A few days ago, they signed a joint communiqué once morest nuclear proliferation. As if to mean that, on certain subjects, the five permanent member states of the UN Security Council might come to an agreement. This brief moment of unity was shattered with the ongoing crisis in Kazakhstan.
→ READ. “A nuclear war cannot be won”
In a message to Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday (January 7th) “Highly responsible” the implementation of measures « strong » taken by the government of Kazakhstan once morest the demonstrators. “You decisively took strong measures at critical moments and quickly calmed the situation, thus showing your responsibility and your sense of duty as a politician (…)”, said the Chinese president.
→ ANALYSIS. In Kazakhstan, the Nazarbayev myth collapses
At the same time, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the French President Emmanuel Macron called, in Paris, for the “End of violence” and at the ” detention “ in Kazakhstan. The day before, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had already wished for a “Peaceful resolution” of the ongoing crisis in this former Soviet republic, rocked by a wave of protest and violence unprecedented since its independence in 1991.
“Shoot to kill without warning”
This Friday, January 7, the President of Kazakhstan responded in his own way to his calls for moderation. “I ordered the police and the army to shoot to kill without warning”, said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, calling“Absurd” calls, especially abroad, to negotiate with protesters. “What kind of negotiations can we have with criminals, with murderers? We had to deal with armed and trained bandits (…) They must be destroyed and it will be done shortly ”, he said.
Because, in the eyes of the local authorities, there is no doubt that these troubles initiated by the sharp rise in the price of gas were, in fact, fomented from abroad. For the head of state, the largest city in this country of 19 million inhabitants, Almaty, was attacked by « 20 000 bandits » with a “Clear plan, well coordinated actions and a high degree of combat readiness”. He felt that “It is the free media and certain people abroad who play the role of instigator” of this crisis.
Friday, January 7, the human toll of this violence was impossible to establish from an independent source. The police reported having counted 18 killed and 748 wounded in their ranks. The authorities also claim that 26 “Armed criminals” were killed. But the scale of the violence observed in Almaty and the real license to kill issued by President Tokayev raise fears of a much higher number of victims. More than 3,000 people have also been arrested across the country.
“Related Forces” in Action
“Constitutional order has been largely restored in all regions”, assured the Head of State in a press release, adding that the operations “Anti-terrorists” would continue “Until the total destruction of the combatants”. “The forces of order and the armed forces and related ensure public order, the protection of strategic infrastructures and the cleaning of the streets”, he added.
What are these “Related forces” ? In his televised address, President Tokayev thanked Vladimir Putin for sending a contingent of troops from Russia and other countries allied to Moscow to support power there. The Russian government said its military had already started “To perform the tasks assigned to them” in Kazakhstan and that Almaty airport had been “Fully taken back under control”.
It is once morest the backdrop of this violent crisis in Kazakhstan and the strong tensions over Ukraine that, this Sunday, January 9, the Russians and Americans will begin discussions on security in Europe. Thirty years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, its specter continues to weigh on the Old Continent, and well beyond.
.
