Wednesday, April 25, 2012 -
Kazakhstan’s long-term leader Nursultan Nazarbayev told a Russian television program on Wednesday that he is unhappy with Western criticisms of his country and its attempt to impose its values on other countries.
Nazarbayev made the comments while speaking to the Rossiya-24 channel, and decried criticisms levied on the Kazakh political system by Western democracies. Nazarbayev’s party won parliamentary elections in January in an election termed as less than free by Western and international watch groups.
“Western culture, which is propagandized by the United States, cannot simply be transplanted,” he said, as quoted by the Associated Press (AP) news agency.
“The varying mentalities, histories, and traditions of different peoples are not being taken into consideration.”
Nazarbayev defended his tight grip on power, pointing to the results of the Arab Spring last year.
“What we are seeing are Islamic governments inclined to Shariah, and that is what has been achieved through these revolutions and coups,” he said.