Clear Breach of Freedom of Expression

The World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum call on the President of Kazakhstan to ensure that Respublika is permitted to publish

His Excellency Nursultan Nazarbayev
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Office of the President
11 Mira Street
473000 Astana
Kazakhstan

11 May 2005

Your Excellency,

We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 100 countries, to condemn the closure of Respublika newspaper.

According to reports, the Ministry of Information, Culture and Sport ordered the closure of Respublika, the most popular opposition weekly, on 5 May. The ministry claims that the order was based on a court ruling against Bastau, the company which owns Respublika, for allegedly inciting ethnic hatred by publishing an interview with a Russian politician that had originally been broadcast on Moscow radio. Respublika plans to appeal against the order.

We are seriously concerned that the closure of Respublika by the ministry is part of a wider government campaign to intimidate or silence all critical media.

Since its founding in 2000, Respublika has been dogged by lawsuits from various government agencies and its office and reporters have suffered numerous threats and attacks, including a firebombing. Editor-in-chief Irina Petrushova has been living in self-imposed exile in Russia since 2002, when threats against her life and her newspaper led her to flee Kazakhstan.

We are concerned that the closure of Respublika is the latest sign of an even harsher crackdown against dissent in the lead up to the presidential election. It comes shortly after legislation outlawing public protests at election time, which has been seen as an attempt to prevent any repeat of uprisings in Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Georgia. Parliament is also considering changes to national security laws that increase government scrutiny over media organisations, non-governmental organisations and religious groups.

We respectfully remind you that the closure of Respublika constitutes a clear breach of the right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by numerous international conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 19 of the Declaration states:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media, regardless of frontiers."

We respectfully call on you to do everything possible to ensure that Respublika is permitted to publish free from interference and urge you to take all necessary steps to ensure that in future your country fully respects international standards of freedom of expression.

We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Gavin O’Reilly
Acting President
World Association of Newspapers

George Brock
President
World Editors Forum