Kazakh president declines ‘Leader of Nation’ title
By DPA, IANSThursday, June 3, 2010
MOSCOW/ASTANA - Kazakhstan’s long-ruling President Nursultan Nazarbayev has declined to accept the title “Leader of Nation”, local media reported Thursday.
The honour was bestowed on him last month by the parliament of the Central Asian nation, weeks after president Kurmanbek Bakiyev was deposed in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan and forced to flee the country.
“The unanimous decision by parliament is trust enough for me. There is no need for legislative action to make me ‘Leader of the Nation’,” he was quoted as saying.
The legislation granted 67-year-old Nazarbayev and his family life-long immunity from prosecution, leaving their private property safe from confiscation.
The parliament wanted to spare the president a fate similar to that of Bakiyev, who is facing murder charges filed by the new Kyrgyz government, which also seized his property and other assets.
Nazarbayev assumed office in 1990 after the fall of the former Soviet Union. Since then the Kazakh parliament has amended the constitution several times to boost his power.
Among other amendments, parliament lifted the original limit of two presidential terms.
At the outset of 2010, Kazakhstan assumed the chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). But human rights activists say Kazakhstan’s democracy continues to show deficiencies.
