In this issue:
Nazarbayev, Live on TV, Says Will Seek Reelection in 2006
Young Central Asian Soccer Players Begin U.S. Friendship Tour
Maryland-based ICC May Build Subway in Almaty
Kazakhstan Edges Toward Fully Professional Army
Ombudsman, Minister Sign Cooperation Agreement
Say It in Kazakh
President --- Prezident
People --- Khalyk
Government --- Ukimet
Nazarbayev, Live on TV, Says Will Seek Reelection in 2006
President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan announced May 14 he will seek reelection in 2006. The President won the election for a seven-year term in 1999 with the landslide majority of votes.
The President made the announcement speaking live in an interactive question-and-answer session which lasted for more than three hours and was televised by two TV channels, Khabar and Kazakhstan. He answered a wide range of questions relating to his political agenda, the upcoming parliamentary election in the fall of 2004, social security reforms, as well as the recent introduction of a death penalty moratorium.
President Nazarbayev said: “The Constitution and laws allow me to run for president in the next election, and I most certainly intend to.”
“Of course, this is a matter for the people to decide. If the people put their trust in me, I will continue working as the president, strengthening our nation and enhancing the wellbeing of the people,” he explained.
He continued by saying that his “goal has been to lead the country out of the crisis. Together with my companions I have done a lot for Kazakhstan. I am happy that the Kazakhs are known in the world, and Kazakhstan is well spoken of.”
Commenting on a recently adopted election law, the President said it is “progressive in terms of ensuring fairness in the election and is a step forward.”
The President also commented on the ongoing judiciary reform and called for toughening the punishment for corrupt judges to the point where such punishment would be “a life catastrophe for them.” He noted recent major pay raises to judges to prevent corruption and said “their wages are enough for them to provide honest services to the citizens.”
In the area of criminal punishment the President believes the death penalty “will not solve all the problems.” In his view, “the introduction of alternative punishment such as life imprisonment is basically a moral death for a person.”
During the unprecedented three-hour session, more than 12,000 questions were received by the President through all means of communication, including 1,500 email messages. Forty-three questions were asked over the phone and answered.
Young Central Asian Soccer Players Begin U.S. Friendship Tour
A team of 18 teenage soccer players from Kazakhstan and three other countries of Central Asia began touring the United States earlier this month with a welcome ceremony in the Capitol, a visit to a DC United game and a 2-0 win over U-14 Arlington Warriors.
The players range in age from 13 to 15.
Their tour began on May 7 and is
sponsored by USAID and Abt Associates
from Bethesda, MD, in partnership with
Sister Cities International. There are four
players on the team from Kazakhstan’s
Zhambyl region, which borders Kyrgyzstan
and Uzbekistan, including the team’s
captain Pavel Stratutsa, who turned 15
during a visit to the U.S. Congress on
May 11. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan also have teenagers on the
team, mostly from the border regions.
Tim Alexander, a senior official at USAID
in charge of Central Asian programs,
explained the focus on border areas
during his presentation on Capitol Hill.
He said this project, operated under the
Sport and Health Education Program,
seeks to promote not only better
understanding between these countries and the U.S., but also among themselves, and thus helps contribute to conflict resolution and prevention.
Before coming to the U.S., each boy was given a questionnaire with questions about their hobbies, favorite sport, future aspirations, but also questions such as “what American foods do you want to try” and “what are your expectations for the trip.” Kazakhstan’s Pavel Stratutsa, who wants to be a professional soccer player, said he wanted to try pizza and sandwiches, and “to see America and make new friends.” Jandos Rahmetildayev, also from Kazakhstan, who likes biology and computers and wants to become a lawyer, said his top American food dream was “McDonald’s!”
The group will visit many towns and cities throughout the U.S. on a 21-day tour, including those that have sister city relationships with cities in Kazakhstan and other countries of the region. They will visit Tuscon, Arizona, and Arvada, Colorado, sister cities of Almaty and Kyzylorda in Kazakhstan.
Maryland-based ICC May Build Subway in Almaty
Intercontinental Commerce Corporation (ICC) of Maryland is ready to start building a subway in Almaty on condition that Kazakhstan co-finances the project, Almaty Mayor Viktor Khrapunov told the press on May 12.
He said that “to avoid being left stranded with the problems that might arise in constructing a subway and monorail in Almaty, the American company requests co-financing (from the government of Kazakhstan) of $160 million of the total $1.2 billion over four years.” The government is currently considering the ICC proposal, he added.
ICC, based in Rockville, Maryland, has proposed Kazakhstan provide it with a concession for the subway for 25 years, Khrapunov said.
The subway is expected to have 47 km of above ground monorail and 8.4 km of underground subway. Kazakhstan and ICC have been discussing this project since June 2003.
Kazakhstan Edges Toward Fully Professional Army
The Government has reviewed the concept of the military reform at its meeting on May 12 in Astana for the second time in two months as Kazakhstan edges closer to a fully professional army.
Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov, speaking at the session, said the concept needs to correspond fully with the requirements set out earlier by the President, calling for high professionalism, compactness and constant combat readiness.
PM Akhmetov called the forthcoming introduction of the contract service “the largest structural change in the Defense Ministry”, which will entail “the changes in the financing of the ministry and in main issues relating to the military.” He said there “should be no false impressions that creating a professional army would mean reductions in the cost of the military.”
Defense Minister Army Gen. Mukhtar Altynbayev presented financial calculations supporting each item of the concept.
The Prime Minister asked the ministers to come up with the final version of the concept in two weeks.
Earlier this year, the Defense Minister said currently 38.5 percent of all enlisted personnel and NCOs in the armed services are professionals doing voluntary service. By the end of 2004, this is expected to reach 65 percent and by the end of 2005 the military should be 85 percent volunteer.
Ombudsman, Minister Sign Cooperation Agreement
Bolat Baikadamov, Kazakhstan’s Human Rights Ombudsman, and Gulzhana Karagusova, Minister of Labor and Social Protection, signed an agreement on May 13 calling for a more systematic and regular cooperation in protecting economic and social rights of the people.
According to Kazinform news agency report from Astana, they both agreed to take joint actions to restore abused rights and participate in developing proposals on how to make legal acts correspond to international standards. The agreement also provides for the exchange of information, as well as consultations on the protection of human rights.
Things to Watch:
- President Nazarbayev pays the state visit to China May 17-19 to discuss bilateral economic cooperation, including in the oil transportation, as well as other issues.
- Executives of major foreign companies in Kazakhstan to consult with government officials at the biannual meeting of Foreign Investors Council under the President of Kazakhstan on June 4.
_____________________________________________________________________
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
