President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has given the green light for armed forces to “shoot to kill” anyone who is caught participating in protests.
During a televised press conference on Friday, Tokayev announced that he was allowing law enforcement officers to shoot to kill the “terrorists,” “bandits,” and “militants” who were protesting without warning them of incoming fire, the Associated Press reported. Tokayev also dismissed the option of negotiating with protesters.
“Those who don’t surrender will be eliminated,” Tokayev said.
“What negotiations can be held with criminals, murderers?” he asked in response to calls from nations to engage in conversation with protesters.
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But the Kazakh president did soften one of the emergency orders he put into place in response to the violence, announcing Friday he would restore internet services for “certain time intervals” after cutting off online access throughout the country on Wednesday as part of his pledge to retaliate with “maximum toughness.”
Tokayev slammed the people participating in the unrest and violence on Tuesday, calling them “destructive persons interested in undermining the stability and unity of our society,” in a post on Twitter.
Despite the strong rhetoric, he attempted to try to quell the violence in asking lawmakers to pass legislation freezing utility payments and subsidizing rent payments, and he called for “socially important” consumer goods to receive reestablished price controls, the Guardian reported. He even requested help from the Russian-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the CSTO promised to send the Russian-led military alliance troops set to arrive on Thursday morning as part of “peacekeeping” efforts, ABC News reported.
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It was revealed on Thursday that dozens of protesters and 12 police officers, including one that was found beheaded, were among the mass amounts of people reported dead as the violence and unrest from the protests continued. The protests broke out in the country on Sunday in response to the rising prices for liquefied petroleum gas fuel after price controls were lifted, the New York Times reported.
Tokayev instituted a two-week state of emergency, nightly curfews, and a ban on religious services on Wednesday. The majority of restrictions remain in effect despite the reversal on granting internet access.
