Kazakhstan invites Borat to visit

A Kazakh official is approaching the controversy over the fake-Kazakh journalist, Borat, by inviting him to spend some time in the Central Asia nation.

Deputy Foreign Minister Rakhat Aliyev said he understands why Kazakhs are upset over Sacha Baron Cohen's character, Borat. "But we must have a sense of humor and respect other people's freedom of creativity," Aliyev was quoted as saying by Kazakhstan Today and reported by the Associated Press. "I'd like to invite Cohen here," he said. "He can discover a lot of things. Women drive cars, wine is made of grapes, and Jews are free to go to synagogues."

The Kazakhstan government has been on publicity ever since the trailer for the movie featuring the homophobic, misogynistic, English-mangling Kazakh journalist began airing.

"It's useless to offend an artist and threaten to sue him," Aliyev was quoted as saying and reported by the AP. "It will only further damage the country's reputation and make Borat even more popular."