KAZAKHSTAN: ALMATY NOTES, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000567

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: ALMATY NOTES, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER



1. This is the first in a series of bi-weekly roundup cables on
political developments in Almaty, Kazakhstan's "southern capital."
The series is intended to maintain focus on developments in civil
society, the media, and the opposition following the Embassy's move
to Astana. Items were drawn primarily from the local press and
media.

Rally Following Riot in Shanyrak district in Almaty
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2. On September 23, the Alga political party and the Committee in
Support of Shanyrak district residents organized a sanctioned rally
on the outskirts of Almaty, behind the Saryarka cinema. The rally
was organized to support Almaty residents whose houses had been
demolished or faced demolition. According to Aynur Kurmanov of
Socialist Resistance, about 600 people, including residents of Bakay
and Shanyrak, participated in the peaceful rally. However,
according to correspondent of Taszhargan newspaper Bakhytgul
Makembay, three buses carrying Bakay and Shanyrak residents to the
rally site were stopped by the road police and detained for
technical reasons. The residents had to use other vehicles to get
to the site. According to noted Kazakh nationalist Dos Koshim, the
head of the Shanyrak committee, 16 people accused of organizing the
July 14 Shanyrak riot and taking a hostage are currently under
arrest. Three other participants of the skirmish were set free upon
their written promise not to leave the city. A national-level
commission was set up to investigate the situation.


3. According to Kurmanov, on September 20 the Turksib district
court in Almaty tried two young residents of Bakay, Ilyas Tompakov
and Nurkhat Mukazhanov, who resisted the police during the July 7
demolitions. The young people, charged with using violence against
a representative of the authorities, were sentenced to two years in
prison and fined 100,000 tenge ($800) each.


Activists Hold Unauthorized Rally
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4. On October 6, five activists from Socialist Resistance were
detained in Almaty while picketing the Almaty City Police office.
According to the movement's October 11 press release, the young
people were delivering a protest petition about repression of the
residents of the Shanyrak district. The five participants of the
protest action were taken to the city administrative court, which
sentenced "Epokha" journalist Daniyar Yenikeyev to 10 days in jail.
The other participants were fined. According to the press release,
the judge denied the detainees' requests for lawyers and several
journalists were not allowed in the courtroom.


5. The police reportedly detained several of Yenikeyev's associates
who gathered near the detention center on October 14, holding them
for three hours. When Yenikeyev was released on October 16, the
police reportedly detained four of his colleagues who came to meet
him. They were held overnight; the following day, the Interdistrict
Economic Court sentenced Socialist Resistance leader Aynur Kurmanov
to five days detention.

Almaty Akim Says Illegal Buildings "Should be Burned"
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6. "Illegal buildings in Almaty should be burned down. Instead of
doing this we are appealing to courts and procurators. It takes 5-6
months. We have no time. If it is an illegal building and there
are no documents, heavy vehicles should be brought in to demolish
it. Afterwards, let them go to court," Almaty City Akim
Tasmagambetov stated at a seating of the city administration on
October 18. According to data from the city administration, 140
illegal buildings under construction were discovered between July 17
and October 17. 58 cases on illegal construction have been sent to
the city administrative court, which has issued a demolition ruling
in only two cases to date. (Interfax, October 18)


Ak Zhol Leader Takes Seat in Parliament
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7. On September 24, the Ak Zhol party held a congress in Almaty.
In addition to the political situation in the country, concerns
about draft labor code, and recommendations on how to raise
Kazakhstan's competitiveness, the congress discussed the issue of
the vacant seat in the Mazhilis that the party won in 2004. (At
that time, party leaders refused to take the seat in protest against
the falsified election results.) The congress decided to send a
representative to the Mazhilis, but did not specify who that person

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would be. On October 3, the Central Election Commission announced
that it had registered party leader Alikhan Baymenov, who was number
one on the party list in 2004, as a member of the Mazhilis.


8. No opposition papers criticized the move. Otan parliamentary
leader Amzebek Zholshibekov was quote as "hailing" Ak Zhol's
decision, saying that Baymenov's "desk is ready and all the
committees are ready to accept him." Independent journalist Valeriy
Surganov, in his report on the Ak Zhol congress (www.zonakz.net,
September 27),commented that taking the seat should be merely a
technical issue since the party appeared to have consulted with the
Presidential Administration in advance. Surganov also commented
that Ak Zhol is a party of and for ethnic Kazakhs, as 90% of its
members are Kazakhs. "Following Zharmakhan Tuyakbay, who in his
program speech had promised to defend interests, first of all, of
ethnic Kazakhs, the chairman of Ak Zhol stated almost the same using
different language. For example, he recommended that K Cell and K
Mobile companies extend their services covering especially the rural
areas, Kazakh villages."

Opposition Supports Kazakhstan's OSCE Bid
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9. At a September 26 round table organized by Galymzhan Zhakiyanov,
the opposition made a joint statement on Kazakhstan's bid to chair
the OSCE. The majority of opposition activists decided to support
the bid if Kazakhstan introduces amendments providing for basic
political rights and freedoms proclaimed by the constitution. These
include: the right to hold meetings, rallies, marches and picketing
through a system of notification rather than permission; the right
to free distribution of information and the revocation of media law
amendments adopted in May; the introduction of the draft mass media
law prepared by journalists; implementation of OSCE/ODIHR
recommendations on election legislation; a halt to politically
motivated prosecutions and the freeing of political prisoners.
Zhakiyanov, in his comments on the statement, said: "In this case we
are talking about [getting] at least minimal changes and
improvements in the country." According to political leaders, in
the current situation Kazakhstan has no right to the chairmanship.
However, the withdrawal of the bid would limit the political
maneuvering of dissidents. Alga and Ak Zhol issued similar
statements of support. (Channel-31, September 26, and Svoboda
Slova, September 28)




NGOs Propose Creation of Public TV
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10. On October 17 in Almaty, representatives of the Union of
Journalists, True Ak Zhol, and the Adil Soz media freedom NGO
organized a round table to discuss the concept of public television.
Participants discussed whether public TV will function along with
general state TV channels, what the requirements are for members of
the board of directors of the public TV, who will elect or appoint
the board of directors, whether the legislation on public TV should
include specific guiding criteria like objectivity, and who will
finance public TV.
Opinions were varied, with Patriots Party leader Ganiy Kasymov
opining that the government should establish public television. The
participants agreed to set up a working group on the public TV
concept. (Interfax, October 17 and zonakz.net, October 20)


True Ak Zhol protests detention of its activists
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11. On October 27, the True Ak Zhol political party issued a
statement protesting the illegal detention of party activists in
Atyrau Oblast. The police in Atyrau Oblast detained six activists
of the party on October 25 and 27. The activists were accused of
making and disseminating leaflets calling for unsanctioned rally on
October 27 and calling for the resignation of oblast akim B.
Ryskaliyev. According to the statement, the police could produce no
official documents specifying the grounds for the arrests. The
police allegedly did not allow the detainees to see their relatives,
lawyers, or associates.

ORDWAY