The Zhanaozen massacre took place in
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
's western
Mangystau Region
Mangystau ( kk, Маңғыстау облысы, Mañğystau oblysy; russian: Мангистауская область, Mangistauskaya oblast) is a Regions of Kazakhstan, region of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Aktau (a seaport), which has a popula ...
over the weekend of 16–17 December 2011. At least 14 protestors were killed by police in the oil town of
Zhanaozen
Zhanaozen ( kk, Jañaözen, , pronounced ɑŋɑøˈzʲen, formerly known as Novy Uzen (russian: Новый Узень), is a city in the Mangystau Region of Kazakhstan located south-east of the city of Aktau. The name of the town means "new ...
as they clashed with police on the country's Independence Day, with unrest spreading to other towns in the oil-rich ''oblys'', or region. According to
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
, the massacre was a stark illustration of the
country's poor human rights record under
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev ( kk, Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев, Nūrsūltan Äbişūlı Nazarbaev, ; born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, in off ...
.
Zhanaozen
Zhanaozen has been described as "a one-industry town... centered on the ageing oilfield of Ozen". In May 2011, workers from the
Ozenmunaigas oil field went on
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
* Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
for unpaid danger money, higher wages and better working conditions.
The strike was declared illegal by local courts and the state oil company fired nearly 1000 employees.
Some of the sacked workers then started a round-the-clock occupation of the town square in protest, demanding better union representation and recognition of workers' rights. The strike continued for months without official interference. According to Radio Free Europe, the protest expanded, "with demonstrators furious over what they saw as a stranglehold on collective bargaining and labor rights by the government."
In mid-December, some workers in the square began calling for the right to form independent political parties free of the government's influence.
16 December 2011
On 16 December, there were clashes between protesters and police who were attempting to evict them from the square in preparation for an
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
celebration. Activists claimed security officers opened fire on unarmed demonstrators. Authorities claimed that "bandits" infiltrated the protesters and began the riots first, producing video to support their version of events.
Eleven were killed, according to government officials, though opposition sources put the death toll in the dozens.
General Prosecutor
Askhat Daulbayev claimed that "civilians, who had gathered in the main square to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the country's independence, were attacked by a group of hooligans".
The Kazakh opposition TV channel K-Plus showed the beginning of the unrest, as men purported to be oil workers ran on the stage, tipped over the speakers and pushed around civilians before police arrived.
[ In the disturbances which followed, local government offices, a hotel and an office of the state oil company were set on fire, according to Daulbayev.][ Eighty-six people were injured in the clashes, according to officials. Due to a shortage of hospital beds in Zhanaozen, many were taken to be treated in ]Aktau
Aktau ( kk, Aqtau, Ақтау , russian: Актау) is a city in Kazakhstan, located on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. Its current name means "white mountain" in Kazakh, which may be due to its cliffs that overlook the Caspian. From 1964 to ...
, around 150 km away.[
]
Testimony of victims and witnesses
Observers described people "running and falling, running and falling" and police "showering the people with bullets." One witness said: "Usually it's only in the movies that you see lines of soldiers with their weapons at the ready.... When you see them firsthand, it's a completely different experience. Especially when what you're seeing are OMON riot police, dressed all in black, building a barricade and rapping their clubs against their shields."
Response
On the night of 16 December, police in Almaty
Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...
took opposition activists protesting against the deaths in Zhanaozen into custody.
Workers on the Kalamkas and Karazhanbas oilfields went on strike in response to the events at Zhanaozen.
On 17 December, a group of men in the village of Shetpe
Shetpe (, ''Шетпе'', ''شەتپە'') is a selo and the administrative center of Mangystau District in Mangystau Region in western Kazakhstan. Population:
Climate
Shetpe has a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification
Th ...
near Aktau
Aktau ( kk, Aqtau, Ақтау , russian: Актау) is a city in Kazakhstan, located on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. Its current name means "white mountain" in Kazakh, which may be due to its cliffs that overlook the Caspian. From 1964 to ...
blocked and damaged a railway line. Unrest was also reported in other cities and towns in the ''oblast''.
President Nazarbayev visited Mangystau Region
Mangystau ( kk, Маңғыстау облысы, Mañğystau oblysy; russian: Мангистауская область, Mangistauskaya oblast) is a Regions of Kazakhstan, region of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Aktau (a seaport), which has a popula ...
several days after the initial eruption of unrest. He said on December 22, while in Aktau, that he would fire his son-in-law, Timur Kulibayev, over his handling of the crisis. Kulibayev was head of Kazakhstan's sovereign-wealth fund, Samruk-Kazyna
Samruk-Kazyna ( kk, Самұрық-Қазына, translit=Samūryq-Qazyna), officially known as the National Welfare Fund "Samruk-Kazyna" ( kk, «Самұрық-Қазына» ұлттық әл-ауқат қоры» Акционерлік Қо ...
, which manages many state assets, including the energy company KazMunaiGas.
President Nazarbayev fired several local officials to punish them for their roles in the massacre. Also, police officers charged with firing at protesters were arrested. In addition, the regional governor resigned and was replaced with a former minister of the interior. Nazarbayev also fired the heads of the national oil company, Kazmunaigaz (KMG) and its production unit. On December 26, he carried out his promise to dismiss his son-in-law, who had been widely viewed as his likely successor. Nazarbayev also subjected Zhanaozen to a 20-day curfew and state of emergency.
Investigations
On 9 January 2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, it was reported that six Kazakh government bodies, "including the public commission, the government's body composed of civilian volunteers and officials, and several others set up by the authorities," were conducting investigations of the Zhanaozen massacre. Kazakh authorities claimed that they had asked the UN to participate in the investigations, but a spokesman for the office of the secretary-general said that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had not "been invited or requested to help investigate."
A trial of protesters began in Aktau
Aktau ( kk, Aqtau, Ақтау , russian: Актау) is a city in Kazakhstan, located on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. Its current name means "white mountain" in Kazakh, which may be due to its cliffs that overlook the Caspian. From 1964 to ...
in May 2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
. Many defendants complained that they had been physically abused, and some even tortured, while in police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
custody and during interrogation. Some witnesses also claimed they had been threatened by police into giving false testimony. Several opposition figures were arrested in connection with the protests, including journalist Janbolat Mamai, politician Serik Sapargali
Serik is a town and district in Antalya Province of Turkey, east of the city of Antalya, along the Mediterranean coast.
Geography
Towards the coast the district is mainly flat farmland, used for growing vegetables, while the inland half of Seri ...
, Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan
Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстанның демократиялық таңдауы, Qazaqstannyñ demokratialyq tañdauy, QDT; russian: Демократический выбор Казахстана, DVK) is a political par ...
leader Vladimir Kozlov
Oleg Aleksandrovich Prudius (russian: Олег Александрович Прудиус; uk, Олег Олександрович Прудіус, ''Oleh Oleksandrovych Prudius''; born April 27, 1979) better known by his ring name Vladimir Koz ...
, and theater director Bolat Atabaev. Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
protested the arrests, stating that "If the Kazakh authorities can prove these political activists were involved in the violence in Zhanaozen
Zhanaozen ( kk, Jañaözen, , pronounced ɑŋɑøˈzʲen, formerly known as Novy Uzen (russian: Новый Узень), is a city in the Mangystau Region of Kazakhstan located south-east of the city of Aktau. The name of the town means "new ...
, they shouldn't need to resort to using vague and undefined criminal allegations to imprison them... The 'inciting social discord' charge should be dropped immediately and those against whom there is no evidence of any violent activity should be released from custody." Anti-censorship group ARTICLE 19 described the charges as "spurious" and "alarming", warning that the arrests of Atabaev and others would have "a chilling effect on freedom of expression in Kazakhstan". Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
described the charge against Atabaev as "trumped-up", designating him a prisoner of conscience, "detained solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression".
Two further trials of security officials are currently taking place. In one, 5 police officers are accused of shooting demonstrators. In the other, the former chief of a police detention centre in Zhanaozen
Zhanaozen ( kk, Jañaözen, , pronounced ɑŋɑøˈzʲen, formerly known as Novy Uzen (russian: Новый Узень), is a city in the Mangystau Region of Kazakhstan located south-east of the city of Aktau. The name of the town means "new ...
is being prosecuted in relation to the death of a suspect who was allegedly beaten to death.
In the media
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
gave damage-limitation advice to Nazarbayev and helped him craft a response which was later delivered before Western media. On July 2015 Kazakh band Nazarbayev Terror Machine released their first album
Zhanaozen
dedicated to the massacre.
See also
* 2022 Kazakh protests
*List of protests in the 21st century
This is a list of protests in the 21st century.
Revolutions and uprisings Plants (Colour) revolutions
* Rose Revolution (Georgia, 2003)
* Tulip Revolution (Kyrgyzstan, 2005)
* Cedar Revolution (Lebanon, 2005)
* Orange Revolution (Ukraine, 2 ...
* 2018-2020 Kazakh protests
References
{{authority control
2011 in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan clashes
Protests in Kazakhstan
Riots and civil disorder in Kazakhstan
Mangystau Region
December 2011 events in Asia
Kazakhstan clashes
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Persecution of Kazakhs