Kazakhstan People
Kazakhstan (04/05)
Kazakhstani business people are generally less direct than American business people, and what can be accomplished in a few meetings in the United States might take more in Kazakhstan, requiring patience and discipline on the part of the U.S. business people. An experienced and competent interpreter can add invaluable context to your business meetings. ... [Read More]
Kazakhstan Should be Democratic Leader
A: In my experience here in Kazakhstan people are very, very bright, they are very well educated, and if they offer opinions that are not valid, they will be able to sort them out [among themselves]. You don't need a government to be able, through a media law, to try to restrict the media opinions people offer, in the belief that they need help to decide what is good for them. You have to trust people to be able to sort that out. I think the people in Kazakhstan are smart enough to be able to do it for themselves. ... [Read More]
2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Kazakhstan
During the year, 12 political parties were registered, including 3 denied registration in previous years (Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DCK), the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan(CPPK), and Rukhaniyat). In addition, two blocs were registered: The Agrarian and Civic parties formed the Agricultural-Industrial bloc, or AIST; the Communist Party and DCK formed an opposition bloc. International observers reported that the role of political party participation increased in the lead up to the September 19 Parliament elections. ... [Read More]
Kazakhstan
On September 11, the Government filed tax evasion charges against the leader of the Republican National People's Party (RNPK), Amirzhan Kosanov (see Sections 1.e. and 3). On October 13, a district court in Almaty convicted him and gave him a 1-year suspended sentence and fine of approximately $2,670 (374,000 Tenge). Kosanov appealed the verdict, but the appeal had not been heard by year's end. The charges were the latest in a pattern of harassment and politically motivated charges against him. ... [Read More]
Kazakhstan: Finishing the Transformation
Even as Kazakhstan seeks to accelerate its WTO bid, the hard fact is that foreign investors are increasingly worried that the Government of Kazakhstan is less committed today to openness and a welcoming investment climate than it was in the years following independence. We hope that the government and people of Kazakhstan will reject economic nationalism that is at odds with your government's stated intention to accelerate integration into the global economy. In our view, Kazakhstan simply cannot afford to pursue short-term gain at the expense of international investors and thereby jeopardize its hard-won reputation as a good place to invest. We hope to see more "win-win" thinking that produces prosperity for both international investors and the people of Kazakhstan. ... [Read More]
Kazakhstan
In February 2000, a team of OSCE representatives visited Astana to discuss the final OSCE report on the parliamentary elections; government officials agreed during the visit to an OSCE proposal for a series of roundtable discussions of the electoral reforms recommended in the report. The agreement called for broad participation in the discussions, including by representatives of the Government, all registered political parties, other political movements, and NGO's. In September 2000, the first of four planned sessions took place. Participants agreed to a future work plan with the inclusion of the OSCE and all political parties registered in 1999 in a parallel government working group on electoral reform. On January 25, three political opposition parties (Azamat, People's National Congress, and RNPK) withdrew from the process, stating that the Government was not responsive to their suggestions. The final meeting of the working group was rescheduled from Sep ... [Read More]
Kazakhstan
The new Political Parties Law requires that all parties registered at the time of its enactment complete a reregistration process by January 2003, according to the new criteria established by the law. Many of the 19 parties registered at that time were not expected to meet these new requirements. The new law prohibits political parties established on an ethnic, gender, or religious basis; parties established on a religious basis are specifically prohibited by the Constitution. Two small Kazakh ethnic nationalist parties, Alash and Kazakh Yely, as well as an ethnic Russian party that was granted temporary registration in April, were among the 19 registered parties during the year. The Russian party changed its name to the Compatriot Party in July to comply with the new law and in December announced that it had surpassed 50,000 members. The Democratic Party of Women announced in October that it had changed its name to Yel Dana (Wisdom of the Nation) and would mee ... [Read More]
Joint Press Conference with President Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan
The horrible events that occurred in the United States on September 11 were a tragedy for the American people. I think a common understanding of the shared danger of terrorism -- especially for a Kazakhstan closely located to this region -- brings our countries closer together. The day after tomorrow will be three months after that act, and these three months have changed the world in terms of international relations and political alignments. It has become clear that it is impossible to be safe from terrorism. It is necessary to struggle together, and from the first few days, Kazakhstan announced that it would be in a coalition with those who struggle against it by all means at its disposal. We have kept our word. We are following our obligations as determined by UN resolutions as well as our agreement with the United States. Kazakhstan has a common position with America on the post-war rehabilitation of Afghanistan so that it can become a friendly and peaceful state. ... [Read More]
Kazakhstan
People with Disabilities ... A court in Almaty on April 24 sentenced two members of the opposition Republican National People's Party of Kazakhstan (RNPK), Pyotr Afanasenko and Satzhan Ibrayev, to 31/2 years in prison for a weapons offense. An appeals court upheld the convictions. Afanasenko and Ibrayev, former KNB officers, served as bodyguards to RNPK leader Akezhan Kazhegeldin. Although it appeared there could be a factual basis for the charges against Afanasenko and Ibrayev, the OSCE and international and domestic human rights observers charged that government prosecution and sentencing of them was politically motivated. Some human rights observers also criticized the authorities for incarcerating Afanasenko and Ibrayev in ordinary prisons rather than in special institutions created to protect former members of the security forces from possible retribution by other prisoners. ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Kazakhstan is sparsely populated with only 15 million people (53% Kazakh, 30% Russian, and less than 5% each ethnic Ukrainian, Uzbek, German, Uyghur, and other). Twenty-six cities in Kazakhstan have populations over 50,000. Almaty is home to over 1 million people, and Astana, the capital since 1997, has grown to 322,000 people at present. ... New Year's Day January 1, 2 International Women's Day March 8 Nauryz (Spring Equinox) March 22 Day of Unity of the People of Kazakhstan (May Day) May 1 ... [Read More]
|