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Problems of regional security under force of Kazakhstan's chairmanship to OSCE

Politics Materials 2 May 2009 09:02 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, May 1 / Trend , E.Ostapenko, V.Zhavoronkovа /

The low level of democracy will not prevent Kazakhstan from successfully managing the issues of regional security, drug trafficking and conflict solution during its OSCE chairmanship next year, experts say.

"The main objective is to ensure security. Kazakhstan will manage this task," one of Russia's leading political scientists Stanislav Pritchin told Trend in a telephone conversation from Moscow.

Chairmanship to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, world's largest regional security organization dealing with security issues, envisages fulfillment of certain obligations by the chairing country. Kazakhstan, which must take chairmanship to the organization in 2010, refused to carry out necessary liberal reforms in the country.

"All recommendations of the OSCE can not be taken into account by Kazakhstan because of country specifics," said the Chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev.

Presenting OSCE chairmanship to the eastern country was a favor initially, which contained some conventionalism, said Pritchin, fellow of department of sociology and political science of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov. Kazakhstan has not met basic standards of the OSCE.

Currently one-party parliament functions in Kazakhstan, where only ruling Nur Otan Party is represented. The party is chaired by the President himself, but this is contrary to the OSCE democracy principles.

However in February, President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a bill amending the election law, which guarantees formation of country's parliament with the participation of at least two parties. Parliamentary elections will take place in Kazakhstan in 2012. Experts connect this step in the liberalization of the electoral legislation in Astana with the OSCE chairmanship next year.

Kazakhstan joined OSCE in 1992, and for the first time has the right to chair the organization next year. With its chairmanship, Kazakhstan desires to highlight itself in the world.

It is unworthy to expect reforms and changes from Kazakhstan in domestic political situation after the issue of chairmanship is resolved, experts believe.

A country that understands its national interests will defend and protect them in any situation, Pritchin says.

Opinions of experts differ on the significance of Kazakhstan's chairmanship to the OSCE in the absence of the foundations of democracy in the country.

"From the beginning, Kazakhstan stated that during its OSCE chairmanship, importance will be attached not to the problems of democratic development, but to the security problems," Kazakh political scientist and leading analyst Dosim Satpayev told Trend in a telephone conversation from Astana.

If during its chairmanship, a situation happens like in Georgia last year, Kazakhstan will be able to quickly provide the negotiating platform, to be a mediator in the conflict, said Pritchin.

Military actions in the territory of unrecognized republic of South Ossetia unfolded in August last year. Georgian troops entered Tskhinvali, but later Russian forces seized the city and pushed the Georgian troops to the territory of Georgia. Russia formally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and soon established diplomatic relations with them.

Expert of the Russia and Eurasia program at Chatham House James Nixey also thinks that Kazakhstan is able to do different thing including regional cooperation, fighting drugs, corruption.
 
However the values and the interests of the OSCE will be diminished by the chairmanship because the chairmanship will only be able to concentrate on the issues that Kazakhstan incredibly carry and it can't credibly carry the democratic agenda, he said.

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