Kazakhstan activists recall path from protest to bloodshed

2 years ago 411

ALMATY – The wide protests successful Kazakhstan began peacefully implicit the New Year's weekend, with marchers denouncing a crisp emergence successful substance prices. They dispersed rapidly from the occidental portion of the Central Asian federation to much populous areas, yet reaching its largest metropolis of Almaty.

But thing changed implicit the people of a week.

Groups of equipped men appeared successful Almaty, with immoderate seen riding successful cars without licence plates oregon with their faces covered. Marchers astatine the peaceful protests accidental these men began urging them to tempest authorities buildings, promising to springiness them guns.

Clashes with constabulary soon broke out, and by the nighttime of Jan. 5, Almaty was successful chaos. City Hall was burning, arsenic were cars and buses; stores were looted; and attempts were made to tempest the statesmanlike residence. Gunshots were heard successful the streets, the net was blacked out, and adjacent the airdrome was concisely seized.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has blamed the unrest connected “terrorists” who received overseas grooming and support.

But astir 2 weeks aft the events that led to scores of deaths and astir 16,000 arrests, the authorities has not presented immoderate grounds to enactment its allegation of extracurricular involvement.

It remains unclear whether these much convulsive actors were individuals taking vantage of the mayhem to loot and vandalize stores, oregon if they were portion of organized groups with larger governmental motives.

Protesters, however, accidental their rallies were someway undermined, starring to the crackdown by information forces. Tokayev has said authorities didn't usage unit astatine peaceful demonstrations.

Although the protests began implicit the higher terms of fuel, the scope and the docket of the demonstrations expanded quickly. Large crowds rallied successful large cities, venting their vexation with worsening surviving conditions and inequality nether the authoritarian authorities that has maintained a choky grip connected powerfulness for implicit 3 decades successful the energy-rich federation of 19 million.

Much of that occurred nether longtime person Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stepped down successful 2019 successful favour of Tokayev, his hand-picked successor, but has maintained behind-the-scenes influence. The slogan “Shal ket!” — “Old antheral go!” — was chanted astatine rallies.

“A important portion of the radical are those who came astatine the telephone of their hearts to explicit their cognition towards the authorities, due to the fact that they are tired, due to the fact that they bash not consciousness similar the authorities is providing them with societal security,” said quality rights activistic Galym Ageleuov, president of the Liberty Foundation.

Tokayev initially tried to calm the crowds by announcing a 180-day headdress connected substance prices and removing Nazarbayev arsenic caput of the National Security Council, a determination wide seen arsenic an effort to extremity the erstwhile leader's patronage portion besides consolidating power.

But the protests continued and the unit escalated amid the peaceful rallies successful Almaty.

A protester whose archetypal sanction is Bezshan said that connected Jan. 5, equipped men approached and asked young radical successful the assemblage to assistance them tempest a constabulary station. “They said they would manus retired weapons,” helium told The Associated Press, recalling the incidental much than a week later. AP has chosen not to people the afloat names of protesters interviewed retired of caution for their security.

Beken, different protester, said helium besides saw “provocateurs” astatine the rally that day, urging an onslaught connected police: “We tried to halt them arsenic overmuch arsenic we could, telling them: ‘Everyone, enactment put.' We don’t request weapons, we came retired to a peaceful rally,” helium said.

On Jan. 6, information forces opened occurrence and killed dozens of protesters. At slightest 12 officers besides were reported killed. The adjacent day, Tokayev announced helium had fixed information forces shoot-to-kill orders to halt the convulsive unrest, saying: “We mean to enactment with maximum severity regarding lawbreakers.”

Almaty constabulary spokeswoman Saltynat Azirbek called the Jan. 5 onslaught connected the constabulary section “a due battle.”

The attackers “didn't enactment guardant immoderate demands,” she told reporters. "They deliberately came to destroy, to kill.”

She besides insisted constabulary were unarmed erstwhile moving astatine unsanctioned demonstrations successful Almaty, but she didn't clarify whether she meant the Jan. 6 rally.

Amid the bloodshed, Tokayev besides called successful troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Russia-led subject confederation of six erstwhile Soviet states, which helped reconstruct order.

Some saw the blaming of overseas instigators arsenic a pretext for bringing successful the mostly Russian forces.

“In bid to invitation Russian troops, you request a superior crushed ... that is not an interior standoff with the people," governmental expert Dimash Alzhayev said successful an interview. "So naturally, (the authorities) needed to travel up with terrorists.”

A protester named Marat told AP that the authorities "haven’t truthful acold showed america a azygous terrorist,” citing lone the highly publicized apprehension of Vikram Ruzakhunov, a well-known jazz pianist from neighboring Kyrgyzstan.

The instrumentalist appeared connected Kazakh tv aft his apprehension with ample bruises connected his look and said successful the broadcast helium had flown successful and was promised wealth for participating successful the protests.

Kyrgyz authorities protested Ruzakhunov's apprehension and demanded that Kazakhstan merchandise him. He was freed soon afterward, and upon returning to Kyrgyzstan said his connection connected Kazakh TV was mendacious — helium was visiting a person successful Almaty and got swept up portion trying to permission the city.

Ruzakhnunov told a Kyrgyz broadcaster that portion successful jail, his cellmates said the quickest mode to get released was to confess to a mendacious story, truthful that’s what helium did.

Alzhanov, the analyst, noted that Kazakh authorities broadcasters amplified the government's connection by repeatedly airing video of the turmoil.

"They continued broadcasting the visuals, truthful the authorities was funny successful communicating them to a wide audience," helium said, adding that the authorities of exigency that was declared provided a pretext to suppress the demonstrations with force.

A protester named Daulet told AP that helium believed the “security forces deliberately painted the protesters arsenic immoderate benignant of a fringe radical prepared to riot.”

Beken, the protester who described seeing what helium called “provocateurs,” criticized the information forces “for shooting astatine their ain people.” He said a Jan. 6 rally helium attended featured protesters walking toward the subject with a achromatic flag.

“It is unfathomable. I can’t recognize it. How is this possible?” helium said.

Read Entire Article