Counselor of the President of Kazakhstan Yermukhamet Yertysbayev during a conversation with a reporter of the newspaper “Express K” placed all emphasizes within the subject of the oncoming pre-term elections.
Nursultan Nazarbayev has occupied the post of Kazakhstan President since 1991. Before that he headed the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR (1984-89), first Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Kazakh SRR (1990-91).
– Yet during the discussion of the initiative on Referendum to prolong the authorities of the President-in-office, unexpectedly for many people you objected, claimed, in particular, that the Head of the state prefers fair elections. That is what has happened. The first question in this respect: are you satisfied that everything happened just as you planned? The second – which other forecasts of yours will come true in near future to you mind?
– I have known the President Nursultan Nazarbayev for more than 20 years. He treats extremely delicately legal aspect of this or that complicated political issue. Remember political collision of 90-s right after the Union collapse: there were dissolutions of Parliaments, Referendums, pre-term elections, abolition of definite bodies (like Constitutional court), establishment of new ones. It has always been important for him to formalize all the changes respectfully and exclusively within Constitutional field.
Except for that he has come through two competitive Presidential electoral campaigns, and I didn’t observe any problem to run the third Presidential electoral marathon. As Nazarbayev has repeatedly stated in public “everything should be according to the Constitution”. I knew that the Constitutional norm, regarding exactly the election of the Head of the state will not be ignored by no means. And also I knew the spirit of the President exactly about the elections. You see, since democracy was born in Ancient Greece, only elections have been its core.
– Since the snap elections were announced, no one has explained clearly to the constituency their urgency. I.e. there are plenty of views, arguments, but no clear explanation. Maybe you could give our readers one?
– The idea of Referendum was good in a pragmatic sense: we learned mass spirit of Kazakh people in short time. Once in half a year we hold closed sociologic questionings on the President’s rating. But one thing is to ask ten thousand responders in all regions of the country, ad another one is to gain five and a half million of signatures of the citizens in the benefit of the Referendum. I can’t say that the President hesitated, but this fact impressed him greatly.
When the Constitutional Council adopted the known decision, there were two ways out of the existing situation. The first was still to hold the Referendum (and the President could deal with the decision of CC). The second – to dissolute the Parliament and appoint snap Parliamentary elections.
Both variants would incite serious political crisis with negative results for the President and the country itself. But the worst variant is to pretend as if nothing serious happened. We had to blow off, to open the cover of a boiler. And unexpectedly for everybody, especially the Referendum’s initiators the President suggested to hold snap Presidential elections. The Parliament worked within a legal field and drew this decision with the amendments into the Constitution. And political aspect called no objections, and in particular: the President has in advance accomplished his pre-electoral program of 2005. Automatically here naturally worked also the Constitutional amendment of 2007, which limits Presidential term to 5 years.
– From elections to elections the observers blame Kazakhstan that, we have no “intrigue”. Is that right, and if so – whether it is good or bad?
– There are political analysts, who consider the key notion of contemporary political process to be a non-predetermined result, or an intrigue, as you said. I.e. specificity of policy is opened from the line of game theory.
Participation within a political game, as in any other, have sense only because its results are not known, and thus each player has a chance. But I’m convinced that there is still an intrigue in the electoral Presidential campaign. Which one? Struggle for the second place. Does is matter? Definitely.
The one who took the second place can officially claim to become a general national leader of the opposition, his party has great chances to enter into the Parliament in future Parliamentary elections, to establish its fraction. And this is nice starting ground for the Presidential elections of 2016. Life doesn’t end it 2001. Communist party and ASDP “Azat” haven’t realized it, making the rudest political mistake, related to boycott claiming and “nonparticipation in elections”.
– By the way, Piotr Svoik from “Azat” states that he’ll vote for Kasymov or Yeleusizov …
– I’ve repeatedly said that OSDP “Azat” has really weak party discipline. They adopt a decision of nonparticipation in the elections, but simultaneously Svoik states publically that still he’ll vote.
– And how do you like the line of Ualikhan Kaisarov, who is a member of the political council of the same party?
– In the eyes of a protest constituency Kaisarov has won great sympathy with his persistent wish to register. By this he had to fight within several fronts: against Central Electoral Committee, against linguistic commission, in the Supreme Court and against his own Party, which with the help of Abilov tried to exclude him. I concede that a part of Azaters will follow Kaisarov in prospect, who will establish his own party. Exactly a party. As the main destination of a party is struggle for power. Those parties which refused of the struggle stopped being a party.
– I.e. according to your logic, the Party “Azat” is not a political organization at the moment? And Bulat Abilov is not a Leader of this party?
– Formally there is a party “Azat”, there is its Leader. De-facto nothing significant. Sometimes I think that the OSDP “Azat” is the second edition of the fund “Butya-Kapital”. But in the first case they privatized Privatization Investment Warrats, and in the second case they privatized several famous people in Kazakhstan (Aukibarov, Kosanov, Tursumbayev, the same Sboik), who were forced to announce Abilov their Leader.
– And why forced?
– Because the owner of this political business-project named OSDP “Azat” is Abilov. He repeatedly states that he finances party fully from his own pocket. I give such acute evaluations as I was deeply disappointed with the line of this party. I admit that I personally wanted to fight during these elections exactly with them. I didn’t expect that they will evade this political fight. And now just imagine the mood of the voters, who need an intrigue? Imagine a full stadium, Barcelona and Chelsea play… and suddenly one team publicly runs away into a coatroom! I’m really disappointed.
– And in general is domestic opposition able to create a good, solid intrigue?
– Only in terms of unification.
– Now the opposition blames the Head of the state that being a candidate for the President he started his pre-election campaign with “false start” ". And what’s to be done? Can any reference of Nursultan Nazarbayev in Mass Media be evaluated as a sin of illegal agitation?
– Nazarbayev is a candidate for the President and remains to be the Head of the state in power. And the head of the state in power always has privilege in front of those, who claims his post. Following the Constitution he has no right to withdraw his authorities for the period of the electoral campaign. Nevertheless, the case with false start (I guess it was in Almaty where someone demonstrated his goodwill with billboards) was corrected. Nazarbayev as known in general refused of pre-electoral agitation, as he addressed with a message to people on January 28th, and on February 11th also during the congress of “Nur Otan” party. All his program provisions were clearly presented to each Kazakh person.
– Please tell me: on the background of an uncovered disability of our opposition and plenty of revolutions in Arab countries, do you think, are provocations during pre-electoral period and right after the voting possible?
– There are people who dream for the protest constituency to come out to the streets and start the so-called revolution. In the Internet, especially on the portal “Respublika” (Republic) there is a specially selected group of writers, who day and night post comments, creating an illusion of “uprising people’s anger”. Provocations are also quite possible.
– These days literally Rakhat Aliyev has held a speech with another shocking “exposure” of the Head of the state. For instance: according to the secret agreement, signed by Nazarbayev in Beijing on February 21st, China will be leased one million hectares of fertile lands of Kazakhstan for 99 years.
– Aliyev has committed severe crimes and he is a state criminal. The sword of Damocles in shape of inevitable extradition is above him. That is why first of all he is involved in spreading the kind dirty gossips. I declare with all responsibility that this is all a lie, deliberate lie, in order to get dissatisfied people to the streets. In general a provocation.
Another thing is sad: in this dirty provocation against the President, against people and state some Mass Media play an active part as for example the Internet portal and newspaper “Respublika”. They publish this vicious slander, disseminate gossips. At the moment the editorial policy of the portal “Respublika” is informational terror against the first President and the whole country in general.
The editor of the portal and newspaper is the citizen of the Russian Federation Petrushova who is still legally accused of taxes non-payment. The owner and sponsor of the “Respublika”, and also non-registered party “Alga” is another state criminal Mukhtar Abliazov, who as known, withdrew 10 billion dollars from BTA. As London court has frozen all assets of Abliazov and took away his passport, than the planned “revolution” in Kazakhstan, as I understand, is postponed.
In general, they were getting ready to December 2012. They were getting ready sufficiently. Abliazov held a speech in last year October in Chatam House and declared that “the regime of Nazarbayev will be destroyed in 2012”. And such a failure! And now it all is postponed till 2016! I understand the rage and indignation of the state criminals, their henchmen, their political mercenaries.
– The kind of conspiracy reported by Rakhat Aliyev – is an outrage worse even than Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. And not only is the President Nazarbayev blamed, but also the authorities of the People’s Republic of China. Are you aware of any reaction of Chinese authorities on this claim?
– China is a great power. This is so to say an elephant, which never focuses on gnat-stings. China, as well as Russia, the USA and the European Union, is a reliable partner of Kazakhstan.
It’s already not the first time when they spread dirty provocative gossips as if we are going to lease million of hectares to China. This is a lie, absurd. State bodies of China and Kazakhstan naturally will not reply on lie and absurd. But if someone from our opponents will not calm down and attempt to arrange spontaneous protests, they will be punished severely by law.
– And once again about China. In a traditional Chinese philosophy there is a principle of meditative passiveness – wu wei. Individual leaders of the opposition call to boycott the elections. How useful wu wei is here to your mind and is there hidden pro-Chinese agitation in this calling?
– Hidden Chinese agitation? Do you realize that you’ve just gravely insulted our opposition, most gravely as one can only imagine (laughs. - Author.)? And to be serious, the tactics of boycott will not work in Kazakhstan. Those who call to boycott, know absolutely nothing about the soul of a multi-national Kazakh people, who highly esteems peace, friendship and consent, appreciates stable and persistent development of the country. The citizens of Kazakhstan are law-abiding, tolerant, politically correct and active people. Remember how they revealed themselves on December 4th 2005 (that day Nursultan Nazarbayev was elected a President third time). That was a great day in the history of independent Kazakhstan. And in the year of 20-s anniversary of our state’s independence the day of April 3rd will become the kind of day.
Translated by EuroDialogueXXI from Tut.by
11.03.2011
