SCO and members watching closely, could play positive role

forces and outside forces that seek benefits from the unrest. They also suggested closer coordination and cooperation between the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the CSTO to defend regional stability.

The unrest, which started as a protest of fuel price hikes in the Mangystau region on January 2 before spreading to half of the country in the following days, seemed to be close to an end despite gunshots being heard in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, in the early morning hours of Friday, with no police or protester seen on the streets, Kazakh and Russian media reported.

Many countries, including the US and Russia, and the EU bloc have been closely monitoring the situation in Kazakhstan. But after CSTO agreed to deploy troops to help Kazakhstan, the US – together with the Western media – quickly stood up to question the legitimacy of the military deployment and Russia’s involvement in the situation.

The decision by CSTO to deploy military forces is legitimate as it was written in the document of the treaty that CSTO could take actions when faced with threats to national security and sovereignty of member states, said Yang Jin, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Representing the government, Kazakh President Tokayev made the request to the CSTO Collective Security Council and the decision was made after a full discussion by member states, Yang said, noting that the decision to deploy military forces is not made by one country but member states as a whole.

A statement released by the CSTO on Thursday said the CSTO Secretariat confirmed the receipt of an Appeal for Assistance by the Republic of Kazakhstan. “The Appeal states that this situation is seen as an invasion by gangs trained from abroad.”

One purpose for CSTO is set to defend the regional stability and it responded quickly to Kazakhstan’s appeal because if the riots were not effectively curbed, they would have not only severely destabilized Kazakhstan but also the entire region, and the longer they carried on, the deeper outside forces could get involved, Yang said.

The latest developments of the chaos have been manifested with signs of color revolutions while the US and West are eager to use the opportunity to weaken Russia’s influence in Central Asia, Yang said, noting that, “by deploying troops, CSTO also wanted to deter outside forces and the terrorist forces that want to seek benefits from the current situation.”

Yang noted that videos on the chaos uploaded online showcased how dangerous the threats had become with weapons being handed to demonstrators and clashes with police seemingly organized.

The initially peaceful protests quickly turned radical, especially in Almaty with demonstrators storming administrative institutions, setting fire to cars and buildings, and confronting the police. Video shows beaten soldiers who were left behind and some people driving cars into officers. One police officer was reportedly found beheaded in the unrest.

Moreover, Pan Guang, director of the Center of SCO Studies of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said that it is possible that extremists could have been involved.

He said that during a similar incident – protests and later clashes between police officers and local workers in the Manjystau region over salaries in 2011, a religious extremist organization was found to be behind some radical actions. Detailed information on the forces behind the current chaos in Kazakhstan has not been disclosed but forces promoting separatism, terrorism and extremism may have been involved.

Although the situation in Kazakhstan is under control, the unrest will have more impacts: it has destroyed the image of Kazakhstan as a stable country and proved to both Kazakhstan and regional countries that stability and security in the region is still fragile, analysts said.

Out of concern for security and political needs, countries in Central Asia may work toward closer relations with Russia and be more alert for interreference from the US and West, while the US and the West may pour more money and efforts into these areas to compete with Russia and contain China, Yang said.

As Kazakhstan and many Central Asian countries are also members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO member states could also strengthen cooperation on countering dangerous forces and defending regional stability, Yang said.

In response to questions on what the SCO could do for Kazakhstan, an SCO member, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Friday that China and other SCO members are closely monitoring the situation in Kazakhstan and believe it can properly deal with the problems.