Bloody protests in Kazakhastan attract global attention
Jan 6, 2022: Unrest in Kazakhstan has attracted widespread global attention, including from neighboring Russia and China, as well as Western powers, as the protests escalate.
Dozens of anti-government protesters were killed in the central city of Almaty, Kazakh officials said Thursday, as they tried to storm government offices and police stations overnight.
State television reported that 13 members of Kazakhstan’s security forces were also killed, two of whom were beheaded. The development marks a significant escalation in the ongoing political crisis in the wider Central Asian country, which began with protests over the weekend against doubling the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Russia has sent troops to its ally Kazakhstan as part of a peacekeeping force deployed by the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) at the request of Kazakh President Qasim Jomart Tokayev, who has accused foreign-trained “terrorist gangs” of driving the unrest.
According to Eurasianet, this is the first time CSTO’s collective security provision has been used. The Secretariat said that military units from CSTO’s member countries Armenia, Belarus, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan were also being sent. However, the organization, of which Kazakhstan is a member, did not disclose the total size of the force to be deployed.
Separately on Thursday, Moscow said it would consult with Kazakhstan and other allies on possible further steps to support the “counter-terrorism” operation there, echoing Kazakhstan’s claim that the protests were the result of foreign intervention.
The United Nations has urged political leaders and protesters in Kazakhstan to refrain from violence.
The European Union (EU) has demanded that Russia respect Kazakhstan’s sovereignty and independence, as Moscow deploys paratroopers to the former Soviet republic. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, also called for restraint on all sides.
Top European Union diplomat Josep Borrell said that Russia’s military intervention brought back “memories of situations to be avoided”.
Borrell expressed “great concern” about the situation and added: “Rights and security of civilians must be guaranteed… EU is ready to support in addressing this crisis.”
Washington said it was “closely monitoring” the situation and called on authorities and protesters to exercise restraint.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki dismissed claims that the US was driving the protests in Kazakhstan – allegations she accused Moscow of spreading.
Meanwhile China, which shares a border with Kazakhstan, said the situation was an “internal affair”. Since becoming independent in 1991, Kazakhstan has sought good ties with China, which receives most of its oil exports.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the United Kingdom is “concerned” by the escalating unrest.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has told his Kazakh counterpart Tokayev that Ankara stands in solidarity with Kazakhstan amid ongoing protests. In a statement issued Thursday, Erdogan’s office said in a phone call that it had informed Tokayev that Turkey was keeping a close eye on developments and hoped that tensions would ease as soon as possible. “All kinds of technical information and experience” will also be offered if required.
Erdogan also discussed developments in Kazakhstan with the leaders of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and said he was confident that the crisis would be resolved through dialogue.
France on the other hand has urged restraint from all parties in Kazakhstan, including the troops deployed by the CSTO, and called the reports of bloodshed in Almaty “extremely worrying”.
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