(Adil Soz/IFEX) – On 18 October 2004, the Medeu District Court in Almaty issued a ruling against “Argumenty i fakty” newspaper. The case was filed by Maksut Orazai, a private citizen who accused the paper of “neglecting official names.” The court ruled that “Argumenty i fakty” was obliged to use only the official names of […]
(Adil Soz/IFEX) – On 18 October 2004, the Medeu District Court in Almaty issued a ruling against “Argumenty i fakty” newspaper. The case was filed by Maksut Orazai, a private citizen who accused the paper of “neglecting official names.” The court ruled that “Argumenty i fakty” was obliged to use only the official names of certain Kazakh cities that were renamed after the Soviet Union’s collapse. The court also dismissed a lawsuit brought by “Argumenty i fakty”‘s editorial board against Orazai, in which it alleged that he unjustly attacked the paper’s “honour, dignity and business reputation”. Adil Soz believes the court ruling is unjustified under Kazakh legislation.
Following Kazakhstan’s independence, several cities were renamed following the norms of the Kazakh language and history. For instance, Shevchenko became Aktay, Guryev became Atyrau, Aktyubinsk became Aktobe and finally, the former capital of Kazakhstan, Alma-Ata became Almaty. The latest changes have caused widespead dissatisfaction among the population.
In his lawsuit, Orazai claimed that staff of the Russian weekly “Argumenty i fakty”‘s Kazakh edition continued to use the old names of cities, “as in colonial times.” According to the plaintiff, “This is not just a statement against Kazakh names, but an act of denial of Kazakh statehood and disrespect towards the Kazakh people.”
Orazai asked the court to oblige the newspaper to use the cities’ official new names only. Orazai proposed that the Ministry of Information discuss “similar issues” prior to making agreements with other Russian and foreign newspapers publishing in Kazakhstan.
Adil Soz expressed concern over the court decision. According to Kazakh legislation, obligatory usage of the official names of cities concerns only official newspapers. Moreover, Orazai is not entitled to file such a lawsuit under Kazakh law. Finally, Adil Soz finds the court decision paradoxical, since it concerns only one publication, whereas the old names of the cities are widely used in Kazakhstan, and not only in the media.
