Outcome of visit to Kazakhstan of the special UN
official concerning freedom of peaceful assemblies and the right for creation
of associations Mayne Kiai, and also situation in itself in two of these
spheres – such is there was a subject of today’s press conference in the press
center of the Kazakhstan international bureau on human rights.
The press conference was opened by the head of the
information and monitoring center of Bureau Sergey Duvanov, a reporter of
Bureau’s program on freedom of peaceful assemblies. He first of all noted that
the issue of the right of citizens for free holding peaceful assemblies was
staticized now because during the period from January 19 to January 27
Kazakhstan was visited by the special rapporteur of the UN concerning freedom
of peaceful assemblies and Mayne Kiai’s associations.
– This person conducted
a number of meetings here, visited a number of the cities, was present at
public hearings on this problem and made the final statement. It is only
preliminary results, the full report it will be ready in March, but even from
the available statement a lot of things are clear, – speaks Sergey
Duvanov.
Route of the special speaker:
Almaty – Aktau and Zhanaozen – Astana
The chairman of public fund “Liberty” Galym
Ageleuov who accompanied the special rapporteur of the UN on his trip to Aktau
and Zhanaozen made a speech at a press conference and participated in final actions
of visit in Astana on January 27.
– Visit of the
special rapporteur of the UN began on January 19 meeting with representatives
of non-governmental organizations in Almaty, – informed Sergey
Duvanov.
Next day Mr. Kiai left to the settlement of Zarechny
for visit in a colony of LA-155/14 of the political prisoner Vladimir Kozlov
condemned in connection with Zhanaozen events of December, 2011. Then there was
a departure to Astana and from there on January 23 – to Aktau and Zhanaozen
where I accompanied Mayne Kiai about what I am going to tell.
In the regional center we had three meetings with
leaders of non-governmental organizations, labor unions and with oil industry
workers of the Ersay and Karazhanbasmunai enterprises. Directly in Zhanaozena
in the first half of day there was a meeting in akimat of the city, and all
second half of day – a meeting with graduates of children’s homes, with
families of the dead on December 16, 2011 and with escaped from execution and
the subsequent arrests by participants of a strike, – he noted .
Political cost of one
film-making day
Human rights defender Galym Ageleuov continues:
– It should be noted
that all wished meet the UN official in principle could make it, anybody on
anybody didn’t render any pressure. The only incident happened in Aktau when it
was noticed that all leaving the building where there took place the meeting,
some people from the parked car photograph and remove on video.
Then Mr. Kiai himself approached this car and demanded
from them explanations, they at first pretended to be that don’t hear, and then
beat on gases and left from a place of events.
However the special speaker managed to write down a
machine number and right there addressed to department of internal affairs,
having demanded to offer an event explanations to a departure from Aktau.
And it is valid when we already left, to the airport
there arrived the deputy chief of Department of internal affairs of
Mangystausky area Dosakhanov who was earlier the chief of the Municipal
Department of Internal Affairs of Zhanaozen of times of events of 2011 in this
connection about it there were very bad responses, and now it again got to an
ugly situation.
This incident says how we differently perceive the
same things in Kazakhstan and experts of the international organizations. For us
special attention of intelligence services to actions and movement of civic
activists – a commonplace.
And on the international standards, commitment which
showed Mayne Kiai, intelligence services shouldn’t be present at all where
there are no violent acts and if they it do, it already violation of freedom of
peaceful assemblies.
New legislation on
meetings and new investigation of Zhanaozen
It is necessary to mention that Mayne Kiai is the
special rapporteur of the UN on issues not only freedoms of peaceful
assemblies, but also freedoms of associations, so the rights of citizens for
creation of political parties and NGO. In this sphere we have the general
kickback and through the legislation, and on the practical level is also
observed, and the special rapporteur of the UN also noted about it and promised
to reflect in the final report.
In the same way with participation of the Kazakhstan
human rights activists investigation of events in Zhanaozen has to be made, no
limitation period can be here. Revision of affairs all condemned on this case
is necessary, it is necessary to release Vladimir Kozlov, Maksat Dosmagambetov
and everybody who else continues to wind the terms received for Zhanaozen spoke
special speaker.
No steps from the
authorities towards liberalization of the mode
Further the head of the information and monitoring
center of Bureau for human rights Sergey DUVANOV made a speech at a press
conference:
– In our Bureau since
2010 monitoring of freedom of peaceful assemblies in the country is carried
out. According to the results of this monitoring we generalize collected facts on
months, quarters and years, and then we publish statistics and conclusions from
them.
And so, the most
general conclusion for all years of this monitoring: situation doesn’t improve
but only improves. There were no steps from the authorities towards
liberalization of the mode in the field of a freedom of assembly and
associations.
In my opinion, the
main outcome of visit to Kazakhstan of the special rapporteur of the UN is that
his assessment (meanwhile is preliminary, but I don’t think that in the final
report it will be different) practically coincided with estimates of domestic
human rights activists.
So it is not only we
so estimate it is because we live within the country and are somehow biased,
but also the UN estimates in a such way – by the way, it is not far from the most
radical in the estimates of the international organization.
Those norms, which
the special rapporteur of the UN compared our reality, are the universally
recognized international standards which our state undertook to observe, but
doesn’t observe. And the reason here that the authorities in power identifying
itself with the state finds in a freedom of assembly and associations threat of
own safety which confuses with the national.
Judging by initially
rigid speech of the special rapporteur of the UN, the final report will be not
less impartial for those who violate the rights of Kazakhstan citizens for
associations and peaceful assemblies from year to year. However there is no
confidence that the authorities this time will follow recommendations of the UN
as everything is up to political choice of the country leaders which just is
deficit.
