Kazakhstan: Activists assail internet law as step back for democratization

Joanna Lillis: 7/24/09

Journalists and civil rights activists in Kazakhstan have reacted with dismay to the passing of a new Internet law they say will severely restrict freedom of expression in a country set to take the helm of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the Internet bill on July 10, disregarding vociferous lobbying against it from the OSCE, opposition parties, journalists and domestic and foreign human rights activists.

"We were very aggrieved and surprised, because we very much hoped and believed the president would veto this law," Tamara Kaleyeva, head of the Adil Soz (Free Speech) non-governmental organization, told EurasiaNet. "Being among the leaders of the OSCE with such a law is simply indecent."

The bill's opponents had called for a veto on the grounds that it diverges from Kazakhstan's professed commitment to freedom of expression, as well as runs counter to OSCE's principles. Kazakhstan was controversially awarded the 2010 OSCE chairmanship on the back of pledges to liberalize the country's political and media environments.

Officials say they have met commitments with amendments to laws governing the media and political parties that came into force earlier this year. Critics attack them as cosmetic, and say the new Internet law is a sign of Kazakhstan's lack of good faith. They had hoped Nazarbayev would, in a face-saving move, veto it, as he did in 2004 with a controversial media law. Earlier this year a law on religion attacked as restrictive was also struck down, to the delight of campaigners.

The new Internet law classifies all websites, blogs and chatrooms in the Kazakhstan domain as media outlets, subjecting them to strict regulation, and introduces restrictions on the reporting of elections, rallies, and strikes.

The bill drew fire at home and abroad. Human Rights Watch called on Kazakhstan to rescind a law "that significantly restricts media freedoms" on July 14. Three days later, the Kazakhstan-OSCE 2010 NGO coalition complained that the law "violates Kazakhstani citizens' constitutional rights and is not consistent with internationally recognized principles of freedom of expression and freedom to exchange information as spelled out in the basic documents of the OSCE."

The bill's proponents say it is needed to fight cyber-crime, terrorism, extremism and pornography. "The changes to legislation were drawn up taking into account OSCE recommendations and received a positive assessment by OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Miklos Haraszti," Zhanna Kurmangaliyeva, executive secretary at the Culture and Information Ministry, told EurasiaNet in written responses earlier this year that outlined the government's position. "Kazakhstan, like other countries in the world, is taking timely measures to legally regulate these processes with the aim of assuring the rights of citizens."

Haraszti wrote to Nazarbayev on June 25 urging him to rescind the law. "Its adoption would be a step backwards in the democratization of Kazakhstan's media governance," Haraszti said "Refusing to enact this law will send a strong signal that the forthcoming OSCE Chairmanship of Kazakhstan in 2010 intends to fully honor the country's OSCE media freedom commitments."

On June 24, about 60 journalists and activists held an unsanctioned rally in Almaty to protest what they billed as pending restrictions of freedom of speech. "The draft law regulating information and communication networks introduces censorship on the Internet and a ban on all media critically reporting elections, rallies, strikes, and inter-ethnic relations," the critics said in a written statement.

They also voiced concern over court cases against media outlets, such as the libel suit filed earlier this year against the independent Taszhargan newspaper. That case culminated with a $200,000 award for damages, a verdict that forced the newspaper to close because it could not afford to pay the penalty and still be able operate. "This was a trial against freedom of speech.... [Taszhargan] was simply destroyed by this ruling," Kaleyeva told EurasiaNet. Taszhargan's backer, Yermurat Bapi, has vowed to launch a new outlet. For the time being, other independent newspapers are offering Taszhargan space to publish material.

Taszhargan is not the only media outlet to struggle with defamation suits. The Svoboda Slova newspaper, known for its anti-government line, is currently fighting three separate court cases, and the closed trial of Alma-Ata Info newspaper's chief editor Ramazan Yesergepov for allegedly distributing classified information continues. Meanwhile, one of Kazakhstan's few remaining independent broadcast outlets, ART television in the city of Karaganda, has been shut down for allegedly inciting ethnic enmity.

Activists say access to information is also restricted by the blocking of websites that carry material critical of the government. Such blocked sites include Live Journal, where Nazarbayev's disgraced son-in-law, Rakhat Aliyev, publishes a blog.

Attempts continue to suppress a book written by Aliyev, titled The Godfather-in-Law. The work contains material – the authenticity of which hasn't been confirmed – that, if accurate, would discredit Nazarbayev and other senior figures. Authorities backtracked on original statements that the book was banned, clarifying that bringing it into Kazakhstan and disseminating state secrets from it were forbidden. Proving that they mean business, on July 21 14 CDs containing copies of the book were seized from a car entering Kazakhstan from Russia.

Not all books critical of Nazarbayev are subject to bans, though: One work that is widely available is Legend of a Nomenclatura by Dosym Satpayev and Yerbol Zhumagulov. It is a witty satire set in Astana's corridors of power, featuring thinly disguised characters that are easily recognizable as top members of Kazakhstan's business and political elite, including Nazarbayev.

The Kazakhstan National Opinion Poll, conducted May 9-23 by Baltic Surveys Ltd and The Gallup Organization for the International Republican Institute, showed that 84 percent of respondents believe at least some people in Kazakhstan are afraid to openly express their political views. Activists, however, say they will not be cowed by the restrictions imposed by the new Internet law. "This does not mean we are all scared and will all shut up," Kaleyeva told EurasiaNet. "We are going to try to protect our journalists and the image of Kazakhstan as a democratic country."

Editor's Note: Joanna Lillis is a freelance writer who specializes in Central Asia.