Journalists Call on Kazakh Parliament to Reject Proposed Media Law

The Congress of Journalists of Kazakhstan has urged members of Parliament to reject a proposed bill on the media, and to keep the existing one in place with amendments. The appeal was made at the conclusion of the third Annual Congress of Journalists of Kazakhstan held in Atyrau, western Kazakhstan, on February 20.

WASHINGTON (PRWEB) February 24, 2004 --The Congress of Journalists of Kazakhstan has urged members of Parliament to reject a proposed bill on the media, and to keep the existing one in place with amendments.

The appeal was made at the conclusion of the third Annual Congress of Journalists of Kazakhstan held in Atyrau, western Kazakhstan, on February 20.

The Congress' final resolution said journalists played an active role in drafting the proposed news media bill, submitting hundreds of amendments the majority of which were incorporated. However, the Congress pointed out, "several crucial proposals were not taken into account either by the Government or the Parliament."

The Congress took issue with several amendments to the bill as approved by the Senate. The bill "unreasonably expands the authority of a regulating body in relation to suspending and closing a media outlet," the journalists said. Such decisions must be "made only by an owner of the media outlet or by the court."

The journalists also proposed taking out of the bill "a notion of product of erotic nature" because of difficulties in defining "erotic nature" in clear legal terms. They also made known their reservations about weak legal protection of journalists in the bill, and called for preserving the existing law regulating media, but with amendments.

"The existing law on the media creates normal conditions for the operations of all media outlets and has potential for further improvement in light of changing circumstances," the Congress said and called upon legislators to reject current draft.