(Adil Soz/IFEX) – The following is a joint statement to deputies of the Kazakh Parliament. Media advocacy organisations that have signed the letter are listed below: The journalistic community of Kazakhstan has expressed concerns over the continued attempts by the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan to destroy freedom of expression, in spite of […]
(Adil Soz/IFEX) – The following is a joint statement to deputies of the Kazakh Parliament. Media advocacy organisations that have signed the letter are listed below:
The journalistic community of Kazakhstan has expressed concerns over the continued attempts by the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan to destroy freedom of expression, in spite of the guarantee in the Constitution of Kazakhstan.
The year 2006 began with amendments to the Law on Mass Media. As a result, the Information Ministry, along with local executive bodies, was given the power to supervise and control the media.
The amendments to the media law, initiated by the Information Ministry in the summer of 2006 have been sharply criticized by local journalists and the international community; they were one of the reasons for the postponement of the decision on Kazakhstan presiding the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in 2009.
The end of 2006 is marked by another draft law, proposed by the ministry, “on Publishing Activities.” Its preamble stipulates that the draft “will ensure favorable conditions for developing (the) publishing-polygraph domain and for its professional participants.” However, the draft lacks any mechanism to reach this goal. A number of provisions in it that were taken from other laws could not hide the fact that they were undoubtedly aimed at limiting the publishing market and fostering political censorship.
These days, as long as there are many private publishing companies in Kazakhstan, newspapers face no problems in publishing the quantity of copies needed. The proposed draft brings us back to the time when independent newspapers had to use their own printing devices, or publish abroad, or just cease existence. Among other provisions, the draft proposes to begin licensing printing companies that provide services to media outlets. This virtually makes the printing companies more dependent on state bodies and restricts the right to freely receive and distribute information, as set in the Constitution and UN Declaration of Human Rights.
The provision was first proposed in the Ministry’s draft law in summer 2006, but was later removed by deputies of the Majilis (the lower chamber of Parliament), who saw the need to reduce, rather than increase, the number of activities that require licensing, as well as to ensure that the business sector is allowed to develop freely. The ministry is now proposing this provision again, maybe in the hope that the deputies had forgotten that fact.
In September, Kazakh NGOs issued a statement underlining the need to liberalize national media legislation. We mentioned that the ministry’s attempts to “bury” the draft law on Mass Media that had been proposed by public organizations, and the minister’s intentions to limit the Kazakh segment of the Internet, as well as their increasing efforts to push for mandatory licensing for printing companies, clearly show that the total destruction of freedom of expression is not just a threat – it can really happen. The prediction is proving to be true.
We call on deputies of the Parliament to be objective while scrutinizing the draft law on Publishing Activities.
We call on the journalistic community of the country to keep an eye on what will happen to the draft law on Mass Media, which is particularly important towards enhancing our profession and productivity.
Union of Journalists of Kazakhstan
International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech “Adil Soz”
Congress of Journalists of Kazakhstan
National Association of TV and Radio Broadcaster of Kazakhstan
Media Support Center ABA/CEELI
Kazakhstani Association of TV and Radio Broadcasters
Kazakhstani Association of Newspaper Publishers
Public Foundation “Alliance of Regional Mass Media of Astana and Akmolinsk region”
Public Foundation “Medialife” (Karaganda)
Public Foundation “North Kazakhstani Media Center” (Kostanai)
Public Foundation “Pavlodar Regional Journalism Support Center”
Public Foundation “Order for Protection of Free Journalism FORPOST” (Taraz)
Public Foundation “Media Center Áiðëiê” (Shymkent)
Public Association “TV-batys-info” (Atyrau)
Public Foundation “Adil Arka” (Petropavlovsk)
