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CNN Live Saturday

Pope John Paul II Visits Kazakhstan

Aired September 22, 2001 - 13:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: A visit by the head of the Catholic Church to a Muslim country would be remarkable under any circumstances, but may say Pope John Paul's arrival today in Kazakhstan for a four-day visit in their words "astounding" onto the present climate.

CNN's Jim Bittermann joins us on the telephone now with more about the Pope's trip.

Jim, what can you tell us?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Judy, the long-planned trip by the Pope brought John Paul II into Central Asia at an especially tense moment. No plans, according to the Vatican spokesman, were changed, because of security reasons. But he did say that the security situation was taken into consideration. Still, he added that when the Pope said he was going to go, there was no further discussion about whether the trip would go on.

It ought to be recalled, however, that there were associates of Osama bin Laden who actually plotted against the Pope in 1996 when they rounded up some of the terrorists involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. And they, in fact, found computer disks, which indicated that there was a plot against the Pope during his visit to the Philippines in 1996.

The president of Kazakhstan said tonight when he arrived that the people of Kazakhstan appreciate the Pope has come in spite of the troubled situation in the world, he said. He said the tragedy that happened in the United States presents a threat of division and confrontation between civilizations and religions -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Jim, to what extent are Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda forces presumed to be -- to have connections in Kazakhstan?

BITTERMANN: Well, in fact, it's something that the president here -- President Nazarbayev -- has complained about and pointed out for some years now. The fact that the radical Muslims that have formed the Taliban and the kind of people that are associated with Osama bin Laden (AUDIO GAP) all throughout the region.

So this is perhaps the (AUDIO GAP) help the United States in whatever way he can, including military ways, if necessary in their effort to root out terrorism in the region. WOODRUFF: Jim, any evidence so far in Kazakhstan of a U.S. military presence?

BITTERMANN: None whatsoever so far. However, as I mentioned, President Nazarbayev has been (AUDIO GAP) that he will come to the aid of the United States if he is asked to do whatever he can to help address this problem. Kazakhstan is only -- at its closest point is only about 200 miles from Afghanistan, so in fact it might well present something that U.S. military planners might want to take into consideration while they're planning whatever they are planning against Afghanistan.

WOODRUFF: And, Jim, while I hear you say what President Nazarbayev is saying, what about the people of the country themselves? What are ordinary people on the street -- if you've had a chance to talk to any of them -- saying? To what extent do they sympathize with the Taliban?

BITTERMANN: Well, that's a hard thing to determine exactly, but one thing that is clear here is that the kind of Islam that's practiced here in Kazakhstan is somewhat different than what you would find in Afghanistan. This has always been a very tolerant place. It's a crossroads between East and West. It's along the old Silk Route. And, in fact, Kazakhstan is a kind of country that tolerates differences quite well. They have always gotten along.

And one of the things that came through in the president's remarks today is that he certainly wants to keep it that way. There are, however -- as he has pointed out in regional meetings going back several years -- there is this threat brought on by Muslim extremists infiltrating from across the border.

He also pointed out to the threat from Afghanistan the drug trade, which he finds a debilitating kind of thing as far as Kazakhstan is concerned. And much of the drug traffic that comes into Kazakhstan is due, in fact, to Afghani drug dealers.

WOODRUFF: All right. Jim Bittermann, reporting from Kazakhstan, where Pope John Paul II has just begun a four-day visit -- thank you, Jim.

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