Читать книгу Kazakhstan's Assassinated Democracy - Yerzhan Psy.D. Dosmukhamedov - Страница 14

Deutsche Welle Radio (Germany)

23 January 2008

Yerzhan Dosmukhamedov, leader of the opposition party Atameken is our guest. We talked about the present significance of the opposition and the role of the conflict with Rakhat Aliyev for the development of the political situation in Kazakhstan.

In 2010 Kazakhstan will take the chair of the influential Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. It imposes on the republic some obligations - improvements in the spheres of human rights, independent political parties formation,economic reforms and so forth. The Kazakh opposition will try to secure the proper fulfilment of these obligations both in the republic and abroad.

Nowadays, authority in the country is held by one man - President Nursultan Nazarbayev. He can run for the post of President as many times as he likes, and the present Parliament consists of the only party that is the party of the President.

This fact has already been criticized on several occasions both in the country as well as by various international organizations and foreign observers. Nevertheless the authorities in Astana assert that a oneparty Parliament is not an impediment to constructive discussions.

Opposition parties have no possibility of participating in political life, since none of them is admitted into Parliament. But this fact has not dampened their spirit. The Atameken Party plans to obtain official registration and to carry out its platform on equal terms with other associations.

Today in our studio is the leader of the opposition party Atameken, Yerzhan Dosmukhamedov. Currently he has to live abroad in London. But the party is still proceeding with its work. It actively co-operates with OSCE, the European Parliament, parliaments of the leading Western European countries and the U.S., and international non-governmental organizations.

Dr. Dosmukhamedov, could you give us your opinion on the results of political activity in Kazakhstan for the last year - in particular, the formation of the one-party Parliament? How will the decisions taken last year affect the political situation in 2008?

Unfortunately, the changes in Kazakhstan can not be called truly democratic. The revolution took place. The political system was changed. The opposition did not understand in time the historical hazard of what happened [the ability of President Nazarbayev to run for President as many times as he likes]. The opposition even participated in the parliamentary elections, and so the changes became legitimate.

I think that 2008 will be remarkable, for the real opposition as well as all of society will have to make great efforts to return Kazakhstan to the course of civilized development, appropriate for the 21st century. One of the purposes of my visit to Germany is meeting with German politicians, Bundestag and European Parliament deputies, and professors participating in the development of the new Kazakh constitution. The draft constitution takes into account the opposition's recommendations jointly made last year in Strasbourg.

Last year representatives of the Kazakhstan opposition at the meeting in Strasbourg organized a Consultative Council for the development of the new constitution of Kazakhstan. Thus the opposition is doing its very best to design reforms.

What about Kazakhstan authorities? In 2010, the republic will take the chair of the OSCE. Astana undertook some obligations and promised to proceed with political and economic reforms. Is it possible that Kazakh authorities will demonstrate democratization to international observers, but in fact will not change anything essentially?

The promises are really great. We as the representatives of civil society are sincerely and deeply grateful to Mr. [Marat] Tazhin, as he shouldered great responsibility in representing our country in the main international organization. Surely, from now on efforts will be under way to imitate intense activity, to create obedient, toothless political structures - the noise-producing rattles called "the opposition parties".

But in the West there are enough wise people who for 17 years of independence have learned already how to distinguish between genuine gold and a gilded facade. It will therefore be difficult to fool Western democratic community this time. And we as academics and politicians will try to prevent this by all means necessary. This, once again, emphasizes the importance and necessity of our work which we perform abroad in international organizations, with non-governmental organizations and among the representatives of independent mass media.

In autumn you communicated with Kazakhstan's exambassador to Austria and the OSCE, Mr. Rakhat Aliyev. He is a sensational personality, no doubt. Last year, an especially huge ruckus was raised when the former son-in-law of President Nazarbayev was dismissed from the President's favour. After he was searched with the help of INTERPOL, it was revealed that he had uncovered pieces of unpleasant information damaging to Kazakhstan authorities.

At the turn of this year, Rakhat Aliyev was sentenced to 20 years in prison with hard labour. The judgement was pronounced in absentia since the defendant was not present at the session. In what way will the situation concerning Rakhat Aliyev's case, as a man well known and with connections, affect the political situation in Kazakhstan or Kazakhstan's image abroad?

The war of the present political regime with Rakhat Aliyev has caused great damage, still not fully realized by Astana, to the international image of the country. As for the influence of Rakhat Aliyev on the processes within the country, it has taken place already. The announcements that the ex-Ambassador in the OSCE made last year, the documents he has referred to, the litigation in Vienna - all these events have had an exceptional influence on the speed and substance of the political processes in Kazakhstan.

First, the European court for the first time acknowledged the facts of political prosecutions and physical torture in Kazakhstan. According to the court's decision, a citizen of an independent state of Kazakhstan cannot be handed over to the custody of Kazakhstan's judicial system. That is, the whole juridical system of Kazakhstan was evaluated as unsatisfactory, as well as the political processes in Kazakhstan for the last 17 years of independence.

Second, as a man close to the authorities and a member of the President's family, Aliyev revealed and proved the ugly processes which had taken place in our republic within the political elite. Both the Kazakh and international community were shown the latent pathological processes of the existing state system.

Third, conflict and tension will increase. The judgement in absentia pronounced against Aliyev in our country is like an attempt to cover a cancer tumor with a layer of viridian green. This verdict means that if there were any undercover negotiations between Aliyev and authorities at all, they have ended. As a result, I think we should now expect a real fight.

That is why for society it is very important to know the real state of affairs inside our political elite. I think that the international democratic community will also be interested to know that the existing regime has undertaken no efforts towards a genuine democracy, to find out about authorities' methods for suppressing democratic development, stifling independent thinking and freedom of speech, or in what way politicians are pursued or how pseudo-oppositional parties and NGOs are created to cheat the Kazakh people and international public opinion. On the whole, I am sure all that is currently taking place is useful for the purification of Kazakh society, sobering for the West, and a solid basis for a future international tribunal, which will judge those who have violated human rights and suppressed democracy.

Interviewed by Darya Bryantseva