On behalf of the editorial staff:
The European Institute of Mass Media (EIM) located in Dusseldorf is known to the Kazakhstan�s readers thanks to a conference entitled �The Kazakhstan mass media and the presidential election� (see THE GLOBE # 3 (321) dated 13.01.99) held by its personnel in January 1999.
This conference was held in Dusseldorf for the regional representatives of all the CIS countries. The materials of this conference were published in a series entitled �Media Monitoring and Assistance Unit for the CIS.� We offer you the texts of speeches regarding Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Kazakhstan was represented by Andrei Sviridov, a journalist well-known for his studies of mass media. Kyrgyzstan was represented by Natalya Ablova, a journalist heading the Kyrgyz-International Bureau on Human Rights and Observation of Law.
We consider the analysis of the state of the mass media in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan made by the journalists at the International Conference to be superficial and not objective. We cannot judge the state of mass media in Kyrgyzstan, but as far as our country is concerned, we can confidently say that the author chose a one-sided approach.
In particular, it is impossible to agree with Mr. Sviridov�s statement that journalists are afraid of saying something �wrong� concerning the shift of the Kazakhstan capital from Almaty to Astana. According to Mr. Sviridov our journalists preferred not to touch this theme at all, while the published opinions cannot bear serious criticism. If this is the case, how could the book �The Move of the Kazakhstan Capital as Reflected by the Press and Analysts� Comments� have been published. A document quoting brief extracts on this subject from all of Kazakhstan papers including THE GLOBE.
Our paper was one of the first to express its opinion regarding renaming of the new capital. Many other of our country�s leading editions were far from passive, especially Kazakh ones, as they openly discussed the absurdity of the expression �Astanamyz Astana� (�Our capital is Astana�) when pronounced in Kazakh.
Mr. Sviridov�s statement that ethnical and immigration problems are not being touched by Kazakhstan mass media is also doubtful. We believe that many of Kazakhstan�s readers would disagree with the representative�s opinion, as these issues are regularly covered by our press. We would even go so far as to say that this theme is a favourite subject and a trump of many editions.
We strongly disagree with the journalist�s statement that information about the ex-prime-minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin�s personality and activity is strictly dosed and mainly negative. We believe that there was more than enough information about him, especially during the pre-election period. No other ex-prime-minister, politician or big businessman was paid as much attention as Mr. Kazhegeldin
Concerning the accusations of a negative slant in the reporting of information about Kazhegeldin. The majority of editions stuck to reporting the facts, without offering either positive or negative evaluation of his personality. THE GLOBE covered all of his conferences and published the materials submitted by his service without comment. We hope that the reader will judge for himself whether our information was bias. Papers should be always objective. Only you only can determine whether we succeeded or not.
Finally, regarding the President�s statements the author expressed the following idea: �There was no critical discussion of the perspective plans of the country proposed by the President. Rather the press unanimously accepts everything and has reconciled itself to a situation in which the President�s word is not arguable.�
We should probably agree with this. Indeed, the �2030� strategy was not seriously discussed in the press. But we think that the reasons were different than those mentioned by Mr. Sviridov. Is it appropriate to discuss what will happen in the next half-century, when we cannot be sure of what may occur in the next thirty days. As far as �accepted�, �reconciled� and �did not express its opinion� are concerned, under the current conditions silence may also be an action. It should hardly have been announced in such a categorical way: �� cowardice of mass media worthy of despise��.
Regarding Mrs. Ablova�s speech concerning the state of Kyrgyz mass media, even her statement in the first paragraph about their President seems doubtful. We suspect that the freedom from political oppression that the Kyrgyz press enjoy is not due to Mr. Akayev�s fear of international opinion, but because he is a sufficiently educated person (former scientist, an academician) and possibly a far-sighted politician.
It is pitiful that such one-sided analyses of the mass media of two Central Asian countries were presented at the International forum in Dusseldorf. Andrei Sviridov said that none of his remarks were directed at the private editions, including THE GLOBE. However, the state editions are obliged to propagandise the existing political system and to prefer the ideas of the state leaders in every country. It was so and it will be so all over the civilised world.
You, respected reader, may disagree with the editorial staff�s opinion. We expect this material to stimulate a discussion in our paper.
Kazakhstan
Andrei SVIRIDOV works as a journalist for the Independent Information Agency in Alma-Ata and is also a regional specialist on the media. He also was the author of the �Media in the CIS� chapter on Kazakhstan.
It would seem that Lukashenko and Nazarbayev are learning lessons from each other in repressive tactics towards the media. We can only envy the organisation of Belarussian journalists in attempting to combat this tendency; there is absolutely nothing similar in Kazakhstan. The period of Perestroika and Gorbachev�s reforms now appear to us as a lost paradise. That kind of freedom and development of independent media is at an end in Kazakhstan.
Although there is formally no censorship, from an analysis of the papers and electronic media over the last 6 months it is possible to discern a distinct absense of a number of important themes for Kazakh political development. These are absent out of a sense of self-censorship, with an occasional reminder from the authorities that some kinds of information are unwelcome (these reminders rarely come in written form, they are usually communicated by phone or in person). What is missing from the Kazakh media is any discussion of the following:
� why did the government decide to move the capital of Kazakhstan from Alma-Ata to Akmola? It seems a reasonable question, but no reasonable explanation has been put forward, which has resulted in endless private speculation. Journalists are so afraid of saying the wrong thing about this move that they prefer to say nothing at all.
� a related issue - the changing of the capital�s name from Akmola to Astana. Again, no-one discusses the issue in case it is seen as questioning of the decision.
� the presidential address entitled �2030�. There has been no proper discussion of the plans for the future discussed in the presidential address made in September last year. The lack of discussion is meant to convey the media�s complete acceptance of the content of the address, which indicates that the media has accepted that the word of the president cannot be challenged.
� questions about ethnicity. The ethnic make-up of the country is never discussed, since it is a potentially problematic issue.
� immigration. There is no mention of the number of Kazakh citizens who have left the country or any attempt to analyse the reasons for this. Evidence suggests that immigration is extremely high but this can only be a painful theme for the government and therefore it is never raised as an issue by the media.
� any information about the former prime minister and businessman, Akezhan Kazhegeldin. As the main political contender to Nazarbayev in the country (despite bis disqualification from the presidential race) information about Kazhegeldin, even negative, is rarely to be found in the Kazakh media.
The avoidance of these issues is not an indication of abject cowardice on the part of the media as such, it is merely the expression of the fact that they have learned through bitter experience, their own and that of others, to avoid these subjects. Control over the broadcast media is centred in the hands of the Nazarbayev family. There is some open control and some hidden, but it is an �open� secret that members of Nazarbayev�s close family (other than his daughter Dariga who openly controls a major television network) also own the other major networks. Dissent is generally punishable by having one�s license to broadcast revoked, as happened during the last major tender process for licenses when 30 independent television stations lost their licenses.
These mechanisms, including the use of the courts to impose huge fines (particularly against media who dare to criticise the business activities of the president�s family) are sufficient to impose control. It is impossible to establish new media, which could present any alternative to the views being propagated at the moment by the current media.
Kyrgyzstan
Natalia Ablova is a human rights activist who heads up the International Bureau of Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Bishkek. She has contributed to the EIM book �Media in the CIS� twice.
The president of Kyrgyzstan is highly concerned about international opinion, so he tends to ratify any international convention going in an attempt to improve his reputation abroad. As a result, the media are fairly free of political influence. In comparison to what goes on elsewhere in the CIS, recently the unthinkable happened. A member of parliament sued a newspaper for �moral damage� to his honour and reputation, and lost! He was even fined $400 for wasting the court�s time.
Business is a powerful influence on the media and this strongly affects the content and quality of news. There is no real difference made in the media between material which constitutes real news and material which has been paid for which is really an advertisement.
The European Union and the EIM should continue to work in the Central Asian countries. We feel that we are European, even though geographically we are located in Asia. What should the criteria be for European inclusion? I suggest the following: that a considerable part of the population is European, that a European language is used, that the education system is based on European values and that it has a functioning judiciary system.
There will be elections in Kyrgyzstan in the year 2000 and the media will play an important role. The collapse of the totalitarian regimes has not yet resulted in democracy in our countries. The years of greatest freedom were actually the last years of communism. Now there is huge economic and ideological disillusionment. For journalists, the early 1990s were a period of kaif 1 when you could work for a newspaper that was founded by the Communist Party, financed by the Communist Party and yet write anything you wanted to about the Communist Party. This is all in the past and it represented a kind of freedom that isn�t on offer anywhere, but certainly not in our country.
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1 Russian word difficult to translate - it means enjoyment, relief, relaxation
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