Cablegate: Kazakhstan: Mazhilis Hosts "Path to Europe" Conference

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DE RUEHTA #0898/01 1470937
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O 270937Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5481
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE 1609
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0986
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RUEHAST/USOFFICE ALMATY 1547

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000898

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM OSCE KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: MAZHILIS HOSTS "PATH TO EUROPE" CONFERENCE

ASTANA 00000898 001.2 OF 002

1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.

2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On May 21, the Mazhilis (the lower house of
parliament) hosted a conference entitled, "Modern Kazakhstan and the
Path to Europe." The high-profile event, attended by high-ranking
government officials and foreign parliamentary delegations, centered
on Kazakhstan's strategy for strengthening ties with European
countries. Most of the speeches brought no surprises, although
there were a few comments worthy of note. END SUMMARY.

3. (SBU) On May 21, the Mazhilis hosted a conference entitled,
"Modern Kazakhstan and the Path to Europe." The Path to Europe is
the government's strategy for moving the country toward European
standards and establishing closer economic ties with Europe. It was
initiated by President Nazarbayev and adopted last year. The
conference was carried out with much pomp and circumstance in the
main chamber of the Mazhilis and was attended by many high-ranking
government officials and representatives of the Astana diplomatic
corps. There were also several parliamentary delegations from other
countries, including Austria, Greece, Turkey, and Russia. Most
speeches covered familiar ground -- Kazakhstan's political and
economic achievements since independence and its priorities for the
upcoming chairmanship of the OSCE -- although there were several
comments of interest.

MAZHILIS SPEAKER ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

4. (SBU) Mazhilis Speaker Ural Mukhamedzhanov praised the positive
role that open access to information can play in economic
development, especially with the help of the Internet, but he warned
that "such access cannot be limitless. Words lead to action," he
maintained, "and there have been instances where merely exercising
the freedom of speech has had severe political and social
consequences." He congratulated Kazakhstani journalists for
"achieving certain standards" and moving away from "simple libel"
towards "constructive criticism." (NOTE: The Mazhilis recently
approved amendments to Kazakhstan's Internet legislation which
would, if adopted by the Senate in their current form, make all
information-related websites subject to Kazakhstan's media
legislation, including its libel laws. END NOTE.)

"THE FREEWAY TO EUROPE"

5. (SBU) Senate Chairman Kosym-Zhomart Tokayev told the audience
that Kazakhstan's upcoming 2010 OSCE chairmanship is "expanding the
definition of Europe." Through its Path to Europe program, he said,
Kazakhstan is laying "the freeway from Asia to Europe." European
values like the rule of law and respect for human rights are "global
values," asserted Tokayev, and Kazakhstan is striving to meet them,
albeit "in the context of Kazakhstan's political specifics." He
noted Norway's special status with the European Union and said that
this could be a possible model for Kazakhstan.

CIS PARLIAMENTARY REP RAILS AGAINST ODIHR

6. (SBU) One of several foreign guests who spoke at the conference
was Mikhail Krotov, the Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary
Assembly of the CIS Council. Krotov used the opportunity to rail
against what he said were OSCE's "murky rules" on election
observation, which, in his view, lead to the OSCE's "double
standards" in election monitoring. He asserted that the CIS Council
has developed a "clear and transparent" convention on election
monitoring, one that was "successfully used during Russia's recent
Presidential elections." This convention has received the support
of the European Parliamentary Assembly but was not adopted by the
European Council, which, Krotov maintained, was yet another
confirmation of Europe's "double standard." In his view, Kazakhstan
should use its OSCE chairmanship "to bring the OSCE closer to the
CIS" and push for a reconsideration of OSCE's election monitoring
mechanisms.

RUSSIANS NOT AWARE OF CONFERENCE?

7. (SBU) Following the conference, the Dutch and OSCE Ambassadors
stated that they appreciated the CIS parliamentary representative's
"clarity on his position." The Dutch Ambassador added that this was
the first opportunity for the Russian government to publicly state

ASTANA 00000898 002.2 OF 002

its view and that it was likely that "his boss" would try to press
Kazakhstan further on ODHIR's role. (NOTE: Putin visited Astana
the day after the conference ended. END NOTE). Later, the Charge
ran into Russian Ambassador Boncharnikov at Astana Airport and
commented on his absence. Boncharnikov seemed genuinely unaware of
the conference, but did not appear perturbed by that fact.
Commenting on the Path to Europe program, he said with a light tone,
"Ah, but that is not our path."

MILAS

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