Kazakhstan restoring order with help of CSTO’s deployment amid China’s firm support

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DM NEWS
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—CSTO’s military deployment legitimate, necessary to deter extremists, outside forces with evil ambitions
   
BEIJING: With “constitutional order” in Kazakhstan about to be restored after the government took firm measures to deal with the unrest, which has engulfed half of the country for a few days, and the arrival of troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the US and the West rushed to take the chance to play geopolitical tricks by questioning the legitimacy of CSTO’s deployment and hyping the “Russia threat” in an attempt to squeeze its influence in Central Asia.

Earlier, on Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent condolences to Kazakh President Tokayev for the severe casualties and losses from the unrests. Xi said that Tokayev took affirmative and effective measures at a crucial time, quickly quelled the situation, and showed a statesman’s responsibility to the country and the people.

Xi stressed that China firmly opposes any force that destroys the stability and security of Kazakhstan, opposes outside forces that incite disturbances or color revolution or try to destroy the friendship and cooperation between China and Kazakhstan.

China is willing to offer help that Kazakhstan needs to overcome the current difficulties. No matter meeting what challenges and risks, China is always the trustworthy friend and partner of Kazakhstan, and the Chinese people always stand with Kazakh people, Xi said.

The counter-terrorism operation in Kazakhstan has been raised to “critical red” on Friday. Over 3,000 people have been detained in Kazakhstan in connection with the riots, 26 armed rioters have been killed, and 18 were injured in clashes with security forces, state-run broadcaster Khabar 24 reported on Friday, citing a source from the Interior Ministry.

Analysts noted that CSTO’s military deployment is not only legitimate but also necessary to deter evil terrorist and extremist forces and outside forces that seek benefits from the unrest. They also suggested closer coordination and cooperation between the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the CSTO to defend regional stability.

The unrest, which started as a protest of fuel price hikes in the Mangystau region on January 2 before spreading to half of the country in the following days, seemed to be close to an end despite gunshots being heard in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, in the early morning hours of Friday, with no police or protester seen on the streets, Kazakh and Russian media reported.

Many countries, including the US and Russia, and the EU bloc have been closely monitoring the situation in Kazakhstan. But after CSTO agreed to deploy troops to help Kazakhstan, the US – together with the Western media – quickly stood up to question the legitimacy of the military deployment and Russia’s involvement in the situation.

The decision by CSTO to deploy military forces is legitimate as it was written in the document of the treaty that CSTO could take actions when faced with threats to national security and sovereignty of member states, Yang Jin, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Representing the government, Kazakh President Tokayev made the request to the CSTO Collective Security Council and the decision was made after a full discussion by member states, Yang said, noting that the decision to deploy military forces is not made by one country but member states as a whole.  -The Daily Mail-Global Times News Exchange Item

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