Kazakhstan's Democratic Forces Forum |
Opposition parties urge not to allow President Nazarbayev to visit Holland November 12, 2002 - Chairman of Republican People Party's Executive Committee Amirzhan Qosanov told RFE/RL today that so-called Kazakhstani Forum of Democratic Forces, uniting several opposition parties and political movements of the country, had sent a special letter to the Dutch Embassy in Almaty, urging Dutch officials not to allow President Nursultan Nazarbayev to visit Holland later this month. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev is scheduled to pay an official visit to Holland soon. According to leaders and activists of the Forum, President Nursultan Nazarbayev has no right to visit any democratic country due to his interior policy, which was described by the authors of the letter as "anti-democratic".
RFE/RL's Kazakh News The following is the text of the letter Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands Your Majesty, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan is due to visit your country late November this year. In this connection we, representatives of the Kazakhstan's democratic public, are writing to urge you to say no to Mr. Nazarbayev's visit. Could a country, where the principles of democracy, human rights and liberties are regarded as supreme values, welcome at the official level the president who has become a symbol of totalitarianism and tyranny across Central Asia? Nursultan Nazarbayev has launched a campaign aimed to physically eliminate the democratic opposition. The authorities have brutally suppressed the dissent in the country. Kazakhstan lacks free and fail elections, democratic principles and procedures have been violated at all levels. The latest in a series of crimes of the regime has become a virtual hunt for prominent publicist and journalist S. Duvanov, in retribution for his criticism of N. Nazarbayev's corrupt practices. In 1997, Duvanov was deprived of the television and radio station. He has been continuously harassed and intimidated. Last year, Nazarbayev's cohorts lodged numerous lawsuits against him. This year, the authorities opened a criminal case against him for the alleged insulting the honor and dignity of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Two months ago, right before S. Duvanov was due to leave the country to attend an OSCE Meeting, he was cruelly beaten by secret services officers in the stairwell of his apartment building. Quite recently, S. Duvanov has been illegally arrested on trumped-up and fabricated charges the day before he was to travel to the United States at the invitation of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All procedural norms have been violated in S. Duvanov's case. The authorities attempt to accuse him of raping an underage girl. It's crystal clear for us, members of the Kazakhstan's democratic public, that this crackdown is N. Nazarbayev's revenge for Sergey Duvanov's critical stories. Having tried all other possible ways to pressure Sergey, the authorities have invented the "raping", which any man of sense in Kazakhstan dismisses as unbelievable. We turn to you with a kind request to help save Sergey Duvanov, an honest and just man, and most consistent critic of Nursultan Nazarbayev. We, the democratic public of Kazakhstan, will warrant him a perfectly honest man! He is the pride of our country! That is why we urge you to cancel N. Nazarbayev's visit to the Netherlands. Your no to Nazarbayev will become a symbol of support for democracy in Kazakhstan! Public Center to Defend Sergey Duvanov Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights Kazakhstan International Foundation to Defend Political Prisoners Public Foundation "Journalists in Trouble" Kazakhstan Forum of Democratic Forces Public Movement "Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan"
November 12, 2002 |
|