Difficult partnership

German Chancellor Angela Merkel signed agreements Wednesday worth some three billion euros (roughly $4 billion) to cooperate with Kazakhstan on raw materials, industry and technology.

"There's a big interest by German companies to invest more in Kazakhstan," Merkel said after talks with the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in the German capital, Berlin.

The collection of some 50 accords is aimed at improving supplies of materials to Germany in exchange for helping the Central Asian nation industrialize its economy. Kazakhstan, which is rich in natural resources, is already an important supplier of oil to Germany. The new deal covers rare earths, vital for manufacturing everything from iPods to missiles.

Wednesday's deal didn’t pass, however, without Merkel raising concerns over human rights in the central Asian nation. During a joint press conference with Nazarbayev, Merkel told reporters she supported the president's call for a commission inquiry into December clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, which killed at least 16 people.

"We talked about the situation and the riots in Zhanaozen, where workers were killed. I energetically supported the president appointing a committee of inquiry to bring to light what happened," Merkel said. Oil workers faced a brutal police crackdown in the city late last year after going strike to protest for better working conditions.

Democratic concerns

Nazarbayev, meanwhile, conceded that the deaths were "regrettable," but defended the police crackdown. "If several dozen young people, who happen to be drunk as well, go to an independence day event and start beating people up, hurting children, trampling microphones and bashing our police, who are present in only small numbers, what would Germany do?" he said.

The president, who has ruled since the former Soviet republic became independent in 1991, went on to stress that Kazakhstan had accomplished "a lot" in the way of democratic reforms.

Three political parties were represented in the Kazakh parliament, Nazarbayev said, and 95 percent of the media was privately owned. "What do you want from us?" he asked.

His comments came after foreign monitors, led by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, concluded that an election in January, in which Nazarbayev's ruling Nur Otan party took nearly 81 percent of the vote, "did not meet fundamental principles of democratic elections."

ccp/mz (AFP, AP, dpa)