Hasen Káripjanuly Qojahmetov ( kk, Хасен Кәріпжанұлы Қожахметов; born 9 August 1949) is a Kazakh political activist, composer, journalist, and a member of the Writers Union of Kazakhstan, and a participant in the 1986
Jeltoqsan
, partof = Dissolution of the Soviet Union
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, date = 16–19 December 1986
, place = Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
, coordinates =
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, ...
unrising. He is known to be critical opponent of
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev ( kk, Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев, Nūrsūltan Äbişūlı Nazarbaev, ; born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, in off ...
and attempted to be a candidate in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
and
2015 Kazakh presidential election.
Early life, education
Qojahmetov was born in a railway station in the village of
Matay in the
Aksu District and was one of the ten children. His father, Karmijan Qojahmetov, was a railroad engineer, machinist and a disabled World War II veteran who was from
Semey
Semey ( kk, Семей, Semei, سەمەي; cyrl, Семей ), until 2007 known as Semipalatinsk (russian: Семипала́тинск) and in 1917–1920 as Alash-kala ( kk, Алаш-қала, ''Alaş-qala''), is a city in eastern Kazakhst ...
and happened to leave the town before the Soviet Union tested its
first nuclear bomb on 29 August 1949 there. His mother was half Polish and Ukrainian who was transferred to
Zhetysu
Zhetysu, or Jeti-Suu ( kk, , Жетісу, pronounced ; ky, ''Jeti-Suu'', (), meaning "seven rivers"; also transcribed ''Zhetisu'', ''Jetisuw'', ''Jetysu'', ''Jeti-su'', ''Jity-su'', ''Жетысу'',, National Geospatial-Intelligence Age ...
in 1910.
In 1969, Qojahmetov was conscripted to the army while he was studying at the Tchaikovsky Musical College in the city of Alma-Ata. There, he faced terrible conditions at the training center which mostly had Russians, and constant physical and emotional abuse by his peers. Qojahmetov was accused of starting a nationalist sentiment and was punished by being isolated from others in a locked place for 2 years. As a result, he ended up escaping the facility in February 1970 by walking next to a railroad track and sneaking in to different train wagons where he eventually made it to Alma-Ata. There, he complained about the discrimination in the Soviet Army, dealt with a court suit where he found lack of support and was sent to a psychiatric hospital. After that, he returned to his musical college where he graduated in 1972.
From 1998, Qojahmetov is the director of the
Kazakh Museum of Folk Musical Instruments
The Ykhlas Museum of Folk Musical Instruments ( kk, Ықылас атындағы халық музыкалық аспаптар музейі, ''Yqylas atyndaghy halyq mýzykalyq aspaptar mýzeyi'') is a musical instrument museum located in Alma ...
in Almaty.
Political activities
At the age of 20, Qojahmetov became a nationalist and believed that Kazakhstan is better off as an independent country. Throughout the 1970s, he lived and worked in Esik, wrote poems and articles criticizing the Soviet Union. In the autumn of 1975 and in April 1977, Qojahmetov produced anti-government leaflets. He came to Alma-Ata to distribute 670 articles and leaflets to expose the discriminatory policies of the Soviet Union and the CPSU to the students of the Veterinary Institute. As a result, he was imprisoned for two years in prison.
After being released from prison in 1979, Qojahmetov composed music and worked as a director and a teacher at various musical colleges where he gained prominence.
He participated in the
Jeltoqsan
, partof = Dissolution of the Soviet Union
, image =
, caption =
, date = 16–19 December 1986
, place = Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
, coordinates =
, map_type =
, latitude =
, longitude =
, ...
riot that took place in December 1986. Qojahmetov was convicted and sent to prison where he was forced to do physical labor. However, he was later released on 7 March 1989. After the event, Qojahmetov worked as a TV music editor. In 1991, he became the leader of the
Jeltoqsan National Democratic Party
The Jeltoqsan National Democratic Party was an unregistered political party in Kazakhstan. The party was founded on 31 May 1990 by a group of victims of the Jeltoqsan protests that took place in 1986. Its first leader was Hasen Qojahmetov, who was ...
.
From September 1991, Qojahmetov organized protests in Alma-Ata to release protesters who were involved in Jeltoqsan, allow direct presidential elections, and for Kazakhstan to declare its independence from the Soviet Union by 16 December, the 5th anniversary of Jeltoqsan riot. After the Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR announced elections on 16 October 1991, Qojahmetov sought to be a candidate. However, the deadline for collecting signatures was shortened and Qojahmetov claimed that his signature collection was confiscated by the police.
In early 1992, Qojahmetov led protests across Kazakhstan. In 1994, he became the leader of the
Azat Civil Movement of Kazakhstan
The Azat Civil Movement of Kazakhstan is an unregistered political party in Kazakhstan. It was founded on 30 June–1 July 1990 and is currently being led by Kazakh composer, political activist Hasen Qojahmetov. It was periodically merged into Az ...
. In 1995, Nazarbayev proposed extending his term and changing the constitution. Qojahmetov led a hunger strike near the parliament building however by then, he had little support.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qojahmetov, Hasen
1949 births
Kazakhstani composers
Male composers
Living people
People from Almaty Region
Soviet people of Polish descent
Kazakhstani people of Polish descent
Kazakhstani people of Ukrainian descent
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University alumni