Terror is the blood brother of corruption
Akezhan Kazhegeldin's statement in connection with killing of A. Sarsenbayev
The name of Altynbek Sarsenbayev is now listed among other martyrs who
have given their lives for the future of Kazakhstan. Like all our citizens, I deeply mourn
his tragic death. I only wish Altynbek's relatives and his family members courage. Their
loss is irreparable. They must be proud of their father and husband who has died for his
beliefs and his civil position.
I would also like to convey the words of sorrow and sympathy to the
relatives of Baurzhan Baybolsyn and Vasily Zhuravliov. They stuck to their professional
duty and died in line of duty.
The violent murder of Altynbek Sarsenbayev and his staff is a shock but
not a surprise. It is not a surprise because Kazakhstan has turned into a country where
violence and iniquity reign instead of the rule of law. Decivilized political life has
become the effect of the decaying state machine where -openly and officially - profit
seeking has become a norm. Pervasive corruption is the true reason for the political
killings, arbitrary incarceration, unjust convictions and clampdown on the media.
Terror is the blood brother of corruption. By means of terror old
scores are settled with businessmen trying to protect their business, with journalists who
expose the scope of theft, and with politicians who openly oppose the system.
Violence and government terror breeds violence and terror in response.
When people have no right to elect their government, when they are robbed of the right to
protest and protect, nothing else is left for them but rage and fury. They have nothing to
lose except honor.
The nation asks where the President is? Why hasn't he interrupted his
holiday abroad and hasn't hurried to the Sarsenbayevs' to tell them of his responsibility
as the head of state. Apparently, he is busy: he must be studying plans of new palaces in
Astana or rehearsing his new address promising the reforms. Meanwhile, Kazakh citizens of
the same age as his children, his relatives and fellow countrymen are being killed.
It makes no sense to call these authorities to “take under control”
the investigation into yet another murder: the investigation will be conducted by the
killers themselves or by those who have sent them to kill. The united opposition should
urgently invite to Kazakhstan foreign investigators specializing in investigating
political killings. This is a practice accepted worldwide. Not long ago the government of
Lebanon asked the European Union to send there an expert to investigate a similar
political assassination. We should make the Kazakh government to do the same.
I call on all political parties and public groups to demand immediate
resignation of all heads of law-enforcement bodies: the ministry of internal affairs, the
national security committee, and the general prosecutor's office. They must be hounded
out, stripped of their military ranks, and the right to high pensions. The funeral of
Altynbek Sarsenbayev should open a series of rallies with same demands.
Altynbek Sarsenbayev was the leader of the generation of the
40-year-olds that has matured in the years of independence. The eternal logic of life
dictates that with time he and his associates will replace current leaders at the helm.
But the power has been shooting the most prominent of them, like Filipp Goloshchekin and
his henchmen did in the 30's.
The future of independent Kazakhstan is in jeopardy. We bury Altynbek
Sarsenbayev and mourn the loss of him and the fate of our native Kazakhstan that has been
loosing its most prominent citizens.
Akezhan Kazhegeldin
February 14, 2006 |
