The Brief, No 14
07 January 2022
The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym Jomart Tokay has called security forces to open fire with “lethal force” on protestors, what he calls “bandits and terrorists””.
Kazakhstan’s recent protests have turned into violent protests resulting into hundreds injured and over 20 people killed overnight.
Russia has been swift into entering the frail in Kazakhstan. Once again choosing a wrong side of history. They have sent 2500 peacekeeping forces into the capital, Almaty.
President Kassym Jomart Tokay has used the “terrorism pretext” to justify foreign forces intervention including a multi national force, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).
Scenes in Almaty resemble those in Belarus after the presidential elections in 2020. President Alexander Lukashenko won those elections by 80.10% in spite of a strong opposition.
Elif Selin Culik , Research Fellow at Africa Asia Dialogues (Afrasid) is available for commentary and analysis.