KAZAKHSTAN: OVERVIEW OF PRESS ARTICLES Kazakhstan Could Lead OSCE In 2009 March 27, 2006 The chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) told Kazakhstan that it has a better chance of leading the organization in 2009 than any other Central Asian state. However, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht told Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev that, for that to happen, key political reforms must be undertaken. De Gucht said he put "a lot of emphasis" on the need for far-reaching reforms during his talks with Nazarbayev. De Gucht is due to travel to the country's economic capital Almaty for talks with opposition representatives. Source: AFP Kazakh President Calls For Larger Parliament March 24, 2006 Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev suggested that the country's parliament should be expanded. At the moment, there are 116 members of parliament, 77 in the lower house, the Mazhilis, and 39 in the upper house, the Senate. Nazarbayev was speaking at the first session of a state commission convened to formulate democratic reforms. Nazarbayev called on the commission to analyse all proposed constitutional amendments closely. On March 23, Minister of Culture, Information and Sport Yermukhamet Yertysbayev suggested that the constitutional reforms would result in early parliamentary elections. Source: Interfax Central Asia: Uzbek And Kazakh Presidents Boost Cooperation March 21, 2006 Uzbek President Islam Karimov said his March 20 meeting with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev has "an unprecedented significance". Nazarbayev arrived in Tashkent on March 19 for the first state visit between these two countries. It is also the first state visit since Nazarbayev was re-elected in last December's presidential polls. Speaking at a news conference in Tashkent late on March 20, President Karimov praised Nazarbayev’s visit to Uzbekistan. He said the summit should give the impetus for "huge unused opportunities" in bilateral cooperation. He added that such meetings should be held regularly. "We consider the first state visit of Kazakhstan's president to Uzbekistan in the history of bilateral relations as a wonderful opportunity to exchange opinions on a wide range of issues on further strengthening cooperation between the two countries and realizing unused potential as well as promoting security and stability in the region". The two countries have signed more than 90 agreements since 1991, including a treaty on friendship. Friendly Rivals March 3-27, 2006 DG External Policies, Delegations Non-Europe Karimov and Nazarbayev head two biggest countries in Central Asia. They have long been known as rivals competing for regional hegemony as well as for foreign investment and the favour of Russia, the United States, and China. After signing seven more documents yesterday, the presidents spoke about the significance of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in Central Asia and said that regional security cannot be provided without their cooperation. Nazarbayev said the two countries came to realize that they had no other alternatives but to cooperate. "I believe that after all the years of independence we reached a moment when we have to restore our relations," he said. "Particularly because the geopolitical situation in our region and the fate of the integration process with our neighbours depends on the relations between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan." Karimov rejected suggestions that he and Nazarbayev are competing for leadership of the region. "Simply speaking, if Kazakhs and Uzbeks are together -- I want everyone to hear this -- it will be impossible to defeat or conquer us. I say this with full responsibility." Anti-Western Feelings The Uzbek leader also lashed out at foreign forces for destabilizing the situation in Central Asia. "What doesn't contribute to security and stability is attempts by certain outside forces to reach their far-reaching geopolitical goals on the pretence of promoting democracy and freedom, and without taking into account our national interests," he said. Nazarbayev's visit comes after Tashkent reoriented its foreign policy toward Russia. Uzbekistan's relations with the West soured last year after Uzbek government troops clashed with protesters in Andijan, killing hundreds. Tashkent rejected Western calls to allow an independent probe of the event, saying "foreign-paid terrorists" were behind the violence. In January, Uzbekistan joined the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Community that also includes Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus. The organization is known to be Nazarbayev's creation. The Kazakh leader praised official Tashkent's change in foreign policy on March 20. "I believe Uzbekistan's accession to [the Eurasian Economic Community] and the continuation of work toward creating a free-trade zone, which you have spoken about long ago, should lead to a serious breakthrough in a sphere of economic cooperation and contribute to the implementation of our initiatives to create the Central Asian common market," Nazarbayev said. Shared Economic Interests The two sides agreed to create an Interstate Coordination Council under the auspices of both presidents. The body is to work out an economic cooperation program between the two states for 2006-10. It will also monitor implementation of existing agreements and look for new areas of cooperation. Bilateral trade was some $500 million in 2005, a major fall from 1992 when total trade turnover stood at $2.7 billion. Nazarbayev said the two sides should reach $1 billion in trade turnover in the near future. Nazarbayev suggested that a branch of the Kazakhstan Development Bank be opened in Tashkent. He also said Kazakhstan is ready to continue to supply Kazakh oil to Uzbekistan. Among other documents signed on March 20 are agreements on science, technology, intellectual property, international road communications, distribution of radio frequencies, and cooperation in fighting agricultural pests. Source: RFE/RL Kazakh Authorities Register Opposition Group March 21, 2006 March 3-27, 2006 2 DG External Policies, Delegations Non-Europe The Kazakh authorities have registered the party of an opposition leader killed in February. The party Naghyz Ak Zhol (True Bright Path) was denied registration before Kazakhstan's presidential election in December 2005, preventing it from fielding a candidate. One of the party's joint leaders, Altynbek Sarsenbayev, was murdered in February. The authorities said he was killed by state security operatives. The motives were reportedly personal. Another co-chairman of Naghyz Ak Zhol, Bulat Abilov, is due to return to jail soon to complete a sentence for organizing an unauthorized rally on February 26 to commemorate Sarsenbayev. Abilov was hospitalised after going on a hunger strike to protest his jail sentence. Source: RFE/RL Kazakh Opposition Sceptical About Probe Into High-Profile Killings March 18, 2006 A gathering organized by the Kazakh opposition in Almaty on Saturday has expressed its lack of confidence in the official findings of the investigation into the deaths of prominent politicians Zamanbek Nurkadilov and Altynbek Sarsenbayev and demanded that the investigation of the case be extended. The rally, which gathered over one thousand, was sanctioned by the Almaty city administration. "We demand that the Interior Ministry reopen the investigation into the assassination of prominent statesman Zamanbek Nurkadilov," reads a resolution adopted at the rally, which was read by Tulegen Zhukeyev, an activist of the opposition bloc For a Fair Kazakhstan. In addition, the protesters demanded "Interior Ministry investigators re-qualify the criminal case as an abduction and assassination of Altynbek Sarsenbayev and his followers and launch an investigation under Article 233 of the Criminal Code dealing with terrorism," the resolution says. "The time has come to demand that the names of the true criminals be made public. The time has come to demand freedom, democracy, and justice," Galymzhan Zhakiyanov, another activist of For a Fair Kazakhstan, said at the rally. The official conclusion holds that Nurkadilov committed suicide in his own house last fall by shooting himself three times. Sarsenbayev and two people accompanying him were murdered in February 2006. The crime has triggered a wide public outcry. Source: Interfax Brussels Rejects Call For Tougher Stance On Kazakhstan March 16, 2006 The European Union indicated it would not let the recent murders of two Kazakh opposition figures affect its relations with the country's government. Speaking during a European Parliament debate on Kazakhstan, the EU's External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner rejected calls for tough EU measures. She also said Kazakhstan's application to assume, in 2009, the rotating chairmanship of the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe should not be "prejudged." March 3-27, 2006 3 DG External Policies, Delegations Non-Europe Ferrero-Waldner said, however, that the EU viewed the murders of the two opposition figures with the "utmost concern", and she criticized President Nursultan Nazarbayev's attempts to promote "managed democracy." She said that, for its own stability, Kazakhstan needs greater political freedom, but argued that the EU should seek to make that point by enhancing dialogue. During the debate, the European Parliament's largest group, the European People's Party, rejected a draft resolution sharply critical of Kazakhstan. Its members argued that the country's energy reserves and strategic geographical