Address of Internews Kazakhstan
Internews Kazakhstan
expresses serious concern regarding numerous incidents restricting
the freedom of activity of independent, private mass media in
Kazakhstan.
On March 4, 2002 the
government of Kazakhstan rendered a decision suspending all
broadcasting rights for the television company "TAN" in Almaty city
for six months. The license of the television channel "TAN" has been
suspended on the basis of various violations, such as wrongly tuned
transmitter, incorrect registration of transmitter, violation of
sanitary conditions, etc. The temporary closing order of the station
was signed by the head of a committee within the Ministry of
Transport and Communications.
As early as February,
the Kazakh government recalled broadcasting licenses for violations
of the language law and mass media law in such towns as Pavlodar,
Stepnogorsk, Makinsk and Temirtau (Irbis, STS, Alfa, Channel 43,
Channel 29, and TKT).
In each individual
case, authorities use various arguments and accuse broadcasters of
violating Kazakh legislation. However, journalists and owners of
closed stations, media experts, and oppositional figures of the
country, claim in their speeches that in reality a campaign of
political persecution on media, which to some extent report on
democratic opposition in their information programs, was launched in
the country. In addition, decisions of various bodies are being
officially used for closing stations, including judicial bodies.
From the beginning of
the year, newspapers containing critical articles regarding the
government, have had serious problems. Publishing houses under the
control of the authorities refuse to print newspapers "Respublika
-delovoye obozreniye", "Vremya po - The Globe", "SolDat".
Journalists of
several television companies, closed by the government, urge the
public, parliament of the country, international and media
organizations to protect them from the pressure of the authorities.
Oleg Katsiev
Managing Director
Internews Kazakhstan
E-mail: oleg@internews.kz
Tel: (+ 7 327 2)
508950
Fax: (+ 7 327 2)
508959
58 Nauryzbay Batyr
Street, 1st Fl.
Almaty 480091,
Kazakhstan
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