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www.kazakhstan-embassy-us.org

Vol. 4, No. 1, October 2, 2002

Politics

Kazakhstan discusses abolishing death

penalty

Ak Zhol party collects enough membership

to get registered

U.S. to supply Kazakhstan with military

helicopters and Hummers

Economy

Kazakhstan may increase oil production by

more than 3 times by 2015

New oil discovery in Eastern Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan's harvest at nearly 14.7 million

tonnes of grain

Majilis deputies debate hanges

Express train launched between Almaty in the Criminal Code in Astana,

and Astana

September 25, 2002

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DO YOU KNOW THAT...

...On October 2, 2002, President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the law "On the accession of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism ".

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POLITICS

Kazakhstan discusses abolishing death penalty

Wide variety of opinions marks the discussions

Almaty hosted an international conference titled "Eliminating the Death Penalty: Pros and Cons" on September 30 October 1. The conference was organized by the Ministry of Justice, the local office of the OSCE, the Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights and representatives from Penal Reform International in Kazakhstan with the support of the Open Society Institute.

Officials at all levels, including the presidential administration, the general prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as international experts and NGO representatives, attended the conference. Earlier this year, President Nazarbayev requested that the government study introducing a moratorium on the death penalty followed by its abolition.

Newly confirmed Human Rights Ombudsman Bolat Baikadamov spoke in favor of abolishing the capital punishment calling it a "rudiment with no place in a civilized society".

"The world began to respect more such values as human rights, among which the right of a human being for life has the fundamental importance," the Ombudsman said. He stressed that the abolition of death penalty in Kazakhstan "is now needed more than ever". He noted that widespread opinion about the death penalty as a restraint factor for potential criminals is not supported by scientific research.

Mr. Baikadamov said life sentence is beginning to be looked at as a harsher punishment than the death penalty, corresponding to "the level of punishment a criminal should suffer for committing serious crime".

Supreme Court Chairman Kairat Mami said the rate of death sentences in Kazakhstan is showing a stable downward trend. Seventy-eight people were sentenced to death in Kazakhstan in 1999, while in 2000 and 2001 the numbers stood at 39 and 30, respectively. The Kazakhstan's International Bureau on Human Rights and Law data show that about 400 people were executed in Kazakhstan since its independence in 1991.

Kazakhstan's penitentiary system is undergoing gradual reforms aimed at the humanization of punishments, Mr. Mami remarked.

On September 25, the lower house of the national Parliament, the Majilis, adopted the bill introducing changes into the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan that will broaden the scope and types of punishment other than imprisonment. The bill that has to pass the Senate would also specifically limit the scope for the death penalty use. It would not be used against juvenile criminals (those younger than 18), all female convicts and elderly people older than 65 years of age. The death penalty is also not to be carried out within one year since the court decision.

Ak Zhol party collects enough membership to get registered

Plans to expand membership to 70,000

The founding leaders of reform-minded Ak Zhol (White Path) party held a press conference in Almaty on September 25 to announce that the party have signed up 52,000 members across the country. This number is more than 50,000 minimum required for registration according to the new law on political parties adopted in July 2002.

The party was founded earlier this year by former officials, including former deputy prime minister Oraz Dzhandosov and former labor minister Alikhan Baimenov.

Speaking at a news conference, Mr. Dhzandosov said the ongoing struggle between the opposition and the government is a reflection of Kazakhstan's economic maturation. "The economic basis for Kazakhstan has firmed. It is only natural that attention shifts to the political field", Mr. Dzhandosov said.

Mr. Dzhandosov stressed that there were sharp differences in the opposition camp. Some parties and movements, including the democratic Ak Zhol party, are willing to work with President Nazarbayev to bring about changes, such as the expansion of powers of the national parliament and the introduction of local and regional elections. Other opposition leaders, such as

former prime minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin, who was convicted on corruption-related charges last year and currently lives in self-imposed exile, have adopted a far more confrontational stance towards the President.

Mr. Dzhandosov said that he has met with Nazarbayev on several occasions and is convinced that the president continues to support the need for reforms. "He [Nazarbayev] understands he shouldn't stay on [as president] forever, but he wants to leave when he feels the country is stable," Mr. Dzhandosov said.

U.S. to supply Kazakhstan with military helicopters and Hummers

Security cooperation "radically expanded" since last year

Army Gen. Mukhtar Altynbaev, Kazakhstan's Minister of Defense met in Astana with representatives of Bell Textron and U.S. Embassy to discuss the shipment of Huey helicopters to Kazakhstan, the Defense Ministry's press service announced on September 27.

American helicopters are to be delivered to the Kazakhstan Armed Forces within the technical military assistance agreements and international financial cooperation programs, EDA and FMF, the press service said.

Due to the "radically expanded" cooperation with the United States since the beginning of 2002, the Kazakhstan peacekeeping battalion Kazbat has now been fully equipped to meet NATO standards. Currently, Kazakhstan is awaiting the battalion to get proper licensing from the United Nations to be able to send it abroad.

In spring, 2002, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld visited Astana for talks on strengthening the two nations' cooperation in the military sphere and called the two nations "partners in the global war on terrorism".

Currently, a group of Kazakhstan's liaison officers are at the U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, providing essential links between the two militaries in the ongoing campaign in Afghanistan. Next year, a group of Kazakhstan's officers will study in various defense colleges in America. Kazakhstan and the United States also signed documents providing for the shipment of up to 40 Hummer vehicles to Mobile Forces of the Kazakhstan's Army.

ECONOMY

Kazakhstan may increase oil production by more than 3 times by 2015

Major oil and gas conference in Almaty draws 360 companies from 31 countries

Under to the best case scenario, Kazakhstan may increase its oil output to 120-150 million tonnes by 2015 from 40 million tonnes in 2001, Prime Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov said in his keynote address at the KIOGE-2002, the 10th annual oil and gas exhibition and conference in Almaty. He said the industry successfully overcame the structural crises of the early 90s and currently is a "very dynamically developing one".

At a news conference, minister of energy and natural resources Vladimir Shkolnik said that the mineral and raw material sector accounts for 80% of Kazakhstan's economy.

He said that the world's oil production stands at 1.4 trillion barrels. Mr. Shkolnik indicated that if these rates continue, oil reserves will last for 35 years. He noted that therefore, the focus has been put on the Caspian region. "Our task is to make effective use of these resources and to discover new ones," Shkolnik said.

Over 500 participants representing 360 companies from 31 countries are taking part in the KIOGE-2002 exhibition. 50 delegates will speak at the conference, including U.S. and Russian envoys for the Caspian Sea, Steven Mann and Viktor Kalyuzhny.

New oil discovery in Eastern Kazakhstan

Boosts country's claim to become important energy supplier

A group of Kazakhstan geologists is conducting feasibility studies that have demonstrated the possibility of a new oil discovery in Eastern Kazakhstan. The first seismic survey in the area was conducted in the 1980's, when high viscosity oil was discovered at a depth of 3 km.

According to recent geological data, the block under exploration may contain 10 million tons of hydrocarbon resources. Kazakhstan-Kuwait joint venture Zaysan has begun drilling the Sary-Bulak-2 oil well near Zaysan lake, 70 km from the Chinese border. The exploration site is close to the Karamay oil field, which is currently being developed on the Chinese side of the border, deputy prime minister Karim Masimov announced during his trip to the field. If the oil discovery is confirmed, joint venture Zaysan will consider constructing an oil processing plant with transportation links to the Pavlodar refinery.

Kazakhstan's harvest at nearly 14.7 million tonnes of grain

Harvesting nears end, similar results to last year's expected

As of September 27, Kazakhstan harvested

14.68 million tonnes of grain on an area of 12.73

million hectares. According to the Ministry

of Agriculture, on the same date last year

Kazakhstan harvested 12.46 million tonnes of

grain from 10.28 million hectares.

This year's average yield is 1.19 tonnes of

grain per hectare compared to last year's average

of 1.26. Northern parts of Kazakhstan, which is

the country's principal grain-sowing area, have harvested some 9.3 million

tonnes, including 3.37 million tonnes in the Akmola region, 2.87 million in the Northern Kazakhstan region, and 3.11 million tonnes in the Kostanai region.

Earlier reports indicated that Kazakhstan harvested 15.9 million tonnes of grain in clean weight in 2001, and 11.3 million tonnes in 2000. The Agriculture Ministry had predicted that this year's grain harvest should be roughly equivalent to last year's.

Express train launched between Almaty and Astana

Shortens travel time by 6 hours

An express train departed on its maiden voyage from Astana to Almaty on September 30, 2002. The train is scheduled to make one trip per week from Astana to Almaty, covering the distance in six hours less than standard trains. The express train, made up of Spanish Patentes Talgo cars, will serve southern rail routes during the winter, as the cars are not designed to maintain a comfortable inside temperature with outside temperatures below - 25 degrees Celsius. According to Kazakhstan Temir Zholy deputy president Karim Kokrekbaev, next year the company plans to equip the express train with 44 cars adapted to the weather conditions of central Kazakhstan. The project was financed by a $27.4 million soft credit loan obtained by Kazakhstan Temir Zholy for an 8-year maturity term.

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For more news and information visit us at www.kazakhstan-embassy-us.org

News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan

(Compiled from own sources and various agencies' reports)

Contact persons: Roman Vassilenko, Aibek Nurbalin

Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, 115

Fax: (202) 232- 5845