[Random-bits] Wisdom of selling a piece of Westinghouse to Kazakhstan
James Love
james.love@keionline.org
Fri Jul 13 08:56:01 2007
Over the weekend, I noticed a small news item in the Japanese press,
about Toshiba selling a 10 percent state of Westinghouse, the US
nuclear energy company, to the government of Kazakhstan. (So far,
only the Pittsburgh Tribune Review has covered this story in the
United States). I have since blogged about this a few times in the
Huffington Post, including this entry today. Jamie
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-love/wisdom-of-selling-a-
piece_b_56046.html
Wisdom of selling a piece of Westinghouse to Kazakhstan
James Love, Huffington Post
Posted July 13, 2007
Suppose you were told of a country where an opposition leader was
found shot twice in the chest and once in the head, through a pillow
to silence the shots, and the police ruled it a suicide. Suppose a
few months later, another opposition leader was found shot, with his
body guard and driver, with his hands tied behind his back, and the
police initially reported that he was killed "while hunting." Suppose
that journalists who were critical of the government were run over by
buses, or put in prison on trumped up charges. Suppose there had
never been a fair election in the country, ever, and the laws were
recently changed to allow the incumbent to serve as "president for
life." Suppose that the head of state's family controlled the news
media, key economic and government sectors, and even tax collections.
Suppose the country was located in an unstable region of the world,
and companies in the country had already been investigated for a role
in the black market sale of Pakistan nuclear technology to North
Korea, Libya and Iran.
Would this seem like a government that should own part of
Westinghouse, a leading U.S. supplier of nuclear technologies?
According to reports in the Japanese press, the proposed sale of 10
percent of Westinghouse to KazAtomProm, a nuclear energy company
owned by the government of Kazakhstan, will allow KazAtomProm to
receive Westinghouse nuclear technology, including technology that
will be used to process nuclear fuels. The Japanese press reports
said U.S. government officials "have indicated that the deal poses no
problems."
The argument in favor of the sale is that the current ruler of
Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbayev, is a friend of the United
States. Probably more important, he is a friend of Dick Cheney.
According to this March 1998 story in Businessweek, "Together with
the heads of Chevron Corp. and Texaco Inc., Cheney is one of just a
dozen members of Kazakhstan's Oil Advisory Board, created by the
country's president as a sounding board." Today Halliburton does a
lot of business in Kazakhstan. So too does Rudy Giuliani's firm
Bracewell & Giuliani, which has offices in Kazakhstan. The firm was
quoted in the Pittsburgh press in support of the transaction.
However, this does not seem to be a done deal. It appears as though
the Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the
United States ("CFIUS") will have an opportunity to approve or reject
the Kazakhstan investment.
In looking at the Kazakhstan Westinghouse proposal, the CFIUS might
want to look back on an earlier time, when Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz
had pushed for deals between Iran and Westinghouse and GE. This was
back in the days when Iran was run by our friend, the Shah of Iran.
As reported in 2005 by Dafna Linzer of the Washington Post,
----quote
Ford's team endorsed Iranian plans to build a massive nuclear
energy industry, but also worked hard to complete a multibillion-
dollar deal that would have given Tehran control of large quantities
of plutonium and enriched uranium -- the two pathways to a nuclear
bomb. Either can be shaped into the core of a nuclear warhead, and
obtaining one or the other is generally considered the most
significant obstacle to would-be weapons builders. . .
Nuclear experts believe the Ford strategy was a mistake. As Iran
went from friend to foe, it became clear to subsequent
administrations that Tehran should be prevented from obtaining the
technologies for building weapons. But that is not the argument the
Bush administration is making. Such an argument would be unpopular
among parties to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which
guarantees members access to nuclear power regardless of their
political systems.
-----end quote
There is zero chance that the Kazakhstan/Westinghouse purchase is a
surprise to the Bush/Cheney Administration, which has close ties to
the Nazarbayev regime. In June 2007, the Kazakhstan government hosted
a meeting of the "Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism" in
Astana, Kazakhstan. According to various reports in the foreign
press, the Bush/Cheney administration is asking India to break off
its energy agreements with Iran, in return for stronger trade links
with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
We truly know little about the future of Kazakhstan, a country that
has not seen a democratic transition of power, and we should not risk
a mistake leading to nuclear proliferation by transferring US nuclear
technology to any country that is ruled this way.
These are only a few news stories and NGO and government reports
about the problems in Kazakhstan.
1. 2007 July 6. C.J. Chivers, "Former Son-in-Law of Kazakh Leader
Says He Was Framed," New York Times. "Mr. Aliyev, 44 and until
recently the Kazakh ambassador to Austria, is at the center of a
palace feud and kidnapping scandal that has become a political
sensation in Kazakhstan, the oil- and gas-rich state on the Central
Asian steppe that he says Mr. Nazarbayev runs like a family business
empire. The case has raised fresh questions about the politics and
management of a country that by post-Soviet Central Asian standards
has been a success, but is still dogged by election-rigging,
centralization and corruption in its governing class. http://
www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/world/asia/06aliyev.html
2. 2007 June 15 June 2007. Christopher Walker, "Muzzling the
Media: The Return of Censorship in the Commonwealth of Independent
States," Freedom House. In Kazakhstan, a steady monopolization of
media was implemented. Dariga Nazarbayeva, the influential daughter
of the president and one-time head of the state news agency, played a
pivotal role in the effort to take control of that country's news
media infrastructure. In Kazakhstan, as in a number of the former
Soviet states, broadcast media has been taken into the hands of
members of the presidential family or those with close ties to it.
Meanwhile, the screws were tightened on journalists who took an
independent line. A campaign to silence critics who reported on
official corruption caught in its web journalists such as Sergei
Duvanov and Nuri Muftakh. Muftakh died at a time he was following
allegations that Kazakhstan's president had secretly transferred
large amounts of money to foreign banks. In November 2002, he was run
over by a bus in what authorities regarded as an accident but what
many speculate was a politically motivated assassination. Duvanov,
who also wrote on political corruption and was following the
"Kazakhgate" scandal, was found guilty of what many believed to be
trumped up rape charges and sentenced to several years in prison in
January 2003.
http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/press_release/
muzzlingthemedia_15june07.pdf
3. 2007 May 29. Yuri Zarakhovich. "Kazakhstan's Family Feud."
Time Magazine. Details the ongoing dispute between President
Nursultan Nazarbayev and his son-in-law Rakhat Aliyev, characterizes
Nazarbayev as an autocrat and states that "the lack of political
maturity [in Kazakhstan] bodes ill for an increasingly critical
section of the world." http://www.time.com/time/world/article/
0,8599,1626050,00.html
4. 2007 May 25. "U.S. criticizes Kazakhstan over media shutdown."
Reuters Webpage. Reports the United States' criticism of Kazakhstan
for shutting down a TV station and newspaper owned by the son-in-law
of President Nursultan Nazarbayev following a dispute between the two
men. http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSL2561778020070525
5. 2007 May 24. "Kazakhbashi: One step forward, two back," the
Economist. "Kazakhstan has never held votes judged free or fair by
international observers. This amendment is a mandate for Mr
Nazarbayev to rule for life." http://www.economist.com/world/asia/
displaystory.cfm?story_id=9241455
6. 2007 May 19. Raushan Nurshayeva, "Kazakhstan's President voted
in for life term," Daily Telegraph. Kazakhstan's veteran leader
Nursultan Nazarbayev has been in effect declared President-for-life
in a move condemned by the nation's opposition as undemocratic.
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/
0,22049,21758227-5006003,00.html
7. 2007 March 6. United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights,
and Labor, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2006 -
Kazakhstan. "The following human rights problems were reported:
severe limits on citizens' rights to change their government; an
incident of unlawful deprivation of life; military hazing that led to
deaths; detainee and prisoner abuse; unhealthy prison conditions;
arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of government opponents;
lack of an independent judiciary; increased restrictions on freedom
of speech, the press, assembly, and association; pervasive
corruption, especially in law enforcement and the judicial system;
restrictions on the activities of nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs); discrimination and violence against women; trafficking in
persons; and societal discrimination." http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/
hrrpt/2006/78820.htm
8. 2007 January 22. "Kazakh blogger found guilty." AlJazeera.net.
"Kazis Toguzbayev, who published articles on www.kub.kz, was found
guilty of insulting Nazarbayev in two articles by alleging that he
bore some responsibility for the murder of an opposition
politician. . . Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly, co-chairman of the Nagyz Ak
Zhol opposition party, was found shot dead in his car last February,
alongside his driver and bodyguard. . . Sarsenbaiuly was not the
first critic of Nazarbayev, who has held power since 1989, to be
found dead. Three months previously, Zamanbek Nurkadilov, a former
mayor of Almaty, the Kazakh capital, and a critic of Nazarbayev, had
been found dead at his home. Nurkadilov was found with two bullet
wounds to the chest and one to his head. An official investigation
concluded that his death was suicide." http://english.aljazeera.net/
NR/exeres/F8A0D8D7-30B1-4D0C-99F4-B0E7636F6BB7.htm
9. 2006 August 15. "Kazakhstan murder trial 'a farce': Altynbek
Sarsenbaiuly was found shot dead on a roadside. Relatives and
colleagues of a murdered Kazakh opposition leader say they have lost
faith in the judicial process." BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-
pacific/4794685.stm
10. 2006 August 3. "Kazakhstan: Alleged Killer's Bombshell Shakes
Up Murder Trial," Radio Free Europe http://www.rferl.org/
featuresarticle/2006/08/6ef4cd63-9b7a-41a5-bff4-a1dda53a96df.html
11. 2006 July 6. Ted Rall. "U.S. Plants Seeds of Disaster in
Kazakhstan," Common Dreams. Kazakh opposition leader Galymzhan
Zhakiyanov was scheduled to meet with Cheney in Astana. "I wanted to
tell him about the problems we've faced building freedom and
democracy here in Kazakhstan," he said, "and I wanted to remind
Cheney of what President Bush said in his second inauguration speech--
that the freedom and prosperity of citizens in the U.S. depends on
the freedom and democracy of other countries in the world." But he
never got to deliver that message, having been arrested by
Kazakhstan's notorious militsia military police. . . .
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0706-31.htm
12. 2006 February 13. Gulnoza Saidazimova, "Kazakhstan: Opposition
Figure Found Shot Dead Near Almaty," The bodies of Altynbek
Sarsenbaev, a co-chairman of the Naghyz Ak Zhol opposition party, his
bodyguard, and his driver were found in the Almaty outskirts early
today. The three were reportedly shot dead. A former information
minister and a former ambassador to Russia, Sarsenbaev was a fierce
critic of Kazakhstan's current regime. "He was murdered," said Aydos
Sarymov, an aide to Sarsenbaev, in an interview with RFE/RL. "His
hands were tied behind his back. They shot him first in front and
then in the back of his head. There is no doubt it is a murder." The
Kazinform state agency reports that Sarsenbaev was killed while
hunting. The leader of Kazakhstan's opposition group For a Just
Kazakhstan, Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, who was also a presidential
candidate in the December presidential election, confirmed
Sarsenbaev's death to RFE/RL but refused to elaborate on possible
motives. "Yes, it's true that he was found dead along with the bodies
of his bodyguard and driver," Tuyakbai said. . . . Sarsenbaev, who
was a government official and served as Kazakh ambassador to Russia,
joined the opposition in 2003, and declared his intention to run for
president. http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/
2006/2/0C2B8F56-79F6-447A-B66F-5E41C199689A.html
13. 2005 December 5. "Fraud claims as Kazakh polls close,"
AlJazeera.net. Reports that, following 2005 presidential election,
opposition members claimed to have evidence of duplicate voter lists
that allowed for multiple voting. http://english.aljazeera.net/
English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=16762
14. 2005 November 29. "Kazakh Opposition Figure's Death Ruled
Suicide," RFE/RL, The official investigation into the shooting death
of Kazakh opposition figure and former Emergency Situations Agency
head Zamanbek Nurkadilov has concluded that he committed suicide. The
investigative team found that Nurkadilov first shot himself twice in
the chest before putting the gun to his head and firing a bullet into
his brain. http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/11/55e307fe-
ebd7-4d80-b9f0-be332e4ae583.html
15. 2005 November 14. Andrew E. Kramer, "Kazakhstan opposition
member slain," The New York Times. A former minister in the
government of President Nursultan Nazarbayev who had said he would
speak publicly about high-level corruption has been found shot to
death, according to the police and an opposition leader. The killing
Saturday night comes three weeks before a presidential election in
this oil-rich former Soviet state. Zamanbek Nurkadilov, 61, was a
member of the leading opposition group, For a Fair Kazakhstan. He was
fired from his post as minister of emergency situations in 2004 after
saying that Nazarbayev should answer allegations that Kazakh
officials had accepted millions of dollars in bribes from an
intermediary for American oil companies during contract talks in the
1990s. The leading opposition candidate in the presidential race,
Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, said in an interview Sunday that Nurkadilov had
recently said he would go public with information about corruption in
Nazarbayev's government. . . Nurkadilov was shot twice in the chest
and once in the head, Musin said, adding that the police had
recovered a pillow pierced by bullets that may have been used as a
silencer. http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/11/14/news/stan.php
16. 2004 February 2004. Bagila Bukharb, "Kazakhstan Probes Nuclear
Black Market" Associated Press story published in the Washington
Post. "Kazakhstan has opened an investigation into the nuclear black
market that helped Iran, Libya and North Korea, exploring suspected
ties in the country that housed much of the Soviet Union's atomic
arsenal, officials told The Associated Press. The black market's
potential connection to Kazakhstan - which served as a nuclear
testing ground until it disarmed after its 1991 independence - has
raised concern about the proliferation of remnants of the Soviet
weapons program. Kazakh officials strongly deny any highly enriched
uranium - the form used in weapons - has leaked out of the country.
Bush accused Sri Lankan businessman Bukhary Syed Abu Tahir of
brokering black-market deals for nuclear technology using his Dubai-
based company SMB Computers as a front. That firm also has an office
in the Kazakh commercial capital, Almaty. The Kazakh intelligence
agency, the National Security Committee, is investigating allegations
that SMB Computers' affiliate was dealing with highly enriched
uranium, spokesman Kenzhebulat Beknazarov said Thursday. . . A Europe-
based Western diplomat working on issues of nuclear proliferation
questioned the reliability of Kazakh safeguards for its nuclear
assets. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/
A57134-2004Feb20.html
17. 2003 June 7. S. Janomohamed. "Kazakhstan and the Nazarbayev
Kleptocracy." Islamic Human Rights Commission Website. "Kazakhstan is
being systematically plundered, its resources viewed as a blank
cheque by its self-edifying plutocracy. This institutionalised
kleptocracy is ossified in the hands of the Nazarbayev family. A
network of cronyism and nepotism presides. Kazakhstan should read
'Nazarbayev and Sons Ltd'. The Nazarbayev family and key associates
control key economic and government sectors. An examination reveals
that Dorigo, Nazarbayev's daughter, controls huge sways of
Kazakhstan's print and broadcast media. Running Khabar TV, she also
chairs the Congress of Kazakhstan's Journalists. Whilst Rakhat Aliev,
Nazarbayev's son-in-law controls vital areas such as special
services, tax and customs. And Timur Kulibayev, another son-in-law,
predominates in the banking, oil and gas sectors. The financial
activities of the Nazarbayev family have been declared a state
secret. . . Harassment of opposition is routine. The government
monitors the movements and communications of opposition activists.
Political opponents have been jailed and prominent opposition leaders
have fled into exile." http://www.ihrc.org.uk/show.php?id=650
----------------------------------------------
James Packard Love
Knowledge Ecology International
mailto:james.love@keionline.org
tel. +1.202.332.2670 / U.S. mobile+1.202.361.3040, Geneva mobile
+41.76.413.6584
"If everyone thinks the same: No one thinks." Bill Walton"