VZCZCXRO0601
PP RUEHDBU
DE RUEHTA #0901/01 3550141
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 210141Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8002
INFO RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 7076
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 7812
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 1356
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 1966
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT 7763
RUEHJK/NCC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000901 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS TO NCTC 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN (M. O'MARA), S/CT (R. SHORE), NCTC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER ASEC KRCM EFIN KHLS KPAO KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM 
 
REF:  STATE 175925 
 
¶1.  Included is Post's submission for the 2006 Annual Terrorism 
Report for Kazakhstan, as well as point of contact information as 
requested in reftel. 
 
¶2.  Embassy point of contact is: 
Douglas Monk 
+7(3172) 70-24-79 
monkd@state.gov 
 
¶3.  Note:  Post requests that the term "Kazakhstani" not be changed 
to "Kazakh" for final publication, as was the case in last year's 
submission.  The term "Kazakh" is not correct in this context as it 
refers to a person's ethnicity, whereas "Kazakhstani" refers to 
citizenship. 
 
¶4.  Suggested report language:  "In 2006, Kazakhstan continued to 
aggressively combat terrorism and extremism locally, as well as to 
improve cooperation with other states and international 
organizations, including the United States.  There has been little 
movement, however, on counterterrorism legislation.  The draft law 
on money laundering that the GOK has been working on since 2005 sat 
stalled in parliament all year.  This law, if passed, would 
establish a financial intelligence unit and make it easier for the 
procuracy to secure convictions in terrorist financing cases. 
 
In January, authorities arrested a number of individuals from two 
extremist cells in Almaty on terrorism charges.  Eight of those 
arrested remain in prison with on-going trials.  In November, 
authorities arrested eleven people from a terrorist group in 
Stepnogorsk and confiscated arms, explosives, and extremist printed 
materials.  Press reports claim that the members of the terrorist 
group were planning hostage sieges, lethal attacks on state 
employees, and several explosions.  In December, three Kazakhstani 
nationals were returned to Kazakhstan from the Guantanamo Bay 
detention facility. 
 
Kazakhstan continues to have a growing problem with the Islamic 
extremist group Hizb'ut Tahrir (HT), an extremist political movement 
advocating the establishment of a borderless, theocratic Islamic 
state throughout the entire Muslim world.  HT remains outlawed as an 
"extremist" organization through the Law on Extremism and continues 
to be the only group so designated under this law.  Although there 
are extremist organizations in Kazakhstan, there is no evidence that 
Kazakhstan is used by terrorists or terrorist organizations as a 
sanctuary or safe haven. 
 
In November, the GOK added the East Turkistan Liberation 
Organization and Aum Shinrikyo to the national list of banned 
terrorist organizations, accusing these groups of using terrorist 
means in an attempt to achieve an independent state in China and 
Central Asia.  The list of banned groups also includes Al-Qa'ida, 
the East Turkistan Islamic Party, the Kurdish People's Congress, 
Asbat al-Ansar, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Taliban, the Boz Gurd, 
Jamaat of Central Asian Mujahadins, Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Social 
Reform Society, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and its splinter 
group, the Islamic Jihad Union. 
 
In July, Kazakhstan became an Initial Partner Nation in the Global 
Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism.  Kazakhstan was one of the 
first countries to endorse and participate in the Global Initiative 
after its inception earlier this year. 
 
Kazakhstan is a founding member of the Conference on Interaction and 
Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), a nascent international 
forum aimed at improving security in Asia, which was launched by 
Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev and includes Afghanistan, 
Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, 
Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, "State of Palestine," Russia, South 
Korea, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.  In June, CICA 
held a summit in Almaty which was attended by heads of states and 
top government officials from throughout Asia. 
 
Kazakhstan, along with China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and 
Uzbekistan, is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, 
which has established a Regional Antiterrorism Center in Tashkent. 
Kazakhstan is also a member of the CIS Collective Security Treaty 
Organization and the Eurasia Group -- a regional anti-money 
laundering organization or Financial Action Task Force-style 
regional body whose objective is to integrate Kazakhstan, along with 
Belarus, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia, and Uzbekistan into 
the global system on anti-money laundering and combating the 
financing of terrorism.  Kazakhstani cooperation and timeliness in 
 
ASTANA 00000901  002 OF 002 
 
 
sharing information with the USG continues to strengthen." 
 
MILAS