Kazakhstan, Astana, November 18 /Trend, K. Konyrova /
The acts of terror in Kazakhstan (blasts in Atyrau and Taraz-TREND) took detached onlookers unawares, Pavel Sheremet, Russian television anchorman and chief editor of Russia's First Channel's news programs network, told Trend.
"The acts of terror in Kazakhstan shocked and took us - detached onlookers - unawares. No one understands what is going on. Today, everyone watches attentively what happens and what will happen in Kazakhstan. It was quiet over the past years so no one particularly watched events in our country," Sheremet said.
He noted that the situation in Kazakhstan has now changed sharply and is subject to great attention and analysis.
"It is no possible to hide anything. While early blasts were explained as criminal squabble or coincidence, it is now evident that the blasts are a tendency," he said.
As viewed by him, it is no longer possible to pretend that nothing happens as "Tajikistan is smoldering, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are restless, and Afghanistan is warring."
"It is now important to understand whether this was brought from outside, i.e. religious expansion; if so, religious extremism should be based upon certain social or political ground," the Russian journalist explained.
He said the reason of instability is poverty in Kyrgyzstan and total poverty in Uzbekistan so poor layers swifter give birth to different religious extremist groups and display protesting moods.
"Extremism is the compensation for poverty. A poor person, who finds no happiness in life, finds it in religion or through enemy's religion, i.e. an enemy gets personified. Making decision is essential in such event," Sheremet noted.
As for example, he mentioned Chechnya, which has now become Russia's richest region.
"Today, Grozny is the most beautiful city in the North Caucasus. When they understood that one of the reasons of gunmen-backed Chechen breakaway policy was poverty born by unemployment, the social sphere in the Chechen Republic was radically reformed for the reasons of elimination of extremism," the journalist reminded.
He said unquiet situation is currently observed in Kazakhstan's western, oil-rich, as it seems wealthy regions where many Oralman Kazakhs reside.
"Just imagine those who resettled from Mongolian nomad tents to apartments with modern amenities at homeland but who can not find jobs to join the present life in Kazakhstan. We understand the policy of settlement of Oralman Kazakhs from other countries but we should also understand that if this policy is pursued incorrectly social tension arises," he believes.
The journalist also reminded that stability always was Kazakhstan's strong side.
"However, there is danger that stability grew into stagnation at a certain moment. We can not pretend that there are no problems. We must solve them," Pavel Sheremet concluded.
In 1998 Sheremet started working as a special correspondent of news programs Novosti and Vremya of Russia's ORT Channel, and in January 1999 he took the position of chief editor of Russia's First Channel Russian and foreign news programs network. He was the anchorman of weekly analytical broadcast Vremya.