Kazakhstan - election 98 | Kazakhstan Resource Page | Central Eurasia Project |
For Immediate Release January 5, 1999
For further information, contact:
Rachel Denber, NYC, 1-212-216-1266
Elizabeth Andersen, NYC, 1-212-216-1265
Lotte Leicht, Brussels, 32-2-732-2009
Jean-Paul Marthoz, Brussels, 32-2-736-7838
Kazakhstan's presidential campaign found grossly unfair
(January 5, 1999) -- Coercion, threats and the repression of
opposition activists have characterized the presidential election
campaign in Kazakhstan, Human Rights Watch charged today.
Journalists and ordinary citizens have also been harassed during the
three-month campaign for the ballot, scheduled for Sunday, January 10.
"These presidential elections have been blatantly unfair," said Holly
Cartner, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central
Asia division. "President Nazarbaev likes to present himself as a
dignified partner for Western leaders and investors. But the way his
government has twisted arms in this campaign should leave no illusions
about what kind of leader Nazarbaev really is."
In a letter to the new chairman of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, Human Rights Watch urged the OSCE to postpone
opening its Kazakhstan office until the government repeals legislation
penalizing participants in unregistered public organizations, which
has been used to prevent opposition figures from standing for
election.
The government of Kazakhstan barred opposition candidates on spurious
grounds, disbanded public associations formed to monitor the vote, and
used legal and extra-legal means to effectively close most newspapers
with links to the opposition. Several journalists with state-run news
agencies reported to Human Rights Watch that they were explicitly
warned against submitting stories even obliquely critical of President
Nursultan Nazarbaev.
Kazakhstan's parliament moved up the elections, originally scheduled
for 2000, in an October 8 vote, which some have maintained violated
the constitution. Legislation passed in May banning individuals with
administrative sentences from standing for office blocked the
candidacies of at least three opposition activists-- including former
Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin--all of whom had participated in
unsanctioned political meetings. In the end, four candidates,
including President Nazarbaev, gained access to the ballot before the
November 26 deadline; only one of the remaining three openly
criticizes Nazarbaev's policies.
Registration requirements were onerous and included collecting the
signatures of 170,000 voters. Human Rights Watch found that public
officials and heads of publicly-funded institutions such as schools,
hospitals and other workplaces forced employees and students to sign
petitions in support of President Nazarbaev. Some officials obtained
signatures of pensioners and apartment-dwellers by means of fraud. A
high school principal in Almaty reportedly begged schoolteachers to
gather signatures, fearing the consequences for not meeting the
government's expectations. Merchants at a central Almaty market told
Human Rights Watch about clear pressure from market administrators to
sign nomination petitions. And one doctor reported her department
chief yelling, when proffering sheets to be signed, "I warn you, this
is voluntary!"
A copy of the letter is attached.
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10118-3299
Telephone: (212) 290-4700
Facsimile: (212) 736-1300
December 8, 1998
Mr. Knut Vollebek
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Norway
Dear Mr. Vollebek,
On behalf of Human Rights Watch, I extend my respects.
Human Rights Watch strongly supports OSCE efforts to monitor human
rights observance in Kazakstan, and welcomes the strong statement of
concern issued as a result of the November 16-20 ODIHR assessment
mission to that country.
We write to you today to share a summary of findings of an ongoing
field investigation which strongly suggests that the presidential
elections in Kazakstan scheduled for January 10, 1999 represent a
perversion of the democratic process. This vote, and the manipulation
of candidate registration and campaigning which have preceded it, are
not a sudden departure from a record of democratic reforms, as some
have maintained, but are fully in keeping with the government of
Kazakstan's seven-year record of subverting, canceling or postponing
elections, dissolving parliament, and ruling by presidential decree.
We wish to share here fresh documentation of Kazakstan's violations of
its citizens' civil and political rights, and to suggest specific
benchmarks for measurable, minimum progress in achieving urgently
needed reform as the cooperation between the OSCE and Kazakstan,
codified in the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding, develops.
The evidence summarized here points alarmingly to the government's
blatant bad faith in its work with the OSCE and other bodies engaged
in assisting it to enhance compliance with its international human
rights commitments. Human Rights Watch is particularly distressed by
the adoption of new laws and decrees intended to stifle the legal
exercise of electoral rights, the continued intimidation of the print
media and the unjustifiable restrictions on broadcast media, and
violations of freedom of association, speech and political
participation that hinder the development of civil society.
Restrictions on Freedom of the Press
Kazakstan violates its citizens' right to freely disseminate and
receive information through the media in several ways, all of which
have in common the hypocritical veil of legality obscuring what
amounts to politically-inspired censorship. Direct and indirect
censorship have intensified as elections have neared.
In early 1997, the government of Kazakstan stripped the
independent, privatelyowned broadcast media of their broadcasting
rights, with the government directed re-sale of frequencies held by
these firms. These sales violated a myriad of Kazakstan's laws,
including the terms of the licenses granted to the
thirty-seven
companies in September, 1996, which provided rights to
use those frequencies until April, 1998. In addition, the owners of
the frequencies were not informed of the conditions or rules of sale,
with the result that although many proffered the selling price named
by the government, none were able to retain their channels.
Interviews with participants and their counsel revealed that the
Kazakstan courts repeatedly refused to consider the substance of the
appeals they have lodged. The new owners of these frequencies,
several of whom are related to, or have close ties to, President
Nazarbayev, have considerably changed the content of the programs
aired, replacing news and information with music and entertainment.
In September, 1998, the government of Kazakstan began to exert
various forms of pressure against an array of privately-owned
newspapers with ties to former prime minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin.
The most shocking instance concerned the paper XXI Vek, whose
editorial offices were extensively damaged by a firebomb on September
26. Interviews with editors of several of these papers reveal
striking similarities in all cases. First, printing presses broke
contracts and unilaterally refused to continue printing several of the
papers. Secondly, the state tax police began investigations against
several papers, seizing their property and arresting bank accounts.
Thirdly, Kazakstani customs agents began to seize print runs of
several of the papers forced to print outside Kazakstan. A
court-awarded libel settlement has halted publication of one of the
papers (a higher court refused to address the substance of an appeal),
while a frivolous suit against another for supposed infractions of the
1991 Law on the Press have temporarily halted its publication.
According to several sources, state security personnel in civilian
dress continue to harass distributors of one Almaty newspaper, 451
Gradusa po Farengeitu (Farenheit 451).
Testimony from journalists confirms that editors of state-owned
media outlets impose direct censorship, in particular to enforce the
taboo on any criticism of the President or his policies. The
politically-motivated dismissal of a popular provincial radio
journalist followed on the heels of several of his programs being
rejected by the station director, and warnings to alter critical
programming.
In addition, the government of Kazakstan has seriously encroached
on individuals' right to free speech, by subjecting political activist
Petr Svoik to criminal charges for allegedly "inciting ethnic
conflict." Svoik unequivocally denies the offense; a group of
Kazakstan's leading intellectuals have written an open letter in his
support. This charge, lodged against Svoik as he served a three-day
administrative sentence for participation in an unregistered public
association (see below), carries a possible sentence of seven years
imprisonment, and has, as intended, thrown a pall over opposition
efforts to criticize the conduct of elections.
Freedom of Association Violations
Though Kazakstan can boast a wealth of non-governmental
organizations, evidence gathered from sources in several cities
suggests that the government of Kazakstan has begun to limit its
citizens' right to form public associations in connection with the
upcoming elections.
The government of Kazakstan has systematically denied official
registration to several groups which formed for the express purpose of
participating in election and campaign monitoring. On October 15 the
leaders of one stillborn group, Za Chestnye Vybory (For Honest
Elections) were fined and given administrative jail sentences for
their roles in organizing the movement. In contrast, the Ministry of
Justice registered within days an association with a similar mandate,
but organized by figures within the government and those from groups
which openly support Nazarbayev ("Public Committee for Monitoring of
Presidential Elections in the Republic of Kazakstan").
Authorities from several municipalities repeatedly denied
permission for members of the group Pokolenie (Generation) to hold
public demonstrations in September and October. Authorities arrested
and fined participants of the group's unsanctioned meetings;
participants testified to the use of excessive force and humiliation
by the police.
Violations of the Right to Participate in Public Affairs
Human Rights Watch considers that the calling of presidential
elections for January 10, 1999 violates Kazakstani law by altering the
results of the 1995 referendum extending the president's term in
office and setting elections for October, 2000. According to the
Constitution of Kazakstan, only another referendum can overturn
provisions adopted by referendum. The October 8 decision of
parliament left only a limited time for potential candidates to
surmount the considerable barriers to registration (including a fee
equaling 1,000 times the minimum monthly wage, and the collection of
signatures from 2% of the voting population), which in and of
themselves constitute a serious limit on the right to stand for
elections.
The government of Kazakstan engaged in a concerted effort to
control the outcome of the vote, in the first place by eliminating
certain potential candidates. Even more disturbingly, the machinery
of the state has been deployed in support of the sitting president's
candidacy. When viewed in light of the overwhelming concentration of
power in the hands of the president (who controls appointments of
local governors, judges and members of the Central Electoral
Commission), these facts mitigate against any possibility of a truly
contested election, and against the government's claims of compliance
with its OSCE commitments.
In May, 1998, parliament adopted amendments to the Law on Elections
which disqualify any person with a standing conviction from the year
prior to the vote from running for any public office. Courts cited
this law as the grounds for denying former prime minister Akezhan
Kazhegeldin, activists Mels Eleusizov and Asylbek Amantai, all of whom
were convicted of administrative offenses (Kazhegeldin and Eleusizov
for participating in the meeting of "For Honest Elections," see
above), registration as candidates. Kazhegeldin has continued to
organize political support among the opposition, for which several of
his supporters have been harassed or assaulted.
First-hand testimony from employees of state-run enterprises,
schools, universities, and hospitals, and from students and traders in
public markets, informs that the directors of these institutions
participated in gathering signatures in support of President
Nazarbayev's candidacy by instructing their subordinates to sign,
often using explicit or implicit threats to coerce compliance.
Sources also report conversations with public officials confirming
explicit instructions from the central government, complete with
target figures, on conducting the signature-gathering campaign.
According to Kazakstani law, only registered members of a candidate's
campaign staff may gather signatures.
Though election officials are forbidden from officially supporting
one or another candidate, the chairwoman of one local electoral
commission announced publicly her intention of campaigning for
Nazarbayev.
Supporters of Communist Party candidate Serikbolsyn Abdildin relate
that party members sitting on local election commissions have been
dismissed, and that municipal authorities have denied permission to
use local meeting halls. First-hand accounts suggest harassment of
Communist Party activists by local police.
Recommendations
The complex of intimidation, prejudicial laws and administrative
practice excludes any possibility of free and fair elections.
Recognizing this, the OSCE has called for the postponement of
elections so that conditions for a truly participatory process can be
met. With the understanding that the government of Kazakstan has no
intention of postponing the vote, the OSCE has decided to send only a
limited assessment mission. However, the Kazak press has distorted
this fact, reporting that the OSCE will send a limited quantity of
election observers. Therefore, Human Rights Watch calls on the OSCE
to:
1. Send a clear and unambiguous message to the government of
Kazakstan of the unacceptability of the practices outlined above, by
refusing any participation in or observation of the Kazak presidential
vote by delegations of any size or composition whatsoever.
2. Review terms of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with
Kazakstan recently, postponing the establishment of the planned OSCE
Almaty field office until basic preconditions for free and fair
parliamentary elections, scheduled for October, 1999, have been met.
Firstly, Kazakstan's legislature should repeal amendments to
article 4(4) to the "Decree of the President of the Republic of
Kazakstan, with the force of constitutional law, `on elections in the
Republic of Kazakstan,'" from May 8, 1998, which disqualify persons
who have been subject to administrative penalties (fines or prison
terms) for violations of the law during the year preceding the
elections, and those with convictions resulting in sentences which
have not been served by the date of registration, from standing in any
national or local elections.
Secondly, article 188(2) outlawing participation in any
unregistered social organization should be struck from the Kazak
administrative code, and the convictions of all those persons charged
with this offense should be overturned.
Thirdly, the Kazak Ministry of Justice must expeditiously register
any independent citizens' organizations formed to monitor the election
process, removing the differential barriers to registration for those
groups presumed to be in support of the current government, and those
presumed to be in opposition.
Fourthly, the Main Procuracy should initiate an investigation into
reported violations of the Law on Elections, and ensure that election
officials found guilty of overt or covert support for any candidate
will be removed from electoral commissions.
The upcoming elections in Kazakstan, marred as they are by violations
of national and international law, can provide an opportunity for the
international community to show its unequivocal disdain for the
deterioration of civil and political freedoms in that country. Human
Rights Watch urges the OSCE to continue its principled stance against
Kazakstan's mounting record of anti-democratic steps, and to consider
incorporating the above recommendations into its own proposed
benchmarks for progress.
Sincerely,
Holly Cartner
Executive Director/Europe and Central Asia Division
Kazakhstan - election 98 | Kazakhstan Resource Page | Central Eurasia Project |