Washington:
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday criticized Kazakhstan’s killing order against protesters accused of fueling unrest, and called for the policy to be scrapped in the Central Asian nation.
“That’s something I absolutely reject. The order to kill, to the extent it exists, is wrong and should be revoked,” President Joe Biden’s top diplomat told ABC Sunday talk show “This Week.”
“We are very concerned about the state of emergency declared in Kazakhstan,” he said, adding that he met with Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi on Thursday.
“We have been clear that we expect the Kazakh government to deal with protesters in a way that respects their rights while at the same time withdrawing from violence.”
More than 160 people have died and 5,800 have been arrested in Kazakhstan after violent riots this week in the energy-rich country of 19 million people, media reported on Sunday citing the health ministry.
The figures, although not independently verified, indicate a significant increase from a previous toll by officials who said 26 “armed criminals” had been killed and 16 security officers had died.
In a harsh televised address Friday, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said local and foreign “terrorists” were wreaking havoc in the country, and that “I have ordered law enforcement to shoot without warning to kill.”
He also thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin after a Moscow-led military alliance sent troops to Kazakhstan to help quell the violence.
Blinken said Washington had “real concerns” about why Tokayev felt compelled to appeal to the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which dominates neighboring Russia.
“We’re asking for clarification on that,” Blinken told DailyExpertNews. “But what is absolutely necessary now is that all of this be dealt with in a peaceful manner, with respect for the rights of those who are trying to make their voices heard.”
Long seen as one of Central Asia’s most stable ex-Soviet republics, Kazakhstan is facing its worst crisis in decades after days of protests over rising fuel prices escalated into widespread unrest.
Protesters stormed government buildings and fought ongoing battles with police and military, especially in Almaty, the country’s largest city and economic center.
The unrest feared a destabilization of Kazakhstan, a major energy exporter and producer of uranium.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)