[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 18, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1086-E1087]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               ASSAULT ON INDEPENDENT MEDIA IN KAZAKHSTAN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARTIN T. MEEHAN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 18, 2002

  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express concern for the fate of an 
independent media in Kazakhstan. On May 21 several unidentified men 
forcibly entered the officers of the Sol-Dat newspaper--one of the few 
remaining independent opposition papers in Kazakhstan. The men severely 
beat two journalists in the office, destroyed and stole equipment and 
told the beaten journalists that this was only a warning. Police who 
arrived on the scene further confiscated equipment and files.
  The very next day, another independent newspaper in Almaty, 
``Delovoye Obrozreniye'' was firebombed.
  What did these newspapers do to deserve this fate? They dared to 
criticize President Nazarbayev. In recent years President Nazarbayev 
has made a concerted effort to shut down his opposition by denying 
dissent voices any means of expression. He has also put political 
opponents in jail and driven others into exile. All this, despite 
repeated assurances to President Bush and the international community 
that he would preserve an independent media and free expression for the 
citizens of Kazakhstan.

[[Page E1087]]

  Mr. Speaker, the importance of Kazakh oil fields to the U.S. cannot 
blind us to President Nazarbayev's ongoing assault against the 
liberties of the men and women of Kazakhstan. I call upon President 
Nazarbayev to live up to his stated commitments to human rights and an 
independent media. And I call on this Administration to press for a 
resumption of a free press and tolerant government in Kazakhstan.

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