Kazakhstan's Democratic Forces Forum

Independent journalists Sergey Duvanov and Tamara Kaleeva together with Chairman of Republican People Party Amirzhan Qosanov held press conference in Almaty today, where they introduced journalists with results of their trip to Warsaw, Poland, where they had taken part in OSCE's Conference called "2002 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting" (September 9-19). The conference will end on Thursday this week. Mr. Qosanov said that he was given a floor at the conference where he introduced the OSCE officials and other participants with the situation faced by independent and opposition mass media and opposition parties and movements in Kazakhstan. Numerous cases of media outlets' closures, attacks against journalists and newspapers offices, arrests and imprisonment of political figures - those were major events taken place in Kazakhstan this year, - said Mr. Qosanov at OSCE conference.

Sergey Duvanov also made a testimony at the conference in Warsaw. Attention to Mr. Duvanov's speech, as he said to journalists, was even more noticeable. Mr. Duvanov came to Warsaw from Almaty hospital, where he was put after he had been heavily beaten by three unknown attackers in front of his apartment on August 28. According to Mr. Duvanov, his beating had been organized by Kazakh officials as retaliation for his articles criticizing President Nazarbayev, his associates and members of his family, he had written earlier this year.

Journalists asked Mr. Duvanov at today's press conference: "Why have not you tried to ask for political asylum in some foreign country?". Mr. Duvanov answered " Kazakhstan is my country, I am going to live and struggle in my homeland. Kazakh officials' main goal was to make me leave Kazkahstan, but that will never happen".

18 Sep 2002