Ethnic Kazakhs who left for Kazakhstan from Turkmenistan gathered near the building of the Department of Employment and Social Programs of the Mangistau region with a request to give them the opportunity to live and work in the region, and not be sent by force to the northern regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This is reported by the publication "LADA".
According to dozens of people gathered, Kazakh authorities do not allow registration in the Mangistau region and threaten deportation if they do not leave for Akmola, East Kazakhstan, Pavlodar, North Kazakhstan and Abai regions.
– Our relatives invited us to the Mangistau region. We have no one in Akmola and Pavlodar regions. There are elderly people who came to live with children. There are other situations: for example, the daughter moved here to look after her sick father. Everything was fine in Turkmenistan, we had work, school, but there were few Kazakhs left, so we decided to return to our historical homeland. We don't need anything from the state. We are entitled to a quota in the form of a one-time payment in the amount of 214 thousand tenge. But we are ready to refuse it, the main thing is that we should be given the opportunity to stay in Mangistau. So we will be reunited with our relatives, - the LADA correspondent quotes the Kazakhs who arrived in their historical homeland.
– When we applied to the Kazakh consulate in Ashgabat for $50, we were told that we would put a seal, supposedly the place of arrival – Pavlodar region. Then the consul said that it did not mean anything, the main thing was to cross the border. Turns out we were misled. If we had been initially told that it was impossible to stay in Mangistau, we would not have sold our property and continued to live and work in Turkmenistan. No one kicked us out of there, on the contrary, we were well seen off, wished good luck. Supported in the desire to return to their homeland, - say the audience.
The situation with ethnic Kazakhs coming to Kazakhstan escalated after President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed on July 12 to radically revise the population resettlement program and to settle Kandas not only in the Mangistau region.
Kandas - foreigners or stateless persons of Kazakh nationality, permanently residing at the time of the acquisition of the sovereignty of the Republic of Kazakhstan outside its borders and arrived in Kazakhstan for the purpose of permanent residence.
– We fully support our compatriots who have returned to their historical homeland. But it is impossible to be limited only to the Mangistau region. It is possible to settle in other areas, including regions with developed production. We are ready to create the necessary conditions,” Tokayev said at a July 14 government meeting.
Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan