KAZAKHSTAN: ALMATY NOTES, FEBRUARY 25 - March 7, 2008

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000498

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SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: ALMATY NOTES, FEBRUARY 25 - March 7, 2008



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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True Ak Zhol Changes Name, Shuffles Leadership
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2. Opposition party True Ak Zhol held its fourth party congress in
Almaty on February 29. Congress delegates voted to change True Ak
Zhol's name to Azat (i.e., "free" in Kazakh),in order to better
distinguish the party from rival Ak Zhol. Bulat Abilov was elected
chairman of the renamed party, and Tulegen Zhukeyev was selected to
be general secretary. Oraz Zhandosov will remain in the party, but,
as expected, will no longer hold a leadership position. (Note:
Prior to the party congress, Abilov, Zhukeyev, and Zhandosov were
co-chairmen of True Ak Zhol. End Note.)


3. The Azat civic movement, a Kazakh nationalist group, plans to
challenge True Ak Zhol's new name, Khasen Kozha-Akhmet, the leader
of the organization, announced at a press conference in Almaty on
March 4. According to Kozha-Akhmet, Azat civic movement activists
interpreted True Ak Zhol's move as an attempt to steal their own
popular name. The Azat civic movement was established in 1990 and
re-registered in 2001. Kozha-Akhmet cited Article 18 of the Law on
Public Associations, which does not permit two public associations
to have identical names. On these grounds, the Azat civic movement
is filing a complaint with the Ministry of Justice. Should the
Ministry ignore the complaint, the Azat civic movement will file
suit in court against Bulat Abilov and his associates.

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Abilov Ready For Dialogue With The Authorities?
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4. "Many individuals in the Ak Orda [i.e., the Presidential
Administration] and outside of it want to portray me as the
President Nazarbayev's enemy, but I am not, we just have different
views," opposition leader Bulat Abilov stated in an interview with
the Vremya daily on March 6. Abilov indicated that he is ready for
dialogue with the government. "And it looks like the Ak Orda has
begun to understand this," he explained. Abilov cited the recent
appointment of Kairat Keimbetov to be head of the Presidential
Administration as evidence of progress. Abilov described Kelimbetov
as a "person of democratic beliefs," who will say the right things
to Nazarbayev.

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Protest Against Shopping Mall Construction
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5. TV Channel 31 reported that on March 1 in Almaty, approximately
20 activists from the Azat (formerly True Ak Zhol) party and the
Shanyrak civic movement held a demonstration on Almaty's Republic
Square to protest against a new shopping mall that the city
administration had started constructing under the square. The
protesters contended that it is inappropriate to build a shopping
mall on a site where two decades earlier a "popular uprising for
independence" took place. (Note: In December 1986, there were mass
protests on the square by Kazakh youth in response to the removal of
Kazakhstan's ethnic-Kazakh Communist Party First Secretary and his
replacement by an ethnic Russian. The protests were violently
broken up by the Soviet authorities, reportedly resulting in several
hundred deaths throughout Almaty. End Note.) The police detained
eight protestors and held them at a local police station for four
hours. The following day, three demonstrators were fined and one
received a warning. The city administration had issued a permit for
the demonstration -- but on the basis that it be held at a location
on the outskirts of the city.

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Karasu Residents Defend Their Homes
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6. According to www.zonakz.net, on February 21, residents of Karasu
village outside of Almaty blocked local authorities from demolishing
13 of their homes. Approximately 40 court officials and policemen
accompanied a demolition team which was prepared to bulldoze the
houses. Local residents learned about the plans in advance and
invited activists from the Shanyrak civic movement, residents of
other locales victimized by demolitions, and media representatives
to assist them in preventing the demolitions. With the local
residents armed with stones and bottles, the demolition team was
forced to withdraw. The residents now plan to appeal the results of
an auction in which their houses and land had been sold to a little

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known company at a rock-bottom price.

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Underground Casinos in Almaty
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7. Almaty municipal police closed yet another underground casino on
February 29. This was the tenth illegal casino discovered by police
since the beginning of the year.

ORDWAY