KAZAKHSTAN: MEDIA REACTION, JANUARY 24-30

UNCLAS ASTANA 000192 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL EFIN MARR KMDR KPAO KG KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: MEDIA REACTION, JANUARY 24-30 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (U) SUMMARY: Kazakhstani media focused during the week of January 24-30 on President Nazarbayev's trip to Davos and his comments on how the global economy needs an international currency to replace the dollar. Analytical writers continued to mull over rumors about the future of the U.S. military's access to Kyrgyzstan's Manas Airbase and other plans of the U.S. military in the region. END SUMMARY. WE'RE NUMBER 66! ¶3. President Nursultan Nazarbayev's presence at Davos has kept the World Economic Forum at the top of the local news. Official "Kazakhstanskaya Pravda" announced that Kazakhstan was ranked number 66 in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report for 2008-09, ahead of every other CIS country except Russia. "Kazakhstanskaya Pravda" also noted that Kazakhstan's new tax reforms were not included in the report, suggesting that they could have finished much higher. UNDEMOCRATIC DOLLAR ¶4. (U) Before jetting off to Davos, President Nazarbayev was in New Delhi for a state visit. Pro-government "Rakhat Television" covered his suggestion while in India for the establishment of a new "world currency" which would be recognized by the UN and controlled by the "appropriate commissions." Nazarbayev thinks this would help with the world financial crisis, and criticized the U.S. dollar as "undemocratic, uncompetitive, and uncontrollable." ¶5. (U) Centrist "Panorama" reported on several Kazakhstani economists who bravely rushed to defend the President's proposal. Aspandau Science and Education Fund President Kanat Nurov suggested that the dollar be internationalized. "With joint international efforts, it would be possible to support the currency with precious metals." Aspandau's Chairman, Sergey Grisyuk, said "The world economy today has reached such a level of complexity that without a common currency it can't function. De facto, the dollar plays this role today." After demurely suggesting, "I won't go into whether it does so well or poorly," he continued, "I think it does so poorly. Today many people think so." Grisyuk concluded, "There should be a common currency. Today the national currency of the United States fills the role of a common currency. This is not just." ¶6. (U) Pro-government "Liter" points out that in his Davos address, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also touted an international currency, as President Nazarbayev had done days before. The paper opined, "It is obvious that this Kazakhstani initiative has found fertile ground in Davos." MILITARY MANEUVERS ¶7. (U) Independent "Delovaya Nedelya" feels that it is too early to dismiss rumors about the closing of America's Manas Airbase in Kyrgyzstan. "Kyrgyz authorities are as fickle as the mood of a beautiful girl," according to the paper. The article quoted General David Petreaus characterizing the buzz around the airbase as the "Central Asian method of conducting negotiations," and saying, "Every official (I spoke with) said that this news (the closing) has no basis." Kyrgyz political observer, Mars Sariyev, calls the rumors "a delicate game by President Bakiyev" to raise the rent on the airbase. ¶8. (U) Russian-based "Novaya Gazeta-Kazakhstan," dragging out a months-old quote from a Russian general that America plans to deploy military bases in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, suggests "It's quite possible that there will be changes in location for the U.S. military in Central Asia as a result of the increasing competition between Moscow and Washington for regional domination." The author thinks, "Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are not afraid of cold winters because they have their own oil and gas resources... but Astana and Tashkent's games with Washington are not more important than loyalty to Moscow. Who else will protect Astana from Western accusations of problems with democratic standards?" HOAGLAND