Regional Paper Under Pressure
Regional Paper Under Pressure
A popular newspaper in western Kazakstan has accused the local authorities of intimidating printing houses to prevent them printing. Media-watchers say this kind of publishing “blockade” has a negative impact on Kazakstan’s image.
Journalists at Uralskaya Nedelya, the biggest weekly in the Western Kazakstan province, wrote to President Nursultan Nazarbaev on January 26 saying that several publishing houses in various parts of the country have refused to print the newspaper after being subjected to political pressure.
The newspaper’s journalists argue that the reason they are under pressure is that they reported on breaches of land and housing laws and budgeting rules allegedly committed by senior officials in Uralsk city’s administration and in Western Kazakstan province. One of the cases involved a park which was handed over for a private construction project.
Neither the local authorities not the printing houses have commented on the case.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, a United States-based watchdog, has condemned what it calls the “ongoing harassment of a [newspaper] which exposed local government corruption”.
Kazakstan-based media organisations such as Adil Soz (International Public Fund for the Protection of Freedom of Speech) and the Union of Journalists have also spoken up for Uralskaya Nedelya.
Adil Soz’s head Tamara Kaleyeva describes Uralskaya Nedelya’s position as a “publishing blockade”.
“The newspaper got into difficulties when its journalists reported on the illegal distribution of land and low-cost apartments, [as a result of which] some officials had to resign,” she said.
Kaleeva cited previous cases where similar political and bureaucratic pressure was applied to other regional newspapers such as Respublika and Vesti Pavlodara, both of which have oppositionist leanings.
Daur Dosybiev, an independent journalist who has previously managed several media outlets in South Kazakstan province, recalled cases where printing houses have refused to handle a newspaper edition that contained criticism of the authorities. People who own a profitable printing business are averse to taking a financial risk just because of some newspaper, he said.
“There’s a close three-way relationship between printing houses, the independent press and the authorities, and any paper publishing critical material will find itself at a disadvantage,” said Dosybiev.
He warned that ignoring clear breaches of the right to free speech would be short-sighted and damaging to Kazakstan’s reputation.
“There’s always been pressure on freedom of speech in Kazakstan,” he said. “[But they should] realise it is ridiculous to make lofty declarations that democratic institutions are functioning well in Kazakstan, if it’s only for show. That only creates greater scepticism about the authorities, which is something they don’t need.”
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
Journalists at Uralskaya Nedelya, the biggest weekly in the Western Kazakstan province, wrote to President Nursultan Nazarbaev on January 26 saying that several publishing houses in various parts of the country have refused to print the newspaper after being subjected to political pressure.
The newspaper’s journalists argue that the reason they are under pressure is that they reported on breaches of land and housing laws and budgeting rules allegedly committed by senior officials in Uralsk city’s administration and in Western Kazakstan province. One of the cases involved a park which was handed over for a private construction project.
Neither the local authorities not the printing houses have commented on the case.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, a United States-based watchdog, has condemned what it calls the “ongoing harassment of a [newspaper] which exposed local government corruption”.
Kazakstan-based media organisations such as Adil Soz (International Public Fund for the Protection of Freedom of Speech) and the Union of Journalists have also spoken up for Uralskaya Nedelya.
Adil Soz’s head Tamara Kaleyeva describes Uralskaya Nedelya’s position as a “publishing blockade”.
“The newspaper got into difficulties when its journalists reported on the illegal distribution of land and low-cost apartments, [as a result of which] some officials had to resign,” she said.
Kaleeva cited previous cases where similar political and bureaucratic pressure was applied to other regional newspapers such as Respublika and Vesti Pavlodara, both of which have oppositionist leanings.
Daur Dosybiev, an independent journalist who has previously managed several media outlets in South Kazakstan province, recalled cases where printing houses have refused to handle a newspaper edition that contained criticism of the authorities. People who own a profitable printing business are averse to taking a financial risk just because of some newspaper, he said.
“There’s a close three-way relationship between printing houses, the independent press and the authorities, and any paper publishing critical material will find itself at a disadvantage,” said Dosybiev.
He warned that ignoring clear breaches of the right to free speech would be short-sighted and damaging to Kazakstan’s reputation.
“There’s always been pressure on freedom of speech in Kazakstan,” he said. “[But they should] realise it is ridiculous to make lofty declarations that democratic institutions are functioning well in Kazakstan, if it’s only for show. That only creates greater scepticism about the authorities, which is something they don’t need.”
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
