Voice of Democracy
Published by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation · Washington, D.C. ·Nov. 7, 2003

'IT'S REALLY ABOUT OIL' -- America's alliance with the "corrupt and despotic rulers" of Kazakhstan and the other Central Asian republics in the name of fighting international terrorism could boomerang and actually feed the cause Washington seeks to destroy. That is the contention of Lutz Kleverlamn, author of The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia (Atlantic Books). The Bush administration's real objective is access to the immense Caspian oil and gas resources, he writes in the Guardian. "The war on terror is being used as an excuse to further U.S. energy interests in the Caspian," he writes. "In a desperate effort to decrease its dependence on Saudi oil sheiks, the US seeks to control the Caspian oil resources." But he said it would be a mistake to trade one group of corrupt dictators for another, like Kazakhstan and its neighbors." That strategy "jeopardizes" the war on terror "because the resentment it causes makes it ever easier for terrorist groups to recruit angry young men." He predicted that the region's impoverished populations, "disgusted with the US's cynical alliances with their corrupt and despotic rulers, [could] increasingly embrace virulent anti-Americanism and militant Islam." http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/

APPEALING TO A HIGHER AUTHORITY -- In light of the Kazakh Supreme Court's rejection of the appeal by imprisoned independent journalist Sergei Duvanov, his lawyers plan to take their case to the court of international public opinion. Their focus is expected to be replacement of the rule of law with the rule of a vindictive dictator seeking to silence a reporter who had the temerity to reveal high level corruption in the Nazarbayev regime. The charges against Duvanov -- rape of an underage girl -- were widely considered politically motivated and baseless, according to independent sources and international observers at the trial. http://www.rferl.org/bd/ka/

PAID TO LIE FOR HIS COUNTRY -- There's an old saying that a diplomat is paid to go abroad to lie for his country. Kazakhstan's ambassador to England, Erlan Idrissov, easily earned his salary during a recent appearance on BBC's HARDtalk program. He steadfastly denied that his government is guilty of charges of human rights abuses, media restrictions and harassment of journalists. But host Tim Sebastian wasn't buying. He pointed out that the Nazarbayev regime has been hiring "very expensive" American PR and law firms to polish its image that could better be used "to clean up your awful human rights record." When Idrissov claimed advances on human rights, Sebastian countered that "you are backward," according to the U.S. State Department, which insists performance is deteriorating, not improving. When Sebastian quoted the report that included charges of police torture, electoral fraud, severe limits on citizen rights to change their government, arbitrary arrest, and other abuses, the ambassador blandly dismissed those allegations as "a generalization." He appeared to confirm the use of torture when he responded that it is not practiced on a "grand scale." He then switched to the "everyone else does it" defense, but that didn't work, either. When confronted with evidence of "violence and intimidation" against journalists who criticize the government, he dismissed the "pattern" of deaths and injuries as traffic "accidents." Although it is an open secret that federal prosecutors investigating the Kazakhgate corruption/bribery/money laundering scandal are focusing on the role of President Nazarbayev -- possibly for criminal charges or being named as an unindicted co conspirator -- the ambassador steadfastly denied that "any Kazakh citizen" is involved in the criminal investigation. He probably got a bonus in his paycheck for that interview. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/3208541.stm
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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