Voice of Democracy
Published by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation · Washington, D.C. · June 25, 2004

THE HAPLESS HORSEMAN -- You may recall the report (VOD June 18, 2004) about a Montana congressman who apparently became too intimately acquainted with the local vodka in Kazakhstan before giving his hosts a horseback riding demonstration during an official visit to that Central Asian republic over Memorial Day weekend. A Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call, said the episode was described as "drunken debauchery" by an embarrassed American diplomat who witnessed it, . People out in the Big Sky country were apparently also embarrassed by the behavior of their state's only congressman and the fact that a man from cowboy country can't stay on his horse. A diplomatic source reported that although the congressman broke and bruised several ribs, he probably didn't feel any pain. The chairman of the state's Democratic Party, Bob Ream, has sent a Freedom of Information request to Secretary of State Colin Powell asking for a report on the behavior of Rep. Denny Rehberg, the hapless horseman, as well as Sen. Conrad Burns and Leo Giacometto, the Washington lobbyist who arranged the trip. Ream noted that the participants all seemed to give different versions of what happened, so he is asking for State Department cables and reports so the public can have an accurate version of events. A highlight of the trip was the presentation of a $16.05 U.S. flag to Nursultan Nazarbayev, the notoriously corrupt Kazakh dictator; media controlled by the dictator's daughter treated the flag -- a routine give politicians give to visiting school children and other constituent groups -- as if it were a major diplomatic event. There are no reports about what he gave the congressman and senator in return. http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2004/06/24/news/mtregional/news07.txt

MAYDAY -- The rivalry between Kazakhstan's two capitals -- Almaty and Astana -- took a new turn, or a symbolic crash, this month when the national airline, Air Kazakhstan, was declared bankrupt after it was unable to overcome a mountain of debt and a young rival. The state-owned Air Kazakhstan, which serviced Almaty, the country's main business center and former capital, couldn't compete with three-year old Air Astana, which is 51 percent owned by the Kazakh government and 49 percent by Britain's BAE Systems. By owning both carriers, the government wound up in business competing with itself. Air Kazakhstan, which emerged eight years ago out of a previous bankrupt national carrier with an aging fleet, a poor safety record and a crushing debt, hasn't been flying since February, reports CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/05/20/bt.air.kazakhstan.reut/

MAFIA JOINS BBB -- Some might compare Kazakhstan's application to join the OECD's anti-corruption convention to the Mafia trying to join the Better Business Bureau, but that’s just what’s happening. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and and Development's convention on countering the corruption of foreign officials in international business operations would seem like a strange place for someone like an official under investigation in at least three countries -- Belgium, Switzerland and the United States -- for a variety of crimes, including bribery, money laundering and tax evasion. Nonetheless, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's government made an official application to the OECD convention, reported deputy foreign minister Vadim Zverkov. http://www.interfax.com/com?item=Kaz&pg=0&id=5729428&req

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.