Family Scandal Could Wreck OSCE Bid

The escalating family feud between President Nursultan Nazarbaev and his son-in-law, Rahat Aliev could jeopardise Kazakstan’s bid to chair the OSCE in 2009 and dent the international reputation its leaders have been nurturing so carefully, NBCentralAsia commentators say.



On May 31, Rahat Aliev, who is married to President Nursultan Nazarbaev’s influential daughter, Dariga, asked the Austrian government for political asylum. The authorities in Vienna removed his diplomatic immunity two days earlier, after receiving a request for his extradition.



Aliev has been charged with kidnapping two former heads of major commercial bank, Nurbank.



He served as ambassador to Austria and special envoy to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE until Nazarbaev sacked him from both posts on May 26.



The same day, Aliev issued a statement in which he accused President Nazarbaev of usurping power, eliminating political rivals and having him prosecuted to get him out of the way as a potential presidential candidate.



He claims his run of bad luck started soon after privately telling the president of his plans to run in the 2012 election.



“After [a criminal investigation] I will lose the right to run for the presidency. This is a primitive method for getting rid of political opponents which is used regularly in our country,” said Aliev.



The president’s family plays a prominent role in Kazak politics and NBCentralAsia analysts say the emerging conflict, and Aliev’s remarks about “creeping totalitarianism”, could seriously damage Kazakstan’s chance of chairing the OSCE in 2009.



“This scandal does not involve some rank-and-file official, but a man who has been handling a crucial component of foreign policy – promoting of Kazakstan’s bid to chair the OSCE,” said observer Sergei Duvanov.



Nikolai Kuzmin, an analyst with the Expert-Kazakhstan journal says the case is likely to have political repercussions given Aliev’s family connections.



“Any conflict linked to members of the president’s family has an adverse effect on the country’s reputation,” said Kuzmin. “In the case of Kazakstan, the reputation of the country is almost synonymous with that of the president.”



According to human rights activist Rozlana Taukina, the authorities’ temporary closure of the KTK television station and the weekly Karavan newspaper, both owned by Aliev, sends out yet more negative signals.



“All these events… work against Kazakstan’s democratic image,” said Taukina. “If Kazakstan wins approval to chair the OSCE under such circumstances, it will make a mockery of this international organisation.”



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)