April 2011 - Centre for Civil Society - University of KwaZulu-Natal

• The nationalization of companies controlled by foreign capital, in
particular “Aktobemunaigaz”, “Arcelor Mittal Timirtau” and “KaMunaigaz”
• The nationalization of the strategic production and natural resources,
agricultural land and the banks and building sector to allow the country to
get out of crisis.
However, the authorities in Almaty have already rejected permission for
the picket, claiming that on that date and time an event organized by the
youth wing of Nazarbayev’s party is planned!
The socialist “Kazakhstan 2012” has placed itself clearly at the centre of
the campaign to boycott the Presidential election due in early April and
the election is quickly turning into a farce. Only a handful of candidates
have been registered and none from an opposition party. Apart from
Nazarbayev himself the only other Party nominated candidate is from the
“Communist peoples’ party” – a pro-Nazarbayev split from the CP, which
complains it has no money for campaigning.
Obviously, the boycott campaign is having some effect as even the Central
Electoral Commission is getting rattled. Following a wave of protests in a
number of cities organized by the different opposition parties, the
President of the Electoral Commission appeared on TV appealing to voters
not to listen to the boycott call, which he called a provocation. He warns
that there is no longer a minimum turn-out for the election to be declared
valid. But clearly the less people who vote, the more Nazarbayev’s
authority will be undermined.
Now that spring is arriving, the number of workers’ struggles is also picking
up. Rather than stepping back following the sacking of their leaders, oil
workers in Western Kazakhstan have stepped up their campaign for decent
wages and justice. Hardly a day goes by when some group or another is not
protesting. Kazakhstan 2012 is clearly in a good position to help coordinate
and lead these struggles.
Therefore the CWI is calling for pickets to be organized outside the
Kazakhstan Embassies wherever possible on the 28th March (or other
suitable date) to demand:
• The immediate release of Esenbek Ukteshbayev;
• An end to the harassment of trade union activists;
• The nationalization of the strategic production and natural resources,
agricultural land and the bank and building sector;
• Boycott the one-man, Nazarbayev election
•
• For genuine and free elections in 2012, with a socialist candidate
•
• For a genuine democratic constituent assembly – For a majority
government of the working class and rural poor
• For a democratic, socialist Kazakhstan
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