[Random-bits] Three groups ask Bush Administration to block sale of nuclear technology to Kazakhstan government nuclear agency

Tue Jul 17 08:29:01 2007

Three groups, Knowledge Ecology International, Essential Action and =20
the Nuclear Information and Resource Service today wrote the U.S. =20
Department of Treasury's Committee on Foreign Investment in the =20
United States ("CFIUS"), asking that it block a proposed sale of =20
shares in Westinghouse to KazAtomProm, the nuclear energy company =20
owned by the government of Kazakhstan.   According to foreign news =20
reports, KazAtomProm expects to acquire nuclear fuel processing =20
technology from Westinghouse.

Kazakhstan is a brutal, repressive, corrupt and undemocratic regime, =20
with a complicated relationship with the United States government, =20
including close ties with Vice President Cheney (who once served on =20
the Kazakhstan energy advisory committee) and a number of other well =20
connected figures in Washington, DC.   For background on Kazakhstan =20
and it's nuclear program, see:
http://www.keionline.org/index.php?option=3Dcom_content&task=3Dview&id=3D9=
5

Our statement on the letter is this:  "KEI has joined two other =20
groups to ask the Bush Administration to block the sale of a 10 =20
percent share of Westinghouse, a U.S. firm involved in nuclear energy =20=

technologies, to the government of Kazakhstan.  Kazakhstan is seeking =20=

a acquire not only ownership of Westinghouse, but also sensitive =20
technology to process nuclear fuels.   Kazakhstan has never held a =20
fair election, exercises controls over the news media, terrorizes the =20=

political opposition, including through murder, imprisonment and =20
torture, and is controlled by an authoritarian and corrupt leader who =20=

recently changed the constitution to permit him to serve as =20
'President for Life.'   We have no real understanding of how the =20
Kazakhstan political system will evolve.  In the 1970s, Dick Cheney =20
and others in the Ford Administration sought to sell Westinghouse and =20=

GE nuclear technologies to Iran, then run by a 'friendly' =20
authoritarian and repressive leader, the Shah of Iran.  That effort =20
was undone by an unanticipated revolution in Iran.   Kazakhstan is a =20
country that has never seen a peaceful transition in power, or held a =20=

fair election, and which is widely known to be corrupt.    When it =20
comes to the control of nuclear technologies, our standards should be =20=

high, not low."  said KEI Director James Love.

A PDF of the letter is found here:  http://www.keionline.org/misc-=20
docs/17Jul07-westinghouse-kazatomprom.pdf

The text follows:

July 17, 2007

Ms. Gay Hartwell Sills
Staff Chair
Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS")
Office of International Investment
Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room 5221
Washington, D.C. 20220

Phone: (202) 622-9066
Also: (202) 622-1860

E-Mail: gay.sills@do.treas.gov

Re: Kazakhstan Purchase of Westinghouse Shares and Acquisition of =20
Nuclear Technology

We are writing to express our opposition to the approval of the sale =20
of shares in Westinghouse to Kazatomprom, a firm controlled by the =20
Kazakhstan government.

The Japanese newspaper the Nikkei, AFP and other wires have reported =20
that Kazakhstan will seek approval from the United States to acquire =20
from Toshiba a 10 percent stake in Westinghouse, a U.S. company that =20
is a leader in nuclear energy technology.  These reports say that the =20=

transaction will require Toshiba and Westinghouse to transfer uranium-=20=

processing technology to Kazatomprom.

The report from the Kazakh Information Agency, KAZINFORM on July 9, =20
2007 says:

Japanese electronics company Toshiba Corp. confirmed on Friday that =20
it is in talks with Kazatomprom, a Kazakh-based state run resources =20
company to sell a part of its stake in U.S. nuclear power company =20
Westinghouse Electric. However, the company said that it has not made =20=

any final decision on the sale. Reports indicate that Toshiba intends =20=

to sell a 10% stake in for about $527 million, or yen 65 billion. =20
However, the sale of a stake in Westinghouse to a company in a third =20
country requires the approval of the US government. . . Toshiba and =20
Westinghouse are expected to transfer uranium-processing technology =20
to Kazatomprom.  With Westinghouse as a subsidiary, Toshiba has the =20
technology to build both boiling water reactors and pressurized water =20=

reactors. The partnership with Kazatomprom would enable the companies =20=

to combine all parts of nuclear power generation process.

According to a July 10, 2007 story from the Russian news agency Novosti,

Kazakhstan hopes to use U.S. technologies to stop uranium ore exports =20=

to Russia and to sell high value-added products instead, namely, heat =20=

assemblies made according to Western standards.

We oppose the transaction on the grounds that the sale will undermine =20=

efforts to limit nuclear proliferation, and will give sensitive =20
nuclear technology to a brutal, repressive and undemocratic regime, =20
which may lack long-term legitimacy and stability.

According to numerous news reports (see attachment), the government =20
in Kazakhstan is engaged in rigging elections, censorship and =20
harassment of the news media, wrongful imprisonment and torture of =20
political opponents, and there are well known allegations concerning =20
the murder of regime critics.

Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev is widely seen as becoming =20
even more authoritarian.  This year the Kazakhstan constitution was =20
changed to eliminate term limits for Nazarbayev, to allow him to =20
become =93president for life.=94

Kazakhstan=92s acquisition of Westinghouse=92s nuclear technology will =20=

present risks to the world community, should the technologies be used =20=

by parties who are seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

The government of Kazakhstan has been a political ally of the United =20
States, and is well known and highly regarded for having agreed to =20
voluntary disarmament in 1992, shortly after its independence from =20
the former USSR.  Kazakhstan has also instituted economic reforms, =20
and enjoys a growing economy fueled by the exploitation of the Tengiz =20=

oil field and other resources, and has demonstrated technological =20
prowess, as evidenced, for example, by its launch of a satellite into =20=

orbit in 2006.  These achievements, however, must be balanced with =20
the very disturbing reports from Kazakhstan regarding its repressive =20
and corrupt governance, and taken together, these achievements are =20
not sufficient to merit U.S. government approval of a transaction =20
that will result in the transfer of nuclear technologies to Kazatomprom.

The long-term stability of the current regime cannot be assured.  An =20
unexpected coup, a health problem for President Nazarbayev, or =20
another unforeseen event could radically change the political climate =20=

in Kazakhstan.  Even under the current regime, there are reports that =20=

nuclear facilities and material are not secure, and there is evidence =20=

that people in Kazakhstan have ties to nuclear black-market activities.

We note that there are at least three reported cases since 2003 of =20
individuals being linked to black market sales of nuclear =20
technologies in Kazakhstan.  These include an attempt to sell =20
plutonium-239, reported in July 2003, a September 23, 2003 report =20
that a resident of the border town of Uralsk was arrested trying to =20
sell a container of depleted uranium, and a 2004 investigation of the =20=

role of a Kazakhstan business in the clandestine network run by Abdul =20=

Qadeer Khan, the Pakistan nuclear scientist who has confessed to =20
selling nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.  [See =20
references before].

Under these circumstances, and without any tradition of free =20
elections or respect for human rights, we oppose the sale of =20
Westinghouse stock to Kazatomprom, or any other entity controlled by =20
the government of Kazakhstan.

Ever since they were first developed, mankind has struggled to =20
contain the proliferation and use of nuclear weapons.  This has been =20
complicated immensely by the relationship between the military and =20
non-military uses of nuclear power.  The Committee on Foreign =20
Investment in the United States (CFIUS) should not permit foreign =20
investments that increase the risk that nuclear technologies will =20
ever be used for military purposes, including, but not limited to, =20
uses against the United States.   The CFIUS should not sanction =20
investments that will predictably result in nuclear technologies =20
being transferred to a country that has never witnessed a peaceful =20
transition of political power, which has never held fair and free =20
elections, and which cannot claim to represent long-term legitimacy, =20
in a region fraught with instability and conflict.

Sincerely,

James Love
Knowledge Ecology International
1621 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20009

Robert Weissman
Essential Action
P.O. Box 19405, Washington, D.C. 20036

Michael Mariotte, Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 340, Takoma Park, MD 20912

Cc: Representatives Henry Waxman, Ed Markey, Pete Stark, Chris Smith, =20=

Dan Burton,
Senators Byron Dorgan, Jim Webb, Russ Feingold, Joe Biden, Barack =20
Obama, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, Bernie Sanders, Sam Brownback, =20
Richard Luger, John McCain.
Attachment.  Selected news stories, government and NGO reports
(in chronological order)=09

2007 July 6.  C.J. Chivers, =93Former Son-in-Law of Kazakh Leader Says =20=

He Was Framed,=94 New York Times.  =93Mr. Aliyev, 44 and until recently =20=

the Kazakh ambassador to Austria, is at the center of a palace feud =20
and kidnapping scandal that has become a political sensation in =20
Kazakhstan, the oil- and gas-rich state on the Central Asian steppe =20
that he says Mr. Nazarbayev runs like a family business empire.  The =20
case has raised fresh questions about the politics and management of =20
a country that by post-Soviet Central Asian standards has been a =20
success, but is still dogged by election-rigging, centralization and =20
corruption in its governing class.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/world/asia/06aliyev.html

2007 June 15 June 2007. Christopher Walker, =93Muzzling the Media: The =20=

Return of Censorship in the Commonwealth of Independent States,=94 =20
Freedom House.  In Kazakhstan, a steady monopolization of media was =20
implemented. Dariga Nazarbayeva, the influential daughter of the =20
president and one-time head of the state news agency, played a =20
pivotal role in the effort to take control of that country=92s news =20
media infrastructure. In Kazakhstan, as in a number of the former =20
Soviet states, broadcast media has been taken into the hands of =20
members of the presidential family or those with close ties to it. =20
Meanwhile, the screws were tightened on journalists who took an =20
independent line. A campaign to silence critics who reported on =20
official corruption caught in its web journalists such as Sergei =20
Duvanov and Nuri Muftakh. Muftakh died at a time he was following =20
allegations that Kazakhstan=92s president had secretly transferred =20
large amounts of money to foreign banks. In November 2002, he was run =20=

over by a bus in what authorities regarded as an accident but what =20
many speculate was a politcallly motivated assassination. Duvanov, =20
who also wrote on political corruption and was following the =20
=93Kazakhgate=94 scandal, was found guilty of what many believed to be =20=

trumped up rape charges and sentenced to several years in prison in =20
January 2003.  http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/press_release/=20
muzzlingthemedia_15june07.pdf

2007 May 29.  Yuri Zarakhovich. =93Kazakhstan's Family Feud.=94  Time =20=

Magazine Website. Details the ongoing dispute between President =20
Nursultan Nazarbayev and his son-in-law Rakhat Aliyev, characterizes =20
Nazarbayev as an autocrat and states that =93the lack of political =20
maturity [in Kazakhstan] bodes ill for an increasingly critical =20
section of the world.=94
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1626050,00.html

2007 May 25.  =93U.S. criticizes Kazakhstan over media shutdown.=94 =20
Reuters Webpage.
Reports the United States=92 criticism of Kazakhstan for shutting down =20=

a TV station and newspaper owned by the son-in-law of President =20
Nursultan Nazarbayev following a dispute between the two men.
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSL2561778020070525

2007 May 24.  =93Kazakhbashi: One step forward, two back,=94 the =
Economist.
=93Kazakhstan has never held votes judged free or fair by international =20=

observers. This amendment is a mandate for Mr Nazarbayev to rule for =20
life.=94 http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?=20
story_id=3D9241455

2007 May 19.  Raushan Nurshayeva, =93Kazakhstan's President voted in =20
for life term,=94 Daily Telegraph.  Kazakhstan=92s veteran leader =20
Nursultan Nazarbayev has been in effect declared President-for-life =20
in a move condemned by the nation's opposition as undemocratic.
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/=20
0,22049,21758227-5006003,00.html

2007 May 19.  David Holley, "Kazakhstan lifts president's term limit, =20=

Nursultan A. Nazarbayev could remain in office for the rest of his =20
life," LA Times, May 19, 2007.  Moscow -- President Nursultan A. =20
Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan could remain in office for the rest of his =20
life as a result of a package of constitutional amendments approved =20
Friday by Parliament.  The measures, which need Nazarbayev's =20
signature to take effect, would remove any limit on the number of =20
terms he can serve. Under Kazakhstan's current constitution, =20
Nazarbayev, who has exercised authoritarian rule over the oil-rich =20
Central Asian country since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, =20
would be required to step down in 2012. Critics charged that the vote =20=

was tantamount to making Nazarbayev, 66, president for life, whereas =20
supporters said it was recognition of the key role he has played in =20
building the country of 15 million. "It is a huge step back for the =20
nation," Aidos Sarimov, a political analyst at the Altynbek =20
Sarsenbayev Foundation, an opposition-linked think tank in Almaty, =20
said by telephone. . . . "=46rom now on, the president will be able to =20=

dissolve Parliament any time he wants," Sarimov said. "According to =20
the new amendments, the president also will be able to disband local =20
councils, which is totally undemocratic. If presidential powers were =20
expanded on 15 points, parliamentary powers were uplifted by only =20
five, which resulted in a further imbalance of power in Kazakhstan in =20=

favor of the president."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-=20
kazakh19may19,1,4692433.story

2007 March 6.  United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and =20
Labor,  Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2006 - =20
Kazakhstan.  =93The following human rights problems were reported: =20
severe limits on citizens' rights to change their government; an =20
incident of unlawful deprivation of life; military hazing that led to =20=

deaths; detainee and prisoner abuse; unhealthy prison conditions; =20
arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of government opponents; =20=

lack of an independent judiciary; increased restrictions on freedom =20
of speech, the press, assembly, and association; pervasive =20
corruption, especially in law enforcement and the judicial system; =20
restrictions on the activities of nongovernmental organizations =20
(NGOs); discrimination and violence against women; trafficking in =20
persons; and societal discrimination.=94
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78820.htm

2006 February 13. Gulnoza Saidazimova, =93Kazakhstan: Opposition Figure =20=

Found Shot Dead Near Almaty,=94 RFE/RL.  The bodies of Altynbek =20
Sarsenbaev, a co-chairman of the Naghyz Ak Zhol opposition party, his =20=

bodyguard, and his driver were found in the Almaty outskirts early =20
today. The three were reportedly shot dead. A former information =20
minister and a former ambassador to Russia, Sarsenbaev was a fierce =20
critic of Kazakhstan's current regime.   "He was murdered," said =20
Aydos Sarymov, an aide to Sarsenbaev, in an interview with RFE/RL. =20
"His hands were tied behind his back. They shot him first in front =20
and then in the back of his head. There is no doubt it is a murder."  =20=

The Kazinform state agency reports that Sarsenbaev was killed while =20
hunting.  The leader of Kazakhstan's opposition group For a Just =20
Kazakhstan, Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, who was also a presidential =20
candidate in the December presidential election, confirmed =20
Sarsenbaev's death to RFE/RL but refused to elaborate on possible =20
motives.  "Yes, it's true that he was found dead along with the =20
bodies of his bodyguard and driver," Tuyakbai said.  . . . =20
Sarsenbaev, who was a government official and served as Kazakh =20
ambassador to Russia, joined the opposition in 2003, and declared his =20=

intention to run for president.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/2/0C2B8F56-79F6-447A-=20
B66F-5E41C199689A.html

2005 November 29.   "Kazakh Opposition Figure's Death Ruled Suicide," =20=

RFE/RL,  The official investigation into the shooting death of Kazakh =20=

opposition figure and former Emergency Situations Agency head =20
Zamanbek Nurkadilov has concluded that he committed suicide.   The =20
investigative team found that Nurkadilov first shot himself twice in =20
the chest before putting the gun to his head and firing a bullet into =20=

his brain.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/11/55e307fe-ebd7-4d80-b9f0-=20
be332e4ae583.html

2005 November 14. Andrew E. Kramer, =93Kazakhstan opposition member =20
slain,=94 The New York Times.   A former minister in the government of =20=

President Nursultan Nazarbayev who had said he would speak publicly =20
about high-level corruption has been found shot to death, according =20
to the police and an opposition leader.  The killing Saturday night =20
comes three weeks before a presidential election in this oil-rich =20
former Soviet state.   Zamanbek Nurkadilov, 61, was a member of the =20
leading opposition group, For a Fair Kazakhstan. He was fired from =20
his post as minister of emergency situations in 2004 after saying =20
that Nazarbayev should answer allegations that Kazakh officials had =20
accepted millions of dollars in bribes from an intermediary for =20
American oil companies during contract talks in the 1990s.  The =20
leading opposition candidate in the presidential race, Zharmakhan =20
Tuyakbai, said in an interview Sunday that Nurkadilov had recently =20
said he would go public with information about corruption in =20
Nazarbayev's government. . . Nurkadilov was shot twice in the chest =20
and once in the head, Musin said, adding that the police had =20
recovered a pillow pierced by bullets that may have been used as a =20
silencer.  http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/11/14/news/stan.php

2004 February 20. Bagila Bukharb, =93Kazakhstan Probes Nuclear Black =20
Market=94 Associated Press story published in the Washington Post.
=93Kazakhstan has opened an investigation into the nuclear black market =20=

that helped Iran, Libya and North Korea, exploring suspected ties in =20
the country that housed much of the Soviet Union's atomic arsenal, =20
officials told The Associated Press.  Kazakhstan's intelligence =20
agency is examining the Almaty office of a Dubai company linked by =20
President Bush to the market headed by the father of Pakistan's =20
nuclear program, the officials said. . . The black market's potential =20=

connection to Kazakhstan - which served as a nuclear testing ground =20
until it disarmed after its 1991 independence - has raised concern =20
about the proliferation of remnants of the Soviet weapons program. =20
Kazakh officials strongly deny any highly enriched uranium - the form =20=

used in weapons - has leaked out of the country.  Bush accused Sri =20
Lankan businessman Bukhary Syed Abu Tahir of brokering black-market =20
deals for nuclear technology using his Dubai-based company SMB =20
Computers as a front. That firm also has an office in the Kazakh =20
commercial capital, Almaty. The Kazakh intelligence agency, the =20
National Security Committee, is investigating allegations that SMB =20
Computers' affiliate was dealing with highly enriched uranium, =20
spokesman Kenzhebulat Beknazarov said Thursday.
A Europe-based Western diplomat working on issues of nuclear =20
proliferation questioned the reliability of Kazakh safeguards for its =20=

nuclear assets.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57134-2004Feb20.html

2003 September 23.  Attempts to sell depleted uranium on black market.

http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Kazakhstan/4279_4280.html.
Police in Kazakhstan have arrested a resident in the northern border =20
town of Uralsk in West Kazakhstan Oblast who was trying to sell a =20
container with an undisclosed amount of depleted uranium. The Kazakh =20
newspaper Ekspress K reported the arrest on 23 September 2003. =20
Officials have not disclosed further information about the price =20
sought for the material, its origin or how it came to be in the =20
oblast.   Sources: "Pochem nynche uran?" Ekspress K, 23 September =20
2003; in Integrum Techno, http://afnet.integrum.ru.
http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Kazakhstan/4279_4280.html.

2003 July 31.  Attempts to sell plutonium-239 on the black market.

http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Kazakhstan/4279_4280.html.

Agents from the Kazakhstani National Security Committee (KNB) =20
arrested two Kazakhs and one Russian for attempting to sell the =20
radioactive isotope plutonium-239, Ekspress-K reported on 31 July =20
2003. The arrests were the result of a surveillance operation. The =20
three suspects, two residents of Pavlodar, Kazakhstan and one native =20
of Saratov Oblast in Russia, were arrested while making the =20
transaction at a local train station in Pavlodar. The two Kazakhs =20
were reportedly selling the plutonium to the Russian. Police seized =20
$20,000 in cash and an ampoule which a subsequent analysis showed to =20
contain Pu-239.[1] A KNB spokesman later said that the isotope of =20
plutonium seized is used in smoke detectors and "in no way can be =20
used in the production of weapons of mass destruction."[2] Charges =20
have been filed against the three suspects.[1]

Sources: [1] Asel Tulegenova, "Radioaktivnyy rynok," Ekspress K, 31 =20
July 2003; in Integrum Techno, http://www.integrum.ru. [2] =20
"Spetssluzhby Kazakhstana pri popytke prodazhi izotopa plutoniya-239 =20
zaderzhali 3 chelovek, v tom chisle grazhdanina Rossii."

2003 June 7.  S. Janomohamed. =93Kazakhstan and the Nazarbayev =20
Kleptocracy.=94  Islamic Human Rights Commission Website.  =93Kazakhstan =
=20
is being systematically plundered, its resources viewed as a blank =20
cheque by its self-edifying plutocracy. This institutionalised =20
kleptocracy is ossified in the hands of the Nazarbayev family. A =20
network of cronyism and nepotism presides. Kazakhstan should read =20
=91Nazarbayev and Sons Ltd=92. The Nazarbayev family and key associates =20=

control key economic and government sectors. An examination reveals =20
that Dorigo, Nazarbayev=92s daughter, controls huge sways of =20
Kazakhstan=92s print and broadcast media. Running Khabar TV, she also =20=

chairs the Congress of Kazakhstan=92s Journalists. Whilst Rakhat Aliev, =20=

Nazarbayev=92s son-in-law controls vital areas such as special =20
services, tax and customs. And Timur Kulibayev, another son-in-law, =20
predominates in the banking, oil and gas sectors. The financial =20
activities of the Nazarbayev family have been declared a state =20
secret.  . . Harassment of opposition is routine. The government =20
monitors the movements and communications of opposition activists. =20
Political opponents have been jailed and prominent opposition leaders =20=

have fled into exile.=94 http://www.ihrc.org.uk/show.php?id=3D650