KAZAKHSTAN: ALMATY NOTES, NOVEMBER 26 - DECEMBER 7, 2007

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SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: ALMATY NOTES, NOVEMBER 26 - DECEMBER 7, 2007


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1. The "Almaty Notes" series is intended to maintain focus on
developments in civil society, the media, and the opposition in
Kazakhstan's "southern capital" following the move of the Embassy to
Astana.

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Kazakh Nationalists Are Against Formation of Kazakhstani Nation
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2. At a round table in Almaty on December 4, a group of Kazakh
nationalists spoke out against a recent proposal by President
Nazarbayev to support tri-lingualism (Kazakh, Russian, and English)
and promote the idea of a broader "Kazakhstani" nation. According
to these representatives of the Kazakh intelligentsia, this is a
hastily-conceived and wrong idea and putting it into practice could
lead to irreversible consequences. Burikhan Nurmukhamedov of the Ak
Zhol party contended that national self-identification is important
for ethnic Kazakhs and a failure to take this factor into account
may worsen inter-ethnic relations. (TV Channel 31, December 4)

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Utkin Loses His Case against City Election Commission
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3. On November 23 the Almaty city court ruled for the city election
commission in a case filed by independent Maslikhat candidate Sergey
Utkin. Utkin challenged his loss to Nur Otan candidate Serik
Kusainov in the August 18 election to the Almaty Maslikhat. Utkin
provided the court with protocols from polling stations which he
said confirmed his victory. At an earlier hearing in the Bostandyk
district court, all members of precinct election commission number
184 testified that Utkin's protocols were accurate, casting doubt on
the accuracy of the protocols produced by the city election
commission. However, an examination conducted by city court experts
reportedly confirmed that signatures on the city election
commission's protocols were authentic. (Respublica weekly, November
30)

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NGO's Urge Transparency in Mazhilis' Activities
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4. At a round table in Almaty on November 27, a number of NGO's,
including the Human Rights Bureau, Adil Soz, the Charter for Human
Rights, and Almaty Helsinki Committee, announced their intention to
set up an NGO coalition to promote transparency of the Mazhilis'
activities and to provide public oversight over the work of
parliamentarians. Mazhilis deputy Nikolay Turetskiy admitted that
there was no mechanism for the publication of roll-call voting in
parliament and no mechanism for keeping parliamentarians properly
accountable before the electorate. Tamara Kaleyeva of AdilSoz
complained that parliament does not put texts of draft laws on its
web site and provides no information on the reasons a draft law is
rejected. "There is no feedback and there are no e-mail addresses.
It is impossible to reach any deputy through the web site," Kaleyeva
said. Evgeniy Zhovtis contended that Parliament needs to pass a law
on access to information which would further cooperation between
state agencies and citizens and would make officials accountable for
not providing information. (Interfax, November 27)

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Reasons for Political Apathy
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5. "The main reason for apathy is that people do not believe they
can change anything in the country through their actions," True Ak
Zhol party co-chairman Oraz Zhandosov opined in an interview with
Dozhiveym do Ponedelinka. "It is an interesting question why people
do not go to rallies and do not protest against inflation and
against the government's inaction in curbing soaring prices. These
people are used to the practice we had in the Soviet Union when
nothing depended on public opinion". (Dozhiveym do Ponedelinka
weekly, November 30)

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NGO's and Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
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6. At a conference in Almaty on November 27 entitled "Oil Revenues -
Under Control of Society," a coalition of NGO's proposed revisions
in Kazakhstan's Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
(EITI). The coalition would like to enlarge its delegation in the
National Council, which is composed representatives of extractive
industry companies, the government, parliament, and NGO's. In
addition, the coalition proposes to make National Council meetings
more transparent by placing announcements in the press and reporting
about its activities in the mass media. (Interfax, November 27)

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Allegation of Violation of Detainees' Rights
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7. On November 26, the Human Rights Bureau issued a statement
calling on the Almaty office of the Committee for National Security
(KNB) to stop violating the rights of detained individuals,
especially the right to an attorney. According to the Bureau,
Rishat Musayev and Sergey Tsoy have been kept in Almaty KNB
pre-trial detention centers since July 9 with no access to their
chosen attorneys. Despite agreements the attorneys signed with the
two detainees and the fact that they have state secret clearances,
the attorneys have been denied meetings with their clients.
Instead, the KNB invited other attorneys recommended by
investigators to meet with the detainees.

ORDWAY