In this issue:
Two Parties Hold Primaries, Select Joint Candidates; Other Parties Nominate Their Own
U.S. Helps Build Housing for Kazakhstan’s Marines in Atyrau
Kazakhstan To Build Network of Laboratories to Track Dangerous Infections and Protect Population from Bioweapons
Kazakhstan Plans to Abolish Death Penalty
OSCE Notes Kazakhstan’s Progress in Humanizing Criminal Prosecution
Almaty Pensioner Places Second in 24th Hemingway Look-Alike Contest at Key West
Say It in Kazakh:
Short story --- Angme
Festival --- Meiram
Congratulations --- Kuttyktal!
Two Parties Hold Primaries, Select Joint Candidates;
Other Parties Nominate Their Own
Two of Kazakhstan’s political parties took a page from the American election textbook as they held primaries on July 27, giving their members a chance to select candidates the two parties will jointly field jointly in the September 19 election.
Azat Peruashev, leader of the Civil Party, said the majority of candidates were selected by his party and the Agrarian party through negotiations. The parties could not reach consensus in three constituencies and opted to hold primaries for the first time ever in Kazakhstan.
Primaries were organized with all the trappings of modern day political campaigns. Candidates campaigned, touted their credentials and programs, and the voters, all registered members of the two parties, had a chance to voice their choice in a free ballot overseen by a bilateral vote counting commission.
Two other parties, Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan and the Communist Party held a joint convention on July 27 in Almaty. Following the convention, the parties settled on a joint list of 13 candidates running on a national ticket and 37 candidates to run in single-seat constituencies.
Also on July 27 the Central Election Commission said it had registered candidates from the Otan and Asar parties. The Party of Patriots, the Rukhaniyat Party as well as the Auyl Party have held their conventions and come out with lists of candidates and election platforms.
U.S. Helps Build Housing for Kazakhstan’s Marines in Atyrau
Military officials from Kazakhstan and the United States opened the gates of a new military installation in Atyrau on the Caspian Sea which will house a battalion of Kazakhstan’s marines.
The facility, opened on July 23, was built with funds provided by the U.S. under the Foreign Military Financing program. The construction was carried out under the U.S.-Kazakhstan Military Cooperation Program signed in Washington in September 2003. The program’s key aim is strengthening the cooperation in the war on terrorism.
The base, furnished with modern housing, training school and a sports complex, will house 300 of Kazakhstan’s marines. Their job would be to stand guard against terrorist threats.
Another important task will be to protect strategically important infrastructure in the Caspian Sea where oil production is expected to expand rapidly over the next few years. Only this week, the Italy’s ENI-led consortium, which is developing the North Caspian Project announced another discovery in its huge exploration block in Kazakhstan’s Caspian waters. This project includes the Kashagan field, the world’s largest oil discovery in the past three decades.
Kazakhstan to Build Network of Laboratories to Track Dangerous Infections and Protect Population from Bioweapons
Anatoliy Belonog, Deputy Minister of Healthcare, announced Kazakhstan is planning to build a central laboratory to track the most virulent infections which could threaten the peoples of Kazakhstan. Twelve regional labs will be equipped with the necessary tools to protect the populace.
Speaking at a nationwide conference of healthcare professionals in Astana on July 29, Deputy Minister Belonog said “this year, as part of a program to counter the spread of bacteriological weapons, we are holding negotiations on building a central reference laboratory and equipping regional labs and epidemiological stations with appropriate tools in 12 regions of Kazakhstan.”
He noted “biological security of our country is an integral element of Kazakhstan’s national security,” and it is the job of ministries of healthcare and agriculture “to strengthen and improve the system of epidemiological oversight over most dangerous infections.”
The ministries seek to solve many problems they face in this area through international cooperation. Belonog added his ministry had established “close ties with research institutes in Russia, United States’ Centers for Disease Control, and health ministries of the Central Asian region.”
Several of Kazakhstan’s regions have areas of naturally occurring biological diseases, including anthrax, brucellosis and others. During Soviet times, Kazakhstan was home to the world’s largest anthrax production and weaponization facility at Stepnogorsk. It has since been destroyed with the cooperation of the U.S. under the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program.
Kazakhstan Plans to Abolish Death Penalty
Igor Rogov, Chairman of Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Council, speaking in Astana on July 27 said his country will eventually abolish the death penalty.
“Kazakhstan, as all other progressive nations, will sooner or later abolish the death penalty completely,” he told reporters at a legal roundtable discussion in the capital.
He said he is confident in such an outcome given the moratorium on the death penalty introduced by President Nursultan Nazarbayev in December 2003. Another positive factor is that since the presidential decision was made, there has been no spike in crime in Kazakhstan as was feared.
Chairman Rogov believes the timeframe for the final abolishment will “in greater part depend on the effective work of law enforcement agencies, international organizations and on how we are able to prepare the public opinion” on this issue.
He stressed “one of the commandments of sacred texts, which should be observed not only by every individual, but ideally by the state, is “Thou shalt not kill.”
Officials from the presidential administration, the Justice Ministry and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) participated in the discussions.
Speaking at the same event, Ilyas Bakhtybaev, the country’s Deputy Prosecutor General, said death sentences have been gradually declining over the past several years. In 1997, 64 persons were sentenced to death, in 2003 the figure dropped to 17 people. During the first half of 2004, only 6 people were given the death penalty, and because of the moratorium the executions were stayed.
OSCE Notes Kazakhstan’s Progress in Humanizing Criminal Prosecution
Ambassador Ivar Vikki, head of the OSCE Center in Almaty, said Kazakhstan “excelled” in humanizing its criminal prosecution policies during recent years.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion on constitutional rights of convicted persons in Astana on July 27, Ambassador Vikki said “the OSCE always notes [such progress] with pleasure.” Areas where Kazakhstan made progress in recent years, the Ambassador said, included “reducing the threshold for criminal prosecution, expanding measures of punishment alternative to imprisonment, and ensuring rights of convicts while in correction facilities.”
Igor Rogov, Chairman of the Constitutional Council, believes Kazakhstan’s legislation still has room for further humanization. Chairman Rogov noted punishment must be limited to curtailing a person’s freedoms, but must not infringe on other constitutional rights. “The development of legislation and practice should go precisely along this path,” he said.
Almaty Pensioner Places Second in 24th Hemingway
Look-Alike Contest at Key West
Vladimir Malikov, a teetotaling short story writer, who is pensioner from Almaty came in second in the annual Hemingway Look-Alike Contest in Key West, Florida which ended on July 24. A fascinating story of devotion and commitment from Mr. Malikov, including selling his belongings to get to Florida and take part in the contest, drew the attention of pres agencies. His tale is recounted in the following Reuters story by Laura Myers.
KEY WEST, Fla. (Reuters) - A North Carolina realtor beat out a teetotaling short story writer from Kazakhstan and nearly 140 other snowy-haired, bearded men from around the world in this year’s Ernest Hemingway Look-Alike Contest.
John Stubbings, 65, attributed his victory to persistence -- this was the eighth time he'd entered the contest in Key West, Florida.
“You’ve got to pay your dues,” Stubbings said
after a spirited celebration on Saturday night.
The 24th Hemingway Days festival celebrated
the July 21 birthday of the storied U.S. writer,
born 105 years ago.
Look-alike hopefuls from Hungary, Ireland,
Kazakhstan and the United States descended
on the tip of Florida over the weekend for the
celebration.
In a memorable tribute, first-time contestant
Vladimir Malikov -- a pensioner from Almaty,
Kazakhstan -- presented Stubbings with a
gold-trimmed emerald green hat and a
symbolic donkey representing good luck.
An avid Hemingway fan and short story writer,
Malikov, 65, sold his possessions and
collected donations to fulfill his dream of
attending the event.
One of 25 finalists, he told a cheering crowd that he will present a white T-shirt signed by Hemingway contestants and past winners to the National Museum of Kazakhstan.
“This is a big honor in my life. I love you all, my brothers, and every year I will make a toast to you,” said Malikov, a teetotaler.
Arriving in Key West without a credit card and with little cash, Malikov was unable to book a hotel room.
John Klausing, general manager emeritus of Sloppy Joe’s, the renowned Hemingway watering hole where the famed author met third wife Martha Gellhorn in 1936, helped Malikov find accommodations at a youth hostel.
Hemingway, who lived in Key West during the 1930s, used the town as the setting for his novel “To Have and Have Not.” Royalty checks and original manuscripts of that novel were found at Sloppy Joe’s after Hemingway’s 1961 suicide in Ketchum, Idaho.
“This is probably our best year because of the international flavor with three new contestants,” said Rick Kirvan, president of the 175-member Hemingway Look-Alike Society. “We’re bringing this out for the rest of the world.”
The Hemingway Days celebration included literary events, including a short story competition directed by Hemingway's granddaughter, Lorian Hemingway.
On Saturday, huffing Hemingway Days participants also jogged around a block in a "Running of the Bulls" salute to the rowdy sporting challenge in Pamplona, Spain. An arm-wrestling competition on Sunday concluded the event.
Thing to Watch:
- On July 30, the Central Election Commission will hold a second seminar for news media, political parties and nongovernmental organizations to discuss proposed Rules for election campaigning through the news media, and their coverage of the election.
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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
