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Voice of Democracy: Freedom of the Press Kazakh
style Washington, D.C., 20 December 2000 Freedom of the Press Kazakh style President Nazarbayev's definition of a free press in Kazakhstan apparently is one that is free to sing his praises or shut up. A few examples: Un-Happy Birthday, Mr. President? -- The Nazarbayev regime has blocked publication of another newspaper, SolDat, because it published an article criticizing the president on his 60th birthday. Harassment of the editor sent him to the hospital with acute ulcers, reports Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, but that hasn't deterred police, who sought to interrogate him in his hospital room.
If you can't say something nice... It was a book party with no books after police seized all the copies of a newly published tome on President Nazarbayev's role in the bloody crackdown on 1986 student protests, according to RFE/RL. The author had spent four years in the Gulag for taking part in the demonstrations against Moscow's decision to replace a local Communist party leader, who was an ethnic Kazakh, with an ethnic Russian. Nazarbayev was chairman of the Kazakh SSR's Ministers' Council at the time.
Propaganda Chief Insulted -- It seems Kazakh Minister of Information Altynbek Sarsenbayev didn't like something printed about him in the newspaper "Nachnem s Ponedelnika," so he got the country's puppet courts to order publication suspended for three months, according to the NewsWire. If American politicians could do that, the paper mills would go out of business.
'No independent media in Kazakhstan' -- "Increasing and indiscriminate" repression of the news media is a common practice by the "authoritarian leaders" of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, reports the New York Times (Dec. 7). ''There is no real independent media in Kazakhstan," said Stuart Auerbach, director of development for the Media Development Loan Fund, an American foundation assisting independent news organizations. "journalists in Central Asia have faced arrest, visits from tax inspectors and sometimes authorities with padlocks. In extreme cases, journalists may be beaten, and a few have been killed," The Times reported. "Karavan, the last major independent media company in Kazakhstan, was sold two years ago after its owner ran into tax troubles. The buyer was President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev's daughter, Dariga, who already owned the major television channels and the other national daily newspaper. "
Free press, for the owners -- President Nazarbayev went on the television network controlled by his own daughter, Darigha, and gave a two-hour "interview" loaded with softball questions. He used the easy pitches to extol his own achievements and excoriate his enemies. He took personal credit for negotiating agreements that he predicted will significantly expand Kazakh exports to Europe. He denied that he had ever held foreign bank accounts, reported RFE/RL, and said accounts in "American newspapers" about his overseas holdings were "absurd." Nazarbayev also called a leading opposition critic, Seydakhmet Quttyqadam, a scoundrel and traitor. Quttyqadam in turn accused the president of using his daughter's television station to brainwash the Kazakh people and challenged him to a televised debate. Don't hold your breath waiting for that show.
Freedom’s doors nailed shut -- In another sign of “Kazakhstan's worsening human rights and democracy record,” the Financial Times reports, three political opposition leaders were literally cemented into their apartments to prevent anti-government demonstrations during a visit to Almaty earlier this year by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, according to the Financial Times. A reporter who revealed the move was fired from her job.The political situation in Kazakhstan “has deteriorated steadily since 1996” to the point the country is considered by some as a "submerging democracy," FT reported. Opposition newspapers are suppressed, independent websites are blocked, dissident politicians harassed and jailed, elections rigged and the regime’s opponents barred from running.
For the full stories, see the web citations above or contact us at News@kazakhstan21.org. The Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation promotes democracy and human rights in kazakhstan through public affairs and educational programs in the United States and Europe. -- This material is distributed by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., 20 December 2000 |