Kazakhstani Media Forum Serves as Venue for Concern over the US Security Agenda for Central Asia

Kazakhstani authorities used a recent media conference to assuage the United States on Astana's domestic policies, and to voice concern over the US security agenda for Central Asia.

The third Eurasian Media Forum, which concluded April 24, featured "harsh disagreements on a variety of issues," the Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency quoted Dariga Nazarbayeva, the conference's chief organizer and daughter of the Kazakhstani president, as saying. The conduct of the United States in its "war on terrorism" was foremost among the hotly debated topics.

Several Kazakhstani participants intimated that the American anti-terrorism struggle in Central Asia was being guided by shaky analysis. The Bush administration has tended to view the global terrorist threat as rooted in Islam, thus recasting what is essentially a clash of ideas (i.e. democratic principles vs. anti-democratic concepts) into a modern-day religious war. Kazakhstani authorities appear to believe the US analysis to be simplistic, and potentially capable of doing more to fan upheaval than to foster stability.

"When highly educated people find an enemy in Islam ... they define themselves as fundamentalists of one or another religion, and not as modern, secular people," Marat Tazhin, an aide to President Nursultan Nazarbayev, said during one conference session. "If religious identity, including in this part of the globe, becomes a major distinguishing mark, then the world will turn into a very uncomfortable place to live in."

Nazarbayeva appeared to make a gentle appeal for a re-evaluation of the US anti-terrorism strategy. "Today, the United States should be responsible for all things that are happening in the world," Nazarbayeva said during closing comments to forum participants.

Kazakhstan is not the only nation in Central Asia and the Caucasus that is raising questions about the US conduct of the anti-terrorism struggle. Recent expressions of anxiety have also come out of Tajikistan and Azerbaijan – two countries that have significantly stepped up strategic cooperation with the United States since the September 11 terrorism tragedy. There appears to be a growing impression in the region that the United States is botching the war on terrorism, especially in Iraq, and that Washington's actions could have severe consequences for Central Asia and the Caucasus.

An April 23 analysis by the Varorud newspaper in Tajikistan said US behavior "incited the [Shi'a and Sunni] liberation movements" in Iraq. "Despite the superiority of American forces in terms of power and weaponry, the [element of] moral superiority may indeed be on their enemies' side," political analyst Nematullo Mirsaidov wrote in the analysis. "History knows of many examples when weapons turned out to be powerless against the spirit of a nation fighting" against occupation.

In Azerbaijan, meanwhile, the chairman of the Muslim Board, Haji Allahsukur Pashazade, suggested that Baku withdraw its approximately 150 soldiers from the Iraq stabilization coalition. "It would be more acceptable if Azerbaijan was represented by a non-combatant mission," Pashazade said in an April 23 interview to the 525 Qazet. Given that the Muslim Board is a state agency, Pashazade's comments would appear to reflect official thinking. Kazakhstani officials have likewise publicly discussed the possibility of withdrawing the country's small contingent of peacekeepers from Iraq.

Back at the Kazakhstani media forum, perhaps the most surprising development was an announcement by President Nazarbayev that he would not sign a controversial media bill into law. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

The president decided not to act after a Constitutional Council advisory ruling, issued April 21, found portions of the bill contained legal contradictions.

Analysts in Almaty said Nazarbayev's decision to abandon the media bill, which would have significantly enhanced the government's ability to control press coverage, was designed in part to reassure international rights groups and governments, especially the United States, that Kazakhstan remained committed to gradual democratization. Indeed, Nazarbayev, in discussing his decision, said the "contrary points of view" expressed during the media bill debate constituted an "indicator of real democracy in our society."

Rejecting the media bill may also bring Nazarbayev domestic political benefits, analysts added. With Kazakhstan starting to gear up for parliamentary elections in October, the president's action appears to deprive his opponents of a potential campaign issue. [For additional information see the accompanying story].