Voice of Democracy
Published by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation · Washington, D.C. · ·Oct. 15, 2004

Time to Choose: Democracy or Dictatorship

The future of Kazakhstan for a long time to come will be determined in the next 14 months leading up to the January 2006 presidential elections, in which the increasingly corrupt and autocratic Nursultan Nazarbayev will be seeking a sixth term. Time is running out to change the course of the nation's history, insists Akezhan Kazhegeldin. The former prime minister, challenger to Nazarbayev who twice was illegally banned from the ballot in Kazakhstan and is currently living in exile, has called on all the democratic forces to unite in a single party to replace the Nazarbayev dictatorship by peaceful means.

The recent parliamentary elections, in which there was an unusually low voter turnout, were "a nationwide shock" that were "less fair and free than any previous ones" for one simple reason: "the Nazarbayev group is aware they would lose any free and fair election."

Kazhegeldin, who once again was barred by the regime from running, said too many opposition politicians failed to "fight and speak out against corruption, the Kazakhgate, the 'family's' grip on Kazakhstan, and the usurpation of power by a single group." Instead, they offered only mild criticism of the regime in the hope that Nazarbayev enough would let them run, although even if elected they would have neither power nor influence.

The clock is running out for the democratic forces to unite, he said. The choice is continuing down the road to dictatorship or turning toward democracy.

In an open letter to colleagues published today in Respublika newspaper [http://www.respublika.kz/], Kazhegeldin offers a 10-point "practical proposal" for uniting the democratic forces for the January 2006 presidential elections.

1. Nazarbayev-style election is a threat to national security

Nursultan Nazarbayev sought to have an outwardly democratic puppet parliament, but he has revived a useless one-party 'supreme soviet' of the Brezhnev era. The bankrupt regime can only be removed peacefully by means of free elections. But people might refuse to go to the polls, because they have been fooled several times in a row. Under such circumstances, extremist forces might attempt to present themselves as those who express people's interests. We have all watched with sympathy the "rose revolution" in Georgia. But is there any guarantee that a revolution in Kazakhstan will be bloodless?

2. Has the compromise potential been exhausted?

But it is naпve to hope for fair practices among those in the president's administration and his entourage of corrupt and repressive officials. Despite their high-ranking posts, they remain just lackeys who hurry to follow their master's instructions. Any hope to improve the Nazarbayev power system from the inside has also proved misplaced. A single opposition minister in the cabinet led by a helpless prime minister nothing more than window dressing for Nazarbayev to claim pluralism in an authoritarian regime. Opposition members should work in a team. They should rely on the majority in society and have a political program that the regime would accept as a condition for cooperation in the face of total confrontation.

3. The white and the black only

Six years that have passes since Nazarbayev has turned Kazakhstan into an authoritarian state through a fraudulent election lacking international recognition. Each Kazakh citizen should realize that he or she is facing a simple question: does he back the "black" or does he back the "white"? Is he or she for Nazarbayev, his family and his entourage, or for new representatives directly and fairly elected by] the people? Is he or she for the good or for the evil? For the ""night patrol" or for the "day patrol"? The authorities have long regarded the democratic forces as a single enemy, while we in the democratic opposition still do not regard each other as allies!

4. Time to unite

Amid the indignation over the election results, we should immediately decide to unite all the democratic forces into a single party -- a strong, up-to-date party able to win a victory in the fight with dictatorship. The uniting party should be Ak Zhol because it already has won recognition from the public during the recent parliamentary elections and it possesses a branch structure, organizational resources and experienced staff. There is no use wasting time and efforts on fighting for posts in the newly united party. We should recognize our colleagues from the Ak Zhol party as our leaders. For the moment, leaders of other parties will have to work as rank-and-file members. I am ready to apply for membership in the united Ak Zhol. Overnight, the country would get a political party that relies on a clear majority and exceeds the "power party" in human resources. Its objectives should be simple and coherent: to remove the dictatorship, to uproot government corruption, freedom of speech, and justice and equal rights for all.

5. Otan is not a threat

The uniting of the opposition parties will greatly impress the top authorities. Even though it is considered Nazarbayev's party, Otan is the most important source of members for us because it includes a lot of experienced administrators who will take care of the state structure in case of power transfer. We are to work with Otan members, stay in contact with them, explain the perspectives which are about to occur if the opposition wins. Otan leaders were forced, as slaves on a plantation, to participate in the election campaign, which was organized for Otan by the regime and its big money friends. These people are the regime's victims to the same extent as the people in general. They have been forced to work in the environment of total corruption, incompetence, nepotism and iniquity. Some of them are implicated in that. But we must to distinguish between those who enforce corruption in the state apparatus and those who didn’t dare to openly oppose it. The former are criminals; the latter are victims of the circumstance.

6. Kazakhstan is a hostage of Nazarbayev’s mistakes

Nursultan Nazarbayev's “curriculum vitae” is well known. He has dissolved the parliament, rewritten the Constitution, violated laws he developed himself, falsified election results, shut down newspapers and burnt them down, initiated criminal persecution against his political opponents and journalists. His actions have tarnished the image of Kazakhstan. In recent years, our political system has transformed from an exemplary post-Soviet democracy into an ugly autocracy, an object for criticism and mockery. The regime’s foreign-policy isolation has been increasing dramatically as the "Kazakhgate" scandal around the president’s secret accounts in Swiss banks unfolds.

7. We are to resolve the Kazakhgate crisis

The democratic opposition must develop a common approach to Kazakhgate. The united Ak Zhol should immediately form a commission to examine all documents in the U.S. and Switzerland on the case and meet with the involved parties. The opposition’s active involvement could help return home the funds frozen in foreign bank accounts, some of which could still be secret. More than $100 million is at stake. We should act as the U. S. and Swiss authorities' partners in negotiations regarding the fate of those funds and the ferreting out of corruption. Parliamentarians in the U.S. and Switzerland have demanded that the money should not be returned to Nazarbayev until he remains in office. We can offer an alternative solution.

8. A single presidential candidate

Uniting into a single party supposes the nomination of a single candidate for the presidential election. In contrast to the usual election campaign tactics, this candidate should be agreed upon as soon as possible, as early as this winter. We need to introduce our candidate to the international community to secure guarantees of his safety from western governments, European Union, Council of Europe, and OSCE. Our candidate should offer integrity, vision and the ability to win broad support at home and abroad. If the Kazakhgate trial in a New York court establishes that Nazarbayev, with open eyes, agreed to establish an international criminal group and cooperate with a foreign agent, this would mean bringing high treason charges against him, removing him from office and putting him on trial.

9. Positive program

The difficulty associated with uniting of parties appears to lie in the accommodation of a single party platform rather than in the accommodation of personal ambitions of many politicians. To win in January 2006, we should act in conjunction, on behalf of a single party and in accordance with a single plan.

10. Second front from the abroad

The international community will not allow dictatorship take root in Kazakhstan. Nor will it support settling the Nazarbayev crisis through dynasty succession. Kazakhgate has isolated the Nazarbayev regime; many foreign leaders avoid meeting with the Kazakh president. After the New York Kazakhgate trial, Kazakhstan will be isolated from its principle foreign investors. The task of opposition is to show the world that our country does have the forces able to lead Kazakhstan back into the community of civilized states.

Kazhegeldin said that although forced to live abroad, he is ready to do his part, including continuing to represent the opposition, to promote the image of a new united party, to introduce its leaders to political circles, to jointly seek both moral and financial support from western governments and international institutions. In the past years, his Republican People’s Party of Kazakhstan and the Forum of Democratic Forces have accumulated considerable international recognition and backing. They have established contacts with most renowned media outlets and have found job partners in major capitals. "With open heart, we will offer these resources to our colleagues," Kazhegeldin said. United into the Ak Zhol party, opposition would receive the backing of the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the OSCE if it demonstrates that it represents all forces in Kazakh society.

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.

”Voice of Democracy”, October 15, 2004