In this issue:
Kazakhstan Senate Chair Visits U.S., Seeks Closer Ties and Support for Interreligious Congress
Nine Parties Sign Charter on Principles of Competition, Renounce “Black PR”
Star Wars Star McGregor Rides His Bike into Kazakhstan
Tenth Party, Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, Registers
Prison Population Plummets, Kazakhstan Moves Down in World Rankings
Say it in Kazakh:
Chairman --- Toragasy [Toh-rah-GAH-sy]
Visit --- Sapar [Sah-PAR]
Kazakhstan Senate Chair Visits U.S., Seeks Closer Ties and Support for Interreligious Congress
Nurtai Abykaev, Chairman of Kazakhstan’s Senate, visited Washington from May 4 through May 6 to discuss with members of the U.S. Congress ways to strengthen the interparliamentary ties between the two countries. He also met with several inter-religious associations seeking better understanding among various religions in order to charter ways of cooperation in promoting dialog of civilizations on an international level.
In Washington, Chairman Abykaev met Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Conrad Burns (R-MT), House Majority Whip Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Ranking Minority Member of East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee Rep. Eni Faleomavaega (D-AS), co-chairs of U.S.-Kazakhstan Interparliamentary Friendship Group Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) and Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL). He also met Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
Following the meetings, Chairman Abykaev said: “The contacts between our two legislatures are growing. During these days we have had a very interesting and productive dialog, including about principles and mechanisms of parliamentary democracy. The young and growing democracy of Kazakhstan has something to talk about with a democracy which is more than 200 years in the making.”
Kazakhstan’s efforts to promote interreligious dialog, and ways it can work with the United States in promoting this dialog also featured prominently in the meetings. Chairman Abykaev also serves as head of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions following the first Congress held in Astana in September 2003.
That Congress, held at the initiative of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, brought together senior leaders from 17 different religions, such as Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Taoism, who condemned terrorism in the name of religion and pledged to enhance their dialog and mutual understanding.
Sen. Lugar applauded
Kazakhstan’s efforts to promote
such dialog in these difficult
times as an “important addition”
to Kazakhstan’s global
nonproliferation efforts.
While in Washington, Chairman
Abykaev and his delegation also met
with senior officials from institutions
such as World Conference on
Religion and Peace, National Council
of Churches and Institute on
Religion and Public Policy to talk
about ways they can cooperate in
the run up to the second inter-
religious congress in Kazakhstan
in 2006.
Joseph Grieboski, President of the Washington-based Institute on Religion and Public Policy, who participated in the September 2003 congress in Astana, said: “I firmly believe what was done by Kazakhstan is a major factor in the war against terrorism. It is a responsibility of all those who sat at the table there to deliver the message of mutual understanding and dialog forged at the Congress to their constituents.”
Nine Parties Sign Charter on Principles of Competition, Renounce “Black PR”
Leaders of nine political parties signed off on a new document they called “historic”, as they pledged to work together to ensure transparency and fairness in elections and renounced “dirty technologies” and “black PR”.
The document, called Charter on Principles of Political Competition, was signed in Almaty on May 4 by leaders of political parties registered as of that day. The signatories included Agrarian Party, Ak Zhol Democratic Party, Asar Republican Party, Auyl Social-Democratic Party, Civic Party, Communist Party, Otan Republican Party and the Party of Patriots of Kazakhstan, as well as the civic movement “For Legal Kazakhstan”.
For the first time in Kazakhstan’s history, political parties voluntarily undertook to help promote transparent and fair elections.
Maksut Narikbayev, leader of “For Legal Kazakhstan” movement and the initiator of the Charter said “signing of the Charter is a historic landmark in the political development and the establishment of civil society.”
He said “parties committed to a moratorium on the use of “dirty technologies” and “black PR”, and noted that they asked his movement to seek the approval of the Charter by the legislature.”
“As of now, the Charter is a reflection of hopes that political parties will stay within a civilized framework; in the future these wishes will need to be supported through legislation. For example, this will include laws ensuring parties have equal access to the news media, preventing any forms of illegal financing for the parties, public associations and election campaigns.”
Star Wars Star McGregor Rides His Bike into Kazakhstan
The Scottish-born Hollywood star Ewan McGregor, who starred in such films as Trainspotting, Moulin Rouge, and latest Star Wars series, arrived in Kazakhstan on May 1 as part of his round the world motorbike trip from London to New York.
The famous Hollywood actor and his group of friends visited Atyrau in western Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea shore.
Thirty-two-year-old McGregor and his friend Charley Boorman, accompanied by two assistants, left London on April14, and intend to cover 20,000 miles within four months along the London-Europe-Russia-Kazakhstan-Mongolia-Alaska route, from where the travelers, with all their equipment, motorbikes and Jeeps, will fly to Anchorage and get to New York via U.S. territory.
McGregor and Boorman have already signed a 1 million pound agreement with editors and movie producers on stories about their unique journey. However, the actor clarified that they were not making this journey for the sake of money.
This is a journey we have dreamt about for many years, and it seems to us that we will never make it unless we do it now, McGregor had said before the beginning of the journey.
Tenth Party, Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, Registers
A new political party, Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DCK), was registered by the country’s Justice Ministry on May 4, bringing to ten the number of political parties vying for votes.
Vladimir Kozlov, the party’s spokesman, said the certificate of registration, which requires 50,000 threshold membership, was given on the same day to one of the party’s leaders and the current Senator, Zauresh Battalova.
According to Kazakhstan Today news agency, DCK submitted its registration on April 20 with a list of 72,185 registered members.
The appearance of DCK brings to ten the number of active political parties in Kazakhstan and is a sign of how quickly political competition heats up in the run up to the 2004 parliamentary election. Only last week, the political movement “For Legal Kazakhstan” announced intention to transform itself into a new party, Democratic Party of Kazakhstan.
Of the ten registered parties, six already have representatives in the national Parliament.
Prison Population Plummets, Kazakhstan Moves Down in World Rankings
The International Center for Prison Studies (ICPS), a research facility at the University of London, published its studies on penitentiaries across the world which showed a one third reduction in prison population in Kazakhstan within the last two years.
According to Khabar TV news agency report of April 30, the researchers said the reasons for such a sharp drop lie in the liberalization of criminal prosecution system in recent years. The prison term as a punishment was removed from a total of thirteen articles of the Criminal Code. At the end of 2003, the death penalty moratorium was also introduced by President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
In its brief, the ICPS said Kazakhstan’s prison population now stands at 58,300 and, with the country’s population of 15 million people, this brings to 386 the prison population rate calculated per 100,000 of national population. In 2001, the figures were 84,000 and 522 respectively. Such a high rate used to make Kazakhstan the country with the third highest prison population rate in the world. New figures mean Kazakhstan has now moved down to the 19th spot in the global ranking.
Officials in Kazakhstan welcomed the news, but cautioned against too much liberalization.
Igor Rogov, chief of the legal department of the presidential administration, said: “It is very important that liberalization did not turn into indulgence. Our goal is to protect the rights and freedoms of not just those who commit crime, but also of the victims. So I am calling for a stop.”
The list compiled by the ICPS ranks more than 200 countries. According to it, the United States, a country of 290 million, has more than 2 million people behind bars and thus has the largest absolute prison population and the largest prison population rate of 701. Russia, with the population of 145 million, has 850,000 people in prisons and the second highest prison population rate of 584. Such countries as India and Nepal are at the bottom of the list with the prison population rate of 29. Burkina Faso has the smallest ratio of 23.
Things to Watch:
- Kazakhstan celebrates Victory Day on May 9.
- President Nazarbayev is to visit China May 17-19 to discuss cooperation within regional organizations, as well as bilateral economic cooperation, including in the oil transportation.
_____________________________________________________________________
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
