In this issue:
World Religious Congress to Counter "Clash of Civilizations"
7,531 Candidates Register for Sept. 20 Local Elections
"Competitiveness Is the Issue" As Kazakhstan Girds for WTO, Says President Nazarbayev
Kazakhstan Ensures Freedom of Emigration, Says President Bush
Zhumabekov Named to Coordinate Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts
SAY IT IN KAZAKH:
What's new? - Qandai zhanalyk bar? [Qan-dai zhah-nah-lyk bahr]
Thank you! - Rakhmet! [Rah-k-met]
World Religious Congress to Counter "Clash of Civilizations"
Religious leaders from most of the world's faiths will gather in Astana next month, stressing that religion should be a unifying force not a divisive one.
A senior Kazakhstan diplomat, speaking on August 7 said the upcoming meeting would be an important one in light of the recent events in the world.
"The Congress that we are going to host is different from the previous ones in that we will try to provide answers to questions raised by the those past meetings in light of the new realities in world politics," First Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Abusseitov said. The Congress is to take place in Astana, Kazakhstan's capital since 1997, from September 23-24.
The Congress will come at a time when various religious extremist groups increasingly imply the notion of a "clash of civilizations" as they seek to exploit differences and drive a wedge, sewing enmity throughout the world. The Congress, with its objectives of searching for universal points of reference in the world's religions will hopefully lead to a permanent dialogue among the religions.
"Kazakhstan is home to more than 40 religious denominations, and there are more than 3,000 religious groups throughout the country," Abusseitov said. "It has been the tradition of our land that we all live in peace, so we do have some experience in that area."
The Congress is an initiative of President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan. The foreign ministry expects several dozen religious delegations as well as senior statesmen from various countries to participate. Participants are expected to include leaders and senior representatives of Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, as well as Taoism, Shinto and other religions.
Earlier in the year, Pope John Paul II, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexii II of Moscow and All Russia, Secretary General of the World Muslim League Al-Turki, Chief Rabbi of Israel Jona Metsger and others said they would support the congress and its goals.
Mortimer Zuckerman, the chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations Officials, in a recent appearance on NBC TV, said that Kazakhstan was a "firewall to the expansion of the extremism." More than half of Kazakhstan's population follows the Muslim faith.
7,531 Candidates Register for Sept. 20 Local Elections
More than 7,500 candidates have registered to run in the September 20 local elections, Kazakhstan's Central Election Commission (CEC) announced August 12, two days after the legal registration expired.
This year's elections for regional, city and district representative bodies, or maslikhats, reflect a major growth in the interest and competitiveness compared to the 1999 elections. The hottest contests are shaping up in the current and former capital cities of Astana and Almaty, with approximately 7 people running for each seat, Khabar news agency reported.
Participating democracy is new in Kazakhstan, but it's been greeted with great enthusiasm.
To ensure equal opportunities for public exposure for all candidates, the CEC is providing each with about 87,000 tenge (approximately US$600) of government money. Candidates are able to spend this money on arranging meetings with constituents, printing needs and running ads in the media.
In the departure from past elections, this year candidates will be allowed to spend the money on ads in both state-owned and independent media, with the second group accounting for 80 percent of the market.
"You can place your information in any newspaper, but to preserve equality for all candidates, prices need to be similar for everybody," Daulet Baidildinov of Almaty election commission said August 11. It means that any media outlet needs to guarantee the level playing field by providing the same price for all candidates. The CEC is expected to oversee this process.
"Competitiveness Is the Issue" As Kazakhstan Girds for WTO, Says President Nazarbayev
Kazakhstan will have to get ready to operate in a more competitive environment before joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), President Nursultan Nazarbayev said during a visit to Ust-Kamenogorsk in the heavily industrialized East Kazakhstan region August 12.
"Unless we establish competitive high-tech production, we will always be catching up with everybody else," the President said. "We are moving steadfastly toward joining the WTO," Mr. Nazarbayev noted. He mentioned several recent governmental programs, particularly the industrial innovation program leading to the year 2015 and the agricultural development program leading to the year 2006, as ways to boost the country's competitiveness on the global market.
The economy needs to be growing at a sustainable annual rate of 7-8 percent, Mr. Nazarbayev added. Kazakhstan's economy grew 10.4 percent in the first half of 2003, and it has been expanding at an annual rate of about 10 percent since 2000.
"We will have to work in the open economy, whereas we will gain access to all global markets on the one hand," the President said. On the other hand, the President said, Kazakhstan will open its borders for cheaper and more competitive goods from other countries. Hence, Kazakhstan will need to devote enormous attention to the processing industries and all the investment, as well as loans from the international banks, such as the EBRD, Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank will be directed to this sphere, he added. Earlier, at the August 7 Government session, President Nazarbayev said that "within several months the Government needs to have a clear program on joining the WTO."
The East Kazakhstan region is home to some of the country's biggest industrial companies, such as KazZinc, among the world's largest producers of zinc, and Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMZ), a former military facility currently producing beryllium alloys, uranium tablets for the power plants and other high-end products. The region is also home to the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site where the Soviets carried out about 500 nuclear explosions during the Cold War era.
Kazakhstan Ensures Freedom of Emigration, Says President Bush
In a recent half-yearly letter to the U.S. Congress about emigration practices in some countries of the former Soviet Union, President Bush said the Kazakhstan is continuing to comply with international standards concerning freedom of emigration.
The August 8 letter accompanied a report supporting its statement. The report of that kind is warranted by the 1974 Trade Act, or the so-called Jackson-Vanik amendment, and serves as a waiver from the trade sanctions on the countries that do not ensure freedom of emigration for their citizens.
The amendment was introduced almost 30 years ago at the height of the Cold War to penalize the Soviet Union for not allowing its citizens of Jewish origin the freedom to emigrate. While it was revoked through the legislation with regard to certain former republics of the USSR during the last decade, Kazakhstan still remains subject to its provisions and is exempted from trade sanctions only through constant presidential waivers continuing from mid-90s.
Zhumabekov Named to Coordinate Anti-Human Trafficking
Justice Minister Onalsyn Zhumabekov was appointed to coordinate the nationwide efforts to fight trafficking in persons, the Government said (www.government.kz) in its August 7 news release.
As National Coordinator for the Fight Against Trafficking in Persons, he will oversee the work of a recently established interagency commission whose task is to develop concrete measures to tackle the problem of human trafficking. The commission includes officials from the ministries of Justice, Interior, the National Security Committee, the office of the Prosecutor General and the Agency on Migration and Demography.
The appointment came quickly, after the President signed a new law making amendments to the Criminal Code in July. The amendments broadened the legal basis for prosecuting trafficking-related crimes.
The government cooperates with the International Organization for Migration in operating the Care crisis center working for the protection and rehabilitation of trafficking victims.
On the same day of the government's announcement, the Foreign Ministry said it had instructed all the diplomatic missions of Kazakhstan abroad to provide assistance to trafficking victims and to interact closely with law enforcement agencies of the countries where there are missions in uncovering the instances of human trafficking.
Things to Watch:
- On August 12, 1953, the Soviets detonated the first thermonuclear device at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in Eastern Kazakhstan. Today there are no nuclear weapons in the territory of Kazakhstan.
- Students from Kazakhstan will compete in the International Informatization Olympics, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, from August 16-23.
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News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada
(Compiled from own sources and various agencies' reports)
Contact person: Roman Vassilenko
Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, Fax: (202) 232- 5845
