Olzhas SULEIMENOV:
"PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE LEARNT TO TELL THE CLEAR INTENTIONS OF THE POLITICIANS FROM UNSCRUPULOUS POLITICKING"

UNESCO Ambassador Olzhas SULEIMENOV
gives an interview to Interfax-Kazakhstan.

- Mr Suleimenov, it is not by chance that we are meeting with you on the eve of Kazakhstan's Independence Day. You were among those who had been working hard towards the independence, long before the December of 1986. You were with those who created a new Kazakhstan. What is on your mind today? How do you view the past?

- My thoughts are mainly about the future of the country. However, when looking back at the past years I cannot but recall a number of events that happened two decades ago. The anti-nuclear movement Nevada-Semipalatinsk was organized on February 28, 1989 and the USSR stopped nuclear tests 20 years ago, on October 19, 1989. In November we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Back in late 80-s the Warsaw Pact alliance started falling into decay leading to the collapse of the USSR and Yugoslavia.

Could we have avoided it? We could. In May 1989 I became a member of the Constitutional Commission, which was established by the First Convention of the People's Representatives. Led by Mikhail Gorbachyov, the Commission was to write a new constitution to turn the USSR into a confederation where the Soviet republics could become independent states to form a sort of European Union as it is today. If it had been done, the CIS, Eurasia and the whole world would have been better today. That's what I often think about.

- It can't be a coincidence that the national unity doctrine is the focus of attention these days. What do you think of the doctrine itself and the heated discussions about the term "Kazakhstani nation"?

- I have a feeling that the Republic Square in Almaty will see too many rallies on December 17. The intelligencia that do not approve of the concept of the Kazakhstani nation will go on a hunger strike. The people who invested their money in housing development projects and got cheated by the construction companies are planning to immolate themselves. The holidays are going to be very tough. The government could easily solve the problem of the cheated people who only want their money back. However, the problem of the Kazakhstani nation is far more complicated as neither the Kazakh linguistics nor the Kazakh politicians can resolve it or at least explain the people the meaning of the terms that are well known to the world community. I have looked through a lot of newspapers, including those published by the opposition. Many of them are saying that if the Doctrine is adopted the Kazakhs (and also Russians, Uigurs and others) will lose their ethnic identity. Some well-known poets, actors and linguists share the fears. Even the Dzungarian invasion did not bring about so much panic.

The people should have learnt to tell the clear intentions of the politicians from unscrupulous politicking. The renowned linguists should have noticed that the Kazakh language only has one word, "óëò", for the terms "nation", "nationality" and "ethnic group".

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights all people are entitled to equal rights irrespective of their ethnic origin.

Thus, at the beginning of the 20th century the Kazakhs formed a rather large ethnic group of about 6.2 million people, according to the 1926 census.

In the Soviet times the Kazakhs turned into a nationality and became part of the Soviet nation, or citizens of the USSR.

Then we witnessed the creation of a country, the Republic of Kazakhstan, on December 21, 1991 when the Kazakhstani nation came into being. The ethnic Kazakhs became the bulk of the nation. (If we deny the existence of the Kazakh nation, then we deny the existence of Kazakhstan as country).

The problem arises when we translate the terms from Russian into Kazakh:

Russian "Kazakhstani nation" will be "Kazakhstan ulty" in Kazakh

"Kazakh nationality" will be "Kazakh ulty".

As you can see, the Kazakh language does not differentiate between these two terms. The Kazakh linguists should have coined new words to express the new ideas that came into existence after Kazakhstan became an independent state. They should have explained the intelligencia and the beginning politicians that "nation" means "a state", "citizenship". "National bank" means "a state bank", "national company" is a "state company". So "the doctrine of national unity" is the concept of unification of all the nationalities living in Kazakhstan.

- In the context of national security the problem of languages is a very delicate matter. What approach do you think is the best to achieve a balance between the Kazakh nationality and all other nationalities living in the country?

- Such an approach may have a few aspects, including a linguistic one. The Kazakh language should develop new words to be able to express new political, scientific and cultural ideas and notions. The political aspect will suggest that the state language should be introduced at a moderate pace as forcing the process will jeopardize our young statehood.

- In a few days Kazakhstan will take over the chairmanship of OSCE. There are people who say that Astana is not ready for the mission. Other people call it a historical mistake that Kazakhstan was elected to become OSCE chair. The opponents refer to Kazakhstan's one-party parliament, the persecution of journalists who are not loyal to the authorities and the widespread corruption. Will you share with us your vision of the situation?

- Why should we be disputing now, when the ministers of the European Union has made their final decision and elected Kazakhstan to be the next chair of the Organization. Now we only should do our best to come up to their expectations.

The opponents do not realize one thing: when OSCE chair, Kazakhstan will be improving, one way or another, its own democracy, security and cooperation. Let's wait till December 2011 and we will see.

Merry Christmas and have the best of luck!

- Thank you for the interview.

Desember 14, 2009
© 2009 Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency
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