit yet another crime. Your former colleagues in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan have already
been brought to justice." Unfair elections in those countries were held less than a
year ago. Eventually former presidents' henchmen faced most serious consequents, not even
the presidents themselves, Kuchma or Akaev. Many of them have already been jailed.
The forthcoming election is not just a choice between two persons. It
will be the choice of one of two ways, a choice in favor of a new epoch, in favor of
justice and true democracy.
The nation should be shown this choice at large. We should bring home
to every Almaty citizen that a vote cast for the current regime means a vote cast for the
destruction of Almaty, for transformation of this beautiful city into a mock Chicago. It
will mean for Almaty the demolition of its coziest and well-equipped districts for the
sake of profits.
The same goes for Western Kazakhstan: a vote cast for the current
regime means a vote cast for the endless leapfrog of akims (heads of administrations) who
bring with them hordes of officials - their fellow countrymen. It means to vote for the
inequality and humiliated position of Caspian workers in comparison with foreign workers.
It means to destroy the Caspian and its shores for the benefit of a handful of
individuals. The bulk of Kazakh citizens still watch the wealth created by the
skyrocketing oil prices only on TV.
Same tactics should be applied in every Kazakh region. People should be
shown with the help of cogitable examples from their everyday life that to cast their vote
for the current regime is to vote for the incumbent akims, corrupt judges, thug policemen,
corrupt tax officials, smuggler customs officials, and so on and so forth.
I would like you to see that my address contain not only appeals. We,
opposition activists who live abroad, have already launched our campaign in support of the
single candidate. We work in OSCE, European Union, and the Council of Europe to ensure
that the election will be closely watched every single moment. Western European states and
US have openly and unambiguously told Astana that the presidential election must take
place this year and be truly free and fair.
We know for sure that every high-ranking official and diplomat visiting
Astana doesn't fail to reiterate this to the regime officials. This consolidated opinion
of democratic states also contained in the letter of George Bush to President Nazarbayev.
Kazakh foreign ministry keeps away the text of this letter, quoting just praises for
sending the Kazakh troops to Iraq. But the main message of the US President to his Kazakh
counterpart can be expressed in a single sentence: Mr. President, you should hold this
election free and fair, you should give your contenders a chance to fight for voters and
ensure that all contenders have equal opportunities. Almost word for word, same demands
were repeated to Kasymzhomart Tokayev during his visit to the US.
Foreign opposition bureau have contributed to this activity. It
publishes news bulletins that tell western politicians about latest developments in
Kazakhstan. Members of the foreign bureau travel the world over to meet with officials and
journalists. If the foreign ministry could work that effectively, Kazakhstan was already
OSCE chair, diplomats in Vena say.
Getting back to domestic issues, I would like to say: don't pay
attention to official ratings, these places in the first rows bought beforehand like in a
concert hall at a prestigious concert. Life will put everything in its proper place and
everybody will occupy a place depending on their merits and services to the people and
history. An undeserved person has never stayed in the pantheon of glory forever. At least
we, the Kazakhs, have never held bloodsuckers and moneygrubbers as heroes.
In my opinion, this congress is held in right time. Seven years ago we
laid a foundation for the union of democratic forces. Today this union is a reality. Seven
years ago there were no limits to the authoritarian power. Today it has come to its last
frontier. Does anyone believe that the regime will last another seven years in its present
form? Even the regime pillars realize that their time is read counterclockwise now.
The experience of elections in last seven years gives the international
community and us moral right to suspect the authorities of intention to misuse their
administration and repression resources. Nursultan Nazarbayev himself has indirectly
acknowledged this when he promised that this time the election would finally meet
international democratic norms.
We will give the authorities a chance to prove their good will. But we
are not going to believe empty words. We need to urgently receive from Khabar and
state-run television stations a precise timetable and topics of programs for opposition
candidate. From editorial offices of republican and regional newspapers published on
budget funds, we should receive as soon as possible the dates and exact volumes of
expected publications based on materials prepared by our headquarters.
Immediate dissolution of the notorious NKVD (national commission on
democracy) and convocation of the constitutional meeting could become a real signal of
readiness to change. The president suggests that we vote for him today and puts off
reforms until 2007-2013. I believe that the program of our candidate should include a
paragraph regarding the constitutional meeting.
Like during the recent presidential election in Kyrgyzstan, the
opposition candidate should suggest that the election participants sign a Charter
developed by the OSCE for candidates. President Bakiyev together with his rivals signed it
this summer. If President Nazarbayev follows his example, the world will see real signs of
democracy instead of usual promises.
It is not opposition who has to wait when their proposals are accepted,
it is the authorities who will ask and already ask opposition of cooperation. We are told
about stability, unity and economic achievements. They threat us by a revolution and tell
it's the most terrible evil. I don't remember however anything of this kind in the
speeches at annual ceremonies dedicated to the October Socialist Revolution.
They like to repeat a quote from the French writer that poverty gives
birth to revolutions and revolutions give birth to poverty. I don't know in which novel
the president's speechwriters came across this phrase. But, judging by the plenty of
quotes, they read much and without any system.
One should remember, however, that the French writer in question,
Victor Hugo, was the poet of the French Revolution, which gave the strongest impetus to
the liberation of Europe from feudalism, establishment of the ideals of liberty, equality
and brotherhood. The day of the revolution is marked in France as a national holiday. If
someone has any doubts, one could always ask the French President, Jacques Chirac.
Like any other nation, the Kazakhs and Kazakhstanis want a peaceful and
happy life. But they will not sell their right to protest and exasperation for a couple of
petrodollars given to them by the authorities in the run-up to the election from their
bottomless pocket. That's why we prepare for the election but remember that its second or
the third round could be held in the streets and squares of our towns.
However, this is beyond my address already. I wish you unity and
strength in the forthcoming struggle. I wish Zharmakhan Tuyakbai courage and will.
Together we will overcome. |
