Kazakh leader: Forces can shoot to kill to quell unrest
MOSCOW — Kazakhstan’s president authorized security forces on Friday to shoot to kill those participating in unrest, opening the door for a dramatic escalation in a crackdown on anti-government protests.
The Central Asian nation this week experienced its worst street protests since gaining independence from the Soviet Union three decades ago, and dozens have been killed in the tumult. The demonstrations began over a near-doubling of prices for a type of vehicle fuel and quickly spread across the country, reflecting wider discontent with authoritarian rule.
In a televised address to the nation, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev used harsh rhetoric, referring to those involved in the turmoil as “terrorists,” “bandits” and “militants.” No protest leaders have emerged so far.
“I have given the order to law enforcement and the army to shoot to kill without warning,” Tokayev said. “Those who don’t surrender will be eliminated.”
Concerns grew in recent days that an even broader crackdown might be coming, as internet and cellphone service was severely disrupted and sometimes totally blocked, and several airports closed — making it difficult to know what was happening inside the country.
Adding to those fears was Tokayev’s request for help from a Russia-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, whose troops began arriving Thursday.
On Friday, Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry reported that security forces have killed 26 protesters during the unrest, which escalated sharply on Wednesday. Another 26 were wounded and more than 3,800 people have been detained. A total of 18 law enforcement officers were reported killed, and more than 700 injured.
The numbers could not be independently verified, and it was not clear if more might have died as people stormed government buildings and set them ablaze.
More skirmishes in Almaty were reported on Friday morning. Russia’s state news agency Tass reported that the building occupied by the Kazakh branch of the Mir broadcaster, funded by several former Soviet states, was on fire.
In other parts of the country, the unrest appeared to be dying down. On Friday morning, news reports said the internet was partially restored in the capital, Nur-Sultan. Officials also announced resuming previously halted train services.
The Almaty airport — stormed and seized earlier by the protesters — was back under the control of Kazakh law enforcement and CTSO forces, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said. But the facility will remain shut at least until Sunday, the Kazakh TV channel Khabar 24 reported, citing the airport’s spokespeople.
Curfews remained in place in cities, and Tokayev tweeted on Friday night that “the counterterrorist operation continues in our country,” with police, the National Guard and the armed forces carrying out “large-scale and well-co-ordinated work” to restore “law and order.”
Hours before he authorized the use of lethal force against those participating in unrest, Tokayev indicated that some measure of calm had been restored, saying “local authorities are in control of the situation.”
Tokayev has vacillated between trying to mollify the protesters — including issuing a 180-day price cap on vehicle fuel and a moratorium on utility rate increases — and threatening harsh measures to quell the unrest.
As he vowed a tougher response, he called on the CSTO alliance for help. A total of 2,500 troops have arrived so far, all of them in Almaty, Kazakh media reported, citing foreign ministry officials.
Kazakh officials have insisted that troops from the alliance, which includes several former Soviet republics, will not be fighting the demonstrators, and instead will guard government institutions.
The involvement of CSTO forces is an indication that Kazakhstan’s neighbours, particularly Russia, are concerned the turmoil could spread.
In his address to the nation, Tokayev repeated his allegations that “foreign actors” along with “independent media” helped incite the turmoil.
He offered no evidence for those claims.
Kazakhstan, which spans a territory the size of Western Europe, borders Russia and China and sits atop colossal reserves of oil, natural gas, uranium and precious metals that make it strategically and economically important — and the crisis sparked concern in many quarters.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said she was following the developments with a “great worry,” while French president Emmanuel Macron called for de-escalation.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had “questions about the nature ” of what CSTO has described as a peacekeeping missionn.
But China appeared to step up its support for Kazakhstan’s government on Friday.
Kazakhstan is a critical component in China’s “Belt and Road” overland connection to Europe. Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his condolences to Tokayev over the “large-scale riot,” praising him for having “decisively taken strong measures.”