In our Statement of December 6, 1996, we had asserted our deep uneasiness concerning negative tendencies in these matters. The situation is one of extreme distress, in which the authorities have limited civil rights and freedoms to receive and disseminate information unimpeded. We appealed to the Kazakstani authorities to observe its international legal obligations, assumed by the state when it joined the UN and OSCE.

But recent developments, including the early 1997 increased regulation of TV and radio broadcasts, have effectively limited Kazakstanis’ freedom to obtain and spread information. Furthermore, the deliscensing of such independent TV and radio companies such as M, Totem, Max, and The Family Channel significantly affected the right of Kazak citizens to get diverse and impartial information.

On March 26, 1997, Prosecutor General Shutkin declared that "the closed meetings of some public associations have become more frequent, with discussions of questions of an obviously anti-Constitutional nature." We are perplexed with this assessment given by an official empowered to supervise the rule of law in the country and to protect the constitutional rights and liberties of citizens. Logic of this kind may lead to total political control, not only over the gatherings of public associations, but also over the personal lives of citizens, including discussions in their own flats.

The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakstan bans the "creation and activity of public associations, the goals and actions of which are directed on violently changing the constitutional regime, violating the territorial integrity of the republic, undermining the security of the State, or stirring up social, racial, ethnic, religious, group and tribal discord." Nevertheless, such bans should not be used in order to limit political discussions. It seems that the Prosecutor General’s above statement is inconsistent with the task of exercising supervision over rule of law and observance of human rights and freedoms in Kazakstan.

Instances of this sort have included an April 5, 1997 government order banning a meeting of the Azamat opposition movement, as well as the state persecution of its leader, Pyotr Svoik. In March, law enforcement officers interrupted the proceedings of the opposition coordinating council Republic. The state has repeatedly refused requests from non-governmental organizations to hold meetings, marches, demonstrations, and pickets in different regions of Kazakstan. Recently, a small group of people was arrested in Almaty for conducting an unsanctioned picket; two members of that group were imprisoned.

There have been numerous instances of the use of unlawful methods to carry out investigations; tactics used to such ends have included psychological and physical pressure and falsification of criminal cases. Due to the ineffectiveness of the judiciary system, there have occurred a great number of human rights abuses toward political prisoners, many of whom have been denied the right to a fair trial. Similarly, we are deeply concerned about situation in the investigatory isolation wards and the penitentiaries, where food and drug supplies are woefully inadequate.

State apparatuses have suppressed independent labor movements. Leonid Solomin, a Jewish Kazakstani citizen and President of the Free Trade Union Confederation of Kazakstan, has been harassed and intimidated by the KNB (Kazak KGB) as a result of his leadership in peaceful strikes and sit-ins. His residence was broken into, his co-workers have been interrogated for days at a time, and KNB officers have attempted to undermine his stature by telling union members they had "sold themselves to the Jew Solomin." Solomin is accused of violating a Soviet-era hard currency law, but he is yet to be formally charged. We have appealed to President Nazarbayev and Prosecutor General Shutkin to order the KNB to cease its intimidation campaign against Mr. Solomin.

We are also very concerned about Moslem Uighur refugees who have fled the recent political instability in western China. Though these people qualify as refugees under international law, they are being detained by Kazak authorities. Because of a Kazak-Chinese agreement, the Uighurs may be sent back home, where they fear they will face political reprisals. The Bureau has appealed to the government to accord these people refugee status and stop detaining them as they would common criminals.

We have witnessed infringements of citizens’ social, economic and cultural rights, including failure to receive salaries, pensions, allowances, municipal services, public health services and education. This situation has created conditions for social instability and threatens the democratic development of the state and society.