Blair branded 'a disgrace' for giving Kazakh dictator PR advice on massacre of civilians by his regime

Tony Blair is said to have made millions advising Nursultan Nazarbayev

H e o ffered him advice after police shot 1 4 una rmed civilian p r otesters

The move has been labelled as 'shameless' by Human Rights Watch



Tony Blair was branded ‘disgraceful’ last night for advising a notorious dictator on how to ‘spin’ a massacre of civilians by his regime.



The former prime minister is said to have earned millions of pounds advising Kazakhstan’s president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has ruled the former Soviet republic since 1989.



Leaked documents yesterday revealed Mr Blair’s assistance included giving the autocratic ruler detailed advice on how to improve his international image following an incident in which police shot dead 14 unarmed civilians protesting against his rule.

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Tony Blair with Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev who he gave PR advice to over the massacre of civilians

There was international condemnation following the massacre in the oil town of Zhanaozen in 2011, in which another 64 protesters were wounded by the security services.



A leaked letter now reveals the part Mr Blair played in helping the Kazakh leader rehabilitate himself in the eyes of the international community. Ahead of a speech Mr Nazarbayev was due to give at Cambridge University, Mr Blair offered detailed advice on how to address the massacre.

Mr Blair told him that the deaths ‘tragic though they were, should not obscure the enormous progress’ his country had made.



He forwarded a passage of about 500 words for Mr Nazarbayev’s speech. His suggestions were accepted with only minor alterations and were included in media reports of the speech.



Campaign group Human Rights Watch, which has condemned Kazakhstan’s record, yesterday described Mr Blair as ‘shameless’.



Hugh Williamson of the Human Rights Watch called Mr Blair 'disgraceful'

Hugh Williamson, the director of the group’s Europe and Central Asia division, said: ‘It is disgraceful that Tony Blair has taken millions of pounds from this autocrat to write speeches for him without really tackling head on the huge human rights problems in Kazakhstan.’



The leaked letter, written on notepaper headed Office of Tony Blair, said: ‘Dear Mr President, here is a suggestion for a paragraph to include in the Cambridge speech.



I think it best to meet head on the Zhanaozen issue. The fact is you have made changes following it; but in any event these events, tragic though they were, should not obscure the enormous progress that Kazakhstan has made.



‘Dealing with it [the massacre] in the way I suggest, is the best way for the western media. It will also serve as a quote that can be used in the future setting out the basic case for Kazakhstan.’



In his own handwriting, Mr Blair added at the bottom of the letter: ‘With very best wishes. I look forward to seeing you in London! Yours ever, Tony Blair.’



Mr Blair has been criticised since leaving office for advising a number of regimes with unsavoury human rights records.



A spokesman said payments to Mr Blair from Kazakhstan were ‘not for PR advice but in respect of a full-time team of people who live and work in Kazakhstan working on the reform programme of the government in areas like de-centralisation and local Government reform’.



The spokesman said Mr Blair did not personally profit from his organisation’s work with the regime.

He said Mr Blair had always acknowledged Kazakhstan faced ‘real challenges’ over human rights, but said the country had made ‘huge progress’ under Mr Nazarbayev.



‘Tony Blair believes Kazakhstan is a strategically important country for the West and will continue to support it,’ the spokesman said.

