Kazakhstan: Kazakh blogs on national issues

rozatai

Lately I have often seen posts about national problems in Kazakh language blogs. I am going to review some of them.

Ainash Esali in a post titled “The government should have only one flag” [KAZ] says:

“An article with the title “Let’s not call for a bad omen by multiplying flags” was published in the newspaper Egemen Kazakhstan, on a special page for Parliament. But the problem is presented in fragments and smoothed over. Maybe it is correct. Maybe this kind of problem should be solved without raising alarm?!”

The issue concerns citizens who fly flags of other countries, not of Kazakhstan.

The author of the blog Zhasakaz also pays attention [KAZ] to this case, saying the following:

“How can one understand that in places such as Kulzhat and Taskarasu, which are located close to China, our Uygur brothers fly a flag that has nothing to do with the national symbols of Kazakhstan? While we were reflecting on how we can preserve national unity and harmony, and while thinking that there is a law that can stop those who do such acts, the article “Let’s not call for a bad omen by multiplying flags” appeared in the newspaper Egemen Kazakhstan on May 29.

The author of the blog Zhasakaz thinks that journalists should speak up about the problem and refer to the existing law rather than presenting this kind of problem in bits and fragments.

“Is it because there are not many analytical specialists in the apparatus of the President or is it because speaking in fragments has turned into some kind of ‘eastern art’? In my opinion, attention should be paid to Article 170 of the Kazakh Constitution.”

Zhasakaz identifies the flying of a flag of another nation as a violation of law and tries to explain that it is preventable.

The topic of national symbols is continued under the title “I will not let the emblem of my nation be trampled on.” In this post, a story about an old man who lifted a 1-tenge bill from the ground with care, saying that “I will not let the emblem of my nation be trampled on.” The blogger also notes [KAZ] that 1-tenge bills are found around bazaars, on sidewalks and underground pavements, in buses and on stairs.

And Nurbergen Makym develops [KAZ] his thoughts around the question “Why don’t we live as in America or Europe?” He comes to the following conclusion:

“Any value in society is formed by the middle class. The reason that Kazakhstan is not developing is that there is no middle class. In our society it is like when ‘district 13’ will be established. Only this time, except for the rich who think they can become God, the rest will be forced to solve their problems according to the law.”

Orken, who comments on the post, draws readers’ attention to the preconditions of forming a middle class: “Shangyrak is neither more nor less than district 13.” In Orken’s blog [KAZ] there is also a post titled “Is my Gerei twin of Kuzma?” It is devoted to the monument of Gerei and Zhanibek khans, opened in Astana. “There are critics among us that compare it to the monument of Kuzma Minin and Dmitri Pozharski on the Red square in Moscow. Except for the appearance and the clothes, the general composition is pretty much the same.”

A reader with the name Elubek, commenting on the same topic, thinks that “the monument was built so quickly because the previous monument built for 600 million was useless.”

Burkit also notes [KAZ] in his own blog that the monument to Kulager was opened on the road between Astana and Kokshetau.

Ashimoskemen notes that recently a patriots’ forum was conducted in Pavlodar. The blogger who did not understand why this forum was held, says [KAZ]:

“We made some noise and left. I apologize to organizers, but I did not quite understand why I went there.”

If in such forums the pictures by Tarazkyzy were discussed [KAZ], maybe respect for the Kazakh language would increase. The pictures of street writings that carry mistakes against the Kazakh language in a post titled “Illiterate streets” on Tarazkyzy’s blog have not left bloggers indifferent. Most of the commentators think that these kinds of mistakes should be prevented.

Of course, there are plenty of other interesting topics. Inshallah, we will review them in the future.

The picture is taken from the blog “The dove of my soul” by Tarazkyzy. This bilboard with spelling mistakes is on the Merki disritct way in Zhambyl oblast.

Originally posted on neweurasia.net.

1 comment

  • Willy

    PRESIDENT OF EUROPEAN COMMISSION ENDS VISIT TO KAZAKHSTAN

    The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, today completed his first official visit to Kazakhstan. During his two-day visit, he met with President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov and the Chairman of the Lower Chamber of Parliament (Majilis), Nurlan Nigmatulin. He also delivered a lecture to students and teaching staff at the Eurasian National University. His discussions focused on a number of priority issues in Kazakhstan’s cooperation with the European Union. These included Kazakhstan’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO);

    negotiations on a new enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement; development of trade relations; simplification of the visa regime; improving cooperation on civil aviation and activating

    links in the area of external security, science, innovation and new technologies; and regional security issues, including Afghanistan. Speaking after his meeting with President Nazarbayev, Mr Barroso said “I am most pleased to be able to confirm here today that our trade negotiators have found agreement on the substantive elements of the bilateral terms of Kazakhstan’s WTO accession, and we look forward to signing the deal soon. … Our relations go well beyond the economic dimension and also beyond simply bilateral issues. We very much appreciate Kazakhstan’s role in promoting regional cooperation in Central Asia. Only by working together will be possible to address the common challenges that all the countries in the region face, from terrorism and extremism, to drug trafficking or water management”.

    While in Astana, Mr Barroso also visited the factory of Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering, a joint venture between Eurocopter and Kazakhstan Engineering that is assembling EC 145 helicopters. Commenting on the visit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhanbolat Ussenov said: “Mr Barroso’s talks in Astana have contributed to strengthening Kazakhstan’s relations with the EU. The two sides are making good progress on negotiating a new enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement that will cover a broad range of issues that are in the interests of both Kazakhstan and the EU, from trade links to counter-terrorism and managing new security threats. Both sides agreed that it is time to increase the pace of these negotiations. We are particularly keen to expand the format of our energy dialogue to include clean and renewable sources of energy as well as energy conservation and energy efficiency.”

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