KAZAKHSTAN: NEW OWNER OF POPULAR WEEKLY CEDES CONTROL TO EDITOR

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ALMATY 002007

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CACEN (JMUDGE),SCA/PPD (JBASEDOW),EUR/ACE

(ESMITH/JMCKANE),DRL/PHD (CKUCHTA-HELBLING)

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KPAO, KDEM, KZ

SUBJ: KAZAKHSTAN: NEW OWNER OF POPULAR WEEKLY CEDES

CONTROL TO EDITOR

Ref: Almaty 379

ALMATY 00002007 001.2 OF 002

1. (SBU) Summary: In mid-May, the publisher of the

country's most popular newspaper, Vremya, announced "a new

concept" for the paper, prompting the resignation of editor

Igor Meltser and his entire staff of reporters. Bigeldin

Gabdullin, the new editor, published two issues conforming

to the "more patriotic" tone desired by the publisher,

while subscriptions dropped 14 percent. On May 31, a new

buyer purchased the paper and convinced Meltser and his

team to return by promising not to interfere in the

editorial policy. Meltser registered a new publication

back in January (reftel) and is ready to walk again if the

current owner has a change of heart. End summary.

Meltser Crew Quits on Principle, Refuses Higher Salaries

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2. (SBU) For the past two weeks, Kazakhstan's media and

media watchers have been riveted by a tug-of-war for

editorial control of Vremya, the country's most popular

newspaper. Vremya editor-in-chief Igor Meltser resigned in

mid-May rather than implement the publisher's "new concept"

for the weekly. Bigeldin Gabdullin, chief editor of another

weekly, the Central Asia Monitor, was appointed in his

place to tone down the paper's critical, satiric edge and

make it "more patriotic." Gabdullin's comments in a May 22

interview with pro-government Megapolis that the paper had

"depleted itself" to the point that it was "practically

about nothing" prompted the paper's Almaty correspondents

to quit in disgust. In the same interview, Gabdullin said

that "a newspaper's brand is its staff" and that the owner

had tried to persuade Meltser and his team of journalists

to stay by offering higher salaries. (Meltser himself told

emboff June 1 that the publisher offered to double or even

triple salaries.) With Gabdullin at the helm, the paper

lost several advertisers and about 25,000 of its 180,000

r />subscribers.

Vremya Sold to New Owner, Editor Offered Free Reign

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3. (U) Then on May 31, Meltser and his staff returned to

Vremya after the paper had been abruptly sold to a new

owner who promised Meltser complete editorial independence.

Altyn House, a front company for the previous owner,

provided a statement to the Interfax news agency that the

previous owner decided on May 30 to sell 77.5 percent of

its shares to another, unnamed company. According to

Interfax's reporting on the statement, the buyer agreed

only on condition that Meltser and his team return.

4. (SBU) In the June 1 conversation with emboff, Meltser

said "unexpected" did not come close to describing his

surprise at the abrupt change in owners and the offer of

full editorial control. When Vremya's former owners,

Kazkommertsbank director Nulzhan Subhanberdin and Bulat

Abilov, sold their controlling share in December (reftel),

Altyn House first asked Meltser to stay and he agreed, on

condition that he would have full editorial autonomy to run

the paper as he saw fit. He said that around May 19, a

representative of Altyn House paid him a visit and said

they wanted to install an "owner's representative" and that

it wanted to change the paper "a little." Meltser

immediately resigned, and said he was ready to forget about

Vremya and start the new paper he had already registered

with the Information Ministry. Meltser said that on May 30,

"people from another organization" told him they would buy

Vremya from Altyn House, but only if he and the old Vremya

team returned to their jobs. He agreed, he said, because he

saw a tough time ahead in trying to quickly establish his

new project. When asked what guarantees the buyer offered

him, Meltser said only that at the first sign of

interference he would walk away again.

What is Presidential Adviser Tazhin's Role?

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5. (SBU) The new buyer's identity is not publicly known,

and if Meltser knows who it is, he is not saying. As for

the December buyer, deputy editor Marat Asipov told emboff

in a May 23 conversation it was Kazakhmys, the copper

conglomerate that purportedly has close ties to the

president. Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan leader Galymzhan

ALMATY 00002007 002.2 OF 002

Zhakiyanov told emboff May 31 that the December buyer was

more precisely Kazakhmys vice president Vladimir Ni, an

ethnic Korean who served many years in the Presidential

Administration. (Comment: Kazakhmys, the tenth largest

copper company in the world, had a very successful IPO in

London in December 2005, and its share price has more than

doubled since then. Kazakhmys was probably motivated to

unload a relatively minor investment embroiled in a

controversy that could reflect on the company. End

comment.) Asipov also said Meltser and Boris Kopelman, the

general director of Vremya Print, told him that Security

Council Secretary Marat Tazhin had coerced the sale because

Tazhin wanted the paper to be in the hands of an

administration-friendly owner before the next round of

elections. Tazhin himself told Ambassador Ordway in January

that he had nothing to do with the sale and said with

evident regret that the paper was unlikely to survive in

its present form.

6. (SBU) Tazhin's name came up in connection with

Gabdullin's appointment as the interim editor and as the

new buyer. In another conversation June 1 Zhakiyanov told

emboff that it was Tazhin who persuaded Gabdullin in mid-

May to take over as Vremya editor - a job that no other

newsman would dare take on - and that Gabdullin had to

agree because he had few other options. (Note: Gabdullin

was once close to former prime minister and Nazarbayev

rival Akezhan Kazhegeldin and fled to the United States

several years ago after being accused of bribery. He

returned to Kazakhstan in the fall of 2004 and was rumored

to have "cut a deal" with Tazhin in return for immunity

from prosecution. End note.) Yermurat Bapi, editor of the

banned Zhuma Times opposition weekly, suggested to emboff

that Tazhin bought Vremya because Gabdullin was destroying

Vremya by alienating its journalists, while generating

publicity that would almost guarantee the success of

Meltser's new project.

A Victory for Free Speech or a Strategic Compromise?

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7. Comment. (SBU) At face value, the buyer's concession to

give Meltser editorial independence seems to support free

speech, especially given Vremya's reputation for

investigative journalism. Meltser has in the past stood

firm in publishing articles on corruption among government

officials. However, some analysts suggest the paper has had

to make concessions of its own. Zhakiyanov told emboff that

Vremya almost ignored the 2005 presidential elections

because Meltser had been warned off by the paper's owner at

the time. As Meltser himself told emboff June 1, "no

newspaper can be successful without making some

compromises," a reference perhaps to the need for self

censorship when covering the activities of a powerful

administration still coming to terms with the concept of

media independence. Given Vremya's high profile and the

very public denouement of staff resignations and reversals,

media analysts in Kazakhstan will be scrutinizing the paper

for any telltale signs of editorial shift. End comment.

Ordway

KAZAKHSTAN: NEW OWNER OF POPULAR WEEKLY CEDES CONTROL TO EDITOR

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