Voice of Democracy
Published by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation · Washington, D.C. ·December 11, 2002

DESPERATE MEASURES BY A SQUIRMING DICTATOR ­ Nursultan Nazarbayev is looking for a "stay out of jail free" card in Washington, but he's not having much luck. The Kazakh dictator is reportedly trying to make a deal with federal prosecutors to cooperate against his cohorts in crime in exchange for immunity from indictment for bribery, obstruction of justice and corruption, reports today's New York Times. Prosecutors reportedly have presented the federal court strong evidence showing Nazarbayev "accepted large bribes in connection with dispensing his country's oil concessions during the 1990's, and later tried to obstruct the federal inquiry into the payments, which came from American oil companies," the Times said. Nazarbayev and his aides have repeatedly gone to Vice President Dick Cheney personally as well as other top Bush administration officials to quash the investigation, court records show, but without any apparent luck. Nazarbayev's appeal hasn't been helped by his lukewarm support for the war against terror; his brutal crackdown on political opponents and journalists, and his disputes with American oil companies. Those under federal investigation along with Nazarbayev reportedly include members of his family, his American financial advisor, James H. Giffen, and some top Kazakh officials. The Times reports Nazarbayev's Washington lawyer threatened the Bush Justice Department that if it continues to "aggressively investigate" their client ­ who the letter calls the leader of "an important ally in the war on terrorism with significant oil and gas reserves" ­ relations between the two countries "will deteriorate." But give Nazarbayev immunity, the lawyer wrote, and he is prepared to cooperate. In documents filed with a federal judge, the Justice Department stated, "President Nazarbayev has received enormous bribes and personally obstructed the prosecutors' investigation," according to his lawyer's letter. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/11/international/asia/11KAZA.html?tntemail0

EU HITS PRESS CRACKDOWN ­ Romano Prodi, the head of the European Commission, criticized the brutal crackdown on the independent media and political opponents of Kazakh dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev. During a meeting with Nazarbayev in Brussels last week, Prodi questioned "Kazakhstan's commitment to shared values in the field of democracy, human rights and the rule of law." He criticized the "increasingly difficult conditions for mass media and critical political opposition to operate in Kazakhstan" while noting "the law on political parties and the law on mass media posed restrictions on political activity and press freedom," AFP reported. The increasingly repressive Nazarbayev has closed down nearly all the independent media, often brutally, it added. http://www.afp.com/english/home/

A TOE IN THE DOOR -- In an attempt to repair its "seriously tarnished… international image," the Kazakh government has reversed itself and agreed to allow foreign experts to participate in the trial of Sergei Duvanov, the investigative reporter and human rights activist accused of raping a young girl, Reuters reported. It also agreed to permit a Canadian pathologist investigate the mysterious death, while in police custody, of the daughter of another opposition journalist, Lira Baiseitova. Opposition leaders and foreign human rights authorities have called the charges against Duvanov a political reprisal for publishing reports about financial corruption involving President Nazarbayev and his family. Nazarbayev last month at a news conference in Brussels declared Duvanov's guilt "is proven" even without his day in court and refused to "let this guy free from prison" pending trial. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/top_stories/

KAZAKH KILLING FIELDS -- The prospects of great petro-wealth from massive and gas finds in and around the Caspian Sea is fueling anger, rivalries, cut-throat deals and fear of environmental disaster that threaten to turn fields of opportunity into the "killing fields of Kazakhstan," reports The Guardian (London). "The wild East could end the West's dependence on OPEC, but at a heavy cost," it points out. The largest oil find in more than 20 years "should provide a strategic alternative to the Middle East," but many problems must first be ironed out. The five countries bordering the Caspian ­ Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan ­ have no safety or conservation agreements governing oil exploration, reports The Guardian. And the Nazarbayev government is tightly controlling the media, ignoring all protests and preventing any public discussion of the potential problems. http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/

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