Kazakhstan's Assassinated Democracy. Yerzhan Psy.D. Dosmukhamedov

      

      KAZAKHSTAN’S ASSASSINATED DEMOCRACY

      Yerzhan K. Dosmukhamedov

      Kazakhstan’s Assassinated Democracy describes how the highest levels of government in Kazakhstan are attempting to suppress the country’s genuine democratization, particularly through the case of a political party, Atameken.

      It is based on extensive interviews with Dr. Yerzhan K. Dosmukhamedov, Chairman of the Atameken Party. These interviews and articles — most of which were originally published in Kazakh or Russian — have created quite a public stir in Kazakhstan.

      Dr. Dosmukhamedov analyses problems in building a civic society in the country, key political events, major issues of domestic and foreign policy, and the objective and subjective influences affecting the deep historical process currently underway in the country — nothing less than the transformation of relationships between the state and the person.

      Kazakhstan’s Assassinated Democracy is directed to a broad range of readers, and is intended for anyone interested in the future of Kazakhstan, the development of political parties, and the forces holding back democracy in that country.

      Copyright 2011 Yerzhan Dosmukhamedov,

      All rights reserved.

      Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com

       http://www.eBookIt.com

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0176-8

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

      It is true that you may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all the time.

      Abraham Lincoln

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Yerzhan Kaliyevich Dosmukhamedov was born on 11 November 1968 in Zhambyl, now known as Taraz, Republic of Kazakhstan. In 1992 he graduated with distinction from the Law Faculty of St Petersburg State University, Russia He earned a Master of Law degree from Southern Methodist University Law School and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Oxford University.

      From 1987 to 1989 he served in the military, earning the title of excellent Serviceman of the Border Forces From 1992 to 1997 he worked as senior consultant at the Department for Legislation, Legal expertise and Analysis of the first post-independence Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as Assistant and then Chief of Staff to the Vice-President of Kazakhstan, and as Minister-Counselor and deputy Chief of Mission to Germany.

      From 2000 to 2001, he was a visiting scholar at Yale University From 1999 to 2002, he was a member of the Law Faculty at Oxford University, co-founder of the World Academy for New Thinking initiated by Professor Edward de Bono and Nobel Prize laureate Professor Robert Mandell (2001), President of The Oxford Banking Forum (1999-2002), and Professor and Dean of the Law Faculty at Kazakh-American University (2002-2003).

      From 2003 to 2006 he served as Deputy Director General of the KazMunaiTeniz state petroleum company and an advisor to the President of the National Petroleum Company KazMunaiGaz. During 2005-2007 he was a member of the Council of entrepreneurs under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Co-ordinating Council and Board of the Atameken National Union of entrepreneurs and employers. From April through October 2006, he was an advisor to the president of KazEnergy - Kazakhstan's Association of Oil, Gas and Power Industry Organizations. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Kazakhstan-Canada Association of entrepreneurs, and Founder of the Kenesary Khan International Foundation in the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

      On 27 October 2006, the Founding Convention of Kazakhstan's centre-right political party Atameken elected him Chairman of the Atameken Party.

      Yerzhan Dosmukhamedov is the author of a number of works on political and legal aspects of the post-Communist transition and international relations, including Foreign Direct Investment in Kazakhstan: Politico-Legal Aspects of Post-Communist Transition (New York: Palgrave/Macmillan, 2002).

      FOREWORD

      The development of emerging democracies has been overlooked. One such country is Kazakhstan, the oil-rich Central Asian republic best known for the hit mockumentary comedy movie «Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan».

      Kazakhstan's progress has been held back by its autocratic ruling political elite. While it has been blessed by oil and natural gas resources, the country is riddled with corruption, human rights abuses and a despotic political hierarchy.

      As a journalist and author who is fascinated by the rule of President Nazarbayev, I have come to know one of his most fearless, relentless and indefatigable opponents, Dr Yerzhan Dosmukhamedov.

      Unlike many political activists, Dr Dosmukhamedov understands the power and importance of the media. He almost single-handedly projected the issue of the relationship between Kazakhstan's oligarchs and Prince Andrew onto the front page of The Sunday Times. He exposed the insidious activities of American lobbyists in Washington, D.C.

      While political spin-doctors like Lord Bell are in the pay of dictators like the President of Belarus, it is refreshing to hear old fashioned campaigners call for basic democratic rights.

      This book of interviews is an important reference point for all people interested in a democratic reform not just in Kazakhstan but throughout the Central Asian region.

      Mark Hollingsworth

      INTRODUCTION

      Shall we keep living like this...

      remaining the most pitiful of all

      nations in the world?

      Abai Qunanbaiuly

      Dear Reader,

      This collection includes my essential interviews and some other material published in the mass media after the Founding Convention of the Kazakhstan centre-right political party - the Atameken Party - held on 27 October 2006.

      The four years that have passed since then are a historically short period. However, they were filled with dramatic events, not only for our young party but also for all of Kazakh society.

      A list of just a few of the events that have occurred within the last four years would include the constitutional coup that endorsed the lifelong rule of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan being granted chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in 2010 because of hollow promises the Minister of Foreign Affaires, Marat Tazhin, made to the international democratic community and a storm of revealing printouts cataloguing telephone conversations between top government officials and pseudo-opposition leaders. They made a lot of issues more comprehensible, shed the light of transparency on the government's activities, and confirmed that sooner or later the cat would always be let out of the bag to reveal its true colours.

      In contrast to the fragmented and hand-picked information provided to society through the filter of government censorship, the publications here present a complete and systematic picture of the Atameken Party.

      They will offer you an opportunity to assess both the party's and its leader's position concerning key issues of politics, economy, law and international relations. Some of my interviews were denied publication, while others were printed only after they had been carefully sifted through the filter of censorship, or were presented in a distorted context.

      Censorship and distortion not only