Democratic forces condemn involvement of Belarusian troops in events in Kazakhstan

Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s office, the opposition Coordination Council and the People’s Anti-Crisis Administration issued a joint statement on the inadmissibility of Belarusian servicemen’ participating in the operation abroad.

“The events in Kazakhstan are an internal political conflict. There are no facts proving that the crisis has been caused by external aggression or external terrorist threats,” the statement reads.

According to Belarusian opposition leaders, street protests are one of the few accessible ways of expressing civic will against the background of authoritarian regimes.

“We fully understand the desire to oppose the dictatorship and respect the right of Kazakhs to determine the fate of their country,” they stressed.

The sending of troops as well as providing any other military assistance to the current government of Kazakhstan creates a dangerous precedent of foreign armed intervention in internal political conflicts, the democratic activists believe. They warn that the deployment of troops might complicate friendly relations between the peoples of Belarusian and Kazakh peoples for many years:

“The military intervention in the internal conflict in Kazakhstan is contrary to the national interests of Belarus, it may result in significant human and material losses as well as denting the international reputation of our country.”

On the night of January 6, Armenia’s Prime Minister and Chairman of the CSTO Collective Security Council Nikol Pashinyan announced that the Collective Security Treaty Organisation decided to send ‘peacekeeping forces’ to Kazakhstan for ‘a limited period of time’ on the back of the appeal of Kazakh President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev. Pro-Lukashenka government confirmed the involvement of the Belarusian troops.

belsat.eu