Irina Smirnova, a member of parliament from the People's Party of Kazakhstan faction, said that the government of Kazakhstan urgently needs to develop and adopt a law "On Foreign Agents," arguing that the state needs to protect national interests from the activities of organizations such as USAID. The parliamentary request voiced by Smirnova is quoted by the publication "Vlast."

"Kazakhstan needs to create national legislation that labels any kind of structure so that Kazakhs can evaluate and compare information, understanding its source. At the same time, a number of exceptions need to be established for humanitarian and scientific organizations. This approach will protect national interests, but will not lead to persecution and slowdown in the development of a healthy civil society," Smirnova said.

The deputy said that earlier "Kazakh society was stirred up by a request" regarding USAID's activities. The day before, the US President's special envoy proposed closing Radio Free Europe and Voice of America, which are financed by US taxpayers.

"As in the story with USAID, the Americans themselves again acknowledge the destructiveness of the state media they finance. They themselves call them a relic of the past, which was created for ideological struggle in the post-war realities. Anyone who visits the Azattyk website today can clearly see this. There is not a single article about the construction of a new school, road, reforms, or any victories of Kazakhstanis, but only criticism and the escalation of negativity," the deputy said.

According to her data, today in Kazakhstan approximately 200 NGOs receive foreign funding, 70% of which are through various sources from the United States.

According to the government, grants in Kazakhstan are provided by 165 different donors, of which: 53 are international organizations; 31 are foreign government organizations; 81 are foreign Kazakhstani NGOs.

Smirnova noted that support is mainly received by projects in the field of media and freedom of speech, protection of the rights and interests of target groups, promotion of projects in the field of development of democracy and civil society, liberal reforms, increasing tolerance and civic activity. But "even specialists cannot recognize where the resources are friendly to us, and where we need to be more careful, so as not to run into a destructive force."

According to the deputy, “the question of whether the activities of foreign funds bring more benefit or harm to our country requires a clear answer.”

Smirnova noted that if foreign NGOs that feel comfortable in Kazakhstan are really playing their own game, “their influence could backfire on us.” Therefore, it is necessary to review the status of “a number of NGOs that have been working in the ‘gray zone’ for years, and rewrite the rules of the game with foreign donors who disguise political interests as media support, human rights protection, and increased tolerance.”

The deputy is convinced that by adopting the law "On Foreign Agents" in Kazakhstan, it will be possible to strengthen the country's sovereignty. "We will not allow the imposition of alien values to be presented as tolerance, in which Kazakhstanis are already the world's leading experts, and propaganda – as independent journalism," she concluded.

What else is known

In 2021, an article was published on the Soros.kz website, which featured the name of Irina Smirnova, a deputy of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In this article, she talks about how working with the Foundation helped her.

"This may sound strange to some, but it was working with the Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan that helped me grow as a citizen of my country. I understood how one can and should talk about the rights of a teacher, a student, and simply a Kazakhstani. And what to do if these rights are violated. Everything happened gradually. In particular, participation in meetings of the Kazakhstan Institute of Political Solutions, which interacted with the Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan, brought a lot. I realized how important it is to speak the truth openly and achieve what can improve people's lives. I am sure that I was not the only one who felt this way, and it was the team of the Foundation that made a great contribution to changing our understanding of our own rights."

The organization's website states that the Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan (SFK) is a Kazakhstani non-governmental charitable organization established by the Open Society Institute (OSI) in 1995 with the aim of promoting the values of an open society in Kazakhstan.

As part of its programs, FSK contributed to: promoting the principles of equality, justice, respect for human rights and the rule of law; ensuring budget transparency and accountability; increasing tolerance and civic engagement.

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Cover: photo from inbusiness.kz