MIG TRIAL RESUMED YESTERDAY.
Correspondents of RFE/RL report from Almaty that yesterday, January 26, the trial of General Bakhytzhan Ertayev - Chief of the Kazakh Army�s General Staff and Alexander Petrenko - a Kazakh businessman, resumed after almost two weeks break. General Ertayev and Mr. Petrenko are accused of having been involved in illegal sales of the obsolete former Soviet military jets to North Korea. The trial had been stopped and resumed several times this month. Last time it was temporarily stopped due to the health condition of General Ertayev, who had a minor heart attack during the trial hearings. He was accompanied by a doctor at the trial�s session yesterday. The trial was held behind closed door in the building of Almaty Oblast�s Military Commission Office. The same day, January 26, General Ertayev held a briefing at Afghanistan War Veterans Union�s Branch in Almaty. He told his colleagues, Afghan War veterans, that all the accusations put forward against him were groundless, noting that he had been implementing decisions and orders made by his bosses and the Kazakh government. He also said that Chairman of the Kazakh National Security Committee (formerly KGB) Alnur Musayev was making some efforts to �make him guilty�. Witnesses started giving testimonies at the trial process yesterday. But whereabouts of one of the main witnesses, General Director of Kazakhstan�s Metallist Plant are unknown. The trial us expected to last for two more weeks.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF HBC-PRESS NEWSPAPER IS OFFICIALLY SUED.
Oleg Ablakayev - Editor-in-Chief of HBC-Press newspaper in Oskemen, Eastern Kazakhstan is officially accused of supporting separatists, correspondents of RFE/RL reported. The operations of the newspaper have been suspended this week by the decision of Oskemen City Court. HBC-Press newspaper printed address of Victor Pugachev (Kazimirchik) to all the ethnic Russians of Northern and Eastern Kazakhstan in November last year. (See Kazakh News, Almaty, January 26, 2000). Local Interior Affairs Department started a criminal case against HBC- Press�s Editor-in-Chief.
A former member of Oskemen City Maslikhat (Council) Nikolay Ivanov, who was suspected as one of the Pugachev group�s supporters, is in Moscow, Russia currently, searching for political asylum in the Russian Federation reportedly. Victor Pugachev (Kazimirchik) is in Almaty Central Psychiatric Clinic passing through examinations. It was reported that he might have some mental problems.
TWO ETHNIC KURDS OF KAZAKHSTAN ARRESTED IN TURKEY.
Correspondents of RFE/RL quote Kazakh Foreign Ministry�s officials as reporting that two ethnic Kurds of Kazakhstan were arrested in Turkey this week. The Kazakh nationals of the Kurdish origin - Tahir Bashirov and Karim Mamedov were officially accused by the Turkish authorities of having some links with PKK - a separatists party of Turkish Kurds. The two Kazakh citizens are in jail of Erzurum reportedly. Kazakh Foreign Ministry made a statement that the two ethnic Kurds of Kazakhstan had been arrested in Turkey in a legal way, and that Kazakhstan had nothing against the arrest.
A LEADER OF KAZAKH REPUBLICAN PEOPLE PARTY WAS REFUSED OF AN EXIT VISA.
Gaziz Aldamzharov - Chairman of the Kazakh Republican People Party�s Executive Committee was reportedly refused of an exit visa by OVIR of Almaty this week. According to the Kazakh laws, any Kazakh citizen intending to leave the country has to get an exit visa at Visas and Passport Regime Control Board (OVIR). Some countries of the former Soviet Union, such as Russian Federation and Kyrgyzstan, eliminated that obsolete regulation inherited by the Soviet regime. Meanwhile in Kazakhstan, the exit visa system is getting more restricted. Gaziz Aldamzharov says that he was refused of exit visa because of his being an active leader of the Republican People Party led by the former Kazakh Premier Akezhan Kazhegeldin from exile.
FLU IN SOME REGIONS OF KAZAKHSTAN TURNS TO A BIG PROBLEM.
Correspondents of RFE/RL report from Almaty that number of flu patients in the city is increasing. Situation is getting even worse in Pavlodar and Qaraghandy oblasts reportedly. Secondary Schools of Qaraghandy temporarily stopped their operations due to the flu problem.
PS. All the news are based upon report sent by correspondent of RFE/RL in Almaty - Batyrkhan Darimbet.
Jan 27 (Radio �Liberty�)
ALMATY, Jan 27
(THE GLOBE)
The issue of Kazakhstanskaya Pravda dated January 14 contained the article, which criticized the Diabetic Association of Kazakhstan on the results of the tender for the state purchase of anti-diabetic medicines. The published article aroused resentment by the Association President and specialist-endocrinologists, who considered the publication insulting their honor and dignity.
Natalya Tukalevskaya, the President of the Diabetic Association thinks that the material accusing them of corruption and lobbying interests of foreign pharmaceutical companies violated the presumption of innocence.
According to Tukalevskaya, the above-mentioned article of the law �On struggle against corruption� is not applicable to the Association staff, as they are not state functionaries.
The authors of the article reproach members of the tender commission on purchase of anti-diabetic medicines (the tender held in December 1999) in transferring of a part of the purchase volume to the Danish company Elai Lilly. The authors of the article conclude that this preference was caused by the fact that Natalya Tukalevskaya, Rimma Bazarbekova and Mikhail Zeltser were members of the commission. These people received salary in the diabetic center of this company. Besides, they traveled to foreign countries at the account of western pharmaceutical companies. The authors say that many companies even do not try to participate in similar tenders, as they know the order of the tenders.
The Association staff does not deny �the timely paid salary� in Elai Lilly and thinks that their salary was legal. They ask the question, �who needed insulting and baseless accusations at the threshold of the new state tender for purchase of anti-diabetic medicines/�
After the preliminary juridical consultation, the Diabetic association is going to institute a case against authors of the article, Alevtina Donskih and Nadezhda Shashkova.
ALMATY, Jan 27
(THE GLOBE)
A year ago HSBC Bank Kazakhstan, which is a subsidiary of the biggest financial institution in the world, the HSBC Holding plc. Group* , appeared in the Kazakhstani financial market
According to the chairman of the Board of Directors, HSBC Bank Kazakhstan came to the Kazakhstani market following its constant clients, including such big and well-known in Kazakhstan companies as Ispat-Karmet, Daewoo, Phillip Morris, British Airways, British Gas and others.
Brampton Mundy thinks that for the last year the Bank had adapted to the Kazakhstan financial market and it is going soon to liven up its activity.
Recently the Bank received the license for custodial operations, as well as the license for broker-dealer operations.
The main priorities of the Bank in 2000 are as follows:
1) to increase the number of its clients from Kazakhstani enterprises, to whom the Bank is ready to render the top-class services and a wide range of banking services;
2) to strengthening trust of the Kazakhstan�s population to the entire national banking system.
The Bank is also going to attract deposits of individuals, who keep at home about US$ 2 to 4 billion, according to rough estimation.
Mundy believes that some Kazakhstani second-level banks took a great step in their development and will be deserving competitors of HSBC Bank Kazakhstan.
Mundy said that at present HSBC Bank Kazakhstan is the only bank in Kazakhstan, which along with a wide range of banking services, offers credits to individuals who receive salary in the bank without any pledge. In his opinion, it is a promising kind of banking services, in which many Kazakhstanis will be interested.
Besides, the Bank offers its clients the free banking system Hexagon, which allows them to have an access to their accounts 24 hours a day.
* The HSBC Group was established in Hong Kong in 1865 to render financial services under conditions of growing trade-economic relations between China, Europe and America. At present the bank is the biggest financial institution. Its central office is located in London, while its branched network of 5,500 subsidiaries in 79 countries of the world covers the whole Asian-Pacific region, the Near East, Europe, North and South America.
ALMATY, Jan 8 (THE GLOBE)
The contract had been signed between the Company and the State Investments Committee on provision of the measures to stimulate and render the state support to the investment activity in the sphere of Color TV set manufacturing. In that venture the company should invest $23,479 thousand until 2004. In result of the realization of the aforementioned project, the budget efficiency will amount to $23,856 thousand by 2004.
Currently the amount of LG Electronics investments into Kazakhstani economics comes to $13 million, - said the LG Electronics in Kazakhstan Director General Sung Duk Ahn in an exclusive interview to THE GLOBE. As he noticed, the investment climate in Kazakhstan is much more favorable than in Russia, for example. In February1998 the first LG TV set was manufactured in Kazakhstan. Sung Duk Ahn highly assessed professionalism of the local personnel of the Company.
In the end of the interview Sung Duk Ahn on behalf of LG Electronics congratulated all Kazakhstanis with Christmas and New Year.
LG Electronics does not need any additional ads because everybody can see equipment with smiling logo face in every home.
All Over the Globe is published by IPA House.
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