OSCE Media Freedom Representative welcomes plans for press freedom improvements in Kazakhstan

ALMATY, 21 April 2007 - The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, today welcomed Kazakhstan's Parliament's recent decision to add to its agenda a new draft media law written by four journalists' organizations.

"The initiative is an important step in the right direction, which provides hope for a more liberalized media scene in Kazakhstan," Haraszti said.

Speaking at the Eurasia Media Forum, a yearly gathering of opinion makers from around the world, he called for de-monopolization of broadcasting and decriminalization of the handling of journalistic offences.

"The new Kazakh draft law would be the second in Central Asia, after Kyrgyzstan's recent initiative, to leave the handling of journalists' mistakes entirely for the civil courts," he said. "It would also simplify the current registration system for the print press, even if not fully acknowledging the outlets as civil businesses in no need of a governmental approval."

Haraszti also welcomed a move by Kazakhstan's administration to revoke a recent draft law that proposed licensing for printers.

"This move by Kazakhstan's administration, and the eventual passing of the new media law by Parliament, would put right most of the damage that last year's restrictive amendments did to media regulation," he said.

But the job is not yet done, he added.

"I urge the authorities to continue on the path of these initiatives and vigorously pursue democratization of Kazakhstan's media rules," he said.