The Astana Times – Kazakhstan’s ruling party convened an extraordinary meeting on March 1, where the party members voted for a new name and discussed new stages of political modernization. By vote, the party’s name was changed from Nur Otan to Amanat, which in Kazakh means the legacy of ancestors and a mandate for future generations.
“I also participated in the discussion. There were several suggestions. It (the word) is a sacred notion that has a special meaning for our people and our nation. Our sovereignty, our country, and our unity, our immense land is the heritage of our ancestors. We need to preserve these sacred values and pass them on to our descendants. This is the continuation of the traditions of statehood, the continuity of generations,” President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who is also the party’s chair, told the meeting.
The January events in Kazakhstan signaled a strong need for change in the country. And this change happens when the state and society come together for dialogue in an effort to address the rising social tension and the people’s decreasing trust in the government.
Majlis Speaker Yerlan Koshanov said that the country needs to find a new spark, which explains the rebranding.
“In this regard, we believe that we need to change the name of the party. This proposal was considered from different angles and we discussed it a lot. We felt that Amanat was an appropriate name. Our ancestors left this land to us. We have to live up to it,” said Koshanov.
The political modernization of the party has been the main focus of the meeting. According to Tokayev, there needs to be a dialogue between party members and citizens.
“We need to move the focus of public discussions from social networks and city squares to the walls of Parliament and maslikhats. This is a very important task. The factions must use the opportunities of parliamentary and public hearings, public debates, after all,” said Tokayev.
While the Congress focused primarily on the priorities of the party and the country, President Tokayev made a statement on the situation in Ukraine.
“Our position should proceed from the critical need to ensure the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state. As the country that hosted the OSCE summit in 2010, we insist on the principle of the indivisibility of Eurasian security. I stated this during my visit to Moscow on February 10. The principle of indivisibility and common security stipulates mutual understanding based on mutual trust. Unfortunately, this has not happened. The Minsk agreements remained only on paper, which led to the military operations on the territory of Ukraine. The geopolitical situation has escalated in an unprecedented way, and it is now time to talk about the irreversibility of this trend. Therefore, we call on both states to find common ground at the negotiating table, to reach an agreement. There is no other way. A bad peace is better than a good war. Without peace, there will be no development. Kazakhstan, for its part, is ready to provide all possible assistance, including intermediary services, if, of course, they are required”, President Tokayev said.
Commenting on the severe sanctions against Russia, and their potential impact on Kazakhstan, President Tokayev informed that he held a series of working meetings with the Security Council and set specific tasks for the Government to ensure sustainable socio-economic development of Kazakhstan.
He said: “Our economy needs to be ready to repel the challenges posed by sanctions to ensure uninterrupted functioning in a crisis situation. I believe that we will overcome the difficulties and challenges together”. He emphasized that the challenges should not be underestimated, but there is no need to exaggerate them either.
