OTANSHYLDAR PARTY HOLDS SESSION. Almaty, that leaders of a pro-Nazarbayev party called OTANSHYLDAR (Fatherland Lovers) held a session yesterday, April 14. The party members announced that nowadays Kazakhstan�s priority was not an idea of open society, but the one of strengthening of national statehood. OTANSHYLDAR party is going top take part in Parliamentary elections scheduled for this year. Meanwhile....
...LEADER OF ORLEU PARTY COMPLAINS. Seydahmet Quttyqadam - leader of ORLEU party complained at a press conference held yesterday in Almaty that authorities of Almaty city were creating obstacles and pressure upon his party. He pointed out the circumstances in which his party held its session earlier this week. According to Seydahmet Quttyqadam, his party had been supposed to gather in the building of Trade Union�s Confederation But in the last moment the administration of the building refused to open the doors and ORLEU party had to hold its session at Democracy House. ORLEU party is also going to participate in the elections to the Kazakh Parliament�s lower Chamber - Majilis.
RUSSIAN AUTOS IMPORT TO KAZAKHSTAN EXPECTED TO INCREASE. After the introduction of the new laws on additional taxes to car brought to the Kazakh territory for sale, the amount of Russia-made auto is expected to increase. RFE/RL correspondents in Almaty quote Russian Federation�s Embassy in Kazakhstan, that since Kazakhstan is a member of the Customs Union, which comprises also Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, the Russian cars imported to Kazakhstan will remain to be tax free, which will help to increase Russian autos import to Kazakhstan.
KAZAKH FM MET CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO KAZAKHSTAN. Astana, the main issue discussed at the meeting held between Kazakh Foreign Minister Qasymzhomart Toqayev and Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Li Huei yesterday, was the problem of joint use of rivers crossing Kazakh-Chinese borders. Namely the use of Irtysh river crossing Chinese Western province of Xin Jing also known as Eastern Turkistan and Eastern Kazakhstan Oblast was taken under discussion. Chinese Ambassador told Kazakh Foreign Minister that Beijing was discussing Kazakh proposals on the matter. No details are available
(RFE/RL).
Now when many experts believe the role of the UN as Peacekeeper has declined, perhaps it would be of interest to recall some predictions proposed in the past (in SF in particular) about the future role of the UN. This is one such forecast.
Can you guess the title of the SF novel from which the excerpt was taken and the name of its author.
We�ll publish the names of those who can provide the correct answer.
THE GLOBE
Excerpted from the Name Historian�s Looking Backward From the Year 3000; pub. 3018, Alternities Press, CU: 110.00 Zaradin
Wars which were, by the standards of provincial humanity, notably severe - the wars were referred to as World War I and World War II - brought home to the societies of the time the need for some social mechanism that would prevent similar man-made catastrophes from occurring again. With the development of thermonuclear explosives capable of ending all life within the biosphere of Earth, it became clear that some form of containment was required to prevent the species from destroying itself, and its planet into the bargain.
In 1969, a child named Sarah Almundsen was born in America.
Sarah Almundsen became Secretary General of the United Nations in the year 2014. With aid from members of the French and Chinese military, she assumed control of the orbital laser weaponry, formed the United Nations Peace Keeping Force, and declared the United Nations to be under her �Chapter of Principles� the sole legal government of Earth. China and France were the first two sovereign government to agree to this; both were in grave geopolitical troubles at the time, caught between the vise of Japanese, Soviet and American interests, Brazil followed, and before the end of the year 2014, two thirds of the planet acknowledged the United Nations as the Earth�s legitimate government.
Three notable holdouts were, of course the United States and the Soviet Union and Japan. Sarah Almundsen used tactical thermonuclear weapons and orbital lasers and sliced the USSR into ribbons. The Soviets, whose citizens were in open revolt after the second week of war with the United Nations, surrendered after Moscow was vaporized. Japan never surrendered; although members of the new government committed suicide after performing their duty, the United Nations did exploded more than a dozen thermonuclear warheads over Japanese territory until the Japanese were no longer capable of resistance.
North America, specifically the United States, was a more delicate matter; the United Nations offices were located there. Further, whole battalions of the US Armed Forces deserted to the United Nations in the earliest days of Unification War. Sarah Almundsen was an American, and honorable woman who was known to keep her word; sentiment to deal with her ran strong in many parts of the US.
The Sons of Liberty, a group of soldiers led by the President of the United States, composed of large portions of the Armed Forces, with nearly all of the Marine Corp, prevented that. The Unification War reached America in 2016 and stretched into 2017, and then into 2018. Throughout the first half of 2018, the Sons of Liberty fought a rearguard action as the better-equipped, better-fed, better-supported United Nations Peace Keeping Forces swept them north and east across the Plains states and onto Eastern seaboard. The Unification War after causing more casualties than any other war in American history, officially ended in the summer of 2018 with the Treaty of New York, which detailed the particulars of the surrender of the mightiest nation the Earth ever known, the United States of America.
By Naz Nazar,
Edige Magauin and
Bruce Pannier
Prague, 12 April (RFE/RL)
Kazakhstan�s President Nursultan Nazarbayev arrived in Turkmen capital Ashgabat Thursday (April 8) with a dual purpose � to participate in a summit of CIS Central Asian leaders and to hold bilateral talks with Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov.
On April 9, Nazarbayev and Niyazov signed a memorandum to begin work to officially define their common border, an agreement on cultural cooperation and an agreement on establishing a joint inter-governmental commission on trade and investments. But the most important point the two agreed on � though not in writing � is the goal of directing exports of gas and oil from their two countries eastward to China and Japan.
Niyazov met Nazarbayev at the Ashgabat airport to hold talks in advance of those being held with the other three Central Asian presidents.
Following the brief meeting, Niyazov told reporters about the new cooperation between his country and Kazakhstan:
�I just held talks with my Kazakh counterpart Nazarbayev and we agreed to commit ourselves to cooperation with China. We highly value our friend [Chinese President] Jiang Zemin. I say again, Nazarbayev and I agree on this. To cooperate with China and Japan in the 21st century will give a strong push to the development of the infrastructure in our region, because it will help develop transport links.�
Kazakhstan has already signed a contract with China worth $9 billion to develop and ship oil and natural gas from fields in western Kazakhstan through a pipeline the Chinese will help build. That pipeline will originate from a point not far from Kazakhstan�s border with Turkmenistan, facilitating a linkup with fields in Turkmenistan.
The plan promises to be less complicated than natural gas and oil export projects both countries are already involved in with international companies. Kazakhstan ships oil west via Russian pipelines and has an exchange agreement with Iran to ship crude oil by tanker across the Caspian Sea. It then receives the same amount of crude oil for export at Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf.
But the country�s major projects suffer from political concerns. The rich Tengiz oil fields are being developed with the help of companies from the United States. That makes any shipments via Iran impossible, given U.S. policy toward Tehran, and exclusively via Russia undesirable.
Turkmenistan also shares these concerns in its plans to export natural gas. Turkmenistan does ship a limited amount of gas to Iran and plans to use this route to export to Turkey. But again, U.S. companies are involved in the projects at Turkmenistan�s major fields, mitigating the Iranian route and forcing the construction of a trans-Caspian pipeline. Construction of that project is due to begin this year but will take several years to complete and must take into account links through the volatile Caucasus before the gas reaches buyers in the west.
Exports to China will be much easier. In the northeastern direction, the only country between Turkmenistan and China is Kazakhstan. Only one foreign company is involved in the Kazakh pipeline deal, China�s National Oil Company, another factor that makes this route attractive.
The arrangement may also ease problems in southwestern Kazakhstan, which receives natural gas for heating and power from Turkmenistan. Kazakhstan has fallen behind in its payments to Ashgabat several times and its natural gas has subsequently been cut off. Common pipelines bringing gas and oil to China may foster a more forgiving attitude from Ashgabat the next time such a problem arises.
The �political council� the two heads of state agreed to set up may also help further relations between the two countries. Niyazov said on Friday (April 9) that he and Nazarbayev will meet at least once a year to talk about a united stand on political issues and within international organizations.
But the real significance of the Niyazov-Nazarbayev meeting, and the Central Asian summit, is that it is another sign that Turkmenistan � officially recognized as a neutral nation by the UN � is actively pursuing better relations with its neighbors in the region.
Turkmenistan has usually stayed out of unions within the region and only recently began courting better ties with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. At the Central Asian summit in January 1998, the other four regional presidents attempted unsuccessfully to draw Turkmenistan closer.
The agreement with Kazakhstan may be a sign that Turkmenistan�s isolation is coming to an end.
All Over the Globe is published by IPA House.
© 1998 IPA House. All Rights Reserved.