Background information

Dear comrades,

Thank you very much for you support. It has enourmous political significance by showing our class  enemies, authorities, and, above all, to our struggling workers, that workers' solidarity is reality. 

Since September 1 we received  cables, faxes, letter on solidarity from 25 countries of the world, from more than 50 of organizations (communist and working parties, trade unions and youth organizations, from some deputies of parliaments). The huge work of solidarity with the workers of factory "Metallist" is made also in Kazakhstan by the Alma-Ata chapter of Labour Movement "Solidarity", miner's trade unions of Karaganda and deputies - members of the Communist party of Kazakhstan. There many reports on strike at "Metallist" by central TV channels and in republican mass-media
.
In spite of the fact that the strike was suspended in the end of January, some unauthorized meetings and piketing were organized by the strike commitee, and also the occupation strike was prepared. Besides, it was possible in a middle of February to conduct an extraordinary trade-union conference, on which a workers' trade-union committee was elected.  Communist Ainur Kurmanoov, one of the leaders of our strike committee, became its chairman.

After the trade union commitee re-election, at once, the mass media--which is under control of Nazarbayev--began the campaign of slander, insults and disinformation against the workers of "Metallist". 

The new trade union committie has become the "red" center of organization for city  trade unions and labor activists from different enterprises.

In March, we organized several trade union discussions on joint actions and the struggle against the new labour legislation.

The office of the Public Prosecutor reacted to this by launching numertous investigations due to the alleged accusations that our trade unions force people to enroll and to pay their union dues!  The administration of "Metallist" ordered the guard  to prevent union activists from entering the plant, including a City Soviet deputy, worker Pozhidaev.

Since the beginning of this year, another three workers of our factory have died prematurely, because of the lack of money to buy medicine. They were in their forties.  The families of these workers still can not receive their back wages. As we reported earlier,  working families are deprived of electric power, water and gas for non-payment. Only mass actions of protest, meetings in City Hall, threats to occupy the military enterprise (where there is a plenty of arms), and the deputy of parliament A.Zemlyanov`s  ultimatum to go on a hunger-strikes in defense of workers' rights -- have forced authorities to retreat.

In the end of February, "Metallist" was visited by a governmental commission led by vice-premier Pavlov (naturally, the representatives of collective were not allowed to participate), which has allocated a small sum for paying us 10 % of our back wages (22 millions tengye out of 220 millions). Besides, under the pressure of Labour Movement of Kazakhstan "Solidarity" and the Communist Party of Kazakhstan the Government has agreed to have a public discussion of the bill on the State Production Order, and created a special commitee on military industry.

However, the strike commitee and the trade union are not about to become pacified.  They are planning a series of protests, in particular, against department of bailiffs, requesting the execution of the court order on the collection of back wages from the enterprise, which has so far failed to comply.

We observe sharp politization of workers, who now demand a change of the political course, the resignation of Government and President Nazarbayev, the restoration of a planned economy, and state production orders. Many active workers have entered Communist Party and Labour Movement of Kazakhstan "Solidarity". This is why prime minister  Tokayev, speaking at the Europarliament meeting has declared that there is danger of "left extremism" and "a red revanche" in Kazakhstan.

The struggle goes on, and the situation remains explosive all over the country.

Strike commitee of  "Metallist"
20 May, 2000
 

New Arrests of Labor Leaders in Kazakhstan 

On the eve of its Refoundation Conference, the Labor Movement of 
Kazakhstan "Solidarity" (RDKS) is coming under increasing attacks by 
the repressive apparatus of this Central Asian dictatorship. 

Several days ago the police arrested Madel Ismailov, one of the leaders 
of the Movement.  Today we have learned that two other labor leaders of have been arrested 
in the city of Uralsk (the largest proletarian center of the country). 

Their names are A. Kurmanov and Furmanova.  Kurmanov fell victim to a 
police provocation and was sentenced to 7 days in prison by the administrative court. 

The leader of pensioners movement "Generation", I. Savostina, was 
arrested as well, apparently, for organizing an unauthorized meeting last January. 
 

Russian labor militants ask their comrades abroad to help in preventing 
the vanguard of Kazakhstan working class, one of the most damned proletarian 
formations in the world  today--from being decimated by the neofascist regime of Nazarbaev. 
 

Please send your protests to any of the following: 

1)  the President of Kazakhstan, Nazarbaev: 
  11 Mira Street 473000 Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan Tel: (00 7 3172) 
321 399 
Fax:(00 7 3172) 326172 

Office of the President pl. Respubliki 4 Akmola 480091 Republic of 
Kazakhstan Tel: (00 7 3272) 62 30 16 or 62 77 58 Fax: (00 7 3272) 63 95 
95 or 63 76 33 

2) Minister of Home Affairs Kairbek Suleimenov: 
49 Abaya Street, 473000, Republic of Kazakhstan Tel: (00 7 3172) 343601 
or 343600 

3) Chairman of National Security Committee Alnur Musayev: 
108, Nauryzbai batyr St., Almaty, 480091, Republic of Kazakhstan. Tel: 
693605, Fax: 639626. 

4) the embassy of Kazakhstan in your country (1). 

7) the governor of Uralsk Rahimberdin: 182/1, Lenin Prospect, Uralsk, 
Republic of Kazakhstan. 

You can also leave your message of protest and solidarity in the 
guestbook of the RDKS web page at 

http://oocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/4580/rdks.html 

You can also help by 
- disseminating this information about strenthen of prosecution of the 
working active workers by authorities of Kazakhstan; 
- setting up pickets in front of Kazakhstan embassies abroad. 
- sending messages of support to: 

Uralsk, 417000, ul. Urdinskaya, dom. 1/1, kv. 9, Pozhidaevu, V.T. 

Please, send copies of all cables and letters of the protest also to one 
of our addresses: 

kmg@komsa.kirov.ru 
zashmrp@mail.samtel.ru 

Svetlana Baiborodova
 
 
 

Kazakhstan labor leader imprisoned by us-backed regime as Madeline
Albright prepares to visit former soviet republic Madel Ismailov was again imprisoned by the US-backed dictatorship of Nursultan Nazarbaev

E-mail, 13 April 2000

On April 6, Madel Ismailov, leader of the Kazakhstan Workers Movement and a former construction worker, was again imprisoned by the US-backed dictatorship of Nursultan Nazarbaev. He has
gone on hunger strike to protest his unconstitutional arrest. Ismailov is charged with "addressing an
illegal meeting," a rally against high prices and unemployment that was held on Jan. 30 in the city of Almaty. On that day secret police tried to grab Ismailov after the rally, but he was rescued by the crowd.

On April 5, Ismailov was ordered to appear in court, although a statute of limitations on the charge against him had expired. When he arrived with his lawyer and friends, he was told that they would not be allowed to go to court with him. Ismailov refused to enter the court without representation and returned home. He
was arrested the following morning and immediately sentenced to 15 days in prison. The last time Ismailov was arrested in 1998 for "insulting the president" he was also given a relatively short sentence, but the regime refused to release him. He was held for nearly a year in a concentration camp where he
almost died. Another KWM activist died as a result of poor medical care in prison. Ismailov's friends and family feel his life is in danger.

With 17 million people, Kazakhstan is the fourth most populous republic of the former Soviet Union. It is rich in oil and gas, and Exxon, Chevron and other US oil companies have large investments there. But coal, steel and other industries that flourished in Soviet times have been demolished by dictate of the
International Monetary Fund, and whole regions of the country have been reduced to hunger. As in other former Soviet republics life expectancy has plunged for working people. The prison population has mushroomed.

The Kazakhstan Workers Movement was formed to resist the IMF-backed privatization policies of Nazarbayev's regime. Although it has met all stated requirements, the regime has refused to allow the KWM to register as a legal organization. On April 15, US Secretary of State Madeline Albright will visit Kazakhstan in a show of support for Nazarbayev's brutal anti-labor policies.

Just before his latest arrest, Ismailov visited the United States as part of a delegation of Kazakhstan opposition leaders who met with US Congressman, mass media organizations and think tanks. While in
the States, Ismailov visited New York City, where he was hosted by the International Action Center and met with former US attorney general Ramsey Clark. In New York he also walked a picketline to protest the police murder of unarmedHaitian immigrant Patrick Dorismond.

The IAC is urging its friends and supporters to protest Ismailov's imprisonment. Faxes may be sent to President Nursultan
Nazarbayev at 011 7 3172 326 182, 011 7 3172 324 769 or 011 7 3172 327
274 and to Ambassador B. Nurgaliev at the
embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Washington at 1 202 232 5945.
The embassy may be phoned at 202 232 5488.
Protests can also be faxed to US ambassador at large for Central Asia
Stephen Stephen Sestanovich, ambassador at large for
Central Asia at the US State Department at 1 202 736 4710. Protest
letters may also be e-mailed to the IAC
(iac@iacenter.org) and the IAC will fax them.

E-mail, 13 April 2000

March 13 through 18 the Forum of Democratic Forces of Kazakhstan visited USA
Congressmen supported the idea of nation-wide dialog

Received via e-mail, March 21, 2000

March 13 through 18 the delegation of the Forum of Democratic Forces of Kazakhstan visited USA on the invitation of several public organizations. President of Independent Electronic Mass Media Association Rozlana Taukina, leader of Kazakh Labor Movement Madel Ismailov, other well-known politicians, publicists, and representatives of the Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan Sergei Duvanov and Nurbulat Masanov took part in the dialog with the Americans.

The aim of the visit was to acquaint American politicians and public figures with the political situation in Kazakhstan and the idea of the nation-wide dialog.

The delegation met with the following influential Congressmen:

     The Hon. Dan Burton, IN, Chairman of the Committee on Government Reform;

     The Hon. Doug Bereuter, NE, Chairman of Subcommittee on Asia, Committee on International Relations;

     The Hon. Porter J. Goss, FL, Chairman of the Committee on Intelligence;

     The Hon. Steve Chabot, OH, Committees on International Relations and the Judiciary;

     The Hon. Tom Lantos, CA, Committees on International Relations and Government Reform;

     The Hon. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, FL, Committees on Government Reform and International Relations;

     The Hon. Stephen Horn, CA, Committee on Government Reform;

     The Hon. Roger F. Wicker, MS, Committee on Appropriations;

     The Hon. Janice D. Schakowsky, IL, Committee on Banking and Financial Services.

The Congressmen supported the idea of conducting a nation-wide dialog in Kazakhstan and offered their assistance in promoting democratization of the political system in the country, human rights and free access to mass media sources.

When the visit was over Congressmen Steve Chabot (OH) wrote a letter to the Secretary of State Madlen Albright. He called on to take with all seriousness the unfolding political situation in Kazakhstan, backed the idea of the national dialog and suggested that the Department of State should stand for observing the freedom of speech in Kazakhstan.

In addition, members of Kazakh opposition met with top officials of the Department of State, staff members of the National Democracy Institute, representatives of AFL/CIO, and other labor movements and organizations.

The delegation took part in the Radio Liberty round table and spoke at the Radio Free Europe briefing.

Two last days of the visit the delegation spent in New York, where its members met with representatives of Human Rights Watch, Committee to Protect Journalist, International League for Human Rights and labor organizations.

Information gathered by the American side during the meetings of Kazakh delegation with the US Congressmen and the public will be used for US Congress's hearings in spring this year.

Received via e-mail, March 21, 2000
 
 
 

02. 24. 2000      Leader of workers movement's branch in Almaty complains.  The press 
                         conference was banned in the very last moment

12.25.99     The TNC Ispat-Karmet wants to smash trade union in Karaganda
                Political activist brutally beaten by security service agents

Otegen Qabaziyev - Chief of the Kazakh Workers Movement's Branch in Almaty told correspondents of RFE/RL that today, February 24, he and his colleagues were banned to hold press conference at National Press Club in the former Kazakh capital.  According to Mr. Qabaziyev, Almaty City Administration had agreed to let him and his assistants to hold the press conference during the talks held last week. But in the very last moment, says Mr. Qabaziyev, the administration of the National Press Club
told him about impossibility to use the premises. Almaty Branch of the Kazakh Workers Movement was planning to introduce journalists with their attitude about the idea on Kazakhstan's possible joining to the Russo-Belarus Union.

RFE/RL, Kazakh News, February 24, 2000

Appeal from Kazakhstan

British firm Ispat-Karmet began mass layoffs in the mines and other enterprizes it owns in Karaganda.
The Alliance of independent trade unions led by communists Saken Zhunusov and Ramil Mingazov
organized a number of protests: meetings, pickets, road blockades, and a strike in the mine "Saranskaya."

This transnational corporation (The LNM Group) made a deal with the authorities to shut down the stubborn
union.  The tense court trial has been going for a week, with dozens of witnesses  (the prosecutor's ones are
mostly police agents).  There is a real danger of persecutions against the union leaders.

We ask to send telegrams and letters of protest to the local court:
Kazakhstan, 470000, Karaganda, ul. Erubaeva 30, Leninskij uchastok
Sovetskogo raionnogo suda
 

and to

Ispat Karmet JSC
472319 Termitau City
Lenin Avenue 1
The Republic of Kazakhstan
Tel: + (7) 321 356 2600
Fax: + (7) 321 391 9191
E-mail: General.Karmet@ispatnet.

Please send us a copy of your letter so that we can use it in media.
Our address:

Kazakhstan, Karaganda, ul. Gogol 47-24,
Assotsiatsia nezavisimykh profsoiuzov (ANP)
Association of Independent Unions

25 December, 1999
Distributed by The Russian-Kazakhstan Solidarity Committee

We believe that these actions of the repressive apparatus are meant to intimidate the activists
of the youth and student movement and to suppres it.  We ask to send protest letters to

                                                 Procurator General of Kazakhstan
                                                 Respublika Kazakhstan
                                                 480099 g. Almaty ul. Zheltoksan
                                                 189 Prokuratura Generalnomu prokuroru
                                                 Fax: (7 3272) 53 27 30

Please send copies to

Kazakhstan, 480031, Alma-Aty, mikroraion Zhetysu-2, 78-17
Madel Ismailov

Distributed byRussian-Kazakhstan Solidarity Committee