Nazarbaev Fed Up With Western Advice
The US, UK, and presumably Europe think 2009 is too early for Kazakhstan to chair the OSCE, and the former two prefer instead a 2011 bid. Kazakhstan, they say, must make clear improvements to its political and human rights records. It would seem that President Nazarbaev is sick of the advice.
“We know what we have to do and do what we have to do,” Nazarbaev told a pro-presidential political rally in Astana. “We’re already getting enough advice from here and there — from the West, from overseas — to tell us how to live.”
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“We’ve had enough,” Nazarbaev told his audience today. “Kazakhstan is no longer a state that can be ordered about and told what to do. We know what we have to do. We shouldn’t run after foreign recommendations with our pants down.”
No, perhaps instead they should pull up their pants and do what Nazarbaev says they already know they must do. Deeds will certainly do more than such a winning attitude will towards convincing other members of the OSCE that Kazakhstan is ready for the chairmanship.
Stumble it! |
Tags: Kazakhstan, OSCE.
Posted by Nathan on November 13th, 2006
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Comments
Time: 11/14/2006, 9:07 pm
Of course he’s referring to unsolicited advice.
One thing that sets Nazarbayev apart is that he himself seeks out a lot of Western advice, from the infamous Giffen to the much more respected Michael Porter and Jim Wolfenson, as well as PR and lobbying firms.
Time: 11/13/2006, 10:37 pm
Well, a lot of that advice is coming from their decision to be a member of the WTO and chairman of the OSCE, which is their own choice. But this is something that has been building for a long time. NGOs and international organizations like the UN, the World Bank have long been asked to give only technical support but no policy recomendations, no political suggestions. Just an engineer to build a bridge.