KAZAKHSTAN: COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000901 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT PASS TO NCTC DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN (M. O'MARA),S/CT (R. SHORE),NCTC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER ASEC KRCM EFIN KHLS KPAO KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM REF: STATE 175925 ¶1. Included is Post's submission for the 2006 Annual Terrorism Report for Kazakhstan, as well as point of contact information as requested in reftel. ¶2. Embassy point of contact is: Douglas Monk +7(3172) 70-24-79 monkd@state.gov ¶3. Note: Post requests that the term "Kazakhstani" not be changed to "Kazakh" for final publication, as was the case in last year's submission. The term "Kazakh" is not correct in this context as it refers to a person's ethnicity, whereas "Kazakhstani" refers to citizenship. ¶4. Suggested report language: "In 2006, Kazakhstan continued to aggressively combat terrorism and extremism locally, as well as to improve cooperation with other states and international organizations, including the United States. There has been little movement, however, on counterterrorism legislation. The draft law on money laundering that the GOK has been working on since 2005 sat stalled in parliament all year. This law, if passed, would establish a financial intelligence unit and make it easier for the procuracy to secure convictions in terrorist financing cases. In January, authorities arrested a number of individuals from two extremist cells in Almaty on terrorism charges. Eight of those arrested remain in prison with on-going trials. In November, authorities arrested eleven people from a terrorist group in Stepnogorsk and confiscated arms, explosives, and extremist printed materials. Press reports claim that the members of the terrorist group were planning hostage sieges, lethal attacks on state employees, and several explosions. In December, three Kazakhstani nationals were returned to Kazakhstan from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Kazakhstan continues to have a growing problem with the Islamic extremist group Hizb'ut Tahrir (HT),an extremist political movement advocating the establishment of a borderless, theocratic Islamic state throughout the entire Muslim world. HT remains outlawed as an "extremist" organization through the Law on Extremism and continues to be the only group so designated under this law. Although there are extremist organizations in Kazakhstan, there is no evidence that Kazakhstan is used by terrorists or terrorist organizations as a sanctuary or safe haven. In November, the GOK added the East Turkistan Liberation Organization and Aum Shinrikyo to the national list of banned terrorist organizations, accusing these groups of using terrorist means in an attempt to achieve an independent state in China and Central Asia. The list of banned groups also includes Al-Qa'ida, the East Turkistan Islamic Party, the Kurdish People's Congress, Asbat al-Ansar, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Taliban, the Boz Gurd, Jamaat of Central Asian Mujahadins, Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Social Reform Society, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and its splinter group, the Islamic Jihad Union. In July, Kazakhstan became an Initial Partner Nation in the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. Kazakhstan was one of the first countries to endorse and participate in the Global Initiative after its inception earlier this year. Kazakhstan is a founding member of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA),a nascent international forum aimed at improving security in Asia, which was launched by Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev and includes Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, "State of Palestine," Russia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. In June, CICA held a summit in Almaty which was attended by heads of states and top government officials from throughout Asia. Kazakhstan, along with China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which has established a Regional Antiterrorism Center in Tashkent. Kazakhstan is also a member of the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Eurasia Group -- a regional anti-money laundering organization or Financial Action Task Force-style regional body whose objective is to integrate Kazakhstan, along with Belarus, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia, and Uzbekistan into the global system on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism. Kazakhstani cooperation and timeliness in ASTANA 00000901 002 OF 002 sharing information with the USG continues to strengthen." MILAS