Photograph by Flickr user An Untrained Eye (CC-usage).

Radio Azattyq has hosted a round table discussion on Kazakhstan’s human rights organizations, several of which are facing criticism by relatives of political prisoners.  The ensuing discussion revealed much deeper problems that anticipated.

neweurasia‘s Klavdia Razina has been publishing the transcripts of the discussion by Sultan-Khan Akkulyuly and translated into English by neweurasia‘s Andrey Tolstoy.   Here’s a round-up, but we strongly recommend you follow the links and read the full transcripts.

Do Kazakhstan’s human rights organizations suffer from prejudice?  Some think so:

One can cite a number of cases in which human rights organizations have been criticized for failing to notice or simply ignoring blatant instances of human rights violations.

A relative of Ramazan Yesergepov laments the situation for him and others:

I will say right away that the case of Ramazan Yesergepov is an unprecedented and brazen violation of human rights in Kazakhstan. It makes a mockery of expectations that one year prior to assuming chairmanship of the OSCE the government would try to abide by the principles of this prestigious organization.

There is also profound concern about the apathy of Kazakhstan’s citizens toward the fates of their defenders:

The same people as usual were in attendance – Fokina, Turmagambetova, Kaleeva. Human rights activist came from Kyrgyzstan and other countries. Unfortunately, residents of Almaty, who were closest to the site, and for whom we provided buses and automobiles, did not show up. It speaks to the level of intimidation in our society. Obviously, our bureau cannot cover all the bases. With our partners, we number just over forty.

An old veteran of Kazakhstan’s human rights movement wraps it up with this sobering assessment of her community’s efforts [note: this post will be available tomorrow, 21 January]:

The fact that we are defenseless now is our own fault as a nation. [...] Unfortunately, as I have said to [Yevgenii] Zhovtis on many occasions, there is a generational gap between the two groups.  This, I believe, to some extent ruined Kazakhstan’s entire human rights movement. We had a good, strong start. If we had tried harder, motivated one another more, we would have marched as one family and, perhaps, avoided what we have in this country right now. But our opinion has ceased to matter. Even if we weren’t feared, we would at least be listened to.

And don’t forget to check out neweurasia‘s ongoing coverage of the Zhovtis trial.

A final comment

Meanwhile, neweurasia‘s Adam Kesher has published a round-up exploring the complex matrix of patriotism and democracy in Kazakhstan and its paradoxical results:

The level of patriotism in the society keeps on provoking interest of various parties. The nationalist circles complain on prevalence of the Russian language in the media and official business. The authorities earnestly try to inculcate patriotism using controversial methods and approaches. However, the outcome of these and other initiatives is hardly visible.