KAZAKHSTAN: FOR THE HUMAN DIMENSION IMPLEMENTATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 001327

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/RPM, SCA/CEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV KDEM KIRF OSCE KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: FOR THE HUMAN DIMENSION IMPLEMENTATION
MEETING, MFA URGES FOCUS ON "DEMOCRATIC TRAJECTORY"

REF: STATE 78227


1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On August 4, we met with Sayagul Konakbayeva,
the head of the Office of Humanitarian Issues within the MFA's OSCE
Directorate, to deliver reftel demarche on Kazakhstan's human rights
and democracy performance in advance of the OSCE Human Dimension
Implementation Meeting (HDIM). Konakbayeva was open to our views
and candidly discussed Kazakhstan's human rights record. She said
the government is committed to further democratic reforms, but urged
us to focus on Kazakhstan's "democratic trajectory" rather that its
"shortfalls." She argued that the concerns that the recently-passed
Internet law will place undue limits on freedom of expression will
not materialize once the law begins to be implemented. She
asserted, however, that the government should have some control over
the spread of information that could trigger mass violence "like the
events in Urumqi." Konakbayeva said that the Kazakhstani government
is currently studying international practices on libel penalties,
with an eye on further amendments to Kazakhstan's media legislation.
On freedom of religion, she acknowledged that, despite Kazakhstan's
public commitment to religious tolerance, some "non-traditional"
religious groups are continuing to encounter problems with local law
enforcement authorities. END SUMMARY.


3. (SBU) On August 4, we met with Sayagul Konakbayeva, the head of
the Office of Humanitarian Issues within the MFA's OSCE Directorate,
to deliver reftel demarche on Kazakhstan's human rights and
democracy performance in advance of the OSCE Human Dimension
Implementation Meeting (HDIM). Konakbayeva said it was not yet
determined who would lead Kazakhstan's delegation to the HDIM, but
said it would be an official of "appropriate level." She noted that
this HDIM is the last one before Kazakhstan assumes the OSCE
chairmanship in 2010. She reiterated Kazakhstan's commitment to
uphold the mandate of OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (ODIHR).


4. (SBU) Konakbayeva, who just recently became an office head but
has been with the OSCE directorate for more than a year, was open
and candid in discussing Kazakhstan's human rights record. On the
question of further political liberalization, she told us the Madrid
legislation "is not the end" of reforms and that the government is
committed to more "liberalizing changes." She stressed, however,
that Kazakhstan's "specificities" must be taken into account, and
she urged us to focus on Kazakhstan's "democratic trajectory" rather
than its "shortfalls."


5. (SBU) Regarding the recently-adopted law on the Internet,
Konakbayeva acknowledged that the law raised serious concerns among
the international community, but asserted that "many of your worries
will likely not materialize" once the legislation begins to be
implemented. She drew a comparison to the death penalty, which is
still legal under Kazakhstan's legislation, but has not been applied
since President Nazarbayev ordered a moratorium over two years ago.
"Implementation is sometimes more important than the letter of the
law," she said. She asserted, however, that the government should
have some control over the Internet to guard against the spread of
information that could trigger mass violence, "like the recent
events in Urumqi." In response, we stressed that ensuring free and
unimpeded access to information on the Internet is one of the key
commitments within the OSCE framework.


6. (SBU) On issues of media freedom, Konakbayeva told us that the
Kazakhstani government "listens carefully" to the suggestions made
by ODIHR on further improvements to Kazakhstan's media legislation,
including regarding decriminalization of libel. She said the
government is currently studying international practices on libel
penalties with an eye to making further legislative changes.
Regarding the case of Ramazan Yesergepov, the Editor-in-Chief of
"Alma-Ata Info" newspaper currently on trial for allegedly revealing
classified government information, Konakbayeva said that the
Kazakhstani law on state secrets "is justifiably strict," but
admitted that the six-year sentence sought by the Prosecutor
General's Office "may be going too far."

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7. (SBU) Konakbayeva acknowledged that, despite Kazakhstan's public
commitment to religious tolerance, some "non-traditional" religious
groups are continuing to encounter problems with local law
enforcement. She said that the local authorities are sometimes
overzealous in pursuing cases against religions "foreign to
Kazakhstan," but argued that each country has gone through its own
"growing pains" on freedom of religion. Konakbayeva admitted that
the case against Unification Church member Elizaveta Drenicheva
"crossed the line," but noted that the appeals court vacated
Drenicheva's prison sentence. On the pending cases against the
Church of Scientology for alleged illegal business activities,
Konakbayeva said that similar cases had been launched against the
Church in several Western countries, including in the United States.


HOAGLAND