Kazakh president's daughter defends British comic

Dariga Nazarbayeva on Friday criticised her country's efforts to rein in British comic Sacha Baron Cohen, first known internationally for his character Ali G, in an interview with weekly Karavan magazine.

"I think that we shouldn't be afraid of humour, it's not worth trying to control everything," said Nazarbayeva.

Kazakh authorities have suggested taking legal action against Baron Cohen, closed his website, and even suggested that the comic created the heavily-moustached, misogynistic character to deliberately damage the country.

Nazarbayeva, who controls one of the country's main television channels, said that Kazakhstan was only worsening its image with the censorship.

"This Internet site has caused less damage to our image than its closure, which was covered by all international news agencies," she said.

Baron Cohen first found fame in Britain and the United States in the character of Ali G, a tracksuited, jewellery-draped buffoon who subjected politicians and other public figures to deliberately comedic interviews.

Borat works in a similar way, with Baron Cohen posing as a real, clumsy, Kazakh television reporter who presents his "country" as being full of misogynistic and racist alcoholics.

Kazakh authorities had enough last November after Borat hosted the MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon, being shown arriving on an "Air Kazakh" propeller plane flown by a drunken pilot clutching a bottle of vodka.

Borat has responded with typical alacrity to the Kazakh outrage at Baron Cohen, who is Jewish.

"I like to state, I have no connection with Mr Cohen and fully support my government's position to sue this Jew," he said.

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