New amendments instead of a new law ?
The news that the new ministry is preparing new amendments to the law on the media, that was announced on March 4 at the round table “Legal Framework for Freedom of Speech: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” by Deputy Chairman of the Information Committee of the Ministry of Information and Public Development Mikhail Komissarov shocked many people!
We are sorry to say this, but what about the promises made by Minister Abayev the year before last that after the scandalous amendments of 2017, to start the work on a fundamentally new law? By the way this was said not somewhere on the sidelines, but on the «Khabar TV»: «It is a very long process. It is incredibly difficult process, it requires a lot of work both at the expert level and at the level of government. Also, all NGOs, all media should consider this issue. We are ready to start the next year. But this work cannot be done in one year, unfortunately, I think, it will take two or three years”. https://informburo.kz/novosti/k-razrabotke-novogo-zakona-o-smi-pristupyat-k-2018-godu-abaev.html?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=news&utm_campaign=of ).
What is the worth of written assurances and promises of joint work on a new law that “Adil soz” received from the ministry at the beginning of 2018? How to perceive the last year’s assurances of Bekzat Rakhimov, Director of the Department of State Media Policy of the Ministry of Information and Communications: “What it (the law) is going to be – we are still thinking about it. We have been making a research and now we are on the stage of receiving results. At first it will be interdepartmental discussion, where we decide which version we will present to the general public for discussing. It will be just a new media law, may be the law “On mass media” or the law that combines laws on the media and on television and radio broadcasting. May be it will be codified information law, where several chapters will be devoted to media. Too many options.” (link is available as well)
So the 13 millions tenge of the public funds mentioned by Mr. Rakhimov were spent on the study of domestic and international media legislation for the sake of amendments to the acting law? Will the authorized body introduce right to be forgotten and preventive ban on publications to the law, will it slightly correct the state order notion and the ridiculous article “Fund” and will it dare to fulfil the dreams about the new codified law of the 21st century?
On the 20th February, “Adil soz” while presenting Vadim Boreyko’s publicistic analysis of the researh ordered by the ministry predicted:
“It is planned to use technology that proved effective at adopting amendments to the law on mass media of 2017: loyal to the government scientists (not journalists!) make their proposals, ministry officials choose the ones that are considered appropriate, then the interdepartmental (official) commission eliminate dubious innovations. A final product created in this way is offered to the public. The public boils with indignation, becomes active, goes to the working groups of the Ministry at its own expense. Its proposals are carefully included into the general list of proposed changes. This ledger is passed to the government again, that is, it is cut to pieces and supplemented in the privacy of cabinets of all ministries and departments. The next act is the lower house of parliament with deputies that lose minds becuse of huge number of various bills.
Once again, public activists object, while the official developer of the draft law, the MIC of the RK, that is socially close to the deputies, defends its creation". For last two weeks Ministry of information and communications transformed into Ministry of Iinformation and Public Development, the bill into the amendments proposals, but essence remained the same. Collegues, let's stay alert!
By the way, the director of the Almaty department of the Agency on public service and anti-corruption Daniar Taumurat and the chief of the corruption prevention administration of the same Department Elnar Igilikov participated in the work of the round table. As we notices, they were especially attentive while listening to Vadim Boreiko when he was telling about the details of the tender for the media legislation research and about the results of his analysis of this scientific work.
