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courage is contagious

Viewing cable 09ASTANA953, KAZAKHSTAN: MEDIA REACTION, MAY 22 - 29

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09ASTANA953 2009-06-05 05:46 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Astana
VZCZCXRO1204
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK
RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNEH RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHPW
RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTA #0953/01 1560546
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 050546Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5542
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE 1634
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1714
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1011
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0688
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFAAA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 1196
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC 1112
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2322
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2645
RUEHAST/USOFFICE ALMATY 1586
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000953 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL ECON SOCI KDEM KCRM KPAO KMDR AF KZ
SUBJECT:  KAZAKHSTAN:  MEDIA REACTION, MAY 22 - 29 
 
ASTANA 00000953  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  Mukhtar Dzhakishev, the head of the state nuclear 
company, Kazatomprom, was arrested this week as a part of a 
continuing government anti-corruption campaign.  The other major 
story was the publication and banning of "Godfather-in-Law," a book 
written by the former son-in-law of President Nazarbayev, Rakhat 
Aliyev.  Also, the popular daily "Liter" commented on the recent 
North Korean missile tests and the world's reaction to them, and the 
analytical weekly "Delovaya Nedelya" focused on whether Kazakhstan 
should join the anti-terrorist coalition in Afghanistan.  And 
finally, pro-government "Megapolis" published a vitriolic, 
anti-American article about a series of civil society-building 
seminars funded by the United States Agency for International 
Development (USAID) and conducted by the International Republican 
Institute (IRI).  END SUMMARY. 
 
THE ARRESTS CONTINUE 
 
2.  The arrest of Mukhtar Dzhakishev caused many independent and 
opposition figures to speculate that his arrest had more to do with 
politics than with corruption.  Independent, Russian-language 
"Biznes i Vlast (Business and Politics)" quoted Vladimir Kozlov, 
head of the unregistered Alga opposition party, as saying, "these 
arrests are turning into an epidemic that is mowing down the best. 
It was under Dzhakishev that Kazatomprom became an international 
uranium leader.  Suddenly, he has turned into a thief and a 
criminal." (COMMENT:  Dzhakishev has close ties to ousted BTA Bank 
head Mukhtar Ablyazov, who finances Alga.  END COMMENT.)  Human 
rights activist Yevgeniy Zhovtis said the arrest was not "a 
consequence of a systematic anti-corruption campaign, but rather of 
political infighting."  Independent, Russian-language "Vremya" 
reports on a letter from a group of businessmen to President 
Nazarbayev protesting that "law enforcement agencies have launched a 
full--scale attack on business, killing the entrepreneurial spirit 
and persecuting the best business people.  Mukhtar Dzhakishev is one 
of them." 
 
"GODFATHER-IN-LAW" 
 
3.  Pro-government, Russian-language "Delovaya Nedelya," commenting 
on Rakhat Aliyev's book "Godfather-in-Law" just after its 
publication, said, "It is obvious that the author's goal was not to 
understand why Kazakhstan is still a poorly-developed country, but 
to seek revenge on Nazarbayev for his downfall."  The author 
conceded, "It is hard to judge the book without reading it, but it 
is even harder to write about Ak Orda's (i.e., the Presidential 
Administration's) crimes without mentioning Rakhat Aliyev's role in 
them."  The author speculated about how Kazakhstani officials will 
react to the book by saying, "The authorities can choose to 
demonstrate their adequacy, the maturity of the society, and the 
scrupulousness of law enforcement when choosing how to react to the 
book.  However, the authorities can also do just the opposite:  they 
can start a new court case, look for the book in the luggage of 
passengers coming from Europe, or block the Internet.  But such 
measures will only become a silent acknowledgement of guilt." 
 
4.  Soon after the "Delovaya Nedelya" story, Radio Free Europe/Radio 
Liberty's (RFE/RL) "Radio Azzatyq" reported that Kazakhstan's 
Procurator General's Office had filed a lawsuit against 
"Godfather-In-Law" for "breaking the law on the privacy of 
correspondence and telephone conversations."  In a separate "Radio 
Azzatyq" interview, Rakhat Aliyev said that these actions by the 
procurator's office are an acknowledgement that the book is true. 
"Who gave the order to start the case?" asked Aliyev, "probably the 
main character of the book."  Pro-government, Russian-language 
"Express K" quoted the executive secretary of the Agency of 
Information and Communication, Batyr Makhanbetazhiev, who said that 
Kazakhtelekom has blocked access to the websites Geo.kz and Live 
Journal (where Rakhat Aliyev frequently posts) due to "a court 
decision to stop the dissemination of illegal information." 
 
"CAPRICIOUS CHILD" 
 
 
ASTANA 00000953  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
5.  Pro-government, Russian-language "Liter" commented on North 
Korea's missile tests, noting that "Pyongyang received no benefits 
form the tests and faced harsh criticism from many countries," 
including Kazakhstan.  The author blamed the Obama administration, 
because "while trying to normalize relations with Iran, Cuba, and 
even Syria, the White House and State Department neglected North 
Korea.  This demonstrates the absence of an American strategy 
towards the Korean peninsula."  While "Pyongyang behaves like a 
capricious child who screams and cries," its "old plan" is not 
working this time because "for the first time since the end of the 
Cold War, the world has taken a unified position on this issue." 
The author concluded that since "Kazakhstan was the first country to 
abandon its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal, the camp of Kazakhstan's 
potential allies is growing." 
 
 
AFGHANISTAN CALLING? 
6.  "Delovaya Nedelya" published two articles on how Kazakhstan 
should approach the situation in Afghanistan.  In the first, the 
author stated that NATO is trying to "internationalize" the conflict 
without having "a clear action plan."  He noted, "American diplomats 
regularly probe Kazakhstan's willingness to participate in 
operations in Afghanistan and praise the role of Kazakhstan's 
soldiers in Iraq.  From its side, Kazakhstan has unequivocally made 
it clear that cooperation with NATO will be beneficial for them." 
The author believes that Kazakhstan's involvement in Afghanistan 
will cause "understandable irritation" for Russia, but thinks that 
Kazakhstan will participate regardless because this will strengthen 
the "western factor" in Kazakhstan's foreign policy.  However, he 
warned that the current strategy in Afghanistan "is not bringing the 
desired results" and NATO is "only making the situation worse." 
Also, "starting from 2001, drug trafficking has increased 40 
percent."  The author acknowledged that the proximity of Afghanistan 
to Kazakhstan, as well as Astana's interest in Afghanistan's 
stability, constitute a good argument for getting involved, but 
concluded that "the consequences of involvement are very hard to 
predict." 
7. The second Afghanistan article was an interview with Sergey 
Pashevich, president of the Union of Combat Brotherhood and a 
veteran of the Soviet-Afghan War.  Pashevich said that Kazakhstan 
should not get involved in the anti-terrorist operations in 
Afghanistan.  In his view, the Afghan people have become hostages to 
the politics of both America and its own neighbors.  "When the 
Americans start brewing trouble, they try to pull everyone in" so 
that participating nations are unable to criticize American actions. 
 Pashevich argued that Kazakhstan's weak social safety net for 
veterans is another reason for it to avoid the casualties it could 
take in Afghanistan. 
SINISTER SEMINARS 
8.  Pro-government, Russian-language "Megapolis" published an attack 
on USAID and IRI for a series of 12 civil society seminars that 
focused on political party development.  Claiming that "only 
opposition party members and youth organizations took part in the 
seminars," the author said, "It is curious that the main topic of 
the seminar was increasing youth political activity through 
organizing flash mobs."  (COMMENT:  USAID and IRI invited 
Kazakhstan's ruling party, Nur Otan, to participate in all of the 
seminars, and Nur Otan chose to participate in half of them.  END 
COMMENT)  He characterized the seminars as presenting methods of 
manipulating young people to work against the government, saying 
that seminar leaders stated that "unemployed young people are ideal 
for organizing disturbances and overthrowing the authorities."  The 
author concludes, "Due to the absence of state ideological programs 
for young people, ideologists from Western countries are trying to 
take control over the minds and hearts of Kazakhstani youth." 
HOAGLAND