Yermukhamet Yertysbayev: Warsaw meeting will dot the i's
At the big meeting Kazakhstan will present national action plan on human rights for 2009-2012.
- Over a thousand representatives of national delegations of 56 members-countries of the OSCE will take part in the next meeting. Other than government agencies, non-governmental organizations operating in the field of democratization and human rights as well as the opposition ones have also been invited for the forum, - Ermukhamet Kabidenovich says. I will deliver a report on the issues relating to freedom of expression and freedom of the media in our country.
- Perhaps there will be an active discussion of the situation of mass media. And more likely Kazakh opposition will not fail to use the opportunity to voice the rating digits of the freedom of press in the world for the period from September 2007 to September 2008, recently published by the Reporters Without Borders where Kazakhstan was standing 125th among 173.
- No doubt that this issue is going to be brought up. Unfortunately, in terms of propaganda and counter-propaganda the performance of government organizations in several directions is still far from being effective. The country has undergone profound market reforms; Kazakhstan was the first CIS country with market economy that was recognized by the United States and the European Union. Currently we have about two thousand media entities, and about 95% are private. Who suppresses them?
On the contrary, we have freedom without limits. Isn't it sabotage against the state when an opposition newspaper undermines a leading bank and calls people to withdraw their deposits, enkindles an agiotage, declaring the inevitability of default? And it was the bank that filed a lawsuit against the publication, not the government.
One can give a lot of examples when a private media entity distorts the real situation and asperses the public authorities. In Warsaw, we are going to have a serious conversation on this subject and dot the i's.
- On the one hand, Western experts speak about the uniqueness of Kazakhstan's policy of ethnic and interfaith relations, on the other hand, many human rights organizations are trying to criticize the country for undemocratic legislation in the sphere of religion. Nevertheless, this is a paradox: if we have no tension in the interfaith field, why should we Western principles which can disrupt the balance?
- That is the question. As you recall, the Constitutional Council did not pass the religion bill: this delicate area requires consideration of even the smallest nuances. Yes, we have achieved very positive results in strengthening interfaith relations, while at the same time one cannot discount the threat of religious extremism in some regions, particularly in the south of Kazakhstan. On the one hand, in this sense, it is important to respect the principle of the Constitution guaranteed freedom of conscience, on the other, to ensure security.
I believe any statement that freedom of conscience is allegedly suppressed in our country should be regarded as an incredible distortion of reality. The OSCE and other authoritative organizations have noted the merits of Kazakhstan in this area. This includes initiatives of the Head of State to convene the Congress of World and Traditional Religions, and peacekeeping missions of Astana. We have something to say about this at the meeting in Warsaw, and in 2010 during the presidency of Kazakhstan in the OSCE.
- As you said representatives of several NGOs of the republic will come to Warsaw for the forum. How would you evaluate the situation regarding the development of non-governmental sector in the country?
- In 2005 at the Civil Forum the President set the task to increase the funding of NGOs in the 2010 up to KZT 1 billion per year. In January 2006, when I became Minister of Culture and Information, the budget provided KZT 60 million for this purpose. Last year, the figure amounted to KZT 806 million, not mentioning funding provided by regional akimats. At present this sum exceeds one billion.
- Many experts believe that Kazakhstan as the OSCE chairman will make a significant contribution to the modernization of the Organization. What, in your opinion, could be the priorities of this work?
- As Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev said, Kazakhstan's presidency at the OSCE is a national strategic plan. That is an accurate definition. We have something to offer Europe and not just take place of chairman. Achievements of Kazakhstan, such as contribution to inter-ethnic and inter-ethnic accord in regional security, nuclear nonproliferation regime, the challenges of energy security and food security are recognized. I believe that Kazakhstan's initiatives in these areas will have a major development in the country during the presidency of the OSCE - an authoritative organization, covering the area from Vancouver to Vladivostok.