Almaty. February 2. KazTAG - Pressure on non-governmental organizations undermines the international image of Kazakhstan, said the official representative of the European Union.
"Recently, several well-known human rights non-governmental organizations operating in Kazakhstan began to be exposed to increasingly pressure from the authorities of the country and were fined. As of January 25, the activities of at least three organizations were suspended at least for three months, and, at a minimum, three organizations were fined to large amounts for dubious reasons. Both these types of punishment were imposed on the Kazakhstan International Office for Human Rights and Compliance with the Almaty District Court, "the statement said.
According to the EU, such actions are damaged to the reputation of Kazakhstan.
"The European Union is firmly convinced that the work of these organizations ensures the decisive direct support for the program of reforms of the president and government. Such actions of the authorities of Kazakhstan not only impede this implementation of reforms and limit the important work of NGOs, but also damage to the international reputation of Kazakhstan, "the statement is noted.
At the same time, the EU called on the Kazakhstani authorities to pay attention to this problem.
"Being a firm supporter of the reform process in Kazakhstan, in which all interested parties take part and which is aimed at the further modernization of the country, democracy and stability, the European Union calls on the Government of Kazakhstan to make this issue without delay," the statement is emphasized.
Recall, on November 30, 2020, human rights activists and NGOs of Kazakhstan announced a one-time "attack" by government agencies, in particular, on the part of tax services. The authors of the statement tied the "attack" with political events, in particular, with those who were then prepared for the elections in Majilis. The United States expressed concern about the actions of the authorities, and the leading human rights organization of the world Amnesty International, Front Line Defenders, Human Rights Watch and International Partnership for Human Rights stated that Kazakhstan's government agencies should stop pressure on NGOs and human rights defenders. On January 25, it became known that the tax authorities suspended the work of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and compliance with legality (KMBC) for three months. Director of the Bureau Yevgeny Zhovtis tied the suspension of the work of KMBCP with a negative assessment of the results of elections in Mazhilis, rallies in Belarus and the situation with the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. On January 29, it turned out that the MediaNet International Journalism Center and the Nobel Prize Nominated for the Nobel Prize can also close in Kazakhstan.