Freedom in the World 2001 - Kazakhstan

2001 Scores

Status: Not Free
Freedom Rating: 5.5
Civil Liberties: 5
Political Rights: 6

Trend Arrow ↓

Kazakhstan received a downward trend arrow due to further expansion of President Nazarbayev's powers and an increasing crackdown on the country's media.

Overview

As part of a growing trend towards authoritarianism throughout Central Asia, Kazakhstan's parliament overwhelmingly voted to grant President Nursultan Nazarbayev lifelong powers and privileges in June 2000. The legislation, which would increase Nazarbayev's already extensive executive powers, would provide the president with access to key government officials, influence over domestic and foreign policy, and immunity from criminal prosecution. Critics of the move charge that the decision may be a first step to Nazarbayev's formally being named president for life.

This sparsely populated, multiethnic land stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Chinese border was gradually conquered by Russia from the 1730s to the 1840s. The abolition of serfdom in Russia encouraged the migration of large numbers of peasants to Kazakhstan during the second half of the nineteenth century. After a brief attempt at independence in 1917 in the wake of the Russian Revolution, Kazakhstan became an autonomous Soviet republic in 1920 and a union republic in 1936.

Former first secretary of the Communist Party Nursultan Nazarbayev was elected president on December 1, 1991, just two weeks before Kazakhstan declared independence from the U.S.S.R. The country's first national legislative elections, in March 1994, were invalidated by the constitutional court a year later because of numerous irregularities. Nazarbayev subsequently dissolved parliament and called for a referendum on April 29, 1995, in which a reported 95 percent of voters supported the extension of his term until December 2000. An additional referendum in August, which was boycotted by the main opposition parties, approved a new constitution strengthening the powers of the presidency. In December 1995 elections to a new bicameral parliament, Nazarbayev's People's Union of Kazakhstan Unity and its supporters captured most of the seats in the legislature. In December 1997, the country's capital was moved from Almaty to Astana, which had been known as Aqmola until May 1998.

In October 1998, parliament approved Nazarbayev's call for presidential elections to be held in January 1999, almost two years before their scheduled date, as well as an amendment to the constitution extending the presidential term of office from five to seven years. The key challenger, former Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin, was banned from competing on a legal technicality, while two other candidates were known as supporters of the incumbent. Nazarbayev was reelected over his three challengers with a reported 80 percent of the vote. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitored the elections, refused to recognize the results which it said fell "far short" of being democratic. Nazarbayev's challengers complained of harassment by local authorities, not having equal access to the media, and burdensome registration procedures.

In the September and October 1999 parliamentary vote, which was the first multiparty election in Kazakhstan's history, 33 candidates competed for the 16 seats becoming vacant in the 39-seat upper house (senate), while more than 500 candidates from ten parties vied for the 77 seats of the parliament's lower house (Majlis). As expected, Otan, the newly formed party loyal to Nazarbayev, won the single largest number of seats in the Majlis. Despite some improvement since the controversial presidential ballot in January, the parliamentary poll remained deeply flawed. The OSCE noted the obstruction and intimidation of opposition candidates, as well as the lack of independent election commissions.

On June 27, 2000, Kazakhstan's parliament overwhelmingly approved a law giving President Nazarbayev lifetime privileges after the end of his second term in office in 2006. Proposed by the pro-Nazarbayev Civilian Party, which includes some of the country's most influential industrialists, the law provides Nazarbayev with formal access to key government officials to advise them on domestic and foreign policy matters, as well as a permanent place on the Security Council. While some analysts have concluded that the law may lead to Nazarbayev's formally becoming president for life, others speculate that he would be content to continue running state affairs behind the scenes after he officially steps down from office.

In July, the multinational Offshore Kazakhstan International Operating Company (OKIOC) announced that test drilling conducted off the Caspian shelf had confirmed the discovery of oil in the East Kashagan field. While Nazarbayev claimed that the deposit would prove to be one of the world's largest, Western oil companies and industry experts remained more cautious in their assessment, concluding only that they were encouraged by initial results. A significant discovery of oil would be critical to the eventual success of the proposed Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, which is backed by Western governments and investors. However, early optimism is tempered by ongoing questions regarding the feasibility of various export route options, concerns about the impact of energy development on the environment, and recent allegations that Western oil firms bribed senior Kazakhstan government officials.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Citizens of Kazakhstan cannot change their government democratically. The constitution grants the president considerable control over the bicameral legislature, the judiciary, and local governments. President Nazarbayev continues to enjoy sweeping executive powers and rules virtually unchallenged. Opposition parties have complained of harassment, surveillance, denial of access to the state-run media, and arbitrary banning from registering candidates. In March 2000, unknown assailants walled in the apartments of three opposition activists in advance of a protest meeting in which they were scheduled to take part.

While the constitution provides for freedom of the press, the government has repeatedly harassed or shut down many independent media outlets. The press is not permitted to criticize the president and his family, and self-censorship on other issues is widespread. The government controls or otherwise influences most newspapers and printing, distribution, and broadcast transmission facilities. Nazarbayev's eldest daughter, Dariga, controls several of the country's television companies, radio stations, and newspapers. Under a November 1999 government decision, all Internet service providers must route their lines through a new state registration system, allowing the state to establish control over the country's access to the Internet. During 2000, several newspapers were forced to close or had politically-motivated libel charges brought against them. In May, the Committee to Protect Journalists named Nazarbayev to its annual ten worst enemies of the press list.

The constitution guarantees freedom of worship, although the government sometimes harasses certain non-traditional Islamic and Christian groups. Religious organizations must register with the ministry of justice to receive legal status, without which they cannot engage in legal transactions, including buying or renting property or hiring employees. Religious organizations that have encountered difficulties during registration include Jehovah's Witnesses and some Protestant sects, as well as certain Muslim and Orthodox groups.

The government continued to discriminate in favor of ethnic Kazakhs in government employment, where Kazakhs predominate, as well as in education and housing. The 1999 Kazakhstani census revealed that, for the first time in decades, recent emigration by Russians had resulted in ethnic Kazakhs constituting more than half of the country's population. In November 1999, a group of 22 people, including 12 Russian citizens, was arrested in the East Kazakhstan capital of Ust-Kamenogorsk on suspicion of preparing a separatist uprising with the aim of establishing an independent Russian republic in the northeastern part of Kazakhstan. Fourteen members of the group were found guilty in June 2000 and sentenced to up to 18 years in prison, although their terms were reduced the following month.

Freedom of association is hindered by complicated requirements that restrict the right to hold political gatherings. The government has cited minor infractions of the law to arrest and detain government opponents arbitrarily. Although the law gives workers the right to form and join trade unions, it does not provide independent union members with legal recourse from threats and harassment by enterprise management or state-run unions. Members of independent unions have been dismissed, transferred to lower-paying jobs, and threatened.

The constitution significantly constrains the independence of the judiciary, which is subservient to the executive branch. Judges are subject to bribery and political bias, and corruption is evident throughout the judicial system. Police frequently abuse detainees during arrest and interrogation. During 2000, inmates in three separate prisons engaged in mass self-mutilations to protest appalling conditions, including severe overcrowding and inadequate food and medical care.

While the rights of entrepreneurship and private property are legally protected, bureaucratic hurdles and the control of large segments of the economy by clan elites and government officials loyal to Nazarbayev limit equality of opportunity and fair competition. Traditional cultural practices and the country's economic problems limit professional opportunities for women, who are severely underrepresented in higher positions in government and in the leadership of state enterprises.