First Kazakh parliamentary candidate claims TV airtime
"My manifesto is the Koran," said Baktybay Arnabekov, a
parliamentary candidate running in a constituency in
Kazakhstan's southern capital, Almaty, whose appearance on
Khabar TV on 10th September was the first to be broadcast by
the TV channel.

All candidates are entitled to a 15-minute slot on state
TV; Khabar TV is run by the daughter of Kazakh President
Nursultan Nazarbayev. Elections to the lower house of
parliament, the Majlis, are scheduled for 10th October.
In his 15-minute speech, delivered in Kazakh, Arnabekov
advocated amendments to Kazakhstan's constitutional law on
religion. The Islamic religion should not be separated from the
state, he said: "there are no grounds to separate religion from
the state" in Kazakhstan. If the country's leaders were
religious, crimes and scandals at state level would not have
been committed. No police or courts would not be needed if
people were truly religious, Arnabekov said.

He proposed creating a religious committee that would put
a stop to the spread of "foreign" religions in Kazakhstan.
There were 2,000 religious organizations and associations in
Kazakhstan last year, which he said was "not good" for the
future of Kazakhstan. The Spiritual Board of Kazakhstan's
Muslims cannot do anything to prevent their spread, for
religion is separated from the state.

Arnabekov did not indicate whether he was standing for any
specific party or movement.
 
Source: Kazakh Television first channel, Astana, in Kazakh
1135 gmt 10 Sep 99
BBC Mon CAU 100999 VA/DG