KAZAKHSTAN: GOVERNMENT CONTINUES CRACKDOWN AGAINST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 003011

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN (M. O'MARA)

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM PREL KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: GOVERNMENT CONTINUES CRACKDOWN AGAINST
OPPOSITION MEDIA

REF: Astana 2935

ASTANA 00003011 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) Summary: Kazakhstani law enforcement initiated a
harassment campaign last week against four opposition newspapers
that recently published stories about Rakhat Aliyev that included
transcripts of recordings of embarrassing telephone conversations
among high-level government officials. Four opposition newspapers
were investigated October 30-31 for purported tax and regulatory
violations. Printers refused to print editions of two of the
papers. This followed the blockage of four independent media
websites that began October 18 (reftel). Minister of Culture and
Information Yermukhamet Yertysbayev told newspaper editors November
1 that they could resume publication only if they stopped publishing
materials from Aliyev or related to the transcripts, and must also
avoid insulting the dignity and honor of President Nazarbayev. The
editors agreed, apparently reluctantly, and the papers resumed
publication. End summary.

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GOVERNMENT INTERFERES WITH OPPOSITION PAPERS
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2. (U) Government agents visited the offices of four opposition
newspapers (Svoboda Slova, Respublica, Tas Zhargan, and Vzglyad)
during October 30-31. In three cases, agents from the financial
police and tax committee informed the newspapers that they were
under investigation for breaking the law, hiding financial assets,
and underpaying taxes. They attempted to seize financial records
and questioned newspaper staff. In a fourth case, fire inspectors
surveyed one paper's offices and alleged that the offices were in
violation of the fire code.


3. (U) Representatives of the four opposition newspapers held a
press conference in Almaty on October 31 to publicize the
harassment. The editor-in-chief of Svoboda Slova said five Almaty
printing houses had refused to print the paper on October 30. The
Tas Zhargan representative said their printing house refused to
print the paper, supposedly because its printing equipment was
broken, and could not be fixed for 1 1/2 or two months.


4. (SBU) All four said the harassment was related to publication of
information about Rakhat Aliyev and the release of transcripts of
recordings of embarrassing telephone conversations between
high-level government officials. (Comment: There appears to be
little doubt that the source of the audio recordings, which appeared
on a Russian internet site, is Aliyev.) In their view, the
government is panicking about the situation and trying to stop the
flow of information from Aliyev. Galina Dyrdina, editor of
Respublika, said that the government was particularly worried about
the possible release of new information concerning the February 2006
murder of opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbayev. (Comment:
Aliyev's suggestion of Nazarbayev's involvement in the Sarsenbayev
murder, further amplified at this press conference, has likely
infuriated the GOK.)

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MINISTER TO EDITORS: OBEY ME OR STOP PUBLISHING
-------------- --


5. (SBU) On November 1, Minister of Information and Culture
Yertysbayev flew down to Almaty to meet with the newspaper editors
and the editor of the zonakz.net website, which had been blocked
within Kazakhstan earlier in the month along with three other
opposition websites (reftel). Several of the editors told us in
confidence that Yertysbayev informed them that if they wished to
continue working, they must cease publication of all materials from
"the criminal and murderer Rakhat Aliyev," including the transcripts
and/or audio files of conversations between high-ranking officials.
He also demanded that the newspapers not publish materials
"insulting the honor and dignity of President Nazarbayev."


6. (SBU) The editors argued that only a court could decide whether
Aliyev was a "criminal and murderer" and that they were also
printing materials critical of Aliyev and his allegations. They
said they feared the demand about not criticizing President
Nazarbayev would be expanded to other officials. Yertysbayev said
that he would not expand his conditions. In the face of
Yertysbayev's pressure, the editors agreed to the conditions. In
return, Yertysbayev promised the government would cease interference
with the publication of the newspapers. On November 2, the
Respublika newspaper was published as usual, and at least one of the
web sites is again available.


7. (SBU) The day after his meeting with the editors, Yertysbayev
told the Ambassador during an impromptu encounter in the building

ASTANA 00003011 002.2 OF 002


housing Nazarbayev's office that he had had to "argue hard here" in
order to get the negotiating authority to offer to get the
newspapers printed and web sites back online in exchange for
stopping publication of what he termed "illegal transcripts" of
intercepted telephone conversations.

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OPPOSITION WEBSITES REMAINED BLOCKED
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8. (SBU) In the meantime, Kazakhstani Internet users remain unable
to access three of the four independent/opposition-oriented websites
that were blocked beginning October 18 (Reftel). Among the four,
only zonakz.net was accessible to Kazakhstani users as of November

5. On October 31, the Agency for Information and Communications,
which regulates domain names and other Internet issues in
Kazakhstan, released a statement indicating that it had suspended
several Internet sites with the "kz" domain name for violating
Kazakhstan's regulation requiring such domain name users to have
servers physically based in Kazakhstan. The statement said that the
suspensions, which included the opposition sites www.kub.kz and
www.geo.kz, were part of a routine investigation and had nothing to
do with the content of the websites. The statement also claimed
that neither the Agency for Information and Communications nor any
other agency had taken action against non-kz websites. However,
while, as noted above, www.zonakz.net is currently accessible,
www.inkar.info remains blocked. (Note: inkar.info has its server
abroad. It is freely accessible from outside Kazakhstan, and
Kazakhstani Internet users may access it through proxy servers. In
addition, the owners of www.kub.kz and www.geo.kz established new
sites using servers based outside of Kazakhstan, www.kub.info and
www.geokz.net respectively. End note.)

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COMMENT
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9. (SBU) Comment: Aliyev is, for now, the big winner in this latest
round of intra-elite warfare. The release of damaging accusations
and audio files (the latter almost certainly from Aliyev) unnerved
the highest echelons of the government and provoked a targeted
crackdown on the press that is the most serious since the 2005
presidential election campaign. Abroad, the substance of the audio
files and the resulting government crackdown enhance Aliyev's
unwarranted credibility as a critic and victim of the regime in
Kazakhstan. Aliyev has simultaneously improved his bargaining
position vis-a-vis President Nazarbayev, and created a temptation he
knew Nazarbayev would find irresistible to crack down on the media -
undercutting Kazakhstan's already less-than-stellar reputation for
media freedom during the final stages of OSCE's consideration of the
country's bid for the chairmanship. As was the case in 2005 when
the opposition press reported on Nazarbayev's involvement in the
Giffen case, the authorities resorted to high-handed actions to
close off public access to what they considered a sensitive subject.
In neither case, however, was muzzling the press particularly
effective at limiting knowledge of the situation - nor did it have a
broader chilling impact on the independent and opposition press that
continues its sharp criticism of the government on a wide range of
issues. End comment.

ORDWAY