Kazakhstan wows to espouse OSCE values amid calls for overhaul

In an exclusive interview with Today’s Zaman, Bagdad Amreyev, Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Turkey, stated that the Kazakh Chairmanship of OSCE, which was approved by the decision in Madrid in 2007 and which officially resumed last month, will play a crucial role in the activities of the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization.

The stewardship comes at a critical juncture for Kazakhstan as the organization has struggled to be cohesive during the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia. Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbaev has already called for a Summit where heads of state and governments will convene to look for ways to tackle ailing issues and strengthen the organization.  “Kazakhstan, with the help of all the participating states wants to make the organization more efficient in tackling challenges that are of great importance to both Europe and Asia” Kazakh Ambassador Amreyev stated.

Kazakhstan is the first former Soviet republic to hold the Chairmanship of the 56-nation body. It is also the first country which could be best described as mostly an Asian country to assume the chair. Though it has a landscape equal to the size of the French territory located in European part, most of its land stretches along the Central Asian plateau. Incidentally, it is also a first Muslim nation in the history of the organization to steer the helm of OSCE for a year. “It is a rare and a unique case and it happened for the first time in our history” Kazakh diplomat remarked.

Though the election was unanimous as all decisions in the OSCE are based upon consensus, the fact that Kazakhstan is the new head of the organization had raised some questions and eyebrows in some international circles. Most of these criticisms are aired by human rights advocacy groups who claim that the country has a poor track record when it comes to the protection of human rights and democratic values.

However, the Kazakh Ambassador begs to differ, brushing most criticism aside while emphasizing the fact that his country needs time. “Critics do not pay attention to the process and how far we have come and how much we have achieved in a very short period of time” he said, highlighting the fact that Kazakhstan is a young country. He pointed out that the Kazakh government chose to become a full-fledged democratic society by declaring that the only strategic choice for the Kazakh people is the democratic one. “This is why we are very keen to be a part of Europe and to play an active role in the future direction of the OSCE” he said, adding that ‘democratic attractiveness’ played a major role in his government’s decision to take up the job. 

Amreyev noted that the Chairmanship will help strengthen democratic values in Kazakhstan as well. “Chairing OSCE, shows that Kazakhstan is committed to preserving democracy in the world. It will also help us improve the democratic process that is going on in Kazakhstan today” he said, “that is why my country has voluntarily decided to steer in this direction. We are well aware of the fact that establishing deep trust with our European partners in developing democracy and human rights standards is paramount. We will try our best with the help of our partners.”

Well –deserved seat

Top diplomat of Kazakhstan in Turkey believes his country well deserves to lead the OSCE which focuses on security and stability from Vancouver to Vladivostok. First and foremost, he noted that the Kazakh diplomacy proved itself to be very capable in solving complex issues in its region in which incidentally falls within the jurisdiction of the OSCE region as well. Since gaining independency in 1991, the country was able to solve long-running border issues with Russia, China and Uzbekistan.

“We reached a full demarcation line along the border with neighboring Russia, which is the longest continental border in the world amounting close to 7,000 kilometers” he remarked. Drawing an analogy on Balkans where too many border disputes have led to conflicts, Kazakh Ambassador argued that his newborn country had played a crucial role in securing peace and stability in the Eurasia region by having successfully completed demarcation lines with its neighbors. “Imagine how many problems could have been caused in the region, had we not addressed these issues” he warned.

In fact, low-key conflicts were already in play between the Soviet Union and China along the border of Kazakhstan during the Cold War era.  “[Solving all these problems] made a great contribution to world peace and security” the ambassador emphasized, lamenting on the fact that his country’s endeavors and contribution to the stability has not been appreciated enough.

Kazakh leader Nazarbayev was personally instrumental in keeping security and peace in the Soviet area by supporting the idea on the establishment of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) among Soviet Republics to make the transition to independency smoother. “When the Soviet Union collapsed, everybody was expecting a great catastrophe in our region. Thanks to CIS idea to prepare Republics for the so called ‘velvet divorce’, we were able to avoid a run-away train destined for more conflict and wars” Kazakh ambassador Amreyev said.

International observers also point out that Kazakhstan helped diffuse tension between China and Russia, two heavyweights neighboring Kazakhstan, by initiating the Shanghai Five, predecessor of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), in 1996. The original idea was to demilitarize the border between China and the former Soviet Union and ultimately boost security and stability in the Eurasian region. Amreyev believes that the SCO, to a certain degree, restored balance to the multi-polar system in the world after the end of the Cold War which left a power vacuum leading to a unipolar power structure.

“A multi-polar world was born when the SCO was created. It was not established as an alternative entity to other entities. It was not military bloc either, but in symbolic terms, simply the existence of organization, with included Russia, China and the countries of Central Asia was a very strong factor which nobody could ignore” Amreyev underlined. 

European as well as Asian

Kazakh ambassador uses the bridge metaphor to describe the role of Kazakhstan in the Eurasian region. “We are going to Europe to make sure that Asia is also granted peace and security. That is why we want to play a constructive role between Asia and Europe. We strongly believe all organizations we belong to in fact complement each other rather than rival amongst eachother” he said.

The country is part of Europe both in the historical and in the geopolitical sense. It played a crucial role in shaping Europe during the Cold War as part of the Soviet Union. “Kazakhstan considers that it belongs to Europe. Our culture is deeply rooted to the European culture in many ways. We do feel that we are part of Europe and we want to reaffirm this aspect of our entity” he said, adding that his country has decided to be involved in European processes as much as possible. “The European Union is our number one trading partner after all” he stressed.

In terms of ethnic rifts and problems concerning religious minorities, Kazakhstan was also able to prove itself as a worthy example to follow. Though it has over 130 ethnic and religious groups living in one country, the system based on mutual understanding is constantly promoted. It hosted the single common platform where all religious leaders in the world came together in a bid to create a common understanding and dialogue.

“Maybe Kazakhstan is key partner and be a role model for other nations to follow in terms of creating such an atmosphere in relations with ethnic and religious groups” Amreyev said. He does not recall a single incident where a person got killed because of ethnicity or religion. “I’m very much proud of that fact,” he noted.

Tackling Islamophobia and Xenophobia

The timing could not be better for OSCE as it was trying to tackle increasing tension in European landscape, stemming from xenophobia and Islamophobia. Violence against immigrants and foreigners in the continent were on the rise and European countries and the organization are scrambling to instill measures to prevent these incidents. Ambassador Amreyev is very keen on the subject and wows his country will focus on these problems during the OSCE presidency.

Though he concedes that Europe is the best example of a civilized culture to be followed, he nevertheless recognizes there are great concerns raised by many. “Some people have started to talk about post-tolerant European era. Their concerns are well-justified since the most dangerous forms of dictatorship took root in Europe are they are still fresh in our minds. There are still survivors, witnesses to those tragedies who live with us. Fascism, Nazism and Stalinism swept the European continent just sixty years ago” Amreyev noted. “That is why we should not be in a relaxed state just yet. Tolerance is something we have to work on daily basis. It should not only be promoted, but it should be preserved as well” he added.

Call for Summit

Last month, the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev called for the first OSCE Summit of heads of state in 11 years to be held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The last Summit was held in Istanbul in 1999. Nazarbaev was quoted saying in January that "the defining question of the future OSCE is whether the organization can turn into a structure that acknowledges the diversity of the world of the 21st century or remain an organization fragmented into blocs in which the traditional West remains detached from the space of the East." He said topics such as regional security, the situation in Afghanistan, and questions of tolerance would be discussed as well as how to reform the institution to make it more efficient. He stressed the need for the organization to be more proactive, especially in political and military issues.

“It is not easy to be a number two organization,” Kazakh ambassador Amreyev claimed, adding that OSCE should devote more energy on security issues. However, he warned that security talks should include the Eurasian landscape as well and not be limited to just Europe. “The world has become a global village. Therefore, we should not be forgetting about the Asian leg of security issues” he pointed out. Kazakh ambassador further noted that the substance for the Summit is already taking shape. “We believe Russia, the USA and other participating states will have a lot to say in this Summit” he said.

Most of the 56 OSCE members are supporting the idea of holding a Summit while some have reservations. For the Summit to occur, the approval of all the members will be needed. “Many countries are supporting us strongly. I think that nobody is saying no at the moment. Most of them understand that there is a need for the Summit. There is a favorable atmosphere for it. However, some of them have not taken the decision yet. We will be patient. I am sure that Kazakhstan can do something very positive and historical during its term” Kazakh ambassador pointed out.

Amreyev acknowledges that not everything can be completed during Kazakhstan’s term in the office of OSCE presidency but emphasizes that the process was already given a start. “Kazakhstan is not saying that this year every single one of the goals will be full filled. It is realistic in that sense. What my country wants to do is to begin the great job of brightening the future of the OSCE. The process is already started.” he said.

Ambassador Amreyev is confident enough to declare that his country’s foreign service is quite capable of handling OSCE presidency as well as multi-faceted and multi-dimensional policy pursued by Astana. “We have the best and very talented diplomatic corps. Our diplomats ought to be well experienced partly because of the geostrategic considerations of the country, which is landlocked between Russia and China, two major players in Asia. Kazakh President’s personal involvement in foreign policy initiatives and turning these initiatives into reality puts an extra pressure on the foreign service to be active and engaged in multiple fronts.”

Kazakh diplomat also appreciates Turkish help and support of Kazak foreign policy goals. “Turkey was a strong supporter of Kazakhstan when we wanted the chair the OSCE. It always supported Kazakhstan in other areas as well,” he said. He further noted that his country will try to address the Nagorno-Karabakh issue during the Chairmanship and will lend support to OSCE’s Minsk group which was set up to solve the issue. “This is one of the priorities for the Kazakh chairmanship. Our Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabaev paid his first official visit as the OSCE Chairman in Office to the South Caucasus yesterday (15 February)” he said. “Because the value of the OSCE comes from its ability to solve regional conflicts like this, the Kazakh Chairmanship will work hard to promote peace and stability not only in the Caucasus but in Afghanistan and the Balkans to name a few. My country will do its best, that I can assure” Amreyev emphasized.