Boos and disbelief as Tony Blair is handed 'jaw-dropping' philanthropist of the year title at GQ awards ceremony.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2741328/What-Middle-East-crisis-Disbelief-Tony-Blair-handed-jaw-dropping-philanthropist-year-title-GQ-awards-ceremony.html
Blair branded 'a disgrace' for giving Kazakh dictator PR advice on 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.
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’.
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