The FBRK editorial team continues to report on how, ahead of the upcoming referendum on the issue of building a nuclear power plant (NPP) in Kazakhstan, certain interested parties are trying in every possible way to influence public opinion.
For context, we previously reported that one of the most active public opponents of the NPP is the former head of KEGOC, Asset Nauryzbayev, who previously stated that Kazakhstan is ready to develop nuclear energy. You can read about whose interests Asset Nauryzbayev may be pursuing at this link.
We also wrote about the likely coalitions into which opponents of the NPP construction are thought to have split. One of these is said to include those who receive funding from the USA. There is a belief that the Americans fear Russia will win the tender to build the NPP in Kazakhstan.
A month before the upcoming referendum, NPP opponents established the public foundation 'Energy Transition'. The head of the foundation is the same Asset Nauryzbayev, and one of its founders is a lawyer, an expert in environmental law, and a member of the People's Party of Kazakhstan, Vadim Ni.
Vadim Ni is also one of the founders of another public foundation called the 'Socio-Ecological Foundation' (SEF). Its partners are biologist Kaisha Atakhanova and Gulsum Kakimzhanova, one of those who was instrumental in founding the international anti-nuclear movement 'Nevada – Semipalatinsk'.
It is known that since October 2017, the SEF has been the operator of the environmental issues information portal 'Liven. Living Asia', which was originally a subsidiary of Internews and was funded by the European Union.
Furthermore, the 'Socio-Ecological Foundation' closely cooperates with the American non-profit environmental and human rights organisation Crude Accountability. In 2017, they were among the initiators of preparing a report on the persecution of environmental activists in the countries of the former Soviet Union and the USA.
As we have already noted, some experts suggest that the fierce struggle over nuclear projects in Central Asia is the result of competition between Russia's Rosatom and the American Westinghouse for contracts to build nuclear power plants in third countries.
The USA is one of the world leaders in the field of nuclear energy. However, Westinghouse dropped out of the list of candidates to implement the large-scale project, and Rosatom has already become the contractor in Uzbekistan, which has likely caused some displeasure in Washington.
In this regard, certain doubts arise: are the leaders of the 'Socio-Ecological Foundation' genuinely concerned about environmental protection and the risk of an environmental catastrophe in the event of possible NPP construction in Kazakhstan? Or are the Kazakhstani environmentalists pursuing other interests?
In early August, Vadim Ni shared his thoughts with journalists on the downsides of building an NPP in Kazakhstan. It is worth noting that, oddly enough, most of the arguments he raised were not about environmental risks, but about the upcoming financial problems that our country might face when building a nuclear power plant.
For context, in September 2023, the Ministry of Finance published the so-called 'register of foreign agents' - a list of individuals receiving money or other assets from foreign states and international organisations. The register includes well-known Kazakhstani journalists, public figures, NGOs, as well as little-known environmental organisations.
At the time, the FBRK editorial team suggested that Kazakhstan is of particular interest to the US representation, and that the appearance on the list of civil activists and environmentalists paid by foreigners is not a random coincidence, but a harbinger of some kind of public backlash in the field of ecology.
Undoubtedly, the public has every right to be concerned about environmental safety in connection with the possible construction of an NPP in Kazakhstan. And not all eco-activists are pursuing self-serving interests. We are speaking only about certain individuals who, in our opinion, are trying to influence the public's opinion in pursuit of personal gain.