KAZAKHSTAN: MEDIA REACTION, APRIL 2-APRIL 8

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000622 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM MARR SOCI KPAO KMDR KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: MEDIA REACTION, APRIL 2-APRIL 8 ASTANA 00000622 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. SUMMARY: This week Kazakhstani media highlighted what the media believes is a possible visit of President Obama to Kazakhstan, spurred by an invitation from President Nazarbayev that Senate Chairman Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev gave the President during his trip to Turkey. The media also focused on the April 6-7 visit to Astana of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Two popular newspapers published interesting news analysis pieces on regional politics, looking forward to Kazakhstan's upcoming OSCE Chairmanship and reflecting on NATO's 60th anniversary. Independent press outlets commented on religious freedom issues and drew attention to cyber attacks suffered by independent and opposition web sites. END SUMMARY. PROSPECTIVE VISITORS... ¶2. Senate Chairman Tokayev's invitation to President Obama to visit Kazakhstan grabbed headlines this week. The Senate Press Service issued an announcement reporting that President Obama had gratefully accepted the invitation. The Senate announcement claimed that President Obama told Tokayev that he plans to tour Central Asia and that Kazakhstan -- "America's friend and trustworthy partner" -- will be the first country he visits. ¶3. Pro-government, Russian language "Liter" quoted First Deputy Director of the Kazakhstani Institute of Strategic Studies Sanat Kushkumbayev, who believes that Obama will visit Kazakhstan during his first term. Kushkumbayev noted that visits of U.S. presidents are tied to U.S. foreign policy interests, and "judging by the Nazarbayev-Obama telephone conversation, it looks like Kazakhstan has fallen in to this category. He went on to say, "The significance of the United States can't be overestimated, despite the current financial crisis. Certainly, partnership with this country is very important for us." ¶4. "Liter" also commented on the substance of President Obama's speech to the Turkish Parliament. Comparing the President's demeanor to Julius Caesar's, the author stated that in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States will no longer rely on force, "but a flexible approach that combines diplomatic and humanitarian ways of solving problems." Arguing that Obama's statement that the EU will be significantly strengthened after Turkey's accession "warmed the hearts of Turkish officials," the author concluded, "The fact that Obama often repeated the word 'Islam' left no doubts on the shores of the Bosporus that the new American President has opened a new epoch in U.S. relations with Islamic countries." ...AND CURRENT GUESTS ¶5. "Liter" commented on the visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by saying Iran, while not a "strategic partner," is important for Kazakhstan due to Caspian Sea issues and the transportation of Kazakhstani oil. "But because of complex relations between Iran and the United States," states the author, "the fate of Central Asian oil transportation routes through Iran has looked doubtful in the past. However, if Iranian-American relations improve, this project has great potential because many European countries view this route as preferable to the route through Russia." BROADER HORIZONS... ¶6. Independent, Russian language "Delovaya Nedelya" looked ahead at the challenges that Kazakhstan is likely to face as OSCE Chair, including the situations in Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and Transdnestria. The author credits Kazakhstan with "meeting obligations in the spheres of religion, press freedom, and election legislation that it took upon itself prior to being elected," but criticizes the government for failing "to develop a strategy that can be applied in post-Soviet space." While Moscow will expect Kazakhstani sympathy due to the fact that it was a "key promoter and supporter of Kazakhstan's candidacy to the position of OSCE Chairman," the United States and United Kingdom also feel that ASTANA 00000622 002.2 OF 002 Kazakhstan should consider their interests because "they finally tempered justice with mercy and gave their support." "Much will depend," writes the author, "on how skillfully Kazakhstan manages to combine its close political, economic, and humanitarian ties with the CIS countries with its arising pro-Western mentality." ¶7. "Delovaya Nedelya" published a second piece specifically on U.S. interests in Central Asia, criticizing "experts" who claim that "Russia competes with China for regional influence and the United States competes with both of them. Mocking this idea, the author says, "As soon as any American official visits Central Asia, the media starts disseminating reports about America's intention to strengthen its position in the region and to dictate its will to regional leaders. But such reports overestimate the importance of Central Asia for the United States." The author believes that "much has changed in U.S. foreign policy in the last two to three years, and especially since the Obama administration has come to power. Washington's efforts to compete with a non-existent international communism have diminished." The article concludes, "Speculation that the Americans want to permanently settle in Central Asia is an exaggeration," and that the United States has no intention to fight for regional dominance "until the last drop of blood." ¶8. "Liter" marked NATO's anniversary by noting that "even though NATO has reached the retirement age of 60, it is too early to write it off," noting the April 1 accession of Croatia and Albania as well as President Sarkozy's initiative for France to rejoin NATO's military command. The author suggests that "France's passionate love of NATO" is because "the alliance has become for the French an embodiment of Euro-Atlantic identity." Since the demise of the Soviet Union, however, the author is critical of the alliance's purposes, giving NATO a "C" in its anti-terrorist fight, since the "war has been going on for eight years and there is no end in sight." Bemoaning the fact that member states have been unable to direct the huge potential of the alliance towards positive endeavors, the author compares NATO to a "Titanic" which resists every effort to redirect its course. ... AND CLOSER TO HOME ¶9. Independent, Russian language weekly "Panorama" interviewed Almaty Helsinki Committee head Ninel Fokina, who expressed appreciation that the recently proposed religion law was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Council, saying that the decision gives human rights activists a "three-year window" to build stronger religious freedom in Kazakhstan. (NOTE: This window refers to Kazakhstan's presence in the OSCE Troika. END NOTE). She also lauded the recent government decision to permit entry into Kazakhstan of a foreign Hare Krishna leader it had previously barred from returning to the country. However, she laments that there is "more bad news than good news" on the religion front, complaining about prosecutions of Scientologists and Baptists and castigating inflammatory media reports about less popular religious groups. ¶10. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's "Radio Azzytuq" reported on cyber attacks that are allegedly plaguing independent/opposition news websites "Zona.kz" and "Respublika.kz." Tamara Kaleyeva, head of the Adil Soz media watchdog NGO, asks, "Why are these attacks only against popular, independent papers?" -- expressing her suspicion about the "selective" nature of attacks which are forcing these specific sites to fight to remain accessible. HOAGLAND