Kazakhstan: French President Takes Heat from Civil Society Activists over Astana Visit

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France is facing criticism from civil society activists, who accuse the French leader of sacrificing democratization principles for economic benefits during his recent dealings with Kazakhstani leaders.

Activists' dissatisfaction stems from Sarkozy's October 6 visit to Astana, where he held talks with Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The trip's headline accomplishments were the signing of $6 billion worth of business deals. The most significant single deal involved the acquisition of a 25-percent share in the Khvalynskoye gas field by two French energy firms, Total and GDF Suez. Nazarbayev reportedly said he was "exhilarated" by the expansion of energy cooperation, according to French executives.

The heavy emphasis on business dealings deeply disappointed civil society activists, who had hoped the French president would make concerns about Kazakhstan's democratization process the focal point of the trip. Kazakhstan is set to take over the chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2010. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Over the past year, however, several moves taken by the Kazakhstani government have caused activists to question Astana's commitment to democratization principles. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

"Economic and strategic interests are Sarkozy's first priority, while human rights come after," said Jean-Marie Fardeau, the director of Human Rights Watch's Paris office, when asked about the results of the president's Astana trip.

Fardeau suggested that Sarkozy's decision to visit Kazakhstan undermined efforts to get Astana to improve its democratization performance because it conferred a certain degree of "respectability" on Nazarbayev's administration. "We think that we're getting almost nothing in the human rights field [from such visits]," Fardeau said. "We are not even engaging in a real dialogue."

Although largely critical of Sarkozy's tolerance for Kazakhstan's lackluster democratization performance of late, the rights activist did offer praise for Sarkozy's efforts to raise the case of Yevgeny Zhovtis with President Nazarbayev. Zhovtis, one of Kazakhstan's leading civil society activists, was jailed in September on a vehicular manslaughter conviction. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Rights activists have called into question the court's fairness during the trial. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "The investigation and the trial [of Zhovtis] were marred by serious procedural flaws and gave rise to concern that this tragedy may be been politically exploited," Fardeau said.

Presidential aides insist that human rights issues were a big part of Sarkozy's agenda. But, as Sarkozy press aide Pierre Régent said, the president's preference is for quiet diplomacy. "Pushing them loudly to respect human right will lead nowhere," said Régent in a telephone interview. "If it would work, we would do it. President Sarkozy thinks that it's better to make those countries more responsible by showing them all the interest to respect the democratic values. Kazakhstan will be soon at the center of the international attention, being OSCE chairman; it is in its interest to show how it can improve the situation in this field."

Sarkozy himself in Astana stated: "The optimal way of solving problems - and there are problems, which I have discussed with the president -- is not necessarily to come and give lessons."

Régent added that behind closed doors, Sarkozy "sent a very clear message" to Nazarbayev about the Zhovtis case.

Talk about the need for quiet diplomacy is infuriating to some Kazakhstani activists. Discreet diplomacy, according to Sergei Duvanov, a prominent Kazakhstani journalist and opposition supporter, is another term for "hypocrisy."

Duvanov, who spent several years in prison on a conviction that he maintains was politically motivated, said he was discouraged during a joint presidential news conference when Sarkozy intervened with a French reporter from Le Monde who had asked a pointed question on Kazakhstan's rights practices to Nazarbayev. "It was unpleasant to see a president of a democratic state becoming the attorney of an authoritarian ruler," Duvanov said. "Nazarbayev has eliminated many of the rights and freedom that were obtained after Gorbachev's perestroika."