Funded by the US Congress, but you have to give certification”: The Art of American Doublethink in Kazakhstan.
US Congressman Robert Aderholt's statement demanding that Kazakh authorities "ensure the free operation" of Radio Azati (RFE/RL) is a standard example of how Washington shamelessly confuses international law with its own domestic regulations.
The congressman states directly on his X page: "It is imperative that RFE/RL, a news organization funded by the US Congress, be able to continue to operate freely in Kazakhstan."
Everything in this short phrase is perfect: open recognition of direct government funding of the American establishment and at the same time honest outrage that a sovereign country dares to regulate the work of this foreign government body.
In Plain English: Washington's Anatomy Double Standards.
The Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs operates exclusively within the framework of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which regulates the accreditation of foreign media. However, a direct ultimatum comes from the Capitol. And here the classic face of the American "freedom of speech" is revealed:
At home - "foreign agents" and national security. In the United States itself, FARA (the Foreign Agents Registration Act) has been in effect since 1938 and is applied with ruthless severity. Any media outlet that receives even a dollar from a foreign government is required to register as a foreign agent, submit financial reports under threat of criminal punishment, and its journalists are denied congressional and White House accreditation for a certain period.
In someone else's house there are "thousands that cannot be touched". When it comes to a structure that officially sits on the budget of the US Congress itself and operates on the territory of Kazakhstan, Washington's logic is immediately reversed: sovereign Kazakhstan is obliged to issue permits without unnecessary questions, and every legal demand of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan is declared for "freedom of speech".
Direct intervention in internal affairs.