Kazakhstan
News Bulletin
Released weekly by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
October 30, 2002 Vol. 4, No. 6
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In this issue:
President Nazarbayev calls for more security
OSCE chairman-in-office visits Kazakhstan
U.S. experts assess readiness of Kazakhstan's peacekeeping battalion
Journalist detained on charges of raping underage girl
Oil and gas production to reach 900,000 bpd in 2002
US Administration keen to see Kazakh oil in BTC pipeline
President Nazarbayev calls for more security
Asks people to be vigilant in order to prevent terrorism, crimes
In the wake of the terrorist attack in Moscow last week, President Nazarbayev called for increased security measures to protect key installations and asked the people to be responsible and vigilant. The President made his comments on Khabar TV on October 29 following the Security Council meeting in Astana that he chaired.
"I am sure we need to draw conclusions from the terrorist act in Moscow," Mr. Nazarbayev said. "I have listened to the reports of the law enforcement agencies and I gave instructions to toughen security of crucial nuclear and energy installation, and enterprises where munitions, explosives and chemical agents are being stored."
The President also called more efforts to preserve security and stability in Kazakhstan, saying the people and the media have an important role to play in that.
OSCE chairman-in-office visits Kazakhstan
Says OSCE is in Kazakhstan in order to conduct open dialogue with the government
OSCE chairman-in-office Antonio Martins da Cruz, the foreign minister of Portugal, visited Kazakhstan on October 29 and 30 for meetings with President Nursultan Nazarbayev, chairmen of the two chambers of parliament, the foreign minister and non-governmental organizations.
President Nazarbayev in Astana, Mr.
da Cruz congratulated Kazakhstan
on the progress in political and
economic reforms in the country for
the past 10 years, Khabar TV
Meeting with the journalists
afterwards, the OSCE official
stressed the Organization is in
Kazakhstan in order to conduct an
open dialogue with the government
on such issues as expanding
economic cooperation, joint fight
President Nazarbayev meets OSCE chairman- against terrorism and drug trafficking,
in-office Portuguese Foreign Minister Antonio as well as environment protection.
Martins da Cruz in Astana on October 30, 2002.
The meeting with Secretary of State Minister of Foreign Affairs Kassymzhomart Tokayev centered on security cooperation, the Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry said, but also included economic issues such as rational use of water resources in Central Asia and the rehabilitation of ecological disaster areas in Semipalatinsk and Aral Sea regions.
"We come from the same position in the area of fighting drug trafficking, terrorism and we are partners in tackling environmental problems," Mr. Tokayev said on October 29. "Together we discuss attitude towards the death penalty and the human rights. It is important that approaches to problems be productive."
Mr. Tokayev confirmed the priority of relations with the OSCE for Kazakhstan. Mr. da Cruz noted the republic's commitment to democratic values and praised its cooperation with the OSCE/ODIHR in terms of the development of democratic institutions, improving of election legislation and observance of the fundamental human rights and freedoms.
U.S. experts assess readiness of Kazakhstan's peacekeeping battalion
An expert group from the U.S. Defense Department has arrived in Kazakhstan to assess the preparedness of a Kazakhstan peacekeeping battalion, Kazbat, the Republic's Defense Ministry said in a statement on October 28.
"The expert group will compile a report on the battalion's preparedness and draw up recommendations on the required size of financial assistance," the ministry said. The U.S. experts will stay in the republic for ten days. They are expected to meet with officials from the Defense Ministry and the armed forces.
The statement stressed that the battalion has advanced military hardware and weapons and is staffed by professionals. Currently, the work is being done to equip the battalion according to the NATO standards. The Defense Ministry recalled that together with U.S. officials and NATO peacekeeping agencies they have drafted a program of joint exercises with similar detachments of other countries in order to train the battalion to modern international standards. The special priority will be given to the language training.
The ongoing increase in military-to-military exchanges between Kazakhstan's and American forces reflects incrementally growing importance of bilateral cooperation in the wake of antiterrorist campaign in the region since September 2001. Later this fall the Defense Minister of Kazakhstan is expected to visit the U.S. to discuss further strengthening of cooperation in the military sphere.
Journalist detained on charges of raping underage girl
On October 28, 2002, Sergei Duvanov, the 49-year-old journalist and editor of a human rights bulletin, was detained by the local police in Almaty region on the basis of a statement of a woman and her 14-year-old woman saying the latter was raped the previous night by Mr. Duvanov.
"On October 28, 2002, the Karasai District Department of Internal Affairs (ROVD) of the Almaty region received a statement from citizen Irina Nikolaevna Sai and her underage daughter Kristina K., born in 1988, saying the latter had been raped by citizen Duvanov S.V.," the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs for Almaty region in Kazakhstan, a regional police authority overseeing the investigation of this matter, said in its press release the same day.
"In the course of the checking made on this statement, it has been established that in the evening of October 27, 2002, in the Kainar village of Karasai District, 14-year-old Kristina K. together with her juvenile female friend entered the neighboring house where Duvanov S.V. has been living in order to deliver dinner meal to the female friend's father who had been working in that house at the request of Duvanov S.V.," the press release said.
"At the suggestion of Duvanov S.V. the girls washed themselves in a sauna. He then asked Kristina to stay and clean the house where he had been living alone," the police said. "At approximately 11.00 p.m. Duvanov S.V. persuaded Kristina K. to drink alcoholic drinks and after that he raped her in his house."
"Through the judicial and medical examination it was established that juvenile Kristina K. has had physical injuries in the form of bruises, which correspond to the time they were inflicted according to her statements, as well as in the form of a ruptured hymen," the press release said. "Within this case the bed sheets, the clothing and the underwear of the victim and Duvanov S.V. were seized. Currently, the described fact is being additionally examined in order to determine whether to initiate a criminal case."
According to the police, the investigation into the matter is continuing within the legal framework provided by the Kazakhstan law. Its results will be made public as they become available.
Oil and gas production to reach 900,000 bpd in 2002
Oil and gas condensate production in Kazakhstan is to reach 45 million tons in 2002 (900,000 barrels per day), minister of energy and mineral resources Vladimir Shkolnik announced at an October 23 meeting with CIS energy ministers in Moscow. Gas production is expected to rise to 14 billion cubic meters (bcm), an 8.5% increase over last year. Oil production is expected to total 60 million tons (1.2 million b/d) in 2005 and 150 million tons (3 million b/d) in 2015, while gas output will reach 20.5 bcm in 2005 and 45-50 bcm in 2015.
The lion's share of these volumes will continue to be directed for export purposes, which will further strengthen Kazakhstan's role as an important additional energy supplier. Mr. Shkolnik noted that extensive development of Kazakhstan's Caspian shelf resources would drive the output growth.
Only a few weeks ago the international consortium developing giant offshore oil field Kashagan announced a new oil discovery within the sphere of its operations at a distance of 50 miles southwest from Kashagan. The Government is expected to offer up to 200 new blocs in its Caspian sector early next year. At the meeting in Moscow, Mr. Shkolnik indicated that finding solution to the issues of utilization, processing and sale of natural gas, believed to be present in significant quantities in offshore oil-bearing structures, will be crucial for the development of those resources.
U.S. Administration keen to see Kazakh oil in BTC pipeline
The U.S. Administration is interested in having oil from Kazakhstan to flow through the Baku-Tbilis-Ceyhan pipeline when it is built, a senior U.S. diplomat said in a briefing with the journalists in Washington on October 18, Khabar TV reported this week. Kazakhstan's accession to the BTC pipeline is one of his main tasks for the foreseeable future, said Ambassador Steven Mann, senior advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State for Caspian basin energy diplomacy. The construction of the BTC pipeline began in September 2002 with a groundbreaking ceremony in Baku.
"During my recent trip to Kazakhstan I had very warm and productive meetings with the representatives of the Government and KazMunaiGas company," he said. "They are quite interested in discussing practical steps in this direction with the BTC consortium."
The Government in Astana has a political will to support the BTC, Mr. Mann said, adding that economics of the project will be key for the producers in Kazakhstan when they make a decision to use the pipeline. Officials in Kazakhstan maintain their support for multiple export routes for shipping oil from the republic, stating that the decision which routes to choose is the one for the companies to make.
Today oil exporters in Kazakhstan use older pipelines through Russia and a new major pipeline of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium commissioned in 2001. Those routes will be enough to accommodate exporters' needs until approximately 2005, experts believe, but after that new lines must be brought online to service the huge growth in production in Kazakhstan's Caspian offshore sector. Industry experts believe Kazakhstan's crude will be crucial for the success of the 1-million-barrels-per-day BTC line, expected to be operational in 2005.
Caspian oil reserves currently amount to 4 percent of the world's total, Mr. Mann said at the briefing, and while its significance should not be overestimated, it will still play an important role for the world energy markets. This will be the non-OPEC oil, and it will help control world prices for the next 10-20 years.
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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
