Kazak leader on hunger strike
By Stephen Dye
In the last seven years in Kazakhstan, thousands of factories and state-owned enterprises have been closed, and unemployment has reached unprecedented levels. Those who are lucky enough to have a job often don't get paid. Many have to wait for up to a year to receive their miserable wages. The vast majority of the Kazak population now live below the poverty line.
These conditions are behind the recent protests in the mining regions of Karaganda, Kentau and Dzhambul, as well as in the capital, Alma-Ata, and many other regions.
Most of the protest actions have been organised by the Workers Movement of Kazakhstan. Its leader, construction worker Model Ismailov, has become one of the first political victims of the regime.
Last year, Ismailov was detained for "illegally" organising a rally to protest against price rises for housing, gas, electricity and water. He was sentenced to one year's jail, but was set free after a campaign of international solidarity.
Early this year, Ismailov was arrested again and charged with insulting President Nursultan Nazarbayev (last year, Ismailov publicly described the regime as inhuman and undemocratic). Ismailov's trial was held behind closed doors, and he was sentenced to a year in prison.
Last month, Ismailov began a hunger strike and now faces serious health problems. International solidarity is urgently needed to win Ismailov's release and defend the campaigns for democracy and justice in Kazakhstan.
Send letters of protest to the President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, 480067 Kazakhstan, Alma-Ata pl. Respubliki 4; or fax 63 76 33 in Alma-Ata.