[Translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

"They evicted us like dogs, no one cares." The fight of those who disagree with payments for housing that is being confiscated for copper mining, 30 August 2024

...Kim's corporation Kazakhmys mines copper in the central part of the country, owns processing plants and is considered the largest taxpayer and employer in the Ulytau region...

In the first years, negotiations with residents were conducted on behalf of the corporation Kazakhmys, compensation was transferred for houses and plots, and this suited many. But in 2011, a government decree was issued, according to which the akimat took over the resettlement, and people stopped receiving what they considered fair compensation. But many left their homes anyway...

Many who did not agree to the terms of resettlement went through more than one court before they left their homes, forced to agree to the terms of the akimat. Some continued the fight, demanding additional payments...

In August, residents who disagreed with the compensation appealed to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. They called for a state commission to be sent to them, to conduct an audit and find out where the billions of budget money intended for the resettlement of residents of five villages were spent.

The residents also ask for a conciliation procedure to be conducted and for money to be paid to buy equivalent housing in exchange for the expropriated one. They refer to the resolution of the Constitutional Council, which states that the forced alienation of housing should only occur under the condition of equivalent compensation, which did not happen in their case.

The villagers told the president that they are only receiving formal replies from government agencies, and the problem is not being resolved. They had previously appealed to parliament and the Prosecutor General's Office, but their appeals were sent back to the prosecutor's office and the Satpayev Akimat, whose actions the people are complaining about. They send the same type of responses. The prosecutor's office reports that it sees no grounds for intervention...

The Kazakhmys company, which mines ore in the area, emphasizes that the executive authorities - local and central - are responsible for resettlement. The corporation notes that it has fulfilled its obligations. It also reports that the protracted process of resettling residents has a negative impact on production plans.