[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 7 (Tuesday, February 5, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E74-E75]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


       ALARMING DEVELOPMENTS FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN KAZAKHSTAN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 5, 2002

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, troubling amendments to the 
current Kazakh law on religion await President Nursultan Nazarbayev's 
signature to enter into force. Both the lower and upper houses of the 
Kazakh parliament passed the amendments without any substantive 
modifications. As a result, if President Nazarbayev signs the 
legislation into law during the ten-day window, Kazakhstan would 
seriously undermine its commitments as a participating State in the 
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to ensure 
the freedom of the individual to profess and practice their religion or 
belief.
  Introduced without public consultation in late November 2001, the 
amendments passed the lower house on January 17 and the upper house on 
January 31 of this year. The sudden rush to passage was surprising. 
Kazakhstan had been working with the OSCE Advisory Panel of Experts for 
Freedom of Religion or Belief to craft a law in harmony with its OSCE 
commitments. In fact, an earlier draft heavily criticized by the 
Advisory Panel was withdrawn in August 2001. The Advisory Panel issued 
a report on the latest draft on January 16, 2002, highlighting serious 
deficiencies in the text. However, it appears little heed was given to 
their critique. Reportedly, the executive branch pushed vigorously for 
legislation providing stricter controls on minority religious groups, 
which would explain the rapid consideration.
  In response to these unfolding events, myself, Chairman Ben 
Nighthorse Campbell and six other Commissioners of the Commission on 
Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Helsinki Commission, wrote 
President Nazarbayev last week about these developments. The text of 
that letter which I am submitting for the Record, highlights several, 
but not all problematic elements of the recently passed legislation. Of 
particular note are the increased hurdles for registration and vaguely 
worded articles, which could allow for arbitrary denials of 
registration for religious groups, and consequently their legal 
existence. Accordingly, there is great concern for the future of 
religious freedom in Kazakhstan, whether for Muslims or Christians.
  Mr. Speaker, in the letter we respectfully asked President Nazarbayev 
not to sign the amendments into law.
  Our concerns are not based on mere supposition; related laws and 
regulations have been utilized to suppress faith communities in 
Kazakhstan. For example, this past summer Article 375 of the 
Administrative Code was introduced, requiring the registration of all 
religious groups and including language penalizing unregistered 
religious groups. Police have since justified several raids on 
religious meetings citing Article 375, resulting in harassment and 
imprisonment as well as reported beatings and torture. Actions late 
last year against unregistered Baptist pastors is an illustrative 
example.
  On October 27, 2001, Pastor Asylbek Nurdanov, a Baptist leader in the 
Kyzyl-Orda regional city of Kazalinsk, went to a police station after 
his church was raided for failing to register. Once there, he was 
reportedly severely beaten and stripped, with one officer attempting to 
strangle him with a belt. Another threatened to cut off his tongue with 
scissors if he did not renounce his faith. It was also reported that on 
November 10, Pastor Nurdanov was forcibly taken and detained in a 
psychiatric hospital in Kyzyl-Orda. While he was released on November 
16, such abuse is unacceptable. Other reports of police harassment and 
detention of Baptist pastors who have not registered their faith 
communities also exist. For example, on September 25, 2001, the Aktobe 
public prosecutor initiated legal proceedings against Baptist Pastor 
Vasily Kliver on the charge of ``evading the registration of a 
religious community.'' In October, Baptist pastor Valery Pak was jailed 
in Kyzyl-Orda for five days on the same charge.
  These reports of harassment, torture and detention indicate a serious 
failure to uphold Kazakhstan's human rights commitments as an OSCE 
participating State. As is evident, our concerns about Kazakh 
authorities utilizing the proposed amendment's restrictive nature to 
harass, if not condemn, religious groups are borne out by past practice 
in Kazkahstan. Mr. Speaker, it is my hope that President Nazarbayev 
will honor the obligations his nation freely chose to uphold as a 
participating OSCE state and not sign the amendments into law.
  Mr. Speaker, I request that the text of the letter sent to President 
Nazarbayev last week be included in the Record.

                                                 January 30, 2002.
     His Excellency Nursultan Nazarbayev,
     President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Astana, Kazakhstan.
       Dear President Nazarbayev: We write today to express our 
     concern over the proposed amendments to the Law on Freedom of 
     Religion and Religious Associations. We view the amendments, 
     scheduled for consideration by the Senate on January 31st, as 
     problematic, since they would seriously undermine 
     Kazakhstan's commitments to human rights as a participating 
     State in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
     Europe (OSCE). Therefore, should the Kazakh Senate approve 
     the amendments, we respectfully ask that you not sign them 
     into law.
       The OSCE Advisory Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion 
     and Belief issued a review of the proposed amendments on 
     January 16, 2002. The review found the proposed amendments, 
     while an improvement from an earlier draft withdrawn in 
     August 2001, seriously deficient in many respects. In 
     addition, the OSCE Centre in Almaty has stated the current 
     religion law meets international standards and found no 
     justification for initiating the new provisions. Therefore, 
     we believe the remarks contained in the OSCE Advisory Panel 
     critique should be followed fully.
       Problematic areas include, but are not limited to, 
     permitting the registration of Muslim groups and the building 
     of mosques only after a recommendation of the Spiritual 
     Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan. In addition, the 
     number of individuals required to form a religious 
     association would increase from 10 to 50, regardless of 
     religion. Furthermore, the proposed amendments would permit 
     dissolution of a religious group should individual members of 
     the group commit repeated violations of the law. Each of 
     these examples would allow the government to arbitrarily deny 
     registration, and thereby

[[Page E75]]

     legal existence, on specious legal grounds not in harmony 
     with OSCE commitments.
       Reportedly, your government's justification for the new 
     requirements in the current amendments, which create hurdles 
     for registration, is to combat religious extremism. Yet the 
     definition of ``religious extremism'' in the amendments is 
     vague and inherently problematic, potentially categorizing 
     and prohibiting groups on the basis of their beliefs, rather 
     than on their having committed illegal actions. Such vague 
     language would allow the arbitrary interpretation of a 
     group's beliefs and uneven implementation of the law.
       Our fear of Kazakh authorities harshly employing new 
     requirements against religious groups is not unfounded. While 
     the existing religion law does not require registration of 
     faith communities, Article 375 of the Administrative Code, a 
     provision added last year, requires the registration of faith 
     communities. Since the promulgation of that article, we have 
     received several reports of unregistered groups being 
     penalized through criminal sanctions, as well as individuals 
     being beaten while in custody. The harassment, detention and 
     beating of individuals for merely belonging to unregistered 
     religious groups, as well as disproportionate criminal 
     charges for an administrative violation, are in direct 
     violation of OSCE commitments.
       In calling for these actions, we remind you of the 1991 
     Moscow Document in which the OSCE participating States 
     declared that ``issues relating to human rights, fundamental 
     freedoms, democracy and the rule of law are of international 
     concern'' and ``are matters of direct and legitimate concern 
     to all participating States and do not belong exclusively to 
     the internal affairs of the State concerned.'' It is in this 
     light that these requests are made.
       Last autumn, your government made a wise decision by 
     choosing to honor its OSCE commitments and withdrawing the 
     earlier version of the amendments. Recognizing the crucial 
     importance that the very highest standards of religious 
     freedom and human rights agreed to and proclaimed in various 
     Helsinki documents be upheld, we respectfully urge you to 
     take similar steps and not sign the amendments into law, 
     should they pass the Senate without substantive modification.
           Sincerely,
         Ben Nighthorse Campbell, U.S.S. Chairman, Steny H. Hoyer, 
           M.C., Zach Wamp, M.C., Alcee L. Hastings, M.C., 
           Christopher H. Smith, M.C. Co-Chairman, Joseph R. 
           Pitts, M.C., Robert B. Aderholt, M.C., Louise McIntosh 
           Slaughter, M.C.

           

                          ____________________