Sunday 9.12 at 4pm at New Arkadia: Kazakhstan as viewed by observer-journalists and representatives of the civil society

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Dear friend of Arkadia,

You are invited to a meeting with representatives of the civil society in Kazakhstan as well as with observer-journalists
who visited Kazakhstan in November 2012 on Sunday 9.12 at 4pm at New Akadia (Nervanderinkatu 11)

Igor Vinyavskiy, Aliya Turusbekova, Kukka Ranta
and Lyudmyla Kozlovska among others will present their views on the
situation in Kazakhstan .The talk is organised and chaired by journalist Oksana Chelysheva.

The meeting will be in English and Russian.

All are welcome to participate and are encouraged to voice their opinions.

Welcome.

Warm regards,

Ian
www.arkadiabookshop.fi

Entrance is free and green tea will be offered. A donation of €2 (or more!) to fund the event is suggested and would be most welcome.

The participants will include

1. Igor Vinyavskiy, the editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper ‘Vzglyad’ (‘The View’), released from custody thanks to international solidarity, in particular, to the resolution of the European Parliament;
2. Aliya Turusbekova, the wife of the opposition leader, Vladimir Kozlov, who was sentenced to 7.5 years’ imprisonment;
3. Oksana Chelysheva, a delegate of the group of international journalists – observers of the situation around human rights and the freedom of speech in Kazakhstan;
4. Kukka Ranta, a delegate of the group of international journalists – observers of the situation around human rights and the freedom of speech in Kazakhstan;
5. Lyudmyla Kozlovska, a representative of the Open Dialog Foundation, who deals with the issues pertaining to the monitoring of human rights and freedom of speech in Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Russia.

Oksana Chelysheva

Kazakhstan
is Finland’s strategic partner in Central Asia: approximately 40 Finnish companies operate in Kazakhstan in the field of telecommunications, mining, energy and wood construction. The Kazakh partners are interested in the Finnish experience in
innovation, mechanical engineering as well as in chemical and metallurgical industry. Despite the fact that Kazakhstan chaired the
OSCE in 2010, and currently is a member of the UN Council on Human Rights, acts of oppression against the opposition
organisations, labour union movements and independent media outlets are carried out on wide scale throughout the country.

On the 22nd of November, 2012, the European Parliament approved the report of the Rapporteur of the Social Democratic Party Liisa Jaakonsaari containing recommendations for negotiations on the agreement on an enhanced partnership and cooperation between the EU and Kazakhstan for the Council of Europe, the European Commission and the European External Action Service. The report lays down that a closer cooperation between the EU and Kazakhstan will only be possible if the Kazakh party takes major efforts to improve the situation around democracy, human rights, and if it guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of association. The
European Parliament expressed its deep concern over the lawsuit, which had been filed by the General Prosecutor of Kazakhstan, concerning the ban of opposition parties and the media outlets in Kazakhstan.

However, the oppression of journalists and civil society activists in Kazakhstan has not stopped. The journalists who visited Kazakhstan will share their impressions about the meetings held, and our guests from Kazakhstan will present the current socio-political situation
in Kazakhstan and explain why they seek support in Europe, and, in particular, in Finland.