In this issue:
Kazakhstan Sends Humanitarian Assistance to Sri Lanka, Pledges More
Russian Orthodox Christians Celebrate Christmas in Kazakhstan
U.S. Says No Anti-Semitism in Kazakhstan
Disaster --- Apat
Emergency situation --- Totenshe zhagdai
Humanitarian assistance --- Gumanitarlyk zhardem
Kazakhstan Sends Humanitarian Assistance to Sri Lanka,
Pledges More
A Kazakh cargo plane with humanitarian aid on board flew from the Karaganda airport in central Kazakhstan in to Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, on January 4, carrying much needed supplies of food, medicine and means of hygiene.
The plane took 45 metric tons of aid, including 40 tons of meat and vegetable conserves and 4.5 tons of medical supplies.
Mukhambet Kopeyev, Minister for Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan, saw the plane off at the Karaganda airport, saying the plane load would provide enough food for 4,000 people for ten days, primary medical treatment for 1,000 tsunami victims and means of hygiene for 12,000 people.
Kazakh diplomats met the plane in Colombo and, together with representatives of the Ministry for Emergency Situations, are currently overseeing the transfer of aid to local officials.
Minister Kopeyev said Kazakhstan was responding to request for assistance from the Sri Lankan Government. He noted: “This is our first shipment. We are ready to provide all other possible assistance.” The Minister explained that the Government, acting on instructions from President Nursultan Nazarbayev and requests from respective governments, is preparing to ship aid to Indonesia, India and Thailand.
Doctors and representatives of Kazakhstan’s intelligentsia announced January 6 they were setting up a public foundation to assist tsunami victims. Toregeldy Sharmanov, President of the Kazakhstan Institute of Nutrition and a leader of the group, said “doctors understand better than anyone else the scope of the tragedy, because consequences such as epidemics and infections are no less terrible than nature and will require enormous funds to fight back.” He added the foundation will act in a transparent manner.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry also announced January 6 that so far 485 Kazakhs returned from the tsunami-affected countries of South Asia on charter flights. Three members of one family were still considered missing in Thailand. Officials were also looking for 11 people who traveled to Thailand either before the disaster or soon after it.
Russian Orthodox Christians Celebrate Christmas in Kazakhstan
Millions of followers of Russian Orthodox Christianity in Kazakhstan began celebrating Orthodox Christmas with nightly services in churches on Christmas Eve of January 6. The Christmas is celebrated on January 7.
Metropolitan Mefodiy of
Astana and Almaty, the
top Russian Orthodox
priest in Kazakhstan,
wished to all people in
Kazakhstan to enter the
New Year as creators of
their happiness and
prosperity, and wished
the new year to be
successful and blessed.
Speaking at a news
conference in Almaty on
January 5, he expressed
hope that the disaster in
the South East Asia that
happened at the end of
last year will be overcome
through the support of the
international community.
The main service took
place in Almaty, at the
Svyato Voznesenskiy
[Ascension] Cathedral.
The Metropolitan also announced plans to build a new Orthodox Cathedral in Astana where so far there’s only one 150 year old church, which he described as “decrepit and small.”
Russian Orthodox Christians constitute a large minority in Kazakhstan, believed to be numbering 40 percent of the population of 15 million. It consists of ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, Byelorussians and others.
U.S. Says No Anti-Semitism in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan had no reported cases of anti-Semitism, other than the actions of members of Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, the United States State Department said in its first Report on Global Anti-Semitism released on January 5, 2005.
The report covers the second half of 2004. In the section on Kazakhstan, the report said: “Other than the actions of members of Hizb ut-Tahrir, who printed and distributed leaflets that supported anti-Semitism among other beliefs, there were no reports of anti-Semitic incitement or acts during the reporting period. There were reports of anti-Semitic propaganda in pamphlets distributed by followers of Hizb ut-Tahrir. The Government considers Hizb ut-Tahrir to be an illegal extremist group and has taken action to prosecute members engaged in handing out these pamphlets under Articles 164 ("Fanning Social, National, Tribal, Racial or Religious Enmity") and 337 ("Creating An Illicit Public Association and Participating in its activities") of the Criminal Code.”
The report further noted: “In August, the Chief Rabbi of the country addressed an international religious conference in Brussels, stating that in his 10 years living in Kazakhstan, he had never faced a single case of anti-Semitism, and he praised the Government for its proactive protection of the Jewish community. In July, a visiting rabbi praised the Government for its efforts to promote religious tolerance and dialogue among Christians, Jews, and Muslims. On September 7, the Chief Rabbi of Israel arrived in Astana to attend the opening and dedication of the largest synagogue in Central Asia.”
Things to Watch:
- Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas January 7.
- Melodies and Songs of the Kazakh Steppes, the first ever concert of Kazakh traditional and world classical music in the United States of America, will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2005. A follow up concert will be held at Carnegie Hall in New York on February 3, 2005. For more information please click here.
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News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada
(Compiled from own sources and agency reports)
Contact person: Roman Vassilenko
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20036
Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, Fax: (202) 232- 5845
