Azerbaijan, Baku, July 31 / Trend , E. Ostapenko /
Over the year of Kazakhstan's chairmanship to the OSCE, it is impossible to reform the organization, but it is likely to take the first step in this direction on the initiative of Kazakhstan, said well-known Kazakh political analyst Dosim Satpayev.
"The position of OSCE chairman is not so omnipotent to re-organize the organization for one year and lay a new foundation for its development," Satpayev, director of Risk Assessment Group (Kazakhstan), told Trend by telephone from Astana.
Kazakhstan has been a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe since 1992, but the opportunity to head the organization was presented to it for the first time. Many expectations on innovations in the organization are related with Kazakhstan's chairmanship to the OSCE in 2010. Reforming the OSCE has long been on the agenda, since its structure and mechanism of work is difficult and does not meet today's challenges.
OSCE is the world's largest regional security organization. It brings together 56 countries in North America, Europe and Central Asia. All decisions within the organization are made by consensus that delays making operational decisions.
During its chairmanship, Kazakhstan has some suggestions, said Satpayev. Country proposes to reduce the activities of the OSCE as the controller of internal political processes, particularly in post-Soviet countries. According to Satpayev, Kazakhstan is in solidarity with Moscow that the OSCE should stop playing the role of only criticism and address the problem of a higher plan - a security problem.
"Kazakhstan is by all means trying to act as a new moderator, which is full of ideas, energy and ready to seek a mediator in resolving the many issues, he said. - Kazakhstan is trying to claim the image of not only regional leader, but the leader of a world scale."
President Nursultan Nazarbayev consistently initiates various global projects, which would be made by Kazakhstan as a mediator, said Satpayev, it is possible that such projects will be initiated in the OSCE as well.
According to Satpayev, Kazakhstan can be expected to initiate to make the work of the OSCE more concrete, create a special group that would be involved in real problems, for which certain budget would be allocated. The question of funding is also an important point, said the political analyst. OSCE is a low-budget organization compared to others, but without money, many projects are simply not achievable, he said.
The budget of the OSCE in 2008 is approximately €164,168,200.
Another matter of controversy is to hold the summit of OSCE.
Often criticism are heard that many activities of the OSCE are wasted and money of the organization is not spent on necessary purposes, Satpayev said, urging not to exaggerate the role of Kazakhstan in changing the situation.
"Even if on the proposal of Kazakhstan there will be some changes regarding the summit, possibly, their concretization, even these meetings and events do not play a large role in solving many problems," - he said.
According to Satpayev, the most important for Kazakhstan during the year is to show all vulnerable problem zones of OSCE from within.
The political analyst considers differences within the organization as a serious problem. "They are a group of states that represent the post-Soviet territory, led by Russia and Kazakhstan, and the states of the Old West. There is a separate group - representatives from Eastern Europe, which has always its own point of view," said Satpayev.
Thus, within the OSCE, there are factions, each of which is "pulling the blanket on itself."
However, despite the expected initiative and proposal by Kazakhstan, it is not necessary to exaggerate its role during chairmanship to the OSCE, Satpayev said. Kazakhstan has not sufficient capacity and authority to make a powerful leap and transform the organization under its own model.
Do you have feedback? Contact our journalist at: [email protected]