Clashes between anti-government protesters and state forces in Kazakhstan have forced Central Asia into an unexpected crisis. Kazakhstan has about 19 million people and is the ninth largest country in the world. After years of smaller protests, this week’s protests began on January 2, sparked by a rise in fuel prices, but spread rapidly across the oil-rich country, where a ‘personal’ government has enriched cronies and failed to meet the economic needs of the people.
According to state TV, at least two law enforcement personnel have been beheaded during violent protests in the Kazakhstani city of Almaty, according to local media reports on Thursday. Some 353 officers are said to have been injured, so far. The death toll among police and security service members has reportedly reached 13. The Kazakh president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, issued a statement calling the protesters “a band of terrorists” who had been trained abroad. That remains to be seen.
For the moment, in the US, the event is being used to juxtapose “legitimate” extra-parliamentary action from “illegitimate” action.
A year ago, a mob demonstrated in Washington D.C. and subsequently “stormed” the Capitol, some say directed by President Trump to influence the electoral process.
The political contest has moved on since then. In the past year, 19 Republican-aligned states have reworked their election systems to suppress Democratic voting and to give control of election results to Republicans. Democrats are working to do do the same on the national level.
Yesterday, Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke about the first anniversary of the attack on the Capitol. He reassured frustrated Demopublicans that prosecutors have so far charged only the rioters themselves, while their real political opponents still walk free. Garland explained that large investigations always begin with the smaller, easier cases while the department builds a timeline and gathers evidence. He promised that the Justice Department will follow the facts and that it will hold “all January 6th perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law—whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy.”
What is at stake today in America is the nature of our government. Will we continue to accept a government like that currently under attack in Kazakhstan, where laws are used by the ruling elite to further their interests and punish opponents, ruled by a kleptocracy while ordinary people struggle?
Notes
https://www.state.gov/kazakhstan-state-of-emergency/