National accord in Kazakhstan based on respect for all confessions

ASTANA, January 7 (Itar-Tass) -- The national accord in the
multinational people of Kazakhstan is based on the respect for religious
feelings of all believers in the country, President Nursultan Nazarbayev
said at a visit to the Assumption Cathedral here on Friday. The president
congratulated all Orthodox Christians in Kazakhstan on Christmas.
"The state authorities pursue the policy that respects the religious
feelings of all believers and creates conditions for mutual understanding,
tolerance, friendship and peace. The tolerance and accord in our
multinational people is kept on this basis in the country. Thanks to this
stability Kazakhstan is developing and turning into a modern country, and
the life of our people improves from year to year," the president said in
his congratulatory speech.
"We should always keep these values and pass them to the future
generation," Nazarbayev pointed out.
The president thanked all Orthodox Christians, who were supporting the
state reforms all these years, supporting stability in the country and
were building independent Kazakhstan.
Nursultan Nazarbayev issued a decree Friday turning down a
parliamentary proposal to put up for voting at a referendum the amendments
in the republican Constitution to extend the term of the incumbent
president without general elections until 2020. Though more than 2.5
million Kazakh citizens have already signed up for this initiative with
200,000 signatures required for the referendum. The decree entered into
force since the signing day.
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