Eurasia Insight:
KAZHEGELDIN PREDICTS DIPLOMATIC GAFFE WILL EMBOLDEN KAZAKHSTAN'S OPPOSITION
7/27/01
A EurasiaNet Exclusive Interview

Kazakhstani diplomats provoked outrage in the halls of the US Congress on July 18 by attempting to subpoena Kazakhstan’s leading opposition figure, Akezhan Kazhegeldin, during hearings on human rights conditions in Central Asia. The diplomatic gaffe will embolden the opposition movement, Akezhan Kazhegeldin told EurasiaNet in an exclusive interview.

"It was an unprecedented incident, constituting a clear lack of respect for a country [The United States] that is considered a major donor and strategic partner," Kazhegeldin said in a telephone interview, referring to the subpoena attempt. "We have formed a forum of democratic forces in Central Asia … This incident will strengthen this initiative. The Kazakhstani regime intended to frighten people, but I think it will have the opposite effect."

Kazhegeldin was among a group of Kazakhstani opposition politicians and journalists who traveled to Washington to testify at a US Congressional hearing "Silencing Central Asia: The Voices of Dissent." [See a summary of hearing testimony on EurasiaNet]. The subpoena reportedly demanded that Kazhegeldin, a former Kazakhstani prime minister, return to Kazakhstan to answer questions about corruption and bribery charges leveled against him. Kazakhstani diplomats apologized after some US representatives expressed indignation over the timing and location of the incident.

In a letter to Berik Sadykov, head of the Consulate Office at the Embassy of Kazakhstan to the United States, Kazhegeldin’s legal representatives described the criminal charges as "frivolous" and "motivated to harass and intimidate the Kazakhstan Opposition." Government officials explained that they attempted to serve the subpoena during the congressional hearings because Kazhegeldin’s place of residence is unknown at present. Interior Ministry officials initially issued a summons to Kazhegeldin via mass media on July 12.

According to Kazhegeldin, who insisted he did not see the contents of the subpoena, the July 18 incident is part of an ongoing effort by Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s administration to crush freedom of speech in the Central Asian country. "You don’t need any further proof [of the Kazakhstani government’s intentions] than to see that on the very day in which the situation [in Kazakhstan] concerning human rights and freedom of the press was being reviewed, my rights were violated in front of the very eyes of [US] congressmen."

A report released July 18 by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights criticized the Nazarbayev administration for Soviet-style practices in repressing government opponents. The report also said the government heavily influenced mass media and the judicial system. [For more information see EurasiaNet’s daily digest].

Kazhegeldin vowed to launch a newspaper in the near future that would present the opposition’s point of view. "We want to do all in our power to ensure that the fate [of Kazakhstan] is not dependent on the personality of the person in power," he said. "We want those in power to no longer act outside of constitutional control. We also want to promote fair competition in the political sphere. If there is to be fair competition, then we will need to have a free press, independent courts and a strong parliament."