Voice of Democracy
Published by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation · Washington, D.C. July 15, 2003

SENATORS ALARMED BY POWELL DECISION -- A bipartisan quartet of senior senators challenged the State Department's certification to Congress that Kazakhstan has made significant improvements in human rights over the past six months. In a letter sent today to Secretary of State Colin Powell, the four lawmakers said the decision contradicts the evidence in the State Department's own report on human rights as well as the findings of Human Rights Watch. Senators John McCain (R-Arizona), Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut), Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) called on Powell to "hold Kazakhstan to the standard of 'substantial progress'" required by law. They noted that the State Department's own March report (see below) found that the Kazakh government's human rights record had "worsened" and that the situation has continued to deteriorate since then. It cited a report by Human Rights Watch (also below) citing "a clear crackdown on opposition political parties" by the Nazarbayev regime. The senators welcomed a series of "benchmarks" set by State for measuring improvement -- passage of legislation on media, NGO's and elections; due process for jailed journalist Sergei Duvanov; registration of public associations and opposition political parties; an end to harassment of independent media, and rights for political prisoners -- and called on Powell to "make clear that Kazakhstan's next certification under the law will depend" on actually showing "substantial progress."

WHICH KAZAKHSTAN ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT? -- When the State Department certified that Kazakhstan meets the Congress's standards for democracy and human rights, it raised an important question: Which Kazakhstan are they talking about? The letter to Congress has a lot of problems, but perhaps the biggest is this: it contradicts all the testimony of major human rights groups and the State Department's own findings on numerous other occasions.

As a public service for the amnesiacs at Foggy Bottom, here is the evidence they apparently forgot about, and this is just the most recent testimony:

Freedom House reported earlier this month that political freedom and civil liberties are deteriorating in Kazakhstan. The country is "not free" and "Citizens of Kazakhstan cannot change their government democratically." It said President Nazarbayev "rules virtually unchallenged" and "the government has repeatedly harassed," prosecuted and used violence against opposition politicians, the media, human rights activists.

Human Rights Watch revealed in May that Nazarbayev's puppet parliament gave him "lifetime powers, including rights to remain on the powerful Kazakh Security Council, to head the parliamentary assembly of Kazakh peoples, to make national addresses on television and before parliament, to attend government meetings, to advise any future president on policy matters and to immunity from prosecution."

Amnesty International gave Kazakhstan a failing grade once again in its report on 2002 released in May "Independent media outlets were subjected to arson attacks and robberies, allegedly government-insp9ired in order to intimidate independent journalists," it found. "Supporters of the secular opposition reported increased harassment by the authorities."

The State Department itself had the most damning revelations that no one apparently bothered showing to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary, who signed the certification letter to the Congress. The department's own report on Human Rights Practices criticized the Nazarbayev regime's "poor human rights record worsened" during the past year as "the Government severely limited citizens' right to change their government and democratic institutions remained weak."

The same State Department also reported to the same Congress:

"(T)he government's poor human rights record worsened, including selective prosecution of opposition leaders and a pattern of media harassment suggesting an attempt to silence media critics."

Corruption in the judiciary remained deeply rooted.

The Government infringed on citizens' privacy rights, and new legislation granted prosecutors broad authorities to monitor individuals.

Several opposition news outlets were attacked and/or had operations suspended during the year.

The Government restricted freedom of assembly and association.

The Government limited democratic expression and continued to impose restrictions on the registration of political parties.

[A]rbitrary detention remained a problem… violation of detainees' rights and illegal detentions were common.

The Government arrested and detained government opponents and critics, sometimes for minor infractions of the law such as unsanctioned assembly.

Corruption was evident at every stage and level of the judicial process.

The Government selectively prosecuted political opponents.

[T]he Government used a variety of means, including criminal and administrative charges, and, observers reported, the use of physical attacks and vandalism to silence its critics.

The Government did not permit individuals to criticize the country's leadership and, early in the year, enforced laws limiting this aspect of freedom of speech.

And the State Department just last month threatened to impose sanctions because it determined "Kazakhstan is a source, transit and destination country for women and men trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation and labor." And it faulted the Nazarbayev regime for failure to "comply with the minimum standards…and is not making significant efforts" to eliminate the practice.

The State Department apparently read none of these -- nor any of the many protests by its own officials, or the statement by its own spokesman declaring the last Kazakh presidential election illegitimate and rigged -- before writing to the Congress.

For the full stories, see the web citations above or contact us at News@Kazakhstan21.org or see VOD Archives. 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.