THE Ambassador of Kazakhstan is to address the Oxford Union today ahead of the release of comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
The latest film by Cohen, the man behind Ali G, has been criticised for its portrayal of Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic, as a backwards and ignorant nation - a view the ambassador, Erlan Idrissov, has denounced.
In the film, spoof reporter Borat fools Americans by posing as a naive reporter who can be outrageously offensive under the guise of being innocent - often with the aim of revealing his interviewees real prejudices.
Cohen portrays the character as coming from a very misogynistic country and this has sparked outrage from the Kazakhstan authorities.
Mr Idrissov's visit comes on Kazakhstan Republic Day and he will speak about the film and take part in a question and answer session afterwards.
He has already criticised Cohen for exploiting a lack of public knowledge about Kazakhstan and recently wrote in The Guardian: "Britain prides itself on its sense of fair play.
"By all means laugh at Borat if you will, but I suspect that once you know something of the true Kazakhstan his antics will leave a nasty aftertaste.
"Indeed, you may not laugh at all."
An Oxford Union spokesman said: "As well as discussing the new film, Mr Idrissov has been keen to emphasis the importance of Kazakhstan to the global war on terror.
"He is likely to face tough questions at the Oxford Union over his country's oft-criticised democratic and human rights record."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article