The Foreign Service Journal, June 2011

10 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 1 1 Democracy : “We are open to a con- structive and mutually respectful dia- logue on human rights themes with our foreign partners, but not for moralistic admonitions and pinning labels.” Brazil’s Foreign Ministry refused to dignify the publication with a rebuttal, confining itself to a terse statement that Brazil does not comment on unilateral reports based on domestic laws and cri- teria. More positively, the chief of the National Police in the Dominican Re- public, José Armando Polanco Gómez, issued a statement that he respects the report and will analyze its accusations of extrajudicial killings in his country. And in Panama, Roberto Troncoso, who chaired the commission to investigate the clashes between police and workers in Bocas del Toro last summer, called the information “important references.” Closer to home, Amnesty Interna- tional USAManaging Director of Gov- ernment Relations Adotel Akwei hailed the report as “a tool in shaping how the United States should approach the changing political landscapes of Tunisia and Egypt. … [It] could also shape a sustainable approach to developments in Bahrain and Yemen that comple- ment the aspirations of the people, as opposed to just the desires of the gov- ernment in power.” —Danielle Derbes, Editorial Intern Peru: Caught Between the Lady and the Tiger Writing in the April 11 Miami Her- ald ( www.miamiherald.com ) about the disastrous results of the first round of presidential elections in Peru, retired Ambassador Dennis Jett explains “Why Peru’s Political Suicide Should Matter to Americans.” Although the field of 10 candidates included several well-re- garded centrists, among them former President Alejandro Toledo, they split the vote, allowing two extremists to proceed to a run-off on June 5. On the far left and coming in first was Ollanta Humala, a former army of- ficer and coup plotter. Humala also placed first in the first round of the last presidential election, held five years ago, but lost the runoff to the current president, Alan Garcia, by a few per- centage points. Humala went to great lengths this time to seemmoremoderate and to dis- tance himself from Venezuelan Presi- dent Hugo Chávez, who is unpopular in Peru. But if he wins, as seems likely, many observers, including Jett, expect him to pursue similar policies. Facing off against himwill be Keiko Fujimori, daughter of Alberto Fuji- mori, the former president who is now in prison for crimes committed during his regime. She has offered no coher- ent political program beyond pardon- ing her father. As a result, no matter who wins, Jett views prospects for another decade of economic growth, low inflation and good governance as poor. — Steven Alan Honley, Editor On Kazakhstan’s Bumpy Road to Democracy On April 3, Kazakhstan re-elected President Nursultan Nazarbayev to a new five-year termwith a landslide 95.5 percent of the vote. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Eu- rope stated that observers saw “serious irregularities” in the election, including numerous seemingly-identical signa- tures on voter lists, several instances of ballot box stuffing, restrictions on in- ternational observers, lack of trans- parency in tabulating the votes, and intervention by local authorities to in- crease turnout. The U.S. Mission to the OSCE stated that Embassy Astana’s observers noted similar irregularities. In an April 7 statement to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, Carol Fuller, chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Mission to the OSCE, declared that the Kazakh gov- ernment “still needs to make improve- ments to meet its democratic commit- ments, particularly in the fields of free- dom of assembly and media.” One issue in the recent election was the absence of any serious opposi- tion. Out of the 21 potential candi- dates, only three ran against the in- cumbent. Several others failed the re- quired (and reportedly grueling) ex- amination to demonstrate proficiency in the Kazakh language. One potential candidate for the presidency, Amantay Asilbek, was quot- ed in a local magazine stating that he believes polygamy would solve the “na- tional tragedy” of the abundance of sin- gle women in Kazakhstan. A Feb. 18 article in the Telegraph paints Asilbek as a Borat-like character who began his political career as a serious campaigner on nuclear and other issues, but now campaigns on an Islamic and national- ist platform— and also offers up poly- gamy as a solution for social ills. In a Mar. 31 op-ed in the Washing- ton Post titled “Kazakhstan’s Steady Progress Toward Democracy,” Pres. Nazarbayev offers a glowing assess- ment of his country’s progress toward democratic participation during his 20- year presidency. He also cites a twelve- fold increase in gross domestic product per capita and substantial growth in the private sector since 1991. Low unem- ployment rates, an abundance of natu- ral resources, investments in education and social tolerance complete Pres. Nazarbayev’s sparkling image of his homeland. Meanwhile, former U.S. Ambassa- C Y B E R N O T E S