STATEMENT
of the NGO Coalition “Kazakhstan – OSCE 2010”
ON TOLERANCE IN the Republic of Kazakhstan
The Kazakhstani NGO Coalition “Kazakhstan – OSCE 2010” welcomes and supports the inclusion of tolerance in the motto of Kazakhstan’s Chairmanship of the OSCE. Introducing the term “tolerance” into high-level political vocabulary indicates that the country presiding in the OSCE fully acknowledges how wide, deep and comprehensive this concept is.
The Declaration of Principles on Tolerance proclaimed on November 16, 1995 at the twenty-eighth session of the UNESCO General Conference defines tolerance as “respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. It is fostered by knowledge, openness, communication, and freedom of thought, conscience and belief. Tolerance is harmony in difference. It is not only a moral duty, it is also a political and legal requirement. Tolerance, the virtue that makes peace possible, contributes to the replacement of the culture of war by a culture of peace.”
Enshrined and developed in the UN Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace (1999), the Declaration against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (2001), the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity and its Action Plan (2001), and other UN documents, as well as in the OSCE commitments (Helsinki 1975, Madrid 1983, Vienna 1989, Copenhagen 1990, Paris 1990, Moscow 1991, Budapest 1994, Istanbul 1999, and Bucharest 2001, the Decisions of the OSCE Ministerial Council No. 5, No. 6 and others), the political notion of tolerance includes the rule of law, democratic principles and respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms, such as the freedom of faith and beliefs, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, etc.
Guided by the internationally accepted idea of tolerance, the Coalition is seriously dismayed with a growing trend of senior Kazakhstani public officials and government bodies expressing and directly encouraging ideological, political and religious intolerance. We see such trends in various statements, calls, regulatory and legal acts, the application of the law, and internal political practices.
Ideological intolerance is being expressed through the imposition of limitations on freedom of speech, increasing pressure on the independent media and journalists, and THE strengthening of limitations on freedom of association, assembly, meetings and demonstrations. (See the thematic statements of the Coalition on these issues for details.)
The main indicator of increasing political intolerance is the limitations being placed on political pluralism, i.e. the institution of unjustifiably difficult conditions for establishing and registering political parties, refusals to register parties, the provision of benefits to certain political parties for participating in the elections, irregularities in the area of fair and transparent elections, etc (See the relevant statements of the Coalition for details.) The most convincing result of all these restrictions is that the Parliament is completely dominated by one party.
Religious intolerance is illustrated by a number of events that took place during the first three months of 2010.
Regulatory and legal acts
On March 1, Kazakhstan introduced new visa regulations approved through a joint order by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior. Under these regulations, a new type of a visa – a missionary’s visa – was introduced. This visa may be issued “based on an invitation of a religious association registered in the Republic of Kazakhstan and coordinated with the relevant authority on religious associations.” Such visas can be single-entry, double-entry, triple-entry, and multi-entry, and are not subject to renewal.
On March 9, 2010, the Government adopted Resolution No. 183, “On Approving the Regulations for Granting, Renewing, Depriving of, and Terminating Refugee Status.” According to subpara. 5, para. 14 of the Regulations, regional offices of the relevant authority have the right to deprive a person of refuge status “if this person was convicted for involvement in the activities of terrorist, extremist, and prohibited religious organizations.”
On December 14, 2009, the Government adopted Resolution, No. 2102, whereby it approved standards for registering and issuing residence permits to foreign nationals and stateless persons in the Republic of Kazakhstan. According to these standards, a person may be refused a residence permit, or their residence permit may be annulled, if these are “persons inciting inter-state, inter-ethnic and religious conflict” or “persons who were previously convicted for terrorist activities, serious and very serious offenses.”
Encouraging intolerance
Meeting in Almaty on March 11, the expert council under the Security Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan discussed the situation in the country, and the “negative” activities of “some religious organizations.”
“Organizational” and “propagandist” groups supervised by the Committee on Religious Affairs conducted a series of panel discussions, scientific and practical conferences, interactive lessons and lectures in educational facilities in Aktau, Almaty, Astana, Kokshetau, Uralsk and throughout West Kazakhstan and Pavlodar provinces. The following were the topics of these events: “On Counteracting Totalitarian Sects and Extremist Organizations,” “Prevention and Suppression of Religious Extremism,” “Ways and Methods of Strengthening the War on Totalitarian and Destructive Sects,” “The Role and Meaning of Traditional Religions in Spiritual and Moral Upbringing of People,” etc. The meetings were attended by officials of the regional offices of the Ministries of Education, Interior and Justice, the National Security Committee, Centres for Helping Victims of Destructive and Totalitarian Sects, teachers, students, priests belonging to “traditional” religions, journalists, representatives of the People’s Assembly of Kazakhstan, and the Nur Otan Party.
National newspapers supported by the state and its allies (Megapolis, Express-K, Yuridicheskaya Gazeta and others) published a number of interviews and articles with titles such as: Cult Followers See Only One Star in the Sky, Will God Judge Them, How Much is the Faith, Sects Try to Enthrall the Consciousness of More and More People, etc. These articles cover the activities of “destructive religious cults” and “sects,” and convey concepts such as that “religious sects and movements pose a threat to society, undermine peace and calm, and try to destabilize the situation in the country; they should be controlled by the National Security Committee.” The targets of these attacks are the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who operate legally in the country, Baptists, Methodists, Adventists, Evangelicals, Hare Krishna followers, Scientologists, etc.
In March, a textbook was published on Religion Studies for use in an elective course in high schools. The textbook attempts to contrast “traditional” religions (Islam and Russian Orthodox Christianity) with “non-traditional” religious denominations and movements, warning students against the “deleterious effect of destructive totalitarian cults.”
Established with the help of the state and financed from the state and local budgets, an association comprised of eighteen “anti-sect” NGOs has become quite active.
The Kazakhstani NGO Coalition “Kazakhstan – OSCE 2010” is dismayed by the fact that limitations on ideological, political and religious diversity are justified by the concepts of national security and the war on terror and extremism, and that such state institutions as the National Security Committee, prosecutor’s offices and the police are playing leading roles in manifesting intolerance in Kazakhstan.
The Coalition urges the political authorities of Kazakhstan to abide unflinchingly by internationally accepted principle stating that the state’s obligation to protect its citizens from terrorism does not justify limitations on the freedom of faith and beliefs, association, assembly, speech and other human rights.
The Coalition urges political leaders, who bear a moral obligation and social responsibility to act against hate crimes, to avoid making intolerant statements that may provoke prejudice, hatred, or violence against persons or groups based on race, ethnicity, faith, belief, sexual orientation, or disability.
Recognizing freedom of speech as the most important precondition of democratic development in society, the Coalition urges the media to assume political, social, public and ethical responsibility for preventing discriminatory and inciting public statements.
In his address during the first OSCE Meeting on Facilitation of Intercultural, Inter-religious and Interethnic Understanding on June 12, 2006 in Almaty, the President of Kazakhstan said that: “For us, the principle of tolerance is not simply a norm of our political culture, but also one of the key principles of our state.”
The Coalition calls on the OSCE Chairman-in-Office to employ the possibilities of this international organization to help the Republic of Kazakhstan implement this key principle in practice.