The harsh statements from the ministry are likely an attempt to silence criticism from journalist groups. Although the ministry touts its roundtables and discussions on the draft media law as a positive sign of public discourse, several journalist groups have criticized the version introduced to Parliament. After months of public hearings and discussions around Kazakhstan on the draft media law, ministry officials claim that more than half of the 500 suggestions from journalists have been incorporated into the recent draft.

However, journalists criticized the draft introduced to Parliament Oct. 20, claiming their suggestions were only included in the final draft if they did not change the substance of the law, Interfax reported.

At the hearing, the Ministry of Information released a statement expressing “bewilderment” because it had been systematically excluded from forums about the law organized by the International Foundation for the Protection of Free Speech Adil Soz. The ministry’s statement accused the organization of “misinforming society about the new law, and constructive criticism is replaced by criticism bordering on dilettantism.”

That day, Adil Soz President Tamara Kaleeva told reporters, “This statement is no more than an attempt to discredit our work.” Kaleeva also said the fund had invited the ministry officials to the forums organized by the group.

In addition, she accused the ministry of excluding Adil Soz’s representatives from the group working on the draft law. In a statement released later, she wrote, “Rummage… through the archives [of the ministry]. You will discover in them not only a letter from the Adil Soz foundation with a request to include the lawyers of Fund in a structure of workgroup but also a refusal signed by Vice Minister Ardak Doszhan.”

This statement was published on Adil Soz’s Web site and in the opposition newspaper Ekonomiki. Financi. Rynki., which has been closed three times, reopening each time under a different name. Last year the newspaper’s offices were firebombed.

The newspaper’s editors have received no response from the government regarding this statement, said an Ekonomiki. Financi. Rynki. journalist, who requested to remain anonymous. “Very rarely do we receive any answer from the government. They just ignore us,” the journalist said. The journalist called these attempts at demeaning the press “funny” and “stupid,” and said the criticism of Adil Soz is simply polemical because ministry officials are the ones who have ignored Adil Soz’s events in the past. In addition, the journalist said, those representing journalists’ interests in the group working on the draft law are more dependent on the government than other journalists, and that is why the government chose them.

The only response Adil Soz has received was in the vague form of the Oct. 21 speech from Information Minister Cauytbek Abdrakhmanov, the journalist said. Abdrakhmanov’s speech marked the presentation of the draft law to Parliament. Abdrakhmanov told Parliament the media does not constitute a fourth “estate” or “power” in Kazakhstan, and such an idea is totally unfounded.

“Obviously, the “fourth power” is an image representing the enormous importance of the mass media as an institute of civil society, but it is not a legal concept. … The government is unified—item 3 of the constitution says that the legislative, executive and judicial branches share authority,” he said. Instead of trying to wield power, he said newspapers should represent and voice the views of the population. The journalist pointed to these statements as further attempts to threaten the media and dissuade them from criticizing the government.

The statements have changed Adil Soz’s view of its role. In an interview in September, Kaleeva said the authorities “do not like us—not at all,” but she said the organization had an important role for the state. She called the organization “an example of the development of democracy in Kazakhstan,” and said she had had few problems with the government.

In response to questions about the Information Ministry’s statements, however, Kaleeva compared the situation to the beginning of a war. She said she was not surprised by the ministry’s statements because “it is the usual practice of the ministry—to try by lying and juggling [facts] to discredit their opponent in the public’s opinion.”

Instead of expressing surprise, she noted a shift in the ministry’s tactics. “Until now they were careful, but now they tried and we hit them back in war like in war,” she said. Representatives from various groups have expressed support for Adil Soz and Kaleeva, but do not comment extensively on the new media law. If war was declared with the Minister of Information’s statements, journalists seem to be waiting for the next battle.