Roman Yakovlevsky: “I saw opposition on TV with my own eyes”
ERB: You have just returned from Kazakhstan. Can you bring any parallels? What are the differences and similarities in terms of elections in Belarus and Kazakhstan?
A: “First of all, I could see the local opposition with my own eyes. I mean not the way they show it on the Belarus TV in various propaganda films or KGB shootage. Those were usual opposition-made promotion clips, expensive roundtables and TV debates. There had been discussions on whether debates should be screened live or taped. The government and the opposition had reached a compromise: part of the debates was taped and part was live. My first strong impression was that I could see opposition, something which is impossible here. There were a lot of international observers. I heard of no case when an international observer was denied an entry visa. Different from Belarus, there were two vote methods -- electronic and usual. At the same time, the one-party parliament cannot be described as a positive result.
ERB: You are saying that the opposition did not trust the electronic vote system. What did you personally see? Did people vote using electronic devices or pens and a paper?
They voted in both ways. The most important thing is that they voted freely. Even the press faced no hurdles. I worked with a usual journalist accreditation. I was not even searched. The atmosphere was quite free. Of course, it was controlled by the government.
ERB: What are the parallels between the Belarusian and Kazakh opposition?
From a certain moment, people use the term “Kazakhstan” not “Kazakh” opposition. Why? Ethnic parties are prohibited in Kazakhstan. One cannot say: a Kazakh party or a non-Kazakh party. They draw parallels with the US, where people say: “We are all Americans but with different ethnic backgrounds”. Here is the same story: we are all Kazakhstan citizens; this is our land where many (ethnic groups) were born. By the way, it is interesting that 40 percent of Kazakhs do not speak their native tongue. So, I can draw an analogy with Belarus here. My personal impression is that this one-party vote result (being widely criticized) was absolutely not forecasted. My feeling was that the opposition was supposed to be represented in the parliament. This did not happen due to the high 7-percent barrier. The opposition didn’t end up in the parliament because regional governors were overzealous in terms of math against the plans of the president. We need to remember that reforms in Kazakhstan are orchestrated from the top. Speaking about parallels with Belarus, I will note that different from his Belarusian colleague, the Kazakhstan president agreed to pass part of his powers to the parliament. In Belarus, nothing of the kind can be foreseen under the current authorities. In addition, opposition newspapers in Kazakhstan are freely sold at newsstands. They are printed in Kazakhstan, too.
ERB: What is the quantitative ratio of the opposition and the society? In Belarus, the opposition is small and weak. What does the Kazakhstan opposition look like?
In Kazakhstan, there are five parties that position themselves as opposition. But their opposition has split. The main party is titled the National Social Democratic Party led by the former prosecutor general who found himself in the opposition. But nobody has ever had him handcuffed for his views. There are some talks that he is the government-supported project, created to pose as an artificial opposition. Then the question arises why this party has not landed in the parliament.
ERB: Let’s talk more about the media. How do the local journalists feel?
I did not see that nervousness which is so typical in Belarus. There was no harassment of journalists, including the foreign press. I talked to the colleagues from the local media. Of course, they do have problems, including censorship. But I did not see such a total control and harassment of “dishonest” journalists like in Belarus.
ERB: How strong was the support to pro-government candidates from the state-run media?
That happened. For instance, on the Election Day, Nazarbayev brought the Chinese president who was observing a military exercise in Russia. You may agree that it is somewhat hard to understand why the head of a foreign country visited Kazakhstan on the day of election. The opposition’s claims about the proportion of airtime for the opposition and pro-government candidates are also worth attention. At times, I had an impression that small opposition parties had nothing to say.
ERB: Young intellectuals. We have examples of the European Humanities University and Kolas Lyceum. Is the youth persecuted there?
I am greatly ashamed to note that the situation there is quite the opposite. There is a presidential program titled “Future” which aims to render support to three thousand young educated people annually. The selection is rigid and not clan-related. They are sent to study in the US, Europe. Not in Moscow. I talked to some of them who already returned for instance to work at the foreign ministry. They don’t sound anti-Western, xenophobic or anything like that. They are normal educated young people who understand their national interests. There is no anti-Americanism or tension which is so typical in Belarus. Here, we have the European Humanities University which was expelled because the regime does not need educated people. Another example is that one of the vice prime ministers chairs in Kazakhstan is kept reserved for a graduate of this program. People also study in the other universities. The private Central Asian University is the most popular.
ERB: We have an example of the Youth Front, criminal prosecution for acting on behalf of an unregistered organization. How about Kazakhstan?
I did not hear anything like that there. But this does not mean that there is no crime, no youth problems. Yet, I did not read about anything like that.
ERB: How are elections financed in Kazakhstan?
The budget of candidates and parties is formed in a bit different way. Private capital is allowed to take part. I don’t remember the exact portion. Foreign money is prohibited from electoral campaigns.
ERB: What was the language of promotion campaigns: Russian or Kazakh?
Fifty-fifty. There are some peculiarities. For example, 40 percent of Kazakhs do not speak Kazakh. But they follow the language. When the president came, he first addressed the audience in Kazakh then in Russian. Kazakh is the official state language. Russian is the language for inter-ethnic relations. Their problem is that they lack schoolbooks in Kazakh.
ERB: What did Kazakhs say about their future?
They are very optimistic. Possibly, this is because of what they can see around them every day. We should admit that different from Belarus, Kazakhstan is rich with mineral resources, almost the whole Mendeleev table. They don’t drink and eat their resources. They invest them into education, culture and youth. When young people walk around Astana, you can see that they feel proud. Kazakhstan invests a lot into the Caucasian countries and Ukraine. They want to come to Belarus but face some limitations, including the “golden share”. Kazakhstan attracts a lot of foreign investors. It has very liberal economic laws.
