Voice of Democracy
Published by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation · Washington, D.C. Mar. 13, 2002

NO NATTERING NABOBS OF NEGATIVISM ALLOWED -- If you can't say something nice, shut up. That was the message the Kazakh dictator gave the First Congress of Kazakhstani Journalists yesterday. Coming from a man who jails critics for the crime of not showing him and his family proper deference and padlocks publications which dare to criticize his government, that was more than friendly advice. Kazakh journalists and intellectuals were warned to "understand that when they take their pens in their hands, if the voices they raise cause trouble and disorder" they will be held responsible for betraying the nation. Nursultan Nazarbayev cautioned them to avoid controversial issues and "stay aloof from possible internal mess and chaos." He accused "our opposition, our intellectuals" of betraying their country by "shamelessly crawl[ing]" after foreign journalists to criticize his regime. He blamed the fall of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia on "the campaign started by mass media" and warned not to let that happen in Kazakhstan. http://www.rferl.org/bd/ka/

THOUGHT POLICE STRIKE AGAIN -- An independent Kazakh newspaper has been closed down for three months by authorities for an interview that it never published. The weekly paper, "Nachnem s ponedelnika," had apparently offended the regime by hosting a talk show featuring former Kazakh Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin, Nazarbayev's leading political rival and leader of the opposition Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan. Ostensibly, the excuse given by the court -- which the U.S. State Department recently said are under the thumb of the dictator -- was that the newspaper had failed to print its address and print run in at least one edition. http://www.rferl.org/bd/ka/

DEADBEATS DON'T VOTE -- Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have been stripped of their voting rights in the U.N. General Assembly because they failed to pay their membership dues for 2000-2001.http://www.rferl.org/bd/ka/

LET MY LEADER GO HOME -- The Kazakh opposition has asked the Bush Administration for help in guaranteeing the safety of former Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin if he wishes to return home. The opposition groups have written to Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones asking for Washington to press the Nazarbayev regime to vacate last year's conviction of Kazhegeldin on trumped-up corruption charges, Interfax reported, and protect him against persecution if he decides to return to Kazakhstan and re-enter politics. http://www.interfax-news.com/

THE FALLOUT CONTINUES -- Mutations and genetic abnormalities are the lasting legacy of the Soviet Union using Kazakhstan for its atmospheric nuclear testing, according to a new study published in the journal Science. The defects have already been found in three generations of people living near the Semipalatinsk testing site. Those people have "passed mutations along to their children at a rate that was almost double what is normal," reports the Los Angeles Times. Kazakh health authorities say other studies have revealed increased rates of birth defects, still births and other medical problems in the area.The Soviets conducted 470 nuclear tests between 1949 and 1989 at Semipalatinsk; for the first 14 years many were aboveground. Radiation doses for residents of the region exceeded the exposure of survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs several times over, according to Prof. Robert Ullrich of Colorado State University. http://www.latimes.com

GAG RULES -- In the guise of protecting information security, the Nazarbayev regime has issued a decree that will lead to registering all radio equipment with the Transport and Communications Ministry. The move will further tighten Nazarbayev's stranglehold on the media and follows other laws to control print and electronic media, and prevent any criticism of the dictator and his ruling circle and family. http://www.interfax-news.com/

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.