Kazakhstan's Democratic Forces Forum |
Voice of Democracy Kazakhgate
Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation, 8 January 2001 Voice of Democracy Kazakhgate — Nearly three dozen members of Kazakhstan's Forum of Democratic Forces (KFDF) have sent an open letter to the U.S. Congress seeking help in returning to Kazakhstan about $100 million in impounded funds in the event their country's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev and some of his advisors are convicted of bribery, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty http://rferl.org/bd/ka/reports/today.html. What makes the letter, which also was sent to the U.S. Department of Justice, so important is that it was signed not only by opposition politicians and government critics but by some of Nazarbayev's own supporters in Parliament as well. It was a particularly courageous step for all the signers because they have good reason to fear retribution from an increasingly repressive regime. And it also reflects the lack of opportunity in their own country to air their concerns and work for change, thus forcing them to appeal to the rest of the world for help in ending the pervasive corruption. Nazarbayev, his American advisor on oil and economic issues, James Giffen, and several other Kazakh officials are currently under investigation on corruption, bribery, racketeering and other charges by the U.S. Department of Justice and Swiss banking authorities. The KFDF letter accuses them of having created "an international system of corruption and blackmail" and the signers offered to testify at expected Congressional hearings investigating corruption in Central Asia. The text of the letter follows: US Congress The democratic public in Kazakhstan is closely following the investigation being conducted by the US Department of Justice. This scandal named "Kazakhgate" has been broadly covered by Western mass media. American Justice is trying to determine how, with the assistance of US Citizen James Giffen, advisor to the President of Kazakhstan N. A. Nazarbayev, hundred of millions US dollars have been transferred over several years through Swiss banks, Caribbean companies and funds registered in Liechtenstein into private accounts of key political figures of Kazakhstan. It has become known to us that should the investigation be able to prove the guilt of those American and Kazakh suspects in this case, who managed to create an international system of corruption and blackmail in order to get access to Kazakhstan oil, and a system of laundering of this money, then all the funds on the arrested accounts will be confiscated in full. As a result, all of the Kazakh population, that is in a miserable condition now, will suffer again for the crimes committed by several high-ranked Kazakh figures who made fortunes selling natural resources and deposits belonging to the country. We do not have any grounds to distrust the sincerity of US politicians' efforts to eradicate corruption not only in their own country but also in those countries where this disease is brought forth by the authorities themselves. Besides, this corruption destroys the system of government of Kazakhstan, it affects business negatively, including foreign investment. The case with American oil companies is one more proof that the corrupt practices could become the norm even for American companies. We have a saying that a bad example can be contagious. The danger is that the negative lessons learned abroad by American businessman may be domesticated in the US as well. We support the efforts of the US Congress and prosecutors in their fight against the common enemy - corruption. Our address is by no means an attempt to intervene in the process of American justice. We only want to bring to American politicians and prosecutors' attention the point of view of the democratic public in Kazakhstan that they cannot accept that all the Kazakh people should suffer due to the fault of certain mercenary Kazakh politicians and corrupt American businessmen. We would not want hundreds of million dollars paid by western companies as bonuses for oil extraction in Kazakhstan to be confiscated. We think that the Kazakh people have a right to this money, and therefore the money has to be returned to its rightful owner. The return of this money to our country, in form of pensions, subsidies, stipends, allotments for education and culture, will get to its legal owner the people and will be considered by these people as a most fair act. Our concern about the situation surrounding "Kazakhgate" is also heightened by the fact that this substantially damages the prestige of our state. Kazakhstan's reputation suffers because of dishonest acts of high-ranked officials. Therefore, we are deeply interested in a full investigation of this case and in holding the culprits responsible. It has come to our attention that hearings on corruption in Central Asian countries may take place soon in the US Congress. In this regard, we, representatives of the democratic population of Kazakhstan, express our readiness to take part in these hearings, and to report to congress on the situation of corruption in our country. With your support of our initiative, we are ready to create an independent public fund to control the use of these funds. Sincerely, 1. Serikbolsyn Abdil'din, Presidential Candidate of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Member
of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan
For the full stories, see the web citations above or contact us at News@kazakhstan21.org. 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. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation, 8 January 2001 |
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