In this issue:
Gen. Myers Thanks Kazakhstan for Help in Iraq
Draft Bill Would Guarantee Freedom of Speech
Political Parties Face Off in Planned TV Debates
Personal Income Grows 13.4 Percent between January-July, Economy Grows 9.1 percent in Same Period
President Nazarbayev Meets Bush’41, Scowcroft, Peres in Athens
Say It in Kazakh:
Steppe --- Dala
Eagle --- Byrkit
Steppe Eagle --- Dalalyk Byrkit
Gen. Myers Thanks Kazakhstan for Help in Iraq
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 13 (AP) - The highest-ranking U.S. military officer thanked Kazakhstan on Friday for sending troops to Iraq and said America and the former Soviet republic intend to expand military cooperation.
Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard B. Myers met with Kazakh military officials to discuss strengthening military ties, the Kazakh deployment in Iraq and future U.S. security assistance to the Central Asian nation, the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.
Myers called the meetings very productive and said he and his Kazakh counterpart, Maj. Gen. Bulat Darbekov, had agreed to work together to expand military ties.
Myers praised Kazakhstan’s 27-strong contingent of military engineers in Iraq, calling their contribution tremendous and valuable. He said Kazakh soldiers had defused more than 2.5 million explosive devices in Iraq since their deployment last year.
Last month, Kazakhstan carried out a third rotation of its military team in southern-central Iraq and stepped up security in the area where the team is based.
In May the former Soviet republic's Parliament demanded that the troops be withdrawn because their safety could not be guaranteed.
But in June, the Foreign Ministry said Kazakhstan would continue to support international efforts to stabilize Iraq and that the presence of Kazakh troops would increase the chances of Kazakh companies winning reconstruction contracts there.
Kazakhstan is the only Central Asian nation to contribute troops to the stabilization forces in Iraq.
Draft Bill Would Guarantee Freedom of Speech
Altynbek Sarsenbayev, Information Minister of Kazakhstan since mid-July and co-chairman of the opposition Ak Zhol political party, has presented a bill to guarantee the freedom of speech on August 18 and invited comments from the news media.
Speaking at an Astana news conference, the Minister said the bill is based on democratic principles and is “a completely different concept [from an earlier measure which was rejected by the President earlier this year], which corresponds to the spirit of the times and our current level of development.”
This bill would introduce several major changes. For one, news media outlets would no longer be required to register with the Information Ministry, and “just the registration with the justice bodies as a legal entity will be enough.”
It would also introduce tough anti-monopoly regulation, particularly in radio and television. Sarsenbayev said: “We propose that one individual or legal entity be allowed to have a controlling stake only in one national broadcasting company.” These individuals or entities will not be allowed to own more than 25% in any other broadcasting companies.
The Minister noted the bill would also reduce further the state’s presence in the news media market: “The state and executive bodies will not have the right to hold controlling stakes in the news media, expect for their own websites and specialized publications, and in only one broadcasting company.”
The bill would also provide several measures to protect journalists, including the decriminalization of libel suits. The bill would limit the amount of monetary damages courts may award in civil libel cases against the media. The Minister, who has led the Information Ministry in the past, said “a person suing a publication must know he will not be able to get rich overnight by bankrupting it.”
Barring journalists from doing their jobs will entail fines, and even criminal prosecution. The bill would also expand the list of sources of information from which a journalist can quote without having to bear responsibility for disseminating wrongful information.
Minister Sarsenbayev invited the media to work on the draft and said the bill should be introduced in the Parliament in January 2005.
Political Parties Face Off in Planned TV Debates
The Central Election Commission set dates for political parties to stage debates on the two TV channels with the largest audiences later in August, adding an important element to the unfolding political campaign for September 19 Parliamentary elections.
The commission said the debates will take place on August 20-21 on Khabar TV, and August 27-28 on Kazakhstan TV channel.
Zagipa Baliyeva, the commission’s chairwoman, announced the decision at a meeting with political parties in Astana on August 13. She invited each of the 12 registered political parties to send two representatives for the debates which will offer every party an opportunity to present their campaign platform and square off with their opponents.
The commission said it will discuss conditions for the debates one more time with the political parties before they take place.
Also, on August 18, the Commission completed registering party lists for the September 19 election. Eight parties will compete in the election individually, while 4 other parties have joined in two election blocs. At midnight on August 18, the commission finished registering candidates in single-seat constituencies and is set to announce the final numbers and names shortly. As of that morning, of 681 nominations 592 candidates were registered to run in 67 constituencies.
Elsewhere, Ambassador Robert Barry, head of OSCE/ODIHR observation mission in Kazakhstan, said his mission will issue reports before and after election day, on August 26 and September 9. He noted the mission will hold a news conference in Astana on September 20, the day after the election.
Personal Income Grows 13.4 Percent between January-July, Economy Grows 9.1 percent in Same Period
Kali Abdiev, Chairman of Kazakhstan’s Agency on Statistics announced the country’s economy, buoyed by strong performance in manufacturing, mining and agriculture grew by 9.1 percent in January-July of 2004 compared to the same period of 2003.
Speaking at a news conference in Almaty on August 16, Abdiev said the gross domestic product in monetary terms amounted to 2.4 trillion tenge (US$1=136 tenge as of August 18). Production of goods accounted for 41 percent of GDP, while services accounted for 53.5 percent.
Industrial production grew by 9.5 percent. Mining, including oil production, expanded by 11.9 percent, processing industry grew by 7.7 percent.
The consumer price index in July 2004 stood at 102.6 percent compared to December 2003, meaning the inflation is being kept well under control.
Capital investment in January-July 2004 reached 638.1 billion tenge, which is 11.2 percent higher than in the previous year’s period.
Foreign trade in seven months amounted to US$14.2 billion, with exports at US$8.5 billion and imports at US$5.7 billion.
The overall economic growth, supported by meaningful structural reforms and prudent fiscal policies, continues to boost increased prosperity. Abdiev said average nominal personal income in July 2004 amounted to 12,609 tenge per month (US$93), an increase of 20.9 percent over July 2003. In real terms, the growth amounted to 13.4 percent.
High economic growth rates sustained for a period of the last five years, consistently place Kazakhstan among the world’s fastest growing economies.
President Nazarbayev Meets Bush’41, Scowcroft, Peres in Athens
Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, visiting Greece at the invitation of Greek President Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, attended the opening ceremony of the Games of XXVIII Olympiad in Athens on August 13 and later met with former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, former U.S. national security advisor Gen. Brent Scowcroft and other dignitaries including former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres.
President Nazarbayev also visited the Kazakh Auyl in Athens, a small village set up specifically to help Kazakhstan’s athletes relax and enjoy a home-like atmosphere. Athletes of all nations are welcome to visit.
So far, Kazakhstan’s athletes have not won a medal. Here are some notable events.
Boxing:
Kazakhstan’s boxers have so far routed their opponents from Poland, Uganda, Puerto Rico and Germany in the early stages of competition.
Beibut Shumenov (Light Heavyweight, 81kg) achieved a 34-22 victory over Aleksy Kuziemski of Poland in Round of 32, progressing to Round of 16.
Mirzhan Rakhimzhanov (Fly Weight, 51kg) won over Puerto Rico's Joseph Serrano during their men's Round of 32 boxing bout.
World Champion Galib Jafarov (Featherweight, 57 kg) defeated Brian Mayanja of Uganda, with the referee stopping the fight when Jafarov built a 20 point lead in round three.
Sydney silver medalist Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov (Super Heavy Weight, +91kg) defeated Germany’s Sebastian Koeber in Round of 16 and progressed to the quarterfinals.
Water Polo:
Kazakhstan’s men’s team gave a brave performance against
Russia and the United States, but eventually lost 5-2 and 9-6.
The August 17 match with the U.S. (see picture) was a
particular nail-biter for both sides, with Kazakhs leading in the game
early on. The team will continue to play in the preliminary Group A
with Hungary, the 200 Olympics winners and ranked #1 in the world
now, Serbia and Montenegro and Croatia. Three teams advance from
each of the six-nation groups. The top qualifiers advance to the
semifinals, and the next two in each group go into playoffs for the
other semifinal positions.
Kazakhstan’s women’s team lost 8-6 to Greece and 9-4
to Olympic champions Australia. In addition to these
two countries, they have been drawn alongside Italy.
Things to Watch:
- The Stepnoi Orel-2004 (Steppe Eagle) annual international military exercises take place in the south of Kazakhstan close to Almaty from August 18 to 27. Fifteen hundred troops of Kazakhstan’s Airmobile Forces and a company of 150 British troops participate in the exercises. U.S. military will fill a role as observers. The mission of the exercises is “a special military operation of Airmobile Forces of Kazakhstan to assist a friendly state in eliminating illegal militants”.
- Kazakhstan marks the Day of the Constitution on August 30.
________________________________________________________________________________
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
