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CNN Live Saturday

Pope John Paul II Visits Predominantly Muslim Kazakhstan

Aired September 23, 2001 - 14:45   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: Pope John Paul II is in the mostly Muslim country of Kazakhstan. He is expected to take up the issue of strengthening ties between Islam and Christianity. It is part of a four-day visit to the troubled region. CNN's Jim Bittermann has more on the Pope's trip.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pope John Paul II has been targeted by assassins before including a plot by a terrorist associate of Osama bin Laden just five years ago. So security was a concern as the Pope arrived in Central Asia.

The Vatican said there was never a question of canceling the long-planned trip but that the Pope's safety was taken into consideration. The border of Kazakhstan is only 200 miles from Afghanistan and its president has long spoken out about the threat posed by radical Muslims like the Taliban.

In his welcome, President Nursultan Nazarbayev thanked John Paul for coming in spite of the attacks in the United States, which he said threatened confrontation between civilizations and religions.

The Pope made no reference to the U.S. attacks but a Vatican spokesman said they were of such magnitude that John Paul would certainly have more to say later in the trip.

It is a message that will be watched carefully here. The president, who has made clear his support for the United States in it's hunt for those responsible for terrorism also indicated he hopes John Paul will continue to ward off what he calls Islamic-phobia in the west.

As the Pope later reads at a monument recalling the terrors of the Communist years in Kazakhstan it seemed his visit to this country has come at a moment which could mark the beginning of another deadly time or one that might eventually lead to greater stability.

Kazakhstan has always remained a more or less peaceful crossroads of religions and cultures. And the president as well as the Pope would like to see it stay that way. But all are aware of the growing probability that the region could soon be at the center of conflict. Jim Bittermann, CNN, Astana, Kazakhstan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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