Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ALMATY2532
2006-07-13 03:10:00
CONFIDENTIAL
US Office Almaty
Cable title:  

KAZAKHSTAN: PRESIDENT SIGNS AMENDMENTS TO MEDIA LAW

Tags:  KDEM KPAO KZ PGOV PHUM 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7242
RR RUEHDBU
DE RUEHTA #2532/01 1940310
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 130310Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY ALMATY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6201
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2134
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 1614
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ALMATY 002532 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN (JMUDGE),SCA/PPD (JBASEDOW),EUR/ACE
(ESMITH/JMCKANE),DRL/PHD (CKUCHTA-HELBLING)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2016
TAGS: KDEM KPAO KZ PGOV PHUM
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: PRESIDENT SIGNS AMENDMENTS TO MEDIA LAW

REF: ALMATY 2074

Classified By: Amb. John Ordway, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ALMATY 002532

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN (JMUDGE),SCA/PPD (JBASEDOW),EUR/ACE
(ESMITH/JMCKANE),DRL/PHD (CKUCHTA-HELBLING)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2016
TAGS: KDEM KPAO KZ PGOV PHUM
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: PRESIDENT SIGNS AMENDMENTS TO MEDIA LAW

REF: ALMATY 2074

Classified By: Amb. John Ordway, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (SBU) Summary: Kazakhstan has taken a step backward on
media freedom, but the step turned out to be much smaller
than originally feared. On July 5, President Nazarbayev
signed a package of controversial and hastily-considered
media law amendments into law. Advocates, including the
Information Minister, claim that the amendments are designed
to enhance transparency of ownership and ensure that the
government and public know who owns and controls the media,
particularly television. They point out that the most
damaging provisions, including mandatory deposits to cover
possible libel judgments and licensing of printing houses,
were dropped. Opponents fear the amendments will give the
government leverage to restrict media freedom. End summary.


2. (C) The amendments toughen existing legislation in several
ways:


A. Media owners are required to re-register upon any changes
in editor, address, or frequency of publication. If an owner
fails to register additional changes within a year after the
first infraction, the outlet could be closed down. (Note:
The Information Minister and the Presidential Administration
have told us repeatedly that these are "notification8
provisions, i.e. that newspapers do not need to obtain
government approval. Since we have not seen the text of the
legislation, we cannot verify that in fact this is how the
law will operate. End note.)


B. Anyone who previously lost a libel judgment can be banned
from being a director or editor-in-chief of any other medium.
(Note: The Information Minister has assured us that such
individuals can hold any other position, from deputy
editor-in-chief to journalist, within the same media outlet.)


C. All newspapers have to publish within three months of
registration and with the regularity (i.e., daily or weekly)
specified in the certificate. Radio and television media
have to broadcast within six months of registration with the

regularity specified in the certificate. Failure to publish
or broadcast within the three or six-month deadlines would
render the certificates invalid. (Note: This provision was
aimed primarily at opposition newspapers that previously
registered under multiple names in order to keep publishing
when one or another version was closed down by court
decisions. Although this requirement might seem more
technical than punitive, a publishing "requirement"
contradicts international standards of media freedom.)


D. Registration can be denied if outlets have a name similar
to one that was used before, or if they fail to pay
registration fees. Although the registration fee is not
specified by law, media analysts have told us that the fees
are about $40.


E. Television broadcasters could be fined up to $2,600 for
not complying with the law mandating 50 percent Kazakh and 50
percent Russian language programming.

Procedure Flawed
--------------


3. (U) The amendments were passed hastily, within the space
of a month, in violation of parliamentary procedure and amid
accusations of fraud and complaints by parliamentarians
themselves that they were given insufficient time to
carefully weigh the provisions.


4. (U) On June 15, less than two weeks after accepting them
for consideration, the Mazhilis (lower chamber of parliament)
passed the amendments after a first reading, although
parliamentary regulations require a 30-day review by an
expert committee. Parliamentarian and first daughter Dariga
Nazarbayeva, who led the charge against the amendments
(reftel),on June 21 challenged the outcome of the first
reading and insisted on a second vote. She claimed that her
own vote against the amendments was not counted, but four yes
votes were tabulated for parliamentarians who were not
present during the voting session. The second vote on the
first reading upheld the majority. On June 22, the Mazhilis
passed the amendments in the second reading, which is
supposed to be a line-by-line examination of the draft law
taking place over the course of a minimum of 10 working days.


5. (SBU) The Committee for Socio-Cultural Development of the

ALMATY 00002532 002 OF 002


Senate (upper chamber) on June 26 reviewed the legislation
and passed it immediately to the full Senate for review. On
June 29, the Senate unanimously approved the draft amendments
in two readings.


6. (U) The information ministry rushed the amendments through
the approval process without sharing the evolving draft law
with concerned media and media advocates. The provision
requiring a $40,000 deposit as indemnity against potential
libel suits was removed before the package was formally
accepted by the Mazhilis for consideration on June 2.
However, outdated versions amendments showing this provision
were subsequently circulated among media defense
organizations and hotly contested during the public debate
that started June 5. Even after the amendments had been
passed by Parliament June 29, local and Western media,
including the Associated Press, were still reporting on the
mandatory deposit requirement.


7. (C) During the Independence Day reception in Astana June
29, Information Minister Yermukhamet Yertysbayev told the
ambassador that the purpose of the amendments was to help the
government track primarily television entrepreneurs, while
simplifying overall media registration procedures. He also
repeated what he has said publicly, that the government had
no intention of using legislation to close down media. Maulen
Ashimbayev, deputy head of the presidential administration,
and Deputy Foreign Minister Rakhat Aliyev both told the
Ambassador that they believe Yertysbayev was acting on behalf
of the president, and that President Nazarbayev would sign
the legislation. In an interview June 23 with the opposition
newspaper Respublika, Aliyev also commented that the
amendments would present "a serious obstacle" to Kazakhstan's
chairmanship of the OSCE.


8. (SBU) Comment: The ultimate impact of the legislation
will depend on how the law is enforced. As in the past,
Kazakhstan's savvy press, working within the confines of the
law and maneuvering through legal avenues, will likely find a
way to keep publishing. The more interesting question is
what impact it will have on television, and the ongoing
struggle by Yertestabyev (apparently with the blessing of the
President, if not actually at his behest) to wrest control of
the major outlets from Dariga Nazarbayeva and her husband,
Rakhat Aliyev. End comment.
ORDWAY