by Andrey Sergeev

Workers for Mr. I. Togaibayev, the Karaganda ‘akim’ (mayor) were very attentive when Svetlana Gubareva asked about a memorial plaque to be placed at the school where her daughter studied, and demanded…  the autobiography and work papers of the girl, 13-year-old Sasha Letyago, who died almost five years ago during the terrorist attack at Dubrovka…

Without further commentary, we provide a copy of Svetlana’s letter:

To Mr. I. Togaibayev, Akim of the city of Karaganda

    On July 18^th, 2007, I turned to a representative of the Karaganda city monuments commission with a request that she study the question of placing a memorial plaque in honor of my daughter, 13-year-old Alexandra Letyago, who perished during the terror act in the Moscow theater on October 26^th, 2002.  The plaque was to be placed on the school building #38 in Karaganda, where she had attended school.

    In reply, I received letter G-279, dated August 6^th, 2007, from a certain Abenova, who requested that I provide the following documents:

    1. A petition and protocol from an organization’s general assembly, referencing points 1, 2, and 16 of the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan, titled “Nomenclature of administrative properties in the Republic of Kazakhstan”, and in 2 languages.

    This law regulates questions on “naming and renaming regions in a cities, squares, boulevards, prospects, parks, bridges, and other constituent parts of a city, and the changing of the transcription of their names”, and points 1 and 2 referenced in the document are necessary in order to decide questions on the nomenclature of administrative properties.  I am not petitioning for the establishment of a memorial plaque that will affect the nomenclature of administrative properties in the city, nor am I asking that any constituent part of the city be renamed.  In addition, the law does not require documents be provided in two languages.  According to the law on languages in the Republic of Kazakhstan: “in government organizations and local administrative agencies, Russian is to be used officially on an equal basis with the Kazakh language.”  Thus, it follows that the demand for the provision of documents in two languages is without authority, and violates of Article 5 of the indicated law.

    2. An autobiography in two languages.

    As I indicated in my appeal, my daughter is dead, thus, it follows that she cannot provide her autobiography.  The demand for documents in two languages, as I stated above, violates the right to communicate with local administrative agencies in Russian.

    3 & 4. Copies of materials concerning a special service to the Republic, and a copy of work papers.

    Alexandra lived but 13 years.  All that she managed to do in her life, her entire biography, can be stated in but a few words: she was born, she went to school, and she died.  And this was clear in my appeal.  Employees of the akimat (city hall), however, formally approached the examination of the request without even trying to understand the matter, so their bureaucratic reply has caused me additional suffering by reminding me yet again that Sasha’s life was so short that she never even was able to have work papers, or to do accomplice a service to the Republic.

    Such an approach to the examination of my appeal bears witness to indifference bordering on cynicism, and is a display of ‘bureaucratism’.  This violates of Point 2.4 of the “Honor Code for government workers in the Republic of Kazakhstan”, which states: “not to allow the display of ‘bureaucratism’ and red tape when examining appeals”.

    Does one need to mention how important the role of the public is in the struggle against terrorism?  A memorial to what happened, solidarity with the victims of terror acts – this is one of the important questions that will be discussed at a high-level meeting in Vienna this coming September, a meeting that was organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and to which I have been invited to participate.  Visitors to the memorial site at http://www.nord-ost.org/ understand this — they have left remarks on an article dedicated to Alexandra, calling for such a plaque.  As an example, examine the actions of the local government officials in the Ukraine: at one mayor’s initiative, a plaque was placed at the school where 21-year-old Vladimir Savinkin studied before immigrating to the US.  He died on September 11^th, 2001, in one of the Twin Towers.  His relatives never had to break through a wall of indifference and bureaucratism.

    Mr. Togaibayev, I am hoping very much that you will understand my problem.  I beg that you intercede in this bureaucratism and red tape.  Otherwise, I will be forced to appeal to higher agencies.

    Your decision will decide whether I will have a chance to report to members of a worldwide organization – the leadership of the OSCE, representatives of the UN and EU, members of government delegations from 56 nations, and representatives of non-governmental organizations from various countries – about cooperation or interference by bureaucrats.

    Hoping for your understanding and assistance, 

    Svetlana Gubareva, former hostage.

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