From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Tue May 20 2003 - 09:14:42 EDT
Almost one ethnic Kazakh in three lives below subsistence level in
Mongolia
Almost one ethnic Kazakh in three lives below the subsistence level in
Mongolia, the Kazakhstan-Today news agency reported on 19 May, quoting a
representative of Mongolia's ethnic Kazakhs.
"A total of 30 per cent of the Kazakh diaspora live below the
subsistence level in Mongolia and they are the ones who need to be moved
[to Kazakhstan] first of all," the head of Mongolia's Bayan-Olgiy
District, Badelkhan Kabdyslyam-uly told Kazakh President Nursultan
Nazarbayev at a meeting held on 19 May.
The news agency said that following his meeting with the president,
Kabdyslyam-uly said that, on behalf of over 100,000 ethnic Kazakhs
living in the neighbouring country, he had asked Nazarbayev to help
resolve a number of acute issues.
The first issue is to increase the quota for Mongolian Kazakhs to
repatriate to their historical homeland. There are 815 families ready to
move to Kazakhstan by the end of 2003, however, the quota is set at only
51 families for Mongolia this year, he said.
Another topical issue is to resume transport communications between
Bayan-Olgiy District and East Kazakhstan Region, Kabdyslyam-uly told
journalists.
Kabdyslyam-uly also said that the Kazakh president had promised to
submit these issues for the consideration of the Kazakh government and
the Kazakh Migration and Demography Agency.
Kazakhstan has set the quota for ethnic Kazakhs to repatriate from
foreign countries at 5,000 families this year. This figure will increase
to 10,000 in 2004 and 15,000 families in 2005.
Over 60,000 ethnic Kazakhs have arrived in Kazakhstan from Mongolia
since 1991. Kazakhstan's population exceeds 14.8m people at the moment.
Source: Kazakhstan Today news agency web site, Almaty, in Russian 0850
gmt 19 May 03
BBC Mon CAU 190503 km/nb
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