Gulnara Bazhkenova reflects on how Kazakhstan is trying to forget about the most difficult experience in all the years of independence - the events of 2011 in Zhanaozen.
One of the leaders of the 2011 oil workers' strike, Maksat Dosmagambetov, has died. This means that seven years later there are more victims of Zhanaozen. According to official data, sixteen people died during the dispersal of the strike; now these data should be changed to the number seventeen.
Maksat Dosmagambetov was the first to make a statement at the trial about torture during the investigation. The police broke his ribs and facial bone. Six months after the trial in the colony, he began to have strange headaches, for which he was given aspirin. Two years later, when it was no longer possible to ignore the prisoner’s serious condition, he was sent for a medical examination and was diagnosed with a “malignant tumor of the facial bone.”
That is, the very chronology of events: in 2011, a person’s facial bone is broken, six months later it begins to hurt, and two years later a malignant tumor is found on it, from which death occurs in 2018, leaves no chance for doubt. Dosmagambetov died from torture. At the trial and later in the only interview after his release, he told terrible details of what happened in the Zhanaozen police after the strike was dispersed, indicating the names of the investigators. The police denied everything, but their former defendant paid at the cost of his own life for evidence. He got sick out of spite and died.
Now we know for sure: yes, everything was exactly as he said: “In a separate room they pushed needles under my nails and into my knee, beat me with a pistol and a baton, pierced my ears with a stapler.” And the characteristic journalistic cliché clauses (“according to him,” “he connected his illness with torture”), designed to distance the reporter from the subject, sound like an excessive tribute to an incomprehensibly invented and misunderstood objectivist ethics. What else can be associated with the malignant tumor of the bone that was broken? In this case, a direct cause-and-effect relationship can only be ignored consciously, which is generally what happens. The death of a participant in the brutally suppressed oil workers’ strike went almost unnoticed; not a single republican media outlet wrote about it, except for Radio Azattyk, which took the rap for freedom of speech and the professional duty of a journalist in Kazakhstan.
Meanwhile, Maksat Dosmagambetov did not just die from torture - in recent years he wandered around hospitals, could not sleep at night, his palate and the ill-fated facial bone, broken by a zealous investigator, were removed. After going through several circles of hell, he died a martyr.
Too many people in Kazakhstan would prefer to forget about Zhanaozen forever, erase it from history. The attempt on artificially created silence is nipped in the bud. A French journalist who decided to make a film about the events of 2011 was detained while he was conducting an interview. The foreigner got off with a fine and a slight fright, but if his Kazakh colleague had had a similar idea, a more severe fate would have awaited him. For example, imprisonment under the article “incitement of hatred.” Last year in Aktau, a hunger strike by oil workers in support of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions was promptly dispersed and the organizers jailed. The determination and lack of doubt about how to deal with troublemakers clearly comes from the lessons learned in Zhanaozen.
They would like to forget about Zhanaozen, but he doesn’t let him, each time reminding him of himself in one way or another. The very date of the event now forever links the dispersal of the oil workers' strike on December 16, 2011 with the dispersal of the student demonstration on December 16, 1986, adding ambiguity to any solemn words on the country's Independence Day.
In the relatively new humanistic direction of psychotherapy there is the concept of “unclosed gestalt”. People cowardly close themselves off from severe life shocks, not finding the strength to accept them, rethink them and experience them consciously. As a result, the past gradually destroys a person, even if outwardly he looks quite prosperous and stable.
Zhanaozen is our common open gestalt.
Driven into the depths of the public soul or, if you prefer, the spirit, a trauma that still devours. There is an information taboo on the events of 2011. Journalists do not conduct investigations in an attempt to find out the truth, political scientists and public figures do not discuss the problem, as they like, at round tables and conferences, scientists do not study the “case” and do not write dissertations, directors do not make films, fiction writers do not write books, poets do not they compose sad ballads - nothing happens that would help society understand what and why happened one day in Zhanaozen. And yet no one has ever apologized, even to the relatives of the completely innocent, random victims who came to celebrate Independence Day in the city square.
We have not understood our most difficult experience during the period of independence.
The hasty trial and the ostentatious distribution of earrings to all the sisters, when both the strikers and the police sat in the dock and then walked along the stage together, did not answer the damned and very specific questions. Who started shooting? Who were these smart guys in black jackets, about whom a lot was written and personally told to me by all the direct participants in the events that I met in Zhanaozen a year later? What role did the Ryskaliev brothers play in the tragic outcome of the months-long peaceful strike of workers? Is their fall and mysterious disappearance connected with Zhanaozen 2011? Why did the Minister of Internal Affairs not suffer any career losses?
Questions without answers, tragedy without comprehension, crime without punishment and a lot of room for imagination. I have always been surprised by how persistent the opinion is that there were much more killed in Zhanaozen than the authorities admit. This assumption easily breaks down an obvious and very simple discrepancy: where are the relatives of the hidden victims? They would definitely have relatives, of whom there are usually many in Zhanaozen. Parents, wives, children, brothers and sisters would inevitably begin searching. However, there is not a single person who is listed as missing in Zhanaozen after December 16, 2011; there are no statements, even from human rights and public organizations, that it was during those days that someone’s sons, husbands or brothers disappeared without a trace.
Nevertheless, the rumor, which over time took the form of conviction, lives even in very respectable circles and periodically appears in the foreign press. Apparently, for public opinion, sixteen unarmed, innocent people who died in peacetime from police bullets are too few. The emotional threshold demands more. Well, now there is no need to speculate on anything: in Zhanaozen, not sixteen, but seventeen people died. A lifetime more.
Photos tengrinews.kz
Read other publications by Gulnara Bazhkenova in the section “
Kazakh oil and gas workers sought equal pay with Chinese specialists
Last Friday, December 16, the Kazakh city of Zhanaozen was engulfed in riots. Authorities say there are 10 dead, but eyewitnesses say there are dozens more dead. Mobile communications and the Internet are turned off, all entries and exits from the city are blocked. Thus, the authorities put up a powerful barrier to any information leaving the city. It is also reported that the unrest in the oil town of Zhanaozen was suppressed with the involvement of Interior Ministry troops and armored vehicles.
On Friday, a seven-month protest by workers at Ozenmunaigas, a subsidiary of KazMunaiGas, the largest oil corporation in the republic, escalated in Zhanaozen, Mangystau region of Kazakhstan. Since June of this year, there has been a strike of workers from fields near Zhanaozen (Ozenmunaigas) and Aktau (Karazhanbasmunai, also a subsidiary of KazMunayGas), who demanded that wages be brought into line with international standards, equalized with the amounts they receive attracting Chinese specialists, improving working conditions, creating an independent trade union. As a result, several hundred workers were laid off; Trade union lawyer Natalya Sokolova, trade union leaders Akzhanat Aminov and Kuanysh Sisenbaev and more than 30 other activists were arrested and convicted. Some of those arrested tried to commit suicide. Due to the protests, Ozenmunaigas was unable to fulfill its annual oil production plan.
In the summer, Zhanaozen was rocked by two murders. On August 2, trade union activist Zhaksylyk Turbaev was found murdered at the Munayfilterservice enterprise. The murder occurred after a meeting where Turbaev initiated the re-election of the chairman of the trade union organization, who, according to the workers, was pursuing the employer’s policy. So far the police have no suspects. And on August 24, the body of the missing 18-year-old Zhansaule Karabalayeva, the daughter of the chairman of the trade union committee of workers of the Ozenmunaigas company Kudaibergen Karabalayev, was discovered. Oil workers believe that these events are directly related to the strike and that these crimes are an attempt to intimidate the strikers.
On December 16, the Independence Day of the Republic, workers went to a pre-announced rally in the central square of Zhanaozen, where the city authorities, in turn, were going to hold a festive event. It is reported that more than 5 thousand people took part in the action.
According to non-state media, at the height of the rally, a police UAZ deliberately crashed into the crowd, which provoked the protesters - the angry crowd overturned a police car, after which they set fire to a police bus.
Some of the protest participants managed to report on social networks that the unrest was started by an organized group of 30 people dressed in black jackets and hats (the striking oil workers came to the square in the Ozenmunaigas work uniform - blue and burgundy). This was also confirmed by a video recording from a mobile phone posted on YouTube. After the incident, the police left the meeting, but after some time internal troops were drawn to the square and opened fire on the demonstrators.
From social media posts: 70 people were killed and more than 500 injured. The Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan confirmed the “death of 10 people.” A criminal case has been opened, and over 70 people have already been detained under the article “Organizing mass riots.”
Human rights activists learned about the situation only after an urgent collection of donor blood began in the Aktau hospital (the nearest large city). All non-state media and websites of human rights organizations are blocked, roads to Zhanaozen are blocked, cellular communications, telephone lines and the Internet are cut off in the area. Twitter was also blocked in Kazakhstan.
The protesters burned down the buildings of the city akimat (mayor's office), the Ozenmunaigas office, and a hotel, and seized several buildings. Marines were brought into the city, information about armored vehicles appeared. The local city hospital could not cope with the influx of wounded; it is reported that some of the victims were taken to Aktau.
On Saturday morning, an investigative team headed by the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic, Kalmukhanbet Kasymov, left for Zhanaozen. A few hours later, Kasymov announced that the unrest had been suppressed and repeated the figures previously announced by the Prosecutor General’s Office: 10 people were killed, 75 were hospitalized. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs also said that “there is no one in the central square now.”
The Ozenmunaigas company issued an official statement that its workers did not take part in the riots. However, the day after the tragedy, the company was forced to announce that some of the workers did not go to work after the protest that ended with the shooting: “The absence of Ozenmunaigas workers on the night and morning shifts is explained by the fact that the workers fear for their safety, as well as the safety of their members.” families. In this regard, round-the-clock duty of workers already at the field was organized, which made it possible to maintain the daily level of production.”
In Aktau, 300 people were detained at a rally of solidarity with Zhanaozen workers, and “preventive conversations” were held with them. The solidarity rally in Almaty did not take place - the authorities blocked the square where the national patriots’ event was taking place at that moment, and a few hours earlier activists of the Socialist Movement of Kazakhstan were detained, transmitting information to journalists about what was happening in Zhanaozen.
The events in Zhanaozen occurred at the beginning of the election race. Elections to the Mazhilis (lower house of parliament) are extraordinary: in mid-November, President Nazarbayev dissolved this body of representative power, declaring “the need to develop pluralism and democratic processes in the country.” The opposition unregistered coalition “Halyk Maidan - Popular Front” has already demanded that the authorities postpone the elections to the Majilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan due to the riots that occurred in Zhanaozen.
At the time of signing the issue, it became known that the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, signed a decree introducing a state of emergency in the city of Zhanaozen. A curfew has been announced.
In the center of things
Paul MURPHY, Member of the European Parliament, Socialist Party of Ireland:
— According to the information that I have: 70 protesters were killed, 500 were injured. According to the International Workers' Committee, the shooting of protesters began at 11.40 am (9.20 Moscow time). Workers occupied part of the buildings in the city, some buildings were burned. 1,500 marines and tanks were brought into Zhanaozen. At 12.30, oil production in the area was stopped.
Employee of one of the TV channels, Aktau:
“The fact that the demonstration was peaceful is not entirely true. I was born and raised in this area. Protests in Zhanaozen have been taking place since 2008. All it takes is a spark for the situation to become critical.
Zhanna BAYSALOVA, independent journalist, Almaty:
“We managed to get through to one Zhanaozen activist, Sholpan. She was in the hospital at the time of the demonstration. They are all shocked by the official information that the Prosecutor General's Office confirmed only 10 people were killed. She says she saw 25 bodies in person alone. Her husband was also wounded; he was shot in the legs. I also managed to say that there are no riots in the city right now, but there is “some kind of confusion”... Then the connection was interrupted. Domestic flights to Aktau (the closest large city to Zhanaozen. — E.K.) in Kazakhstan have been cancelled.
Today at 11 am a demonstration of solidarity with the workers of Zhanaozen was supposed to take place on Republic Square in Almaty. The authorities cordoned off everything, and eventually some kind of patriotic event took place there; nationalists laid flowers at the stele of the victims of the 1986 uprising. At 8.30 in the morning, the police came to our activists who were talking with journalists in Zhanaozen. Larisa Boyar, Arman Ozholbalbaev, Dmitry Tikhonov were detained, taken to the Bostandyk police station, and now released. Two policemen also came for me, I didn’t let them in, they stayed in the yard, waiting in the car for me to get out. They've left now, it seems.
December 16, 2011 on the main square of the city of Zhanaozen, which 150 km from Aktau, after seven months of the oil workers' strike, mass riots occurred, as a result of which the suppression killed 1 4 Human,64 people were injured. After this, in the city, by presidential decree Nursultan Nazarbayev a state of emergency was introduced, which lasted until January 27, 2012. To clarify the circumstances of the events, six commissions were created, three of them belonged to the government.
On May 24, 2012, three former top managers of oil companies were sentenced to various prison terms. June 4, 2012 in the case of mass riots 12 people were sentenced to imprisonment for a term of three to seven years. On October 8 of the same year, an oppositionist was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on charges of inciting social discord during the Zhanaozen events. Vladimir Kozlov. In addition, the former head of the Zhanaozen temporary detention center, police lieutenant, was in the dock on charges of abuse of power Zhenisbek Temirov. He was sentenced to five years in prison for illegal detention in a temporary detention facility Bazarbay Kenzhebaeva, who died from injuries received during detention on December 16.
The then-current akim of Zhanaozen also came under investigation. Orak Sarbopeev, later sentenced to 10 years in prison.
During this time, the city had three akims.
In the first year, buildings damaged during the riots were restored. The total damage was estimated at 250 million tenge. At the same time, 7 new playgrounds appeared in the city’s microdistricts, and road repairs began.
In December 2013, a sports and recreation complex named after Rakhmet Utesinov was opened, built with funds from KazMunayGas Exploration Production JSC with subsequent gratuitous transfer to the city.
In January 2014, a new recreation park was opened, for which 51 million tenge from the local budget.
Zhanaozen is one of 27 single-industry towns of Kazakhstan. As of January 1, 2016, the city was inhabited by: 113.4 thousand people, or 18% the entire population of the Mangistau region.
In 2015, under the program for the development of single-industry towns, 1.2 billion tenge: 345.7 million tenge - to diversify the economy and develop small and medium-sized businesses, 820 million tenge - for the development of engineering infrastructure. In addition, it was issued 2 grants for the amount 5 million tenge for the creation of new production facilities, and also subsidized 9 projects for total cost 530.9 million tenge.
In October 2017, as part of the implementation of the President’s Regional Development program, six boiler houses were launched in the city. At the same time, the intellectual kindergarten “Caspian” was opened, which is attended by 147 children. Before this, in 2015, four kindergartens were built in 320 seats every.
In October 2018, a water treatment plant was launched in test mode on the territory of the existing Zhanaozen water treatment plant. Construction of the facility lasted 4 years.
- The problem of drinking water in the city has not been solved for many years. The construction of this facility will provide city residents with high-quality drinking water. According to the Comprehensive Plan for the Social and Economic Development of the City of Zhanaozen, in the period 2012-2020 it is planned to connectabout 7 thousand residential buildings private sector. The construction of additional water treatment facilities will satisfy the city’s need to increase the water storage tank farm for three days, with the expectation of150 thousand people, - said akim of Mangistau region Yeraly Tugzhanov, who then arrived on a working visit to Zhanaozen.
In addition, construction of the Beibitshilik residential complex is underway in Zhanaozen. According to the project, they will build here 23 houses with 1376 apartments. Construction is scheduled to be completed in December 2022.
This year Zhanaozen turned 50 years old. For the city's anniversary, a local businessman gave residents a gift worth 47 million tenge— a dancing fountain, illuminated by multi-colored lamps.
Since November 2017, residents of Zhanaozen have access to the Nur Capital program - a project to support SMEs, providing for lending to Zhanaozen residents at 1%. The program is financed by the Damu Foundation and Ozenmunaigas JSC.
In the near future, it is planned to begin construction of the Zhanaozen - Kendirli - border of the Republic of Turkmenistan and Kuryk - Zhetibay roads.
Almost every person drew conclusions from the mass clashes in the city of oil workers.
Who and what thinks about the days of fear and pain? What lessons did Zhanaozen teach? By asking these questions, we are trying to understand where the line lies between democracy and violence, dialogue and blackmail, politics and politicking. Opinions vary, but most of us agree on one thing: what happened should be a serious call for unity, not discord. The culprits will be found and punished. What was destroyed was restored. The conflict will be extinguished - not by force, but by reason. But the lessons and conclusions that we draw from this drama will serve as a kind of test for the maturity and wisdom of the Kazakh nation for a long time.
Today marks the sixth day since a clash between hooligan elements and law enforcement agencies took place in the central square of Zhanaozen, after which the city was plunged into smoke. As a result of the riots, not only administrative buildings were burned, but - worst of all - people died. What were those days? And what were the main conclusions the Kazakhstanis made for themselves? Today we decided to ask experts, public figures and ordinary citizens about this.
Six days of one year
On December 16, 2011, mass riots occurred in the central Yntymak square of the city of Zhanaozen, where at that time a festive program dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence was taking place. According to the prosecutor's office, the initiators of the pogrom were young people, as well as fired oil workers who succumbed to their influence. At about 11 o'clock in the afternoon they tried to block the movement of the festive column of townspeople, among whom were children.
The police managed to take control of the situation at approximately 11.40, but soon a fight broke out between a group of hooligans and law enforcement officers. As a result, six police officers received various injuries, and one was taken to the hospital in a coma. Hooligans overturned the New Year tree, destroyed yurts and the stage, set fire to a police bus, and set cars on fire.
At 12.35 the riots spread beyond the city square. About 500 people attacked the block office of the Ozenmunaigas company and the Aru-ana hotel, which were burned. The crowd looted ATMs located in the buildings. At 12.50, about 70 more hooligans broke into the city akimat building, where they began destroying furniture and office equipment and setting fire to offices. Closer to noon, information appeared about the first victims of the riots. 86 people were taken to hospitals with various injuries. Of these, 10 people died, four people were in intensive care.
At approximately 17.00, the crowd set fire to the house of the director of the Ozenmunaigas company, Eshmanov, at 19.00 smoke appeared above the Sulpak trading house, and at 23.00 the akimat building of the suburban village of Tenge was on fire. Information was also received about additional law enforcement forces being deployed to the city. At 17.30, active actions began to restore stability in Zhanaozen and pacify the rioting crowd. Special units have launched a targeted clearing operation of the area.
Criminal cases have been opened into the mass riots; the investigative group was headed by the Minister of Internal Affairs Kalmukhanbet Kasymov. By that time, 70 rioters had been detained. The identities of the most active rowdies have been established and measures have been taken to detain them.
The country's President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Saturday signed a decree on a state of emergency in the city of Zhanaozen “in order to ensure the safety of the population,” restore law and order, and protect the rights and freedoms of citizens. A curfew was also introduced, which will be in effect from 23.00 to 7.00 and will last from December 17 this year to January 5, 2012.
“The perpetrators will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. At the same time, I believe that the oil workers’ labor dispute cannot be confused with the actions of bandit elements who wanted to take advantage of the situation for their criminal plans. We will reveal where the funding comes from and who is doing it,” the president noted.
Nursultan Nazarbayev appointed Amanzhol Kabylov as commandant of Zhanaozen. Freedom of movement, holding meetings, and using copying and duplicating equipment, radio and television transmission equipment, and audio and video recording equipment are limited in the city. Schools in the city were suspended until order was restored. The President also created a government commission headed by Deputy Prime Minister Umirzak Shukeyev on a range of issues in Zhanaozen.
In total, as a result of the riots on December 16–17 in the city of oil workers, 46 buildings were burned and looted, including 8 banking facilities (ATMs, banks): 20 shops; 2 cafes; Notarial office; 2 pawn shops; 2 akimats (city akimat and Tenge village akimat); photo salon; 2 police strongholds; Hotel "Aru-ana"; building of the Ozenmunaigas company; 3 private houses; More than 20 cars were burned and damaged; The stage, yurts, musical equipment and the New Year tree in the central square were destroyed. The next day, information appeared that the number of victims of mass riots in the west of the republic had increased to 14 people.
After order was restored in Zhanaozen, the foreign policy department informed about the situation in the city, which announced the official position. Moreover, the events in western Kazakhstan have caused concern on the part of Astana’s foreign policy partners, including the UN. Of fundamental importance was the statement by Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov that the striking oil workers have nothing to do with hooligan elements.
“The labor dispute of striking oil workers should in no way be confused with the actions of bandit elements who seek to use it for their criminal purposes,” said the head of the republic’s foreign policy department.
Voice of the people
Representatives of public and political organizations of the republic began to voice their position. Almost everyone said that there is no place for violence in Kazakh society, and whatever the disputes, they should be resolved within the framework of the law and in a civilized way. Kazakhstanis also said that they should not succumb to the provocations of criminal elements.
Nurlan Nigmatulin, Deputy Chairman of the People's Democratic Party "Nur Otan":
“Those who carried out pogroms and arson in the streets and squares in Zhanaozen broke the law. And we strongly condemn all illegal and criminal actions that are alien and unacceptable to our society. Peace, stability, unity – these are the fundamental values on which the dynamic development of Kazakhstan is based. And all of us, regardless of nationality, religion, party affiliation, regardless of political beliefs, must appreciate and protect these values.
Ziyabek Kabuldinov, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor:
– The most important conclusion is that we must be hyper-vigilant, super-consolidated, super-prepared for any events, we cannot be content with 20 years of independence, 20 years of achievements. However, we also need to solve the problems that we have in society, and a lot of them have accumulated over 20 years, they are very difficult to solve, many have been solved, but there are still enough left. Solutions to socio-economic problems not only in Zhanaozen cannot be ignored.
Shavkat Sabirov, vice-president of the Internet Association of Kazakhstan, general director of Kazinter LLP:
– The latest events in Zhanaozen have shown the entire Kazakh society (not just me alone) that one must be able to fight, resist attempts to bring chaos and discord into Kazakhstan. There will always be “good” people who want to take advantage of a “hot” situation or some kind of “smoldering” conflict. It is surprising that even foreign media did not avoid repeating outright misinformation about the oil workers at the rally, about the car ramming the crowd of demonstrators.
Nina Kayupova, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Honored Worker of the Republic of Kazakhstan:
- Of course, all this causes indignation, because in our state over these 20 years the successes that we have today are obvious. Yes, there are problems in any state, but all problems must be resolved peacefully, and what happened in Zhanaozen is completely beyond my comprehension.
For Kazakhstan, this is an unacceptable phenomenon, because our country is famous for its stability, tranquility and its dynamic development. Therefore, today, of course, I am appealing to young people: you shouldn’t give in to all sorts of talk, you need to have a reasonable approach and, of course, you need to do everything to ensure that our country continues to prosper.
I, as an obstetrician-gynecologist, stand at the origins of life, and when we give life to children, we make sure that our youth grow and prosper, are educated and healthy, because in our state everything is done for this. Of course, I condemn everything that happened in Zhanaozen, there is not the slightest doubt that what will be revealed, what forces are behind these actions, but I think that someone doesn’t like that we are prospering, that we have peace and stability in our state.
I have been to Zhanaozen twice. It is a small, cute and neat city. There is a wonderful maternity hospital there. I understand perfectly well the difficult conditions in which medical workers now have to work. When I looked at events in other countries, my heart sank. And when here, on your native land, and especially when you know this city, how it developed, you see burning buildings - it causes pain in your soul. Our people don't deserve this!
Visitor to the Kazakhstan Internet forum:
– It is necessary to pay more attention to the education of patriotism. After all, if we do not love, appreciate and believe in our homeland, then no one but us needs this. We are the great people of our country, we are the masters of our homeland, remember and be proud. You cannot succumb to provocations and follow some forces, mislead and bring discord to our country. We are a united Kazakhstan, which was left to us by our ancestors, and we will pass it on to our descendants. Our strength lies in the integrity of our people.
Law enforcement actions
The events in Zhanaozen became a test for law enforcement agencies. Moreover, restoring order in a city engulfed in mass clashes is not the easiest task. Even for well-trained law enforcement forces. And here we have to solve many problems at once: to avoid civilian casualties, to protect administrative buildings and residential areas of the city from looters, to ensure the stable operation of medical institutions and the uninterrupted operation of energy facilities. The Kazakh law enforcement forces also had to deal with all this these days.
Alexander Knyazev, professor, doctor of historical sciences, Kyrgyzstan:
– There is a lot of speculation in the media about this. I would not say, for example, that the use of force was excessive. There are different versions of what happened, much remains unclear. There is, for example, information about the arrival in Zhanaozen of a group of militants, which, according to some sources, was the core of the conflict, and not the oil workers. Who were they, were they? There are still more questions than answers. I think it is premature to draw any definitive conclusions.
Ziyabek Kabuldinov:
“I believe that in general the law enforcement agencies behaved normally and with dignity. From the video footage, of which there is a ton, on television and online, it is clear that they did not launch a frontal attack, even when the protesters went forward - the police retreated.
Shavkat Sabirov:
– Law enforcement agencies, represented by the Prosecutor General’s Office, work quickly, accurately and clearly. In fact, the daily briefing at the GP has truly become the most important and valuable source of information for the entire population of our country. This is also important because public trust and authority in law enforcement agencies has increased. The official representative of the GP spoke to us every day from television screens, radios and media news lines.
Investigation of circumstances
As it turned out, the events in the west of the republic were followed not only by ordinary Kazakhstanis, but also by the world community. Almost immediately after the unrest in Zhanaozen, the UN, represented by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navia Pillaya, expressed concern about the death of 10 people (data as of December 17 - Ed.).
“So that no one accuses us of a biased investigation, on the contrary, we are very interested in the investigation being objective, so that all the instigators of these criminal acts are named and appropriate measures are taken,” said Presidential Advisor E. Yertysbaev.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Yerzhan Kazykhanov, took exactly the same position. He assured that the republican authorities will provide unhindered access for representatives of the OSCE and other international organizations to the city of Zhanaozen so that they can directly assess the situation.
“We are open and, on the contrary, we oppose all speculation around the tragic events in Zhanaozen,” the minister said on Monday.
Ziyabek Kabuldinov:
– If this circumstance is left without investigation, as they say, left to chance, this situation could repeat itself in any region of Kazakhstan. The extent to which this will be investigated and what experience we will learn from the current situation will largely depend on the situation in other regions of Kazakhstan. It is definitely necessary to understand this, not only for law enforcement agencies, but also for others, such as the National Security Committee. It is necessary to solve this problem in a comprehensive manner.
Shavkat Sabirov:
– As you know, the head of state in his address ordered a thorough investigation into the events in the Mangistau region. The Ministry of Communications and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan organized a trip of almost all media representatives to the city of Zhanaozen to inform the public about events in the city. Thus, Kazakhstan did not support, but rather initiated an investigation into what happened in Zhanaozen. I have already said that within two days the opposition media began aggressive preparations for these events and are still trying to influence the process of restoring order in the city. There has been too much dirt, unreliable and panicky rumors in society these days. Government agencies clearly and quickly responded to the flow of disinformation.
Information front
Kazakhstan is interested in objective and impartial coverage of the situation in Zhanaozen. This was stated by the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Altai Abibullaev.
“As the head of state stated, Kazakhstan is interested in ensuring that all investigative measures are carried out as transparently as possible; accordingly, we are very interested in ensuring that all national and foreign media outlets carry out their journalistic activities without hindrance,” noted Altay Abibullaev.
This situation is due to misunderstandings and unverified information that has recently appeared in a number of foreign media. In particular, the discrepancies concerned the number of deaths and the establishment of order by law enforcement forces in the city. As it turned out, some of the information was untrue, while others required clarification.
According to Abibullaev, journalists from Reuters, Associated Press, RIA Novosti, Al Jazeera TV channel and other world news agencies are currently working in Zhanaozen. He also noted that previously published Russian media reports about the arrest of Lenta.ru and Kommersant journalists do not correspond to reality.
“According to information from the Prosecutor General’s Office, currently not a single foreign or local journalist has been detained; everyone is carrying out their professional journalistic activities as normal. As needed, they are provided with security, transportation, and security,” Abibullaev said.
Alexander Knyazev:
– Were there signs of an information war? All the signs are there. I would at least pay attention to the style of the headlines: “Bloody terror of the authorities”, “Protest rally in Alma-Ata was stopped by the police”, etc. Everything is aimed at creating panic, at pushing people to form a stable belief: “this cannot continue” , “life has become unbearable” and so on, there was an active flow of negative information.
The desire to reflect in the media a certain tragedy, a thirst for blood, is very indicative. This shows that current events are only part of a larger scenario. The fact of shedding blood can then be exploited to consolidate all those who are dissatisfied and to mobilize supporters. Nothing new; in Kyrgyzstan, one of the slogans of the 2005 coup d’etat was accusations against then-President Askar Akaev of “shedding blood” in the events in Aksy in the south in 2002, where six people died during the suppression of unrest.
Bloodlust is a “must-have” in such scenarios, and effective countermeasures must be found.
Shavkat Sabirov:
– With pride for our domestic media, I can say that the assessment of events was prompt and high-quality. Almost all television channels and online news resources promptly covered the events and tried to give an independent assessment of what happened. Foreign media still contains speculation, gossip and sometimes the most outright misinformation!
The information war (fight, etc.) continues constantly. This is especially visible now, when contradictions reach their critical mass and users (of the Internet - Ed.) begin to “get personal.” This is noticeable in the beginning hysteria of some opposition media before events such as artillery shelling before hostilities. This is noticeable by some signs on the Internet, including the massive involvement of foreign participants in the discussion. This is noticeable in the number of fake (false) accounts with panic messages on Twitter. On the Internet this is especially noticeable and appears immediately. By the way, it is immediately noticeable who is on whose side and what reasoning they adhere to. In general, the Internet today is a huge field both for expressing one’s thoughts and for carrying out political actions.
Andrey VERMENICHEV, Marat MAMAEV, Almaty
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The unrest in southwest Kazakhstan, accompanied by deaths, has become a deeply troubling signal for a country that until now was considered more stable and calm than many of its neighbors in the post-Soviet space. Regardless of how events develop further, the image of “stability” created by the authorities for 20 years has been dealt a serious blow.
The versions that have emerged regarding who can be blamed for the events in Zhanaozen have been distributed along quite expected vectors. Some blame the authorities for what happened, noting that they ignored the claims of the oil workers striking in Zhanaozen and provoked a social explosion. Others suspect the authorities that they themselves had a hand in organizing the riots (in order, as supporters of this version believe, to obtain a reason for reprisals against the strikers).
Still others see in what happened the features of a “color revolution”, another episode of the “Arab Spring” - a series of Western-backed uprisings in Africa and the Middle East, which began with rallies and riots and ended with a change of power.
Whether the unrest in southwest Kazakhstan is the beginning of a “Kazakh winter” is debatable. It is clear that at least attempts are being made to turn the situation in a similar direction. In the regional center of Aktau, where rallies of solidarity with Zhanaozen oil workers are taking place, some are already demanding the resignation of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The resource “Socialist Resistance of Kazakhstan,” which previously tried to present the events in Zhanaozen as an “uprising,” calls for mass protests, the resignation of the current leadership of the country and the convening of a “constituent assembly.” And Nazarbayev’s former son-in-law Rakhat Aliyev, who is abroad, threatens his former father-in-law with the fate of Muammar Gaddafi.
Zhanaozen
Regardless of who organized the riots and why, they occurred where they should have been expected. For the last six months, workers of the local enterprise Ozenmunaigas have been on strike in Zhanaozen (a city of oil workers located in the Mangistau region). Some of the staff refused to go to work, demanding an increase in salaries (more precisely, that increasing coefficients be taken into account when calculating salaries). The employer considered the strikers' demands to be unfounded. Many of the strike participants were fired "for absence from work without a valid reason." At the same time, former employees continued their protests - out of habit they were called “strikers,” although in fact it was no longer a question of a strike, but of an attempt to regain their jobs.
The strikers (and those who were fired) gathered in the central square of Zhanaozen - near the city administration building. In general, the actions took place calmly. There were attempts by the authorities to disperse the crowd, but it did not lead to wall-to-wall clashes.
In the debate over whether the oil workers' claims can be considered justified, enough arguments have been made over the past months - both in favor of the strikers and against them. Critics said that oil workers were paid decently in any case and that it was a sin for them to complain - compared, for example, with teachers. This argument was also supported by the employer: the company EP KMG, of which Ozenmunaigas is a branch, noted that the average salary at OMG is about 300 thousand tenge (about two thousand dollars).
Supporters of the strikers objected that although the salaries of oil workers are considerable, prices in Zhanaozen are also quite high (as Radio Azattyk, the local service of Radio Liberty, claims, it happens that prices in the city rise on the days when oil workers' salaries are paid - "and back, As a rule, they do not return to the previous mark"). In addition, as sympathizers with the oil workers stated, the wages of the strike participants are significantly below average. Service and technical personnel, according to Fergana, “earn two to three times less, and they are the backbone of the strikers” (according to KMG EP, a significant part of the strikers are drivers of special equipment).
Skeptics thought it strange the behavior of people who, having been fired from an enterprise, do not try to get any work, but instead continue to “go on strike” for months. How do they live all this time? There were versions that the protests were being financed by someone. Participants in the action say that they receive help mainly from relatives - and from “the people.” “As for bread, people help,” says former Ozenmunaigas employee Aiman Ongarbaeva. “Some with what they can, some with food, some with money.”
But it's not just about salaries. Residents of the city of oil workers complain about the poor condition of housing (houses built back in the 1960s and 1970s), interruptions in water and electricity. “All petrodollars go to Astana and Almaty. We live in this devastation, although, as foreigners say, with such underground wealth, the roofs of the houses of Zhanaozen should be made of golden slate,” says one of the local residents. “Where are people going?” they can barely make ends meet.”
Discontent over the distribution of income and social benefits associated with oil production has long roots. Even under Soviet rule, this kind of sentiment became a breeding ground for the unrest that occurred in the city. Then, in 1989, in Zhanaozen (at that time it was still called New Uzen) clashes and pogroms took place against people from the Caucasus. To suppress the unrest, special forces had to be brought into the city (according to some reports, even armored vehicles were used).
Representatives of the leadership of Kazakhstan then admitted that the preconditions for the events in Novy Uzen were, among other things, the everyday instability of local residents, the lack of jobs, and infrastructure. Literaturnaya Gazeta also drew attention to this then. “Extreme social bitterness is the reason for the unrest in Novy Uzen,” the newspaper wrote. “Naturally, the targets of the crisis were... traders, co-operators, deficit managers. And among them there were many people from the Caucasus...”
All this, of course, does not justify either those who organized pogroms then, or those who three days ago were engaged in arson and looting. It’s just that the authorities, by taking timely measures, could reduce the degree of social discontent - instead of waiting for someone to try to exploit this discontent.
Power
The version that the unrest in Zhanaozen was a provocation set up by the authorities appeared quite quickly. Its supporters argue that the security forces needed a reason to disperse the peaceful protest and that the aggravation of the situation, accordingly, was in the hands of the authorities. “This is in their [the authorities’] interests, because it irritates them,” says opposition politician, leader of the unregistered Alga party Vladimir Kozlov. “For seven months now, it has been irritating that people stand in the square and do not leave. This irritates the authorities in the first place.” queue".
The editor-in-chief of Fergana, Daniil Kislov, compares what happened in Zhanaozen with the events of 2005 in the Uzbek Andijan, where “a multi-day rally of Muslims demanding that the court acquit their brothers turned into a terrorist act in a few hours.” “In both cases, violence on the part of opponents turned out to be extremely beneficial to the authorities. The authorities either calmly wait for this violence, with their inaction forcing the peaceful crowd to turn into a brutal herd, or actively fan the fire of hatred,” he believes. “In response to criminal actions of the crowd, the authorities are free to 'kill' their opponents to the fullest."
In addition, according to Kislov, the situation can be used by the authorities as a reason to “tighten the screws” before the upcoming parliamentary elections - for example, for an “anti-terrorist” blocking of the Internet or pressure on the opposition.
If desired, one can also interpret in favor of this kind of version the news received on the eve of the riots that the strikers seemed to be planning to put forward demands of a political nature, namely, to demand the resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev. The opposition newspaper Respublika, which sympathized with the strikers, reported this on December 15. According to her, just on December 16, oil workers were preparing to “organize a large-scale peaceful protest and demand the resignation of the president.” Calls to support the action, according to the publication, were contained in leaflets distributed in the Mangistau region on behalf of a certain “initiative group of residents.”
That is, developing the version of “provoking the authorities,” one could assume that the authorities did not want the strike to develop into a political action and provoked clashes in order to obtain a reason for dispersal.
In such versions, however, it seems that the significance of the date of the beginning of the unrest is underestimated. If we assume that the authorities chose the day to disperse the unrest, then December 16 is the worst option they could come up with. Not only is it Independence Day. Not only is this Independence Day an anniversary (the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan). So this is also the anniversary of “Zheltoksan” - the December events of 1986, when a protest against the appointment of a new leader of (then Soviet) Kazakhstan was brutally dispersed in Almaty.
If the authorities so wanted to disperse the strikers that they were ready to undermine the image of “stability” they had created, why would they increase the negative effect for themselves by choosing December 16? It is unlikely that the leadership of Kazakhstan and its security forces did not understand the resonance that a massacre on Independence Day could cause throughout the country.
Signs of "revolution"
The version according to which the unrest in southwestern Kazakhstan is an attempt to implement the “Arab Spring” scenario in the republic was also not long in coming. Rallies that develop into riots are, in general, an almost indispensable attribute of “revolutions.” Those killed and injured are declared “victims of the regime,” and the fact of death is used to justify the “revolutionary struggle.”
“Well, in general, you have seen everything, gentlemen,” writes Yaroslav Krasienko on the portal Geopolitika.kz. “And now you know what Libya is like at home...”
“Now there will be a VERY powerful information attack,” he continues. “Very powerful. Like never before... And we will watch powerlessly as a wave of lies is launched around the world. How thugs and lawless people turn into “executed peaceful demonstrators,” like practically unarmed the police... are turning into “an army that brutally suppressed popular uprisings,” just like our home... is turning into a “bloody dictatorship” that urgently requires “intervention from the civilized world community.”
Possible goals of destabilizing the situation in Kazakhstan, in his opinion, are also “cutting off China from energy resources,” “weakening the southern borders of Russia,” “disintegration of the Customs Union and preventing the creation of the Eurasian Union.”
This version has not yet received official development. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said only that the riots were financed by someone (promising to find out “where the funding comes from and who is doing it”). His adviser Ermukhamet Ertysbaev was more verbose. Having made the reservation that this is his personal point of view, Yertysbaev noted that “external forces could have had a hand in the events in Zhanaozen.” “Judging by the very clear organization and iron discipline, this is, without a doubt, a carefully planned and well-financed, in my opinion, action,” he added.
Speaking about the possible involvement of “external forces” in an interview with Tengrinews, the presidential adviser did not point the finger at anyone in particular. However, there were some hints. Inviting the journalist to “draw some conclusions through the prism of comparative analysis,” Yertysbayev mentioned the speech of the president’s former son-in-law, Rakhat Aliyev, on the events in Zhanaozen (the presidential adviser called Aliyev, who lives in Malta, a “state criminal” and his statements as provocative).
He also named the disgraced oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov, who settled in the UK in 2009 amid allegations of embezzlement brought against him in his homeland. The media that are considered close to Ablyazov (the opposition newspaper Respublika, the K+ TV channel broadcasting to Kazakhstan from abroad - they actively covered the events in Zhanaozen, while Respublika presented what happened as an “uprising”), Ertysbayev accused of waging an information war. Ablyazov himself is that he was “preparing to overthrow the regime.”
The day after the riots, Rakhat Aliyev addressed Nazarbayev, blaming him for the “mass murders of citizens of Kazakhstan.” The author of the appeal suggested that the former father-in-law announce the date of his resignation and repent before the people. In conclusion, he mentioned “the fate of Ceausescu and Gaddafi.” Ablyazov, by the way, made a similar statement a month ago - on the occasion of the massacre in Taraz, where a heavily armed terrorist killed seven people. The disgraced banker said then that “the myth of prosperity burst with Nazarbayev” and that “as a result of Nazarbayev’s twenty-year reign, we see today all the prerequisites for the onset of chaos in Kazakhstan.” This was followed by a call for Nazarbayev’s resignation (with the usual reference to the fate of Gaddafi).
In favor of the “revolutionary” version, if desired, one can also interpret the fact that young people took part in the riots, who have nothing to do with the striking oil workers (the strikers themselves admitted that in their ranks there were unknown people who were provoking further confrontation and “sowing confusion”), and the fact that the participants in the riots were armed with Molotov cocktails (according to the prosecutor's office, also with firearms), and that the riots were later repeated in another place - at the Shetpe station, where the train was set on fire. Meanwhile, in the regional center of Aktau, where rallies of solidarity with the residents of Zhanaozen took place, a group of citizens demanded Nazarbayev’s resignation. They said they were "tired of him." We can also mention the call of the “Socialist Resistance of Kazakhstan” for general protest, the resignation of the country’s leadership and the transfer of “all wealth, enterprises and banks under the control of workers’ committees.”
P.S.
Among others, a politician from neighboring “revolutionary” Kyrgyzstan, Edil Baisalov, spoke about the events in Zhanaozen (after last year’s rebellion, he headed the apparatus of the “provisional government” for some time). In his opinion, Kazakhstan is not yet threatened with a “color revolution.” “The events are isolated in nature,” Baisalov noted knowledgeably. “For the success of any revolution, the population of the capital is important. And in the two capitals of Kazakhstan - Astana and Alma-Ata [the former capital] - it is calm. Events in Zhanaozen will only lead to the strengthening of the Nazarbayev regime ". The leadership of Kazakhstan can only hope that this assessment turns out to be correct.
