In this issue:
Kazakhstan to Increase Uranium Production Fivefold by 2015
Rabbi Schneier: Kazakhstan Has Proved Itself A “Model” of Interfaith Relations
Kazakhstan Plans Tougher Punishment for Human Trafficking
Kazakhstan’s Émigré Part of Greek Euro 2004 Winning Team
Say it in Kazakh:
Mynkuduk ---Thousand of Wells
Sport --- Sport
Soccer --- Futbol
Kazakhstan to Increase Uranium Production Fivefold by 2015
Mukhtar Dzhakishev, president of Kazakhstan’s national atomic company “Kazatomprom”, has announced plans to increase uranium production to 16,000 tons annually by 2015, almost five times today’s level.
Speaking in Almaty on July 7, he explained this rapid increase will be based on opening production at seven new sites at Budenovskoe and Mynkuduk uranium fields in the South Kazakhstan region.
Kazatomprom estimates the development of seven new sites will cost US$420 million, US$60 million per site. Dzhakishev said “Kazatomprom has several potential foreign investors as well as partners from Russia, China and Japan to help develop these sites.”
In 2004, Kazatomprom is expected to produce 3,330 metric tons and earn up to US$100 million from exporting it.
In comparison, owners and operators of U.S. civilian nuclear power reactors purchased a total of 21,300 tons of uranium deliveries during 2001 from U.S. and foreign suppliers. In 2001, the U.S. produced 1,018 tons of uranium from 7 mining sites.
Kazakhstan is home to one of the world’s largest petroleum reserves and also boasts extensive uranium reserves. The combination makes Kazakhstan an obvious player in world energy markets.
Rabbi Schneier: Kazakhstan Has Proved Itself A “Model” of Interfaith Relations
Rabbi Arthur Shneier, founder and president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, which works for worldwide religious freedom and human rights, said Kazakhstan proved it can serve as a “model” of interfaith relations.
Rabbi Schneier, who is also spiritual leader of one of the largest Jewish congregations in New York City, at a meeting with Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev on July 5 in Astana, said: “As representatives of different religions, we must learn to live in peace. By bringing together leaders of major religions here in Kazakhstan, you have proved that your country can serve as a model for such [interfaith] relations.”
Rabbi Schneier said his organization works “with those who believe in dialogue among religions, and we were proud to have participated as much as we could in organizing the congress of world religions in Kazakhstan last year.”
The Rabbi was referring to the first Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions that Kazakhstan hosted in Astana last September. More than 120 delegates from 18 religions gathered for that congress in Kazakhstan’s capital to condemn terrorism and lay the foundations of an organization to be a vehicle for diverse efforts towards reducing violent religious clashes everywhere.
The congress was organized at the initiative of President Nazarbayev and was successful in bringing together leaders of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism to have face to face discussions in Kazakhstan’s tolerant religious settings. Kazakhstan, an exceptionally diverse nation of 40 religions and 130 ethnic groups, has a a Muslim majority of 60 percent. Many religious and secular leaders, including Pope John Paul II, have praised Kazakhstan as an example of harmony among different religions. Kazakhstan increasingly seeks to share its experience to bridge differences among religions and to provide viable alternative to interreligious violence occurring elsewhere.
This was Rabbi Schneier’s first personal visit to Kazakhstan, but he had known Kazakhstan since childhood: “During World War II, I found refuge in Hungary. Some people, the Magyars, were natives of Kazakhstan. When I was a child, I ate my first “alma”, apple, in Budapest. In Hungarian [just as in Kazakh], an apple is called an “alma”.”
Kazakhstan Plans Tougher Punishment for Human Trafficking
Kazakhstan is planning to toughen criminal punishment for human trafficking, government officials announced in Astana on July 1 after a meeting of the interagency commission created last year to tackle this problem.
In July 2003, Kazakhstan had already introduced changes in its criminal law expanding the definition of human trafficking and toughening punishment for such crimes. Today, official, including Justice Minister Onalsyn Zhumabekov believe the punishment needs to be toughened even further.
Last year, eight criminal investigations were opened into human trafficking offences. Currently, five other cases are being investigated, officials revealed at the meeting.
At the meeting, Deputy Prosecutor General Ilyas Baktybayev recounted several instances when National Security Committee officials and police either thwarted crimes or uncovered them quickly. In one such instance, recruiters published an ad in a local newspaper in Northern Kazakhstan offering jobs as waitresses abroad for women from 18 to 30 years of age. When scrutinized, the firm turned out to be a vehicle for trafficking women into prostitution in The Netherlands and Israel.
One of the problems authorities face is the natural desire of victims to stay anonymous. This is where the recently created “crisis centers” come in to play. People come with their problems these centers more often then they do to law enforcement agencies. The cooperation between the police and the crisis centers is crucial in thwarting modern-day slavery, officials said.
Minister Zhumabekov noted: “We need to aggressively pursue the work both on an operational and investigational tracks to make sure culprits are brought to justice.”
Kazakhstan’s Émigré Part of Greek Euro 2004 Winning Team
Dimitrios Papadopoulos, a striker with the Greek national team which was victorious in the European soccer championship in Portugal on Sunday, was born in Kazakhstan to Greek parents.
He played mostly as a substitute during the team’s unlikely
path to soccer glory for Greece, becoming the first former
native of Kazakhstan to carry the title of European
soccer champion.
The 22-year old forward began to learn his soccer craft
while still a young boy in Kazakhstan, before emigrating
to Greece.
In Greece, he rose to be a member of national Under 16s
and Under 18s teams, as well as captain of Greece’s
Under 21s team in 2001.
He made his senior debut in 2002. More recently,
Papadopoulos was the most consistent performer
of his club, Panathinaikos. He scored 17 goals in
26 matches as the club won their first national title in eight years in 2004.
He is expected to captain the Greek national team in the upcoming Athens Olympics.
Things to Watch:
- Astana will host the session of Turksoi, International Organization on Joint Development of Culture and Art of Turkic-Speaking Countries on July 14-15. The member countries include Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
- The resort town of Borovoe in the Northern Kazakhstan will host the Asian Triathlon Cup segment on July 11. It is a rating event for the Beijing 2008 Olympics and it will have teams from Kazakhstan, Iran, Japan Russia, the U.S. and other nations.
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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
