KAZAKHSTAN: AMBASSADORS AGREE CIVIL SOCIETY IS WEAK, BUT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000309

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI KDEM KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: AMBASSADORS AGREE CIVIL SOCIETY IS WEAK, BUT
COUNTRY AHEAD OF ITS NEIGHBORS ON DEMOCRACY

REF: (A) ASTANA 0134
(B) 08 ASTANA 2577
(C) 08 ASTANA 2399
(D) 08 ASTANA 2398
(E) 08 ASTANA 2256


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


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: At a recent lunch in honor of visiting Dutch
Ambassador-at-Large for Human Rights Arjan Hamburger, several
Astana-based Ambassadors exchanged views on Kazakhstan's democratic
trajectory. All agreed that the recently adopted Madrid commitments
legislation, while short of ideal, represents a platform for future
reform. Kazakhstan's civil society is still weak, with only a
handful of "real NGOs" that do not necessarily represent the wide
range of the population's interests. Government-supported public
associations and grass-roots social movements should not be ignored
as valuable elements of democratic institution-building. The
country's progress may be slow, but it is nevertheless far ahead of
its neighbors, and moving in the right direction. END SUMMARY.

DUTCH ENVOYS HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS


3. (SBU) On February 3, the Ambassador attended a lunch in honor
of visiting Dutch Ambassador-at-Large for Human Rights Arjan
Hamburger hosted by Dutch Ambassador to Kazakhstan Klaas van der
Temple. Other guests at the working lunch were UK Ambassador Paul
Brummell, Czech Ambassador Bedrich Kopecky, OSCE Ambassador
Alexandre Keltchewsky, Belgian Ambassador Christian Meerschman, and
European Commission (EC) Deputy Head of Mission Hubert Petit.


4. (SBU) Ambassador Hamburger told the participants that the goal
of his trip was to highlight the importance of human rights in Dutch
foreign policy. Before coming to Astana, Hamburger spent several
days in Almaty, where he met with civil society representatives,
opposition leaders, members of the Unification Church, and the wife
of detained "Alma-Ata Info" Editor-in-Chief Ramazan Yesergepov. He
asked for the participants' assessments of Kazakhstan's progress
towards democratization, particularly in light of the
recently-adopted amendments to the laws on political parties,
elections, and the media -- i.e., the Madrid commitments
legislation.

WEAK CIVIL SOCIETY...


5. (SBU) OSCE Ambassador Keltchewsky reflected positively on the
Madrid laws, highlighting the participation of the NGO community in
drafting the laws and noting in particular the "strong dialogue"
that took place between the government and civil society on the
media law. The political party and election laws did not go as far
as civil society had hoped, he said, but they nevertheless represent
a solid platform for future dialogue and reform. Keltchewsky
lamented the fact that Kazakhstan's civil society remains weak.
There are only a handful of "real NGOs" functioning in Kazakhstan,
he said, and there is an open question of how representative they
are of the population as a whole. In Keltchewsky's view, the
international community must work with "civil society as a whole,
not just the select Western-funded NGOs."


6. (SBU) The Ambassador stressed that the Madrid laws signify a
step forward in Kazakhstan's democratization. He noted that the
Kazakhstani government remains open to working with the OSCE and the
international community to further improve their legislation.
Speaking to Keltchewsky's point on civil society, the Ambassador
shared his experience of attending a meeting of the Astana
Editors-in-Chief Club, a government-approved public association that
includes both opposition and pro-government journalists, where he
witnessed a lively discussion about the media situation in
Kazakhstan that encompassed a broad range of opinions (ref A). The
Ambassador stressed that such public associations, as well as
grass-roots social movements that have sprung up in reaction to the
recent economic crisis, represent a valuable element of democratic

ASTANA 00000309 002 OF 002


institution-building, and he encouraged the participants to look
beyond the standard NGOs for signs of nascent civil society.

... BUT FAR AHEAD OF ITS NEIGHBORS


7. (SBU) UK's Brummell agreed that Kazakhstan is open to input from
the international community and quite "sensitive" to its image
abroad. While the Madrid laws leave much to be desired, said
Brummell, we must recognize that democratization will be a long
process, one that will require patience. "There are limits to what
we can do on the democratic agenda," he said. He stressed, however,
that Kazakhstan is far ahead of its Central Asian neighbors --
"There are no political prisoners in Kazakhstan, and the opposition
print media are flourishing." Czech Ambassador Kopecky argued that
a new Western-educated generation is assuming positions of power in
the government, and they are bound to bring a new outlook, "as long
as they do not succumb to the temptation of corruption."


8. (SBU) Dutch Ambassador van der Temple argued that Kazakhstan is
still behind on civil rights and freedoms, venturing that the title
of Human Rights Watch's recent report, "The Atmosphere of Quiet
Repression," is fitting in describing Kazakhstan's political
environment. The Ambassador agreed that much work still remained,
but stressed that Kazakhstan is a post-Soviet society, with little
historical experience with democracy. The hope lies with the new
leaders, he said, the "Bolashak" generation of officials who studied
in the West and have returned to take positions in the government.
Van der Temple conceded that Kazakhstan, while it looks somewhat
bleak in comparison to Europe, is a "shining star" in Central Asia.


NGO-GOVERNMENT DIALOGUE


9. (SBU) The EC's Petit told the group that since December, the EC
mission has been hosting weekly round-tables between local NGOs and
various officials to help establish a dialogue between civil society
and the government. Petit explained that the meetings are closed to
the press and observers, so as to build an atmosphere of trust and
cooperation among the participants. Petit cautiously appraised the
venture as a success -- "A dialogue has begun." The others warmly
welcomed the EC's initiative.

HOAGLAND