Bloodshed in Kazakhstan? Shush please

作者: Lee Miyoung-hiyoun on 27 December , 2011.
类别: All, News, Politics

“Silence against the death of 16 people in Kazakhstan”

Russian media criticised the Western ones

<Source: hello.news352.lu>

“You probably won’t hear many meaningful calls for action from Washington, London or Brussels… Imagine that a tragedy like this had occurred in a Russian city just across the border from Kazakhstan. Can you imagine the field day the Western media would have then?”

The Moscow News editorial criticized the Western media on 19^th when they only wrote short stories about the bloody demonstration staged on 16 in Kazakhstan. It also added, “For the multinational companies seeking a piece of Kazakhstan’s oil and gas riches, human rights come a very poor second to the pursuit of profit.”

In the city of Zhanaozen in Kazakhstan’s western region of Mangistau, celebrations to mark Kazakhstan’s 20years of independence were followed by unrest of the workers angry over pay for more than 6 months.

The unrest escalated into the worst violence when ordinary people supported the protestors and the clash between them and officials ended up with police opening fire.

Officials say 16 people were killed, 86 people were injured and 130 active participants were detained. Also, 46 buildings were attacked and burned including state oil company offices, a hotel and the mayor’s office.

The Western media such as BBC, CNN and Guardian followed the story afterwards. They reported President Nazarbayev’s decision to fire the head of Samruk Kazyna, the sovereign-wealth fund and also his son-in-law to claim responsibility. However, they only told simple facts, excluding detailed backdrop and human rights issue.

According to various media reports, the unrest coincided with anniversary celebrations that included the unveiling of a replica of Paris’ Arc de Triomphe in the capital of Astana. The following day, the unrest spread to the neighbouring village of Shetpe, where protests blocked a train coming from Aktau, the regional capital.

Officials arrived for repression and protesters became casualties when police fired on the workers angry over pay, working condition and mass dismissals. It was reported as the worst violence in the Central Asian Nation’s recent history since Soviet times.

Just after the unrest, Mr Nulsultan Nazarbayev declared a 20-day state of emergency along with a night-time curfew. Strikes and protesters are also banned.

The government cut off telephone communication and SNS such as Twitter for several days. Connectivity restored on 21 but state of emergency restrictions currently in effect until 5 January and armed guards accompany workers to oil field.

Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Umirzak Shukeyev recently announced that Kazakh officials would provide jobs for fired oil workers. KazMunaiGas issued a press release on 21 saying, “The situation at the Uzen field is stable.”

As the Moscow News editorial has pointed out, detailed analysis or prospect are not found in regard to the bloody unrest in Kazakhstan. Some features do try to tell something more but merely highlight the clashes of interests among stakeholders.

Ms Lilit Gevorgyan, an analyst at IHS Global Insight explained the backdrop saying, “The President talks about economic prosperity but energy-generated wealth really hasn’t been tricked down to people, like the oil workers.”

Meanwhile, there is a view that the unrest in Kazakhstan should be understood in the context of the political and diplomatic relations between energy-rich Kazakhstan and global power such as the USA, China and Russia, let alone global oil companies.

It has been pointed out that Central Asian nations except Turkmenistan are rather skeptical about the US-led TAPI project connecting natural gas pipelines through Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India or the Nabucco Project.

Andrei Grozin of the CIS Institute think tank said in an interview with the Voice of Russia on 18 September, “Nabucco is a purely political project, which is currently being endorsed by Turkmenistan, a new major player in the region. The Nabucco project is unrealistic and experts are also questioning feasibility of the TAPI pipeline.”

The Nabucco pipeline is designed to carry Caspian and Middle Eastern gas from Turkey to Austria bypassing Russia. Diplomatic analysts see this as compensation for the role of NATO in Kazakhstan.

Mr Nazarbayev has often talked about ‘the Eurasian Union Way’, something initiated by Putin. This shows the unprecedented unrest of Kazakhstan is not irrelevant to the political and diplomatic backdrop.