Voice of Democracy
Published by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation · Washington, D.C. ·Dec. 16, 2003

WHICH KAZAKHSTAN IS THAT? -- One of the things Nursultan Nazarbayev enjoys most about being a dictator is that Kazakhstan's newspapers can only print what he wants. That privilege extends to advertisers everywhere else, so it is understandable that readers of today's Washington Post might be a bit confused by an ad designed to look like a legitimate news story on page A-20 -- and with scissors and paste, the Kazakh Embassy here plans to reprint it to look like an authentic Post article. The ad is apparently about another Kazakhstan, this one in a parallel universe because it boasts of "building a democratic society with a market economy" in which people have "shed the shackles of a totalitarian regime and a command economy." But there were a few kernels of truth in this fairy tale for those who read between the lines. For example, the ad says, "we boast the highest per capita private bank deposits in the former Soviet Union"; translation: Nazarbayev reportedly has over a billion dollars in secret accounts in foreign banks. The ad brags of "raising our people's prosperity"; translation: no people have had their prosperity raised more than the dictator and his family. The ad claims "serious political reforms"; translation: the opposition is being systematically crushed and leading opponents have been jailed or driven into exile. It states that 12 years ago "there was only one political party in Kazakhstan" and "only a handful of state-owned newspapers"; translation: a nostalgic Nazarbayev is trying to turn back the clock with a spate of new laws pushed through a puppet parliament. http://www.washingtonpost.com

NO MORE RABBITS OUT OF HATS -- Nervous foreign investors warned Kazakh President Nazarbayev that rapid changes in legislation followed by recent surprise shifts in the country's tax and ownership policy combined with rampant corruption will scare off badly needed capital, according to a report in The Moscow Times. "The international investment community does not like surprises. The most damaging changes are legislative ones that appear like a rabbit out of a magician's hat," said Peter Robertson, a vice president ChevronTexaco, a major investor in the country's energy sector. "This perplexes investors and makes them fear what else can come out of the hat." Nazarbayev recently jammed legislation through his puppet parliament giving the state to a larger portion of oil sector revenues when global prices rise, Reuters reported. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/12/08/255.html

NAZARBAYEV GOING NUKE -- Although sitting on one of the world's great oil reserves, Kazakhstan is thinking of building a nuclear power plant near Balkhash Lake. The facility, which was discussed between Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year, is expected to cost about $2 billion and wouldn't go on line before 2015, according to Interfax. One purpose will be to create electricity for export, already a major income source, with sales this year up 80% over last year. http://www.interfax.com/com?item=Kaz&pg=10&id=5668204&req=

KAZAKH DAMN CONDEMNS ARAL SEA -- Kazakhstan's plans to build a seven mile dam across a small portion of the Aral Sea, widely considered the world's worst environmental disaster, condemns that body of water to oblivion, reports The Guardian. A quarter century of diverting waters from its two tributary rivers has virtually dried out the sea, which is bordered by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, turning it into "a desert wasteland." The Kazakh dam will try to contain any remaining waterflow, in the hope of helping the fishing industry and reducing dust storms. The dying sea has been linked to cancer and liver and kidney failure among adults in children in the surrounding areas, The Guardian reported. Today's political disputes over dying water resources could lead to armed conflict within 10 years unless there are significant changes, predicted a British diplomat quoted by The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,13369,1073009,00.html

For the full stories, see the web citations above or contact us at News@Kazakhstan21.org or see VOD Archives [http://iicas.org/english/enlibrary/libr_16_03_01kp.htm]. The Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation promotes democracy and human rights in Kazakhstan through public affairs and educational programs in the United States and Europe. This material is distributed by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation.

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