UK mustn’t lecture Kazakhstan on HR

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has warned British Prime Minister David Cameron that nobody has the right to lecture his country on human rights.

Nazarbayev’s comments came at a press conference with Cameron after their meeting in the Kazakh capital of Astana.

Cameron had apparently used the meeting to discuss human rights allegations against Kazakhstan with Nazarbayev “at length”.

“I discussed for instance the letter written by Human Rights Watch, and the concerns in that letter. It’s very important we have a frank dialogue,” Cameron told the new conference in Kazakhstan’s presidential palace.

The letter sent on Friday, contained the New York-based organizations’ concerns about allegations of government repression in Kazakhstan and alleged limitations on freedom of speech and media.

“Thank you very much for the recommendations, for the advice, but nobody has a right to instruct us how to live,” Nazarbayev said in response to Cameron.

“People from your island see the post-Soviet space as being in the middle ages whose residents ride camels and horses,” he added.

The exchange came as Cameron clinched business deals worth £700 million in the Central Asian country during his visit on Monday.