Kuanysh ZHUMANGAZINOV
ALMATY, Dec 21
(THE GLOBE)
American scientists state that world�s drinking water resources exhaust so rapidly that within next 5 years more than a half of the world�s population will lack water for most urgent requirements.
Research conducted in the Colorado University showed that one-third of the world population live in regions with insufficient water resources.
According to the results of the research, scientists determined most problematic regions: basins of the Yellow River in China, the Zambezi in Africa, and rivers flowing into the Aral river.
Scientists say that as many rivers flow through territories of several countries, to settle this problem it is necessary to find not only scientific, but also political decisions.
Anatoly Ryabtsev, the deputy of the chairman of the Water Resources Committee of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Protection of the Environment thinks that during the next 20 to 30 years Kazakhstan will not have any serious problems with drinking water.
American scientists� estimation on the Aral region is overestimated. The population of the Aral region does not use drinking water from the Syr Daria, but from the underground springs.
Twenty-eight settlements use drinking water from Berdekul and Kosaman reservoirs situated 160 km from the Aral sea.
The annual water indraft to the Aral sea is 13 cubic km, including only 0.1 cubic km of water is used by people for their every-day requirements. Most part of the water resources is used by the agriculture and power industry.
In general Kazakhstan has a problem of water provision. In fact all country�s water resources are involved in industrial operations, except the Irtysh basin, which has a reserve of unused water.
Today the problem of the Syr Daria remains difficult. It flows through Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Each of these countries has its own interests.
Interests of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are mainly energetic. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are interested in utilization of water of the Syr Daria for irrigation.
Different approaches to the same river cause contradictory interests.
To settle the problem of water resources in the Aral region a political dialogue on usage of the bordering river is required.
The global warming climate influences glacier resources. But it is incorrect to state that within the next 5 years the world�s population will be short of drinking water.
First of all, a sharp deficit of drinking water is observed in Africa, where people use drinking water of low quality.
Askar DARIMBET
ALMATY, Dec 22
(THE GLOBE)
�The creation of the JSC Air Kazakhstan Group with 100% of the state shareholding will allow us to put everything in order and to establish accurate relations between subjects of the air market,� the Air Kazakhstan Group President announced on Wednesday, December 22, in Almaty.
Andrei Krinichansky said that at present 52 air companies work in Kazakhstan. That is too much for the local air market. In the result, this lead to numerous conflicts, companies are unable to earn required money and the branch is in crisis. That is why, he emphasized, consolidation of all subjects of the market will allow to stabilize the situation in the civil aviation.
Krinichansky states that according to the governmental decree, the biggest Kazakhstani companies will be united into a new holding. Apart from Air Kazakhstan, there will be Atyrau Airport, the Air Company Irtysh-Avia, Atyrau Aue Zholy and ATMA-Airport Atyrau and Transportation.
According to Krinichansky, to organize an operative management, the holding will closely cooperate with International Airport Astana, International Airport Aktobe and Kazavianavigatsya. Air Kazakhstan Group will lease a part of the latter�s property.
The new joint-stock company that is supposed to occupy about 60% of the internal transportation market will be the only customer for its companies. The single schedule for 16 planes of the holding is to be prepared within 2 months.
�Of course, we will try to achieve a balance, but we are not rejecting Russian technique. At the same time in near future we are more interested in western planes. We will seek a new supplier of technical services as well, he added.
At present the total debt of Air Kazakhstan, including a lot of debts of its predecessor Kazakhstan Aue Zholy, is about US$ 25 to 30 million. However, the President of the Holding believes that its effective work will be able to ensure creditors in solvency of the new company. Moreover, banks have not taken hostile positions yet.
One of the Holding�s tasks is to guarantee the construction of the Almaty Airport terminal in 2000 without any financing from the budget. Fourteen companies interested in the project participated in a tender. The term of announcing tender proposals is December 27.
By Julie Moffett
Kazakhstan has enacted a new law on telecommunications, and experts say it will give the government of President Nursultan Nazarbayev government enormous power over the use in Kazakhstan of the worldwide computer network known as the Internet. RFE/RL Correspondent Julie Moffett spoke to Internet experts and reports on this development in the control of information.
Washington, 21 Dec (RFE/RL)
A U.S. expert says Kazakhstan�s new law on telecommunications gives the government sweeping powers to monitor the Internet.
Gerald Kovacich, an expert on the Internet and author of numerous books on computer security, told RFE/RL that the Kazakhstan�s resolution creating a new National Telecommunications Billing Center will give the government the opportunity to do �basically whatever it wants� in regards to the Internet.
The Kazakh government passed the resolution in early December, establishing the billing center. According to the resolution, the center will not scrutinize the content of Internet traffic, but only monitor the volume of international voice and data communication. Officials say the center will also permit them to confirm the billing accuracy of local telecommunication companies and enforce tax payments and collections. In terms of the Internet, the resolution provides only that the government will take control of assigning Internet domain names in Kazakhstan.
But Kovacich says this law is typical of many other governments� attempts to control the Internet. Russia, China, and many other nations have similar legislation, he says. Such resolutions are purportedly enacted because of economic considerations, he adds, but established primarily to try to control and monitor the Internet.
In Kazakhstan�s case, Kovacich says it is interesting to note the government�s open denial that the center will attempt to monitor the Internet.
�Well, the Internet runs over the telephone line. So, how could they differentiate between Internet traffic and non-Internet traffic? And once you have the access to monitor that, you have the access to read it, block it, change it, to do whatever you want. So, if you look at their old communist background and see who is still in power, and you know they don�t have democracy really down yet, you question their real need to do what they are doing.�
Rinat Akhmetshin, director of the Kazakhstan Twenty-First Century Foundation in Washington, told RFE/RL that many non-governmental organizations and opposition political groups within Kazakhstan are greatly concerned by the new law.
He says their concerns are heightened by the fact that the government has already shut down or blocked access to several Internet sites that contain information critical of Kazakhstan�s president, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
�The worst part of this law is that it has been adopted secretly. It has been adopted without discussion in the press. It has been adopted without any consultation with media specialists or journalists. And I think that is proof that they try to secretly do this when no one is watching.�
The Kazakh Embassy in Washington did not return calls to RFE/RL for comment on the new legislation.
Kovacich says to expect similar legislation to come out of many more countries as governments attempt to grapple with the power of the Internet. He says governments are afraid because the technology is progressing so rapidly that people no longer have to rely on government-controlled newspapers or radios to get their information.
He adds: �As we enter the twenty-first century, [nation-states] are starting to lose power. The reason they are losing power is because of the technology which makes individuals more aware of the world around them. The nation-state must control the Internet, and telecommunications is where the Internet is.� FROM THE EDITORS: the below article represents the opinion that the new governmental decree, but not the law, as it is stipulated in the article, demonstrates the Kazakhstani authorities� willingness to control Internet. The expert Jerald Kovachich says that the creation of the National Billing and Telecommunication Traffic Center will allow the government to do �whatever they want� with Internet, and if we take into consideration the communistic past of the national government, we may understand the true purpose of the innovation. In his interview with THE GLOBE, Kurt Hopkins, a Nursat representative, the leading Internet-provider in Kazakhstan characterized the decree as a reasonable measure by the government and added that the official Washington tried to do the same, though the USA had no communistic past (THE GLOBE, 10.12.99).
Experts consider the government may control Internet, but it is very expensive thing. The fact is that it is possible.
For example, in Russia every operator must equip regional departments with FSB (Federal Security Service) devices that will allow to read e-mail of Russian people and follow their traffic on Internet. We also want you to pay attention to Echelon system that allows the US Security Agency to bug any telephonic conversations, to see faxes and E-mail. Some parliamentarians of the European Parliament and American congressmen consider it to be a serious violation of the civil rights. (THE GLOBE, 10.12.99).
Radio Liberty refers to Rinat Akhmetshin who states that the government has closed an access to some disagreeable sites. However, today Kazakhstanis can see Eurasia site and other sites containing materials criticizing the national government.
THE GLOBE has written about that Eurasia distributed the false information about closed access by the order of Kazakhstani special services (THE GLOBE, 12.11.99).
The objective of the comments is not to protect the government�s actions. It did not notify anybody that this decree was being prepared. According to some experts, the innovation is expected to increase collection of taxes from operators� profits.
It seems that as far as the control for communications is concerned, Kazakhstan is backward some democratic countries. But this cannot be said about democracy of the Kazakhstani elections.
All Over the Globe is published by IPA House.
© 1998 IPA House. All Rights Reserved.