Independent journalists and international human rights organizations are concerned about the future of free-press development in Kazakhstan

Independent journalists and international human rights organizations are concerned about the future of free-press development in Kazakhstan, citing pending media legislation that would effectively give the government the ability to meddle in the operations of news-gathering organizations. A clear majority in Kazakhstan's lower house of parliament, or Mazhilis, passed the media bill on December 25. Free-speech advocates believe the upper house, or Senate, will approve the bill as early as in mid-February. "We have no hope in the Senate, and [only] a very small hope that the president will reconsider and not sign this draft law," said Irina Petrushova, editor of the opposition Assandi Times newspaper. Under the law, the Ministry of Information Affairs would have nearly unlimited powers to suspend a media organization's operations. The law places no restrictions on monopolies, and does little to guarantee journalists' rights. The law vaguely states that journalists have a right to gather information. At the same time, the legislation mandates that media organizations perform certain functions as defined by the Ministry of Information - a requirement that critics fear could be used to deny registration to media outlets that anger the government. Petrushova, one of the bill's most outspoken critics, said the Western reaction to the media bill could play a pivotal role in its future. An outcry against the law by Western government and non-governmental groups could pressure Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev not to sign the restrictive legislation. The Assandi Times has already published two so-called "protest editions" with statements from international organizations such as Reporters Without Borders and the World Association of Newspapers that criticize the draft law. The newspaper plans to release additional special editions in January to draw fresh international attention to the legislation. But, so far, such criticism appears to have had little effect.