Читать книгу Kazakhstan's Assassinated Democracy - Yerzhan Psy.D. Dosmukhamedov - Страница 9

Radio "Liberty" (USA)

8 January 2009

Dr. Yerzhan Dosmukhamedov, an exiled leader of the Kazakh opposition, says that the Kazakh government has allocated a special budget to bribe international observers visiting Kazakhstan to attend the frequent elections.

The presidential stay in London was paid for by Kazakhmys

Dr. Dosmukhamedov, our interview is now taking place in the Prague office of Radio Liberty. What brought you to the Czech Republic? And have you achieved your planned aims?

The last year was a leap year. Some people therefore say that it should have been an uneasy one. I have to admit, though, that after having looked back it was - on the contrary - very successful and fruitful. We have made a major breakthrough in having people understand the continuing under-the-radar process in Kazakhstan, in the West, among politicians, journalists. especially in the United States and Britain.

As a result of this breakthrough Kazakhstan was mentioned - in terms of democratization - by the press no less than Russia last year. This is a major plus. even in Britain, where the Kazakh regime has the strongest lobby, like Lakshmi Mittal, William Hague and other influential individuals. I won't predict forthcoming events, but I assume that there will be new material, which inevitably will be published at the end of the ongoing journalistic investigations.

These investigations are currently being conducted on [Timur] Kulibayev's money, some London-listed Kazakh companies like Kazakhmys, and even the recent visits by President Nazarbayev to London, where he stayed at a most luxurious hotel.

For example, it was discovered that Kazakhmys, which is a public and London Stock exchange-listed corporate entity, paid £70,000 for one of the presidential stays in an expensive hotel.

I cannot tell you about all the details and nuances of the journalistic investigations, which are being conducted by a large group of reporters. I think, however, that this year is likely to be even more successful. I believe that I have achieved all the planned objectives here.

I had meetings with leading Czech politicians and leaders of the opposition movement in other former Soviet republics. We presently take part in developing a united co-ordinating structure in order to combine our potential and resources, making them more focussed on work with Western governments and NGOs.

This is a part of the result achieved during my visit to Helsinki, where I had my initial meetings with the opposition leaders of the post-Soviet democratic movements I just mentioned. After the Czech Republic I plan to visit Sweden, where we also have good working relations with Swedish politicians. Gradual step-by-step work cannot be completed overnight.

We try to put it on a systematic basis, and naturally we will continue working until the Kazakh presidential Administration of Nazarbayev registers our Atameken Party, and until it provides me and my friends with guarantees of personal safety to enable us to return to Kazakhstan to exercise our constitutional freedom to be politically active. This work will continue until the government ceases its persecution and intimidation of members of our party, and until the Kazakh government fulfills all the promises it made in Madrid back in November 2007. I emphasise that I mean the genuine - not cosmetic - fulfilment of those Madrid promises.

Kazakhstan is a country where people are afraid, and the press is completely intimidated

Dr. Dosmukhamedov, since 1 January 2009 Kazakhstan has joined the troika of countries presiding over the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. In the mutual opinion of Kazakh and international human-rights NGOs and the Kazakh opposition, today the first issue is the reform of legislation on the media, political parties and elections. Ak Orda [the presidential palace], however, still has not fulfilled its promises announced in Madrid back in 2007 and, it seems, is unlikely to fulfill them. Do you have anything to say about this?

I fully agree with the opinion of international experts and independent journalists. I believe that Kazakh authorities must fulfill all the promises made in Madrid. And those cosmetic changes that the Kazakh authorities introduced in those laws are aimed at fooling international public opinion. It won't do. It's definitely not enough.

These methods may work in Kazakhstan where the whole country lives in fear, and the press is simply intimidated and its tongue was torn out a long time ago. Look what is happening right now with the editor-in-chief of the Alma-Ata Info newspaper, Ramazan Yesergepov. He is being subjected to torture. His constitutional and human rights are being infringed by the authorities - a man who suffers a serious chronic cardiovascular disease is being subjected to physical and mental torture.

To sum up, I am convinced that these cosmetic changes will not work for free Western public opinion.

Thus I have been undertaking a new tour of leading European democracies since the beginning of this year. I have already visited Norway. Here in Prague I met with Czech politicians. I was received by the Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Vondra. He is in charge of European affairs and former ambassador to the United States. He is a man who has a good reputation in the West. I briefed him on the current state of affairs in Kazakhstan. I think that he - as a man who was brought up during Soviet times - understands all the tricks of official Kazakh propaganda. I believe that he realizes very well what is essential and what is secondary.

For those politicians in the West who are not willing to understand, we will remind them about their duties and help them to understand. Because, thank God, we are not alone here. There are incorruptible government services, international organizations, and a genuinely free press. We will continue working in this direction.

Ak Orda hires international adventurers for big money

Dr Dosmukhamedov, through the well-known statement by Rakhat Aliyev the world learnt about the rather significant amount of money - millions of dollars - that was ostensibly paid by Astana to [Alexander] Mirtchev for his services, including those of a delicate nature. How successful was this Mirtchev in carrying out the assignments of Ak Orda to justify such big payments?

I think that this question should be better addressed to Ak Orda. I never had the honour of meeting Mr. Mirtchev. I have to note, however, that the money paid is the people's money.

This is not money earned by honest labour or by the brains of Ak Orda. This is all our money - of ordinary Kazakh citizens. The most unfortunate part of the story is that this money is paid to people who have no moral values and who spit on millions of humble people who made them, millions of wrecked fates. This money is the lost opportunity of the future generations of the Kazakh people.

It is a pity that $40 million was used by the corrupt regime to perpetuate its petty existence and survival. It is sad that the ruling regime has such a petty mentality that it does not invest the money in educating millions of young Kazakhs in leading international universities. It is a pity that the regime is not investing this money in outdated and filthy orphanages, houses for handicapped people or maternity houses to modernize them - and prevent Kazakh mothers from losing their newborn babies. Instead, the regime uses this money to buy unethical people - in essence, international adventurers who hold American and British passports and exploit their country's institutions and the potential of democratic society for the extermination of the green shoots of emerging democracy, democratic institutions and civil society in the newly independent countries.

I think that this is a major crime. It is also a moral crime. Our Atameken Party exerts its utmost efforts to draw the attention of U.S. and British politicians and the press to this problem.

I am convinced that there should be a strict system of controlling individuals like Alexander Mirtchev. even though they are holders of American or British citizenship.

I am glad that the law-enforcement agencies and press of democratic countries paid very serious attention to Alexander Mirtchev.

This will be a major lesson for similar adventurers trying to make money out of the blood of ordinary Kazakhs, Turkmens or Uzbeks. This should be brought to an end.

Another aspect of this issue, I suspect, is that the current Kazakh ruling regime has already learnt the system of democratic nations very well. It has kept its embassies there for the last 15 years or more. They did not waste all that time, as we can see - in the negative sense of the word, of course.

Instead of implementing the positive experiences and achievements of Western democracies in Kazakhstan, they use them to fool the people and the public opinion of the Western countries.

They even managed to bribe the international observers who come to Kazakhstan. I know that before any election the embassies receive instructions to bribe international observers heading towards Kazakhstan, and are given a special budget for this purpose.

There are gifts and invitations to various lunches and dinners. One of the main focusses of our party's activity in the West is to work closely with Western NGOs to identify corrupt Western politicians and civil servants who, to put it mildly, allow themselves to be bought in order to become future informal agents of influence of such anti-democratic and inhumane regimes as, for example, the Kazakhstani one.

The final item of my itinerary for visiting the Czech Republic is meeting you - journalists of, I would say, the most independent radio station, Radio Liberty. I hope that thanks to your platform our voice - which is being silenced and isolated by the Kazakh authorities - will nevertheless be heard in Kazakhstan. Thank you very much for that.

We thank you, Dr Dosmukhamedov, for this interview.

Interviewed by Sultan-Han Akkuuly