103101

Vol. 4, No. 46, October 31, 2001

Politics

British Prime Minister thanks President Nazarbayev

Members of Kazakhstan's Parliament support antiterrorist campaign and appeal to avert humanitarian catastrophe

Majilis passes CTBT ratification bill

Kazakhstan postpones Asian security summit

Economy

US Administration consults on graduating seven CIS countries from "Jackson-Vanik" amendment

U.S. to Buy Foreign, including Kazakhstan's, Wheat for Afghanistan

POLITICS

British Premier thanks President Nazarbayev

President Nursultan Nazarbayev received a letter from British Prime Minister Tony Blair containing words of gratitude for condolences expressed after the death of British citizens during the recent terrorist acts in the US. The British leader also expressed his appreciation for Kazakhstan's support of the coalition against the Taliban movement.

Speaking about Afghanistan's future, Blair remarked that the United Kingdom wants to see "a stable and representative regime that would be devoted to eliminating terrorism and would strengthen rather than worsen regional security and stability." In his opinion, the rebirth of Afghanistan is a common concern, and he hopes that Kazakhstan along with other countries in the region will contribute to this process.

Members of Kazakhstan's Parliament support antiterrorist campaign and appeal to avert humanitarian catastrophe

Members of Majilis, the lower house of Kazakhstan's Parliament, sent an address to the United States President and Congress in which they said that "people in Kazakhstan share the grief of the American people in connection with the Sept. 11 terrorist acts in New York and Washington and "support measures undertaken by the U.S. and other antiterrorist coalition partners aimed at the fight against this global menace".

They stressed that "the republic was encountering the threat of terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking and other negative occurrences well before the September tragedy and has always warned about the danger coming out of Afghanistan".

The letter stated that Kazakhstan has been calling on the world community to resolve the Afghan crisis on a long term, comprehensive basis under the UN aegis with a view on complete political, economic and humanitarian rehabilitation of Afghanistan.

The deputies were "encouraged by reassurances that the United States and members of the coalition would take all the measures in order to avoid civilian casualties and to avert the humanitarian crisis in this already devastated country and the ensuing mass exodus of Afghan refugees", and they subsequently called upon the U.S. to plan its further actions in a way that would help avoid civilian deaths and humanitarian catastrophe.

Kazakhstan postpones Asian security summit

The first ever summit of the 16-member Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, scheduled to take place on November 8-10 in Almaty, has been postponed until the first half of next year. According to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, convening the summit at a time when member states are confronted with the shared problem of fighting terrorism could narrow down the range of issues included on the agenda.

Majilis passes CTBT ratification bill

Majilis, the lower house of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, passed a ratification bill of Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty on October 24, 2001, reconfirming Kazakhstan's strong commitment to a non-nuclear status. Before going to the President's desk for signature, the bill is due to pass the Senate.

Kazakhstan signed the CTBT in 1996. A year later the Government of Kazakhstan and the CTBT preparatory commission signed an Agreement on establishment and use of the seismic monitoring stations in the country. Their construction is expected to continue into 2002.

ECONOMY

U.S. Administration consults on graduating seven CIS countries from "Jackson-Vanik" amendment

REUTERS reported that the Bush administration has started consulting Congress on removing seven former Soviet republics (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine) from the list of countries for which the United States links normal trade with emigration policies. Under the so called "Jackson-Vanik amendment", passed in 1974 during the Cold War, the Soviet Union and other communist countries could not have normal trading relations with the United States unless they could show that they did not restrict emigration.

"Today, as a result, normal trade relations can be extended and maintained only after the issuance of an annual Presidential waiver. We have, however, started to consult with the Congress and interested groups on the possibility of graduating Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Moldova, Armenia, and Azerbaijan from the provisions of the amendment", said U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher on Friday October 26, adding that "those are the ones we're interested in seeing whether they can be graduated".

In practice, the United States has certified in recent years that these countries do have open emigration policies.

Kazakhstan has completely fulfilled its commitment to the freedom of movement, having abolished the so-called exit visas by governmental decree on July 28, 2001. The move was commended by the OSCE which said that "In the light of OSCE commitments and repeated recommendations from the OSCE to Kazakhstan on this issue, the abolition constitutes an important step towards guaranteeing to Kazakh citizens the full enjoyment of freedom of movement".

Earlier in 2001 two prominent members of the US Congress Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Congressman Joseph Pitts (R-PA) - introduced two separate bills granting permanent normal trade relations to Kazakhstan and graduating it from the "Jackson-Vanik amendment". According to Congressman Pitts, "Kazakhstan has made tremendous gains since the fall of the Soviet Empire So much so that Jackson-Vanik law that prevented their getting PNTR no longer applies".

U.S. to Buy Foreign, including Kazakhstan's, Wheat for Afghanistan

The United States said on October 31 it would use every means possible to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan, as U.S. military strikes intensify and an unforgiving winter season nears, REUTERS reported. The U.S. Agency for International Development said it would purchase $11.2 million worth of foreign wheat in its diplomatic campaign to feed hungry Afghans, turning away from U.S. wheat for the first time.

``We're using every available means and every available route to get food to needy Afghans before the winter sets in,'' USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios said in a statement. Aid agencies have estimated that 7.5 million people face hunger in Afghanistan, where U.S. air strikes, drought and now the onset of winter threaten a humanitarian disaster.

Natsios, who earlier on Wednesday briefed President Bush on the U.S. humanitarian effort, said the agency would provide $6 million to the United Nations' World Food Program to purchase 15,000 tons of wheat from Kazakhstan.

As the lead food aid agency in Afghanistan, WFP said it hopes to double the amount of food supplies into the country to 52,000 tons a month. The United States is the largest donor to WFP operations. USAID will also give $5.2 million to three nongovernmental organizations for the local purchase of 13,495 tons of wheat and other commodities.

A major U.S. farm group said it supported the actions even though the government was not using U.S. wheat supplies. ``U.S. wheat farmers support our government's efforts to feed people,'' said U.S. Wheat Associates President Alan Tracy. ''When children are starving, it becomes less relevant whose flag is on the wheat bag.''

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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