The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, fresh off a military exercise in Kazakhstan that often seemed to be primarily a demonstration of China's growing military might, is now joining the chorus in China complaining about the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to a Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo. Xinhua interviewed the SCO secretary-general, a former foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan:
Muratbek Sansyzbayevich Imanaliev, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), voiced his opposition to the politicization of the Nobel Peace Prize here Friday, saying the award should not be used as a tool to interfere in other country's internal affairs.
Imanaliev said the Peace Prize should be awarded in accordance with the testament of Alfred Nobel.
Nobel's testament says the prize should be conferred on the person or persons who "have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
"It is very regrettable that the Prize was awarded to a criminal who is now in prison," Imanaliev said in an interview with Xinhua.
Surely he has a point about a pro-western double standard on the award, given that last year Barack Obama won it shortly before he escalated the war in Afghanistan. When will a U.S. dissident win?
But Imanaliev then lays on the China praise pretty thick:
Imanaliev noted the remarkable achievements China has made in terms of political, economic and social development.
Facts prove the correctness of China's development path since the adoption of the opening up and reform policies, Imanaliev said....
Imanaliev also said the SCO respects a country's sovereign right to choose its own development path, adding that he believes China will make further contributions to regional stability and prosperity.
Thus far, it's true, China doesn't make make as many domestic political demands of its security partners as the U.S. (rhetorically) does. But one has to wonder if the fact that the recent Turkey-China air exercises were so uncharacteristically hush-hush was because China may have wanted it that way. And China's policies on this are no doubt evolving; we'll have to wait to see whether China will exert any political pressure on its SCO allies.
Joshua Kucera, a senior correspondent, is Eurasianet's former Turkey/Caucasus editor and has written for the site since 2007.
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