President addresses New Kazakhstan reforms, January unrest, relations with Russia in new TV interview
Below are some of the most relevant quotes from the interview.
Political reforms. President Tokayev noted that the formula that had been applied for many years in Kazakhstan, «economy first, politics second» has exhausted itself. Kazakhstan is in the midst of a major political transformation, having held a referendum on the large-scale reform of the Constitution. «We need to continue with political transformation, because we had to unleash the civil activity of people and it was a very big demand from the society,» the President believes.
The country has begun the transition to a «civilized presidential system» on the principle of «a strong President, influential Parliament, and accountable Government.» According to Tokayev, «Kazakhstan must completely abandon an «oligopoly,» the oligarchic system, whether in the economy or in politics. We must move away from favouritism in the distribution of the so-called «juicy pieces» in the economy. There should be social justice in the country – «social lifts» should start working,» he stresses.
Return of the assets illegally siphoned away from Kazakhstan. According to the President, the state has established an interdepartmental commission on the return of assets illegally siphoned away abroad. «Colossal assets were siphoned away abroad contrary to the law and should be returned to the people of Kazakhstan. I understand this cannot be done within a day or two. It may take years, but this work should be done,» Tokayev said. At the same time, he believes «everything that has been done legally, and, moreover, if large and medium-sized companies are working in full compliance with our legislation, of course, no expropriation whatsoever should be allowed to happen.»
Oil industry. According to the President, in the early 1990s Kazakhstan was a «terra incognita» for foreign investors: «The first to come to our market were the Americans, the Chevron company. The company privatized together with the state the largest oil field in the west of our country. Oilers call it a «diamond in Kazakhstan’s crown». One should note the Americans work quite successfully. The terms of that contract were signed according to the understanding of investment agreements of that time. Now changing the rules of the game, of course, would be absolutely unnatural. Maybe even absurd from the point of view of the long-term interests of our country. At the same time, a [certain] correction should certainly take place, and that is what we are now carefully dealing with.»
January unrest. President Tokayev pointed out that the tragic events in January «were an attempted coup d’état, an attack on the state system of Kazakhstan, as well as an attempt to remove the head of state from his position; the entire situation was being masterminded by experienced professionals.» According to him, «during these tragic events, about 3,000 firearms were stolen» and «an interagency investigation team is now working hard to uncover all the details of this coup attempt.» Some «comrades» had advised him «to get on a helicopter or a plane and leave Kazakhstan,» but he «was by no means planning to do so.» «I believed that I should stay [in my workplace in the capital] till the end,» Tokayev stressed.
Pointing out «the events that took place in Almaty should not be simplified,» the President believes it is wrong «to turn into national heroes those who were engaged in murder, robbery and actually challenged the foundations of our state.» At the same time, he said, in many cases the state demonstrates mercy and releases the detainees. «Currently, only 26 people have received sentences with actual imprisonment. [Investigation into] all other cases are in progress. The scale of the tragedy is large and, of course, it is quite difficult to deal with it all in a short time.»
The President stressed the accusations of using unlawful methods of investigation of those events by the law enforcement agencies should be subject to a fair scrutiny, adding that «those police officers who broke our law and used brutal means during the investigation of those tragic days have been held criminally responsible.»
Eurasian Economic Union and Collective Security Treaty Organization. According to Tokayev, all talks that Kazakhstan allegedly «grew cold» and is going to leave the EEU and the CSTO are unfounded. «In Russia, some twist the whole situation, saying that Russia allegedly «saved» Kazakhstan, and now Kazakhstan should always «serve and bow at the feet» of Russia. I believe that this is completely unjustified reasoning, far from reality,» said the President referring to the CSTO deployment of a 2,000 strong contingent in early January. «We agreed from the very beginning that the [CSTO] force would not engage in combat actions. Not a single shot was fired by the limited CSTO contingent, and they have been here for no more than ten days. It was a demonstration of our unity in that very difficult situation,» Tokayev said.
Western sanctions against Russia. President Tokayev emphasized «sanctions are sanctions» indeed and Kazakhstan does not intend to violate them. «We are receiving notifications with regard to the fact that in case of violation of sanctions, the so-called «secondary sanctions» by the West against our economy would follow. That is, there is a very complicated, delicate work, which I would call the passing «between Scylla and Charybdis,» said the President of Kazakhstan.
Status of the Russian language. Answering the question about the status of the Russian language in Kazakhstan, President Tokayev stressed it had not undergone any deterioration. There is an increasing demand for education in the Kazakh language in the country, however. «We have the longest border in the world [with Russia]. We are, as they say, «God-given neighbours,» and Kazakhs need to know the Russian language well, but also speak their own language,» concluded the President.