Stories about Kazakhstan from December, 2008
Kazakhstan: Religion Law Point/Counterpoint
KZBlog analyzes the controversial new law on religion which passed Parliament is waiting for the President’s signature. The law is clearly created defensively to prevent cult-like activity or terrorist cells from working in the country. However it effectively criminalizes religion by demanding that religions prove themselves innocent before being allowed...
Kazakhstan: Religious Law and OSCE Chaimanship
Joshua Foust reviews the Kazakhstan's new Religion Law, which is still pending presidential approval, and says that without any leverage—say, threatening their OSCE chairmanship—there is little influence the West could exert.
Kazakhstan: Nuclear Cooperation with India
Joshua Foust reports that Kazakhstan will supply uranium for India’s nuclear power plants. The deal, which involves export of so-called “yellow cake” uranium to India, will be discussed during Kazakh President Nazarbayev’s upcoming visit to India.
Kazakhstan: National Search Engine Debated by the Bloggers
On December 11, 2008, Kazakhstani blogger Nurlan wrote in his blog, dedicated to IT development issues, about a possibility that so-called KazNet (a Kazakhstani segment of the world wide web) soon may have its own search engine and quotes an advertisement placed on the official website of the Governmental Agency...
Kazakhstan: Protesters stormed the municipality
Michael Hancock reports on the story that Kazakhstani angry home-owners, protesting the planned demolition of their neighborhood, stormed the Almaty municipal building after the mayor refused to meet with them.
Kazakhstan: Krishnas Save Kazakhstan Farm
Gumir reports that the Kazakhstan government withdrew its claim for demolition of the only Temple of the Krishna Society in Kazakhstan after 1,5 years of standoff.
Kazakhstan: Human Rights Watch Condemns the OSCE “Ugly Trade”
Joshua Foust writes that just before the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Helsinki, Kazakhstan – the OSCE's chairman-in-office in 2010, faced condemnation from Human Rights Watch over its human rights record.
Kazakhstan: History, Culture and Internet
While Ukraine is taking a principle stand towards its history and calling Holodomor (famine of the 1930s) genocide of the nation, undertaken by the communist regime, Kazakhstani authorities are very quiet on the comparable disaster of the Stalin era, when more than 30 percent of the Kazakhs died. Schriftsteller says...
