Washington – Borat, that crass chronicler of the American condition, has been singled out by the State Department as a victim of suppression in his own homeland.
The department’s annual human-rights report criticizes Kazakhstan for taking action against the satirical website of Sacha Baron Cohen, creator of the fictional Kazakh journalist in the film “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.” He also starred in the movie.
Specifically, the government took control of the registration of .kz Internet domains in 2005 and revoked Cohen’s domain because it deemed his site offensive, the report said.
The State Department cited independent Web media reports that the government of the former Soviet state in central Asia monitored e-mail and Internet activity, blocked or slowed access to opposition websites and planted propaganda in Internet chat rooms.
“The government limited individuals’ ability to criticize the country’s leadership, and regional leaders attempted to limit local media outlets’ criticism of them,” said the report, which was released Tuesday.
The movie depicting Borat’s wanderings across the U.S. portrayed Americans and Kazakhs in an unflattering light. Borat, for example, asserted that Ka zakhs are addicted to a horse- urine beverage, enjoy shooting dogs, view rape and incest as respectable hobbies, and are fond of “running of the Jew” festivals.
Cohen is a British comedian and observant Jew.
