In this issue:
Kazakhstan's Security Chief Visits U.S. for Talks on Terrorism
Young Stars of Kazakhstan Thrill Audience in Washington
Kazakhstan to Expand 2004 Oil Production, Exports by 11-14%
Kazakh Security Chief Shares Soviet-Era Files with Holocaust Museum, New Light on Dark Days of the Past
SAY IT IN KAZAKH:
Religion -- Din [Dhyn]
History Tarikh [Tah- rikh]
Kazakhstan's Security Chief Visits U.S. for Talks on Terrorism
Gen. Nartai Dutbayev, head of Kazakhstan's security service, visited Washington on October 7-9 for talks with the United States on how to promote bilateral cooperation in fighting common threats of terrorism and drug trafficking.
Gen. Dutbayev, chairman of the National Security Committee (NSC) of Kazakhstan, met with officials of the U.S. Government, including the State Department and members of the U.S. Congress.
He said his U.S. counterparts thanked Kazakhstan for its cooperation in the global war on terror and said the meetings would open the way for closer ties.
The General noted, "Our fruitful meetings here will hopefully lead to more extensive cooperation in jointly countering the threats to peace and security posed by terrorism, trafficking in drugs, humans, organized crime and other illegal activities."
The NSC is the lead agency in Kazakhstan in the fight against terrorism. It coordinates actions of all other government institutions. In addition to intelligence and counterintelligence functions of a security service, the NSC also oversees the Border Guards of Kazakhstan.
His schedule in Washington included a presentation at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (see below).
Young Stars of Kazakhstan Thrill Audience in Washington
The Young Stars of Kazakhstan completed a five-state tour of the United States within an appearance in the nation's capital.
Performing at Washingtong's Duke
Ellington School of the Arts on October 3,
these young performers brought a
program of classical music, traditional
Kazakh music and jazz to a capacity
audience in the school's Duke Ellington
Theater.
Many in the audience were younger
students studying the performing arts
who obviously felt a close kinship with
the Kazakh performers, often dancing
in the aisles and between the seats as
the music moved them.
Guldana Zholymbetova, director of the newly formed School of Jazz at the Kazakh National Academy of Music told the audience, "Once we were not allowed to play jazz, but now it is part of our music."
The Duke Ellington School of the Arts is named after Washington's own Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, one of the nation's undisputed jazz greats.
Kazakhstan to Expand 2004 Oil Production, Exports by 11-14%
Vladimir Shkolnik, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister, told journalists in Almaty on October 7, Kazakhstan expects to expand its oil production from its current level by 11 percent and expand exports by 14% percent in 2004.
Speaking at the Kazakhstan International Oil and Gaz Exhibit (KIOGE) in Almaty, the Minister said the country's total oil production was set to climb to 1.16 million barrels per day in 2004 compared to this year's 1.04 million barrels per day, while domestic consumption would remain flat at 160,000 bpd. He said oil exports would rise by 14 percent in 2004 to hit 1.0 million barrels per day for the first time as Kazakhstan's national oil company and international oil majors expand their giant projects in this Central Asian state.
Under the recently announced Caspian offshore development program, Kazakhstan plans to triple current level of production to 3.01-3.14 million barrels per day by 2015, which will put it among the world's top-ten producers.
"We are sure to achieve oil output within this range by 2015," Minister Shkolnik said at KIOGE.
In a parallel development, Kazakhstan plans to produce 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year by 2015. Domestic consumption will account for only 15,000,000,000 cubic meters, which means the bulk will be available for export.
Kazakh Security Chief Shares Soviet-Era Files with Holocaust Museum, New Light on Dark Days of the Past
General Nartai Dutbayev, chairman of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee, shared copies of his service's archival documents with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on October 9 in a groundbreaking event which was the first evidence of growing cooperation between these two institutions.
These documents, available in the West for the first time, are the interrogation transcripts of Nazi collaborators who participated in executions of hundreds of Jews and other people in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union, as well as the concentration camp of Treblinka in Poland. After the war, many collaborators were captured and brought to justice in Kazakhstan.
Museum's library, watched by descendants
of Holocaust survivors who fled to
Kazakhstan, Gen. Dutbayev said: "Before
coming here, I toured the Museum and I
was tremendously moved by its forceful
exhibits. I pledge that we will spare no
effort to make sure the cooperation
between the archives of Kazakhstan and
this Museum continues and brings more
documents here."
Gen. Dutbayev leads the National Security
Committee, which is the successor
organization to the former Soviet KGB in
Kazakhstan. He was visiting Washington
for the presentation of documents and
meetings with various U.S. agencies to
discuss bilateral cooperation in fighting
terrorism, drug trafficking and other threats to security and peace (See lead story).
Paul Shapiro, director of the Museum's Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, received the documents, saying: "These documents will help researchers and the general public to know more about how Holocaust was perpetrated in the Eastern Europe and in the occupied territory of the former Soviet Union."
He said this was the first time these documents have been seen in the West and the first time any Central Asian country has made its archives available to the Holocaust Museum. Mr. Shapiro said, "For this we are grateful to the Government of Kazakhstan."
This sharing of documents relating to 50 criminal investigations spanning three decades, from 1940s to 1960s, was termed a "first step in the expanding cooperation". In May 2003, the Museum signed a cooperation agreement with the Kazakhstan's State Archives.
"We are sure this cooperation will bring more documents," Mr. Shapiro said.
Speaking at the event, Kanat Saudabayev, Kazakhstan's Ambassador to the United States, said the sharing process was initiated by President Nursultan Nazarbayev several years ago.
The Ambassador noted, "ten years ago it was unimaginable that the President of an independent Kazakhstan would instruct the Chairman of the National Security Committee of Kazakhstan to share archival documents, formerly held by the Soviet KGB, with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Today's event speaks well of the openness of my homeland."
Speakers at the presentation referred to the event as part of Kazakhstan's efforts to build trust and mutual understanding in these trying times.
"Kazakhstan is a country of 137 ethnic groups. The respect and care for each other is in our blood," said Gen. Dutbayev.
In the mid-20th Century, Kazakhstan welcomed people who fled prosecution by the invading Nazis. "The people of Kazakhstan, during those difficult years, provided shelter and shared their bread with all these refugees. This led to the unique diversity Kazakhstan enjoys today, where people of 40 different religions live well together," Ambassador Saudabayev said. Since independence in 1991, a total of 14 synagogues either have been built or are under construction in our predominantly Muslim country, he added.
Kazakhstan wants to share its experience of tolerance and just recently hosted the first Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana where representatives of 18 different religions joined in condemning terrorism in the name of religion and called for peace and dialogue.
Mark Levin, executive director of the National
Conference on Soviet Jewry, said he visited
Kazakhstan as part of the group of American
Jewish leaders earlier this year. He was able
to "have a first hand experience of how
followers of Islam, Judaism and Christianity
live and work together in Kazakhstan." He
said this history of harmony and tolerance
goes back several centuries throughout
which Muslims and Jews lived side by side
in Kazakhstan and other parts of Central Asia.
born in Chu, Kazakhstan, in 1945 and is the
son of Polish Holocaust survivors, attended
the ceremony along with his son. He said
he came because he believed this was an
important event and he wanted nothing more
than to see his birthplace again.
Things to Watch:
- Local runoff elections take place October 12 in almost 500 constituencies.
- 11th annual Kazakhstan Oil and Gaz Exhibition and Conference takes place in Almaty, October 7-9, 2003
* * *
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
