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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASTANA 001616 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PHUM KPAO KDEM OSCE KZ
SUBJECT:  KAZAKHSTAN:  THE COMPLEXITY OF "OPPOSITION MEDIA" 
 
REF:  A.  ASTANA 1470 
      ¶B.  ASTANA 0431 
      ¶C.  ASTANA 0744 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  During a media roundtable the Ambassador hosted 
in Almaty, independent and opposition journalists detailed their 
opinions, concerns, and experiences.  It was a useful and informative 
snapshot, but it wasn't the whole story.  As always, reality is 
complexly layered.  END SUMMARY. 
 
COURT CASE SILENCES PAPER BUT NOT EDITOR 
 
¶3.  (SBU) "Taszhargan" newspaper's Editor-in-Chief, Yermurat Bapi, 
told the Ambassador on September 14 during an editor's roundtable in 
Almaty that he has not published this paper for five months as a 
result of a local court ruling, subsequently upheld by the Supreme 
Court, that had fined the newspaper 30 million tenge -- about 
$200,000 -- for libel against a Parliamentarian (refs B, C).  Bapi 
said even if he had the money he probably wouldn't pay the fine.  As 
a result, "Taszhargan" almost certainly will cease operations. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Bapi plans to replace "Taszhargan" with a newspaper that he 
has published quarterly for the last two years.  (NOTE:  It's common 
practice in Kazakhstan for editors anmd publishers to register 
multiple "ghosts" -- infrequently or never published -- to keep in 
reserve.  END NOTE.)  Bapi accused the authorities of pursuing this 
"non-newspaper," by suing it for unpaid taxes in the amount of 1.7 
million tenge (about $11,333) -- a calculation based on a quarterly 
circulation of 500 copies over two years.  Bapi said he also 
publishes two other quarterly newspapers.  After he provided the 
latest edition to the authorities in June, Bapi asserts the 
authorities began harassing him with claims that he had not supplied 
the necessary copies.  (NOTE:  According to Bapi, Kazakhstani law 
stipulates that quarterly newspapers are "infrequent" publications of 
which copies must be provided to the authorities, including to the 
Ministry of Information and Culture.  END NOTE.)  Even though he 
expects the authorities to invalidate the registration of all three 
newspapers, Bapi intends to continue publishing, by hook or by crook. 
 
MAJOR DIFFICULTIES 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Oksana Makushina, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of "Respublika," 
which the courts had recently ruled must pay BTA Bank 60 million 
tenge (about $400,000), claimed this on-going libel case is 
politically motivated, noting the current government management of 
the bank.  She also asserted that the publicity usually associated 
with a bank suing a newspaper would damage the bank more, and that 
two articles alone could not have seriously undermined the reputation 
of one of the largest banks in the Commonwealth of Independent 
States, which was, in any case, already in default.  According to 
Makushina, "Respublika" plans to appeal up to the Supreme Court, 
despite the possibility that "another zero will probably be added to 
the sum we need to pay" -- as happened to "Taszhargan."  Although her 
firm also has a "reserve newspaper," it is still considering whether 
to publish it due to the close scrutiny anticipated and potential 
refusal of printing houses to touch it.  (NOTE:  Subsequent to this 
meeting, the alternate, "Moya Respublika," was published, authorities 
seized the entire print run, and the financial police raided the 
printing house, causing further scandal.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Ambassador told Makushina he had been surprised a few 
days earlier by a "Respublika" article, that drew attention even in 
foreign capitals, implying that President Nazarbayev is mentally 
weakened by old age and is so out of touch with reality that Prime 
Minister Masimov is "manipulating him like a puppet."  The Ambassador 
asked if she believes this view.  She replied, a bit umcomfortably, 
"It was just an opinion piece.  That's freedom of speech, isn't it?" 
 
¶7.  (SBU) COMMENT:  In fact, maybe not.  The "puppet" article and 
others like it might be another reason for "Respublika's" harsh 
treatment.  It is widely believe that former BTA Chairman Mukhtar 
Ablyazov, self-exiled in London and accused of embezzling over $1 
billion from BTA, is "Respublika's" financial godfather.  We have 
 
ASTANA 00001616  002 OF 003 
 
 
heard from other sources that Ablyazov, and London-exiled and 
super-wealthy former Prime Minister Kazhigeldin planned an autumn 
black-propaganda media campaign against the Nazarbayev government in 
the run-up to Kazakhstan's 2010 OSCE Chairmanship.  In another 
intriguing tid-bit from the roundtable, we heard that the 
Moscow-based propaganda guru, Gleb Pavlovsky, and about a half-dozen 
other highly-paid "media consultants" were recently in Astana for 
meetings with government officials.  END COMMENT. 
 
NEWSPAPER UNSCATHED BUT OUTLOOK "NOT-SO-ROSY" 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Igor Vinyavskiy, Editor-in-Chief of "Vzglyad," voiced 
concerns about freedom of expression despite the absence of specific 
problems at his paper.  Vinyavskiy said the last edition of his 
newspaper was dedicated to the Zhovtis case (ref A), which he called 
"the culmination of illegality in Kazakhstan."  Vinyavskiy contrasted 
efforts to superficially meet legal and procedural norms in the trial 
and conviction of "the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan" movement's 
leaders earlier in this decade to the current situation.  "The 
authorities nowadays do not even bother to abide by the law," 
Vinyavskiy alleged.  He particularly called for increased attention 
to the Zhovtis case and the formation of a "club" of journalists from 
major newspapers.  However, Vinyavskiy expressed concern that 
authorities are watching many prospective members of the club, and 
these journalists fear "provocations" against them. 
 
"GET-OUT-OF-JAIL-FREE" CARD FOR "NAZARBAYEV'S NEWSPAPER" 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Gulzhan Yergaliyeva, the animated and outspoken 
Editor-in-Chief of the independent "Svoboda Slova," told the 
Ambassador she was surprised by her newspaper's lack of lawsuits, 
because individuals in various state and private companies had told 
her senior newspaper staff they had heard objections to various 
articles.  Yergaliyeva speculated that simply the newspaper's size 
protected it, since "Svoboda Slova" is one of the only Kazakhstani 
newspapers with a circulation of over 100,000 and is even regularly 
handed out to passengers on Air Astana.  Yergaliyeva further 
speculated that "Svoboda Slova" is allowed to operate freely, without 
pressure, because some whisper cynically that it is "Nazarbayev's 
newspaper" -- i.e., he wants to have one major "opposition" newspaper 
that operates without problems to "prove freedom of the press in 
Kazakhstan," especially in the run-up to its 2010 OSCE Chairmanship. 
 
¶10.  (SBU)  All around the table agreed when Yergaliyeva listed four 
subjects that are "untouchable" for any newspaper, independent or 
opposition:  "Kazakhgate" (the ongoing James Giffin trial in the 
Southern District Court of New York that has implicated Nazarbayev in 
major corruption in the 1990s), anything to do with Nazarbayev's 
exiled ex-son-in-law Rakhat Aliyev, Nazarbayev's personal life (like 
speculation about his mistresses and possible illegitimate children), 
and Nazarbayev's personal fortune. 
 
IF IT'S RELATED TO THE GOVERNMENT, IT MUST BE BAD 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Roslana Taukina, Editor-in-Chief of "Obsheshtvenaya 
Positsia," alleged that only 10 or 12 print, and no broadcast, 
outlets out of 3,000 registered media outlets are "allowed" to oppose 
the government.  Taukina agreed with Yergaliyeva's view that the 
government is leaving a few outlets "untouched" as "pre-OSCE" symbols 
of media freedom.  Taukina called Kazakhstan an "artificial 
democracy" with a club of leading journalists, specifically the 
Editors-in-Chief Club in Astana, that claims to represent the media 
but, in fact, "supports repressive laws", including the Internet Law. 
 Taukina also disparaged participants in the Annual Media Forum, 
Congress of Journalists, and Council for Media Issues under the 
President -- groups which she said were created to oppose the work of 
the 10-12 viable sources of opposition media.  (COMMENT:  We would 
judge that this is a simplistic exaggeration.  While a group like the 
Editors-in-Chief Club of Astana is government-approved and partly 
government-funded, we know from experience it presents a public forum 
for a broad range of opinion.  END COMMENT.) 
 
INTERNET LAW UNWORKABLE? 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Yuriy Mizinov, Chief Editor of www.zonakz.net, which he 
 
ASTANA 00001616  003 OF 003 
 
 
created in 2002 after every Kazakhstani printing house refused to 
touch his newspaper, described his challenges with "technical 
censorship."  According to Mizinov, his Internet site, through which 
his newspaper is covering the cases of Zhovtis and several 
high-profile officials arrested this summer for alleged large-scale 
corruption, suffers frequent hacker attacks.  He suggested that his 
Internet site has become "a testing ground for massive 
government-sponsored 'denial-of-service' attacks" under the Internet 
Law, although they were regularly occurring before the passage of 
this legislation.  However, he asserted, the government cannot block 
specific bloggers "at-large."  Mizimov claimed, "I know the 
organization that initiates the attacks -- a state company 
subordinate to the Information Agency."  According to Mizinov, the 
Internet law aims to limit access to foreign Internet sites, which 
might contain material unacceptable to the authorities -- especially 
if it has been posted by Rakhat Aliyev -- and to make bloggers 
accountable for comments that contradict government policies. 
Mizinov judged, "The Internet law contradicts most of the legal basis 
of the whole country and is very difficult to implement."  He 
asserted that the head of the Information Agency -- whom he knows 
well -- is trying now to develop a sub-law that will allow the 
internet law to work "legally."  According to Mizinov, the 
Information Agency itself has formed a council, which will attempt to 
mediate cases instead of automatically sending them to the courts. 
Mizinov said he plans to found an association of journalists to play 
an active role in all initiatives related to the Internet law. 
 
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT... 
 
¶13.  (SBU) In a departure from the "bad news blizzard," Aidos 
Sarimov, Chief Editor of www.abai.kz , told the Ambassador that the 
rise of Kazakh-language mass media is an important trend that he 
attributed to the increasing percentage of ethnic Kazakhs in the 
population and to an increasing emphasis on Kazakh as the national 
language.  Sarimov noted that his Kazakh-nationalist site receives 
support from the Sarsenbayev Foundation as well as the European Club 
of Kazakhstan and the Fund for the Development of the State Language. 
 Sarimov said his Internet site aims to spread European values, 
promote Kazakh nationalism, and stand against Russian colonialism and 
imperialism.  Sarimov said he hopes to create a 
Turkic-language-oriented Internet space to facilitate regional 
interaction in Central Asia. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) COMMENT:  This roundtable provided a valuable snapshot of 
concerns by opposition and independent journalists, but it didn't 
give the full picture of the state-of-play of print journalism in 
Kazakhstan.  Popular independent newspapers like "Vremya" and 
"Express-K" that have no special opposition connection regularly 
report real news, uncover and investigate corruption and scandals, 
and probably, in the end, play a more important role in the larger 
scheme of good governance and open discourse than rigidly ideological 
"opposition" papers that, ironically, might be paid from time to time 
to be destabilizing.  This view is certainly not to dismiss the 
potential positive force of an opposition press, nor is it to 
downplay in any way the government's occasionally thuggish tactics 
against them.  It is simply to suggest that reality, as always, is 
complexly layered.   END COMMENT. 
 
HOAGLAND