Voice of Democracy
Published by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation · Washington, D.C. ·Feb. 9, 2004

US HINTS LINK BETWEEN AID AND REFORM -- The Bush administration has said the new media and election bills before the Kazakh parliament raise questions whether the increasingly autocratic Nazarbayev regime is " truly committed to openness and freedom." The new legislation threatens to impede democratization in the former Soviet republic, said Carlos Europe and Eurasia. When Washington makes decisions regarding assistance to Kazakhstan, "these issues will be very important," said Pascual. "We see broad opportunities for providing international support to Kazakhstan, but it will depend on the goals and standards for which Kazakhstan is striving," he said. Pascual, calling for liberalizing of election laws, echoed concerns of the Kazakh opposition that the proposed election bill limits the independence of local officials. Washington is also concerned that the media bill gives the Information Ministry and not the courts authority to enforce the law, including decisions to close a media outlet, he said. Washington is demanding "infringement of media rights be reduced," he said, not expanded as the proposed law would do. American diplomats are closely monitoring the Kazakh parliament discussion of these issues, he added. Pascual said Washington considers it important that "the opposition in Kazakhstan should have a legal status," which means "opposition political parties should have the right to be registered," and members of the opposition "should have an opportunity to express his or her opinion." http://www.ap.org, http://www.interfax-news.com/

SECRET OF HIS SUCCESS --- What keeps a leader in office? For some its personal popularity and success in giving voters what they want. But in Kazakhstan it's corruption, according to Agence France Presse. "Flawed elections and referenda are widely seen as having been key to the survival in office of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev," AFP reports. He has ruled "with a firm hand" and has outlawed some opposition parties, jailed some of their leaders on charges "widely seen as politically motivated," and cracked down on the media, reports AFP. " Kazakh media have occasionally come under violent attack and rarely mention the bribery scandals involving top Kazakhs and Western oil companies that are currently being played out in US courts." http://www.afp.com/english/home/

TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS -- What do Nursultan Nazarbayev, Martha Stewart, Imelda Marcos and Leona Helmsley have in common? It could be Courtroom 110 of US District Court in Manhattan, if federal prosecutors go ahead and indict the Kazakh dictator and put him on trial. Nazarbayev is currently under investigation by federal authorities for money laundering, corruption and conspiracy, and his personal appeals to the White House to have the case quashed have failed. He even offered to turn on some of his colleagues targeted by the feds. If his case goes on trial, it is likely to be in Courtroom 110 because it is the biggest and thus favored for celebrity trials. But before he faces the court, one of his closest aides will go first. The dictator's American friend and financial advisor, James Giffen, is scheduled to be in a federal court in New York, possibly Courtroom 110, in April for pretrial motions involving his indictment on charges of funneling $60 million in kickbacks to Nazarbayev; his trial is expected to begin in October. Martha Stewart is on trail right now on charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy. Marcos, the former Philippine first lady and shoe collector, stood trial there on racketeering and fraud charges. Helmsley, known as the Queen of Mean, was convicted on 33 charges of tax fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion in 1989. Others who've stood before the bar of justice in that courtroom include Communist spies (Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs), Watergate conspirators (Nixon cabinet members John Mitchell and Maurice Stans), Mafia bosses (heads of Gambino, Lucchese, Bonanno, Genovese and Colombo families), junk bond traders and terrorists (Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and Ramzi Ahmed Yousef for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and several al Qaida operatives for the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Africa). Now known as the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse. (Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and Ramzi Ahmed Yousef for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and several al Qaida operatives for the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Africa). http://www.washingtonpost.com

For the full stories, see the web citations above or contact us at News@Kazakhstan21.org or see VOD Archives [http://iicas.org/english/enlibrary/libr_16_03_01kp.htm]. 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.

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