Uncategorized
CABAR.asia talked with the esteemed UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Ms Mary Lawlor, to explore potential avenues for safeguarding and upholding human rights in Central Asia. The rapporteur emphasized her people-centred approach, focusing on the most vulnerable defenders. The rapporteur encouraged anyone with reliable information about human rights defenders’ rights violations to contact her office. We discussed the importance of UN mechanisms in protecting human rights and holding governments accountable, despite the challenges of “democratic backsliding” in some countries of the Central Asian region.
Back 2017, Nursultan Nazarbayev endorsed the order on transition of the Kazakh language from the Cyrillic alphabet to the Latin alphabet until 2025. The key reason was the desire to extend the boundaries of the Kazakh language in the world, where information flows are built around the Latin language. The next president, Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev, supported the idea, but postponed the transition until 2031. See the material of CABAR.asia about the relation between the change in the script and the decolonisation. (more…)
On March 19, 2023, it will be four years to the landmark moment in the history of Kazakhstan, when the first and seemingly eternal president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, announced his resignation. What has crucially changed in the political structure of the country after the resignation of the Yelbasy – the leader of the nation? (more…)
Roskomnadzor sends notices to Kazakhstan media demanding to remove content related to the war in Ukraine. Does Roskomnadzor have the right to send demands to the media other than Russian, and can these demands be called the attempt upon the digital sovereignty of Kazakhstan? (more…)
A shocking forecast made for Kazakhstan back in 2018 has come true: the country has entered the phase of man-made disasters because of the wear of public utilities. CABAR.asia together with the honoured power engineer of the Republic of Kazakhstan and author of the Telegram channel “Haırýshev energy”, Zhakyp Hairushev, are figuring out why disasters have become possible and how the country should recover from the crisis. (more…)
Kazakhstan has returned the option to nationals to be elected in single-member districts. 15 candidates, on average, will compete for one mandate. This high competition can “disperse” the votes, according to experts. They also expect the disappointment of voters after the election and do not exclude the possibility of new protests. (more…)
Religious preachers of Kazakhstan use social media actively to expand their audience. (more…)
Over the past few months, police in Tajikistan have detained three bloggers on charges of immorality. Experts suggest this is a way for the authorities to tighten their grip on public opinion. (more…)
Tengrism is called by the media either as a religion or the philosophy of nomads. The number of Tengrian gods is also a ‘variable component’, which changes from article to article. Who are modern Tengrians, what they believe in, and how they differ from their steppe ancestry is explained in the material of CABAR.asia. (more…)
The new, revised law “On the media” made it clear that the fight for freedom of speech is just about to begin in the country.