Nazarbayev media maneuver indicative of more conciliatory stance towards opposition

Alima Bisenova

Control of the mass media has proven a vital component in the overall authority of Central Asian leaders, including Kazakhstan's Nursultan Nazarbayev. With the Kazakhstani president facing growing pressure from political opponents in recent months, it is not surprising that independent mass media outlets have complained about government harassment. However, a recent mass media conference in Kazakhstan indicates that Nazarbayev is pursuing a more conciliatory strategy in his efforts to retain influence over the flow of information.

The first Congress of Journalists in Kazakhstan, bringing together media members from both state-controlled and independent outlets, convened in Astana on March 12. In a speech to congress participants, Nazarbayev said mass media should be a source of impartial information. Currently, he warned, mass media was being manipulated by new-rich oligarchs, intent on pursuing their own personal economic and political agendas.

"Under conditions of the of the initial accumulation of capital and of a wild market, journalism has appeared under pressure from sacks of money that are trying to buy and corrupt it," Nazarbayev said. He said that about 80 percent of the 1,600 media outlets in Kazakhstan are not affiliated with the government.

"Today people know about the media not only by the names of their editors or observers, but by their owners who are businessmen and oligarchs, or by the companies that established them," Nazarbayev said. "The media are being used as an information weapon for settling scores between state officials, politicians and financial and industrial groups."

Nazarbayev advocated the creation of a mass media council - under the auspices of the president, and possessing the effective power of a state agency - to "negotiate here [in Kazakhstan] how we [media and government] work together." The proposal would, at least in theory, render mass media neutral ground in any potential political struggle between the administration and its opponents.

Some of the new media barons are members of an opposition coalition, called the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DCK), which has become more aggressive in recent weeks in trying to force Nazarbayev to share political power. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Many government critics portrayed Nazarbayev's initiative to create a mass media council as little more than a political maneuver designed to co-opt the opposition.

The journalists' congress ended up endorsing Nazarbayev's concept, and set out to write a nationwide ethics code for news outlets. An endorsement by the congress, however, does not indicate a belief among independent journalists that the council will defend the principle of media freedom. "It will be public in name, but in fact it will be government-controlled. Nazarbayev is a great master of political games and shows," says an independent journalist.

Other analysts said Nazarbayev's media maneuver was performed with political considerations in mind, namely the parliamentary election, now scheduled for 2004, and the planned 2006 presidential vote. "It looks like the elections might be held ahead of time, and the presidential administration is preparing the ground for it," said Yerlan Karin, director of the Central Asian Agency of Political Research.

Some supporters of the political opposition say that Nazarbayev's media initiative is part of a policy readjustment, in which the administration is taking a more conciliatory line with the DCK. Another indicator of Nazarbayev's desire to reach out to his opponents is his effort to distance himself from his son-in-law, Rahat Aliyev. According to a report on the Vremya Po web site March 14, Nazarbayev now refuses to have direct contact with Aliyev, who was ousted last November as deputy chairman of the National Security Committee. At the time of his ouster, Aliyev, who also controlled several information outlets, was embroiled in a media struggle with other press barons. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

If Nazarbayev is now opting to appear conciliatory in his struggles to deflect the building challenge to his authority, it is because the tactics of confrontation have proven ineffectual in curbing DCK pressure on the government, some observers say.

In recent months, independent media outlets faced considerable government pressure over the content of their reports. For example, state-controlled publishing houses refused to print newspapers such as "The Globe," "Respublika," "Nachnem s Ponedelnika" and "SolDat."

Television stations, which have wider popular audience than print media in Kazakhstan, have grappled with a different set of challenges. Those TV channels critical of government faced harassment for a variety of technical reasons, including poor sanitation in the workplace and the improper registration of equipment. In perhaps the highest profile case, Tan TV had its broadcasts halted for "technical reasons." On March 9, Nazarbayev helped secure a reversal of a six-month suspension.

Independent journalists also say a new regulation requiring all television and radio stations to provide a minimum of 50 percent of all programming in the Kazakh language exposes media outlets to government harassment. In February, one station, KTK TV, received a $540 fine for violating the language law. Most independent TV and radio companies lack the resources to devote such time to broadcasting in Kazakh. They prefer to broadcast Russian-language programs because the audience for such programs is far larger than for those in Kazakh. If enforced, the regulation on Kazakh language broadcasts would force many outlets to lose money due to a drop off in advertising revenue.

Despite the pressure exerted by various government agencies, independent media representatives remained unbowed. Indeed, the DCK's efforts to force Nazarbayev to share power intensified during the same period, perhaps persuading the president to shift tactics.

Editor's Note: Alima Bisenova is a freelance journalist based in Astana, Kazakhstan.

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav032002a.shtml