Zhanaozen massacre

2017-04-18T02:16:58Z

Nbuend: Edited

{{Infobox civil conflict
| title = Zhanaozen massacre
| partof =
| image =
| caption =
| date = 16–17 December 2011
| place = {{flagicon|Kazakhstan}} [[Mangystau Region]], [[Kazakhstan]]
| coordinates =
| causes =
| goals = Repayment of wages, political reforms
| methods = [[Demonstration (people)|Demonstrations]], [[riot]]s, [[strike action]]s, [[vandalism]]
| status =
| result = Reshuffling of energy sector leadership
| side1 =
| side2 =
| side3 =
| leadfigures1 = 14+ fatalities<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2011/12/2011121815956458304.html|agency=Al Jazeera English|date=18 December 2011|accessdate=18 December 2011|title=Deadly riots spread in Kazakhstan oil region}}</ref>
| leadfigures2 =
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| howmany1 =
| howmany2 =
| howmany3 =
| casualties1 =
| casualties2 =
| casualties3 =
| casualties_label =
| notes =
}}
The '''Zhanaozen massacre''' took place in [[Kazakhstan]]'s western [[Mangystau Region]] over the weekend of 16–17 December 2011. At least 14 protestors were killed by police in the oil town of [[Zhanaozen]] as they clashed with police on the country's Independence Day,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/03/28/macedonia-kazakhstan-triumphal-arches-to-celebrate-20-years-of-independence/ |title=Macedonia, Kazakhstan: Triumphal Arches to Celebrate 20 Years of Independence |date=28 March 2012 |publisher=Global Voices Online |accessdate=23 June 2012}}</ref> with unrest spreading to other towns in the oil-rich ''oblys'', or region.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/kazakhstan/8961356/Ten-die-in-fighting-between-police-and-demonstrators-in-Kazakhstan.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=James | last=Kilner | title=Ten die in fighting between police and demonstrators in Kazakhstan | date=16 December 2011}}</ref> The massacre was a stark illustration of the [[Human rights in Kazakhstan|country's poor human rights record]] under [[President of Kazakhstan|President]] [[Nursultan Nazarbayev]].<ref>{{cite web |title = Kazakhstan: Crackdown on Human Rights |url = https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR57/001/2014/en/1b90554f-5e51-4001-aea8-b2f5e564ea7e/eur570012014en.html |archive-url = https://archive.is/20140824174110/http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR57/001/2014/en/1b90554f-5e51-4001-aea8-b2f5e564ea7e/eur570012014en.html |dead-url = yes |archive-date = 24 August 2014 |work = Amnesty International Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review, October–November 2014 |publisher = [[Amnesty International]] |accessdate = 24 August 2014 }}</ref>

==Zhanaozen==
[[Image:Mangystau Union Square Protest (2011-12-18).jpg|thumb|300px|Demonstrators in [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco, USA]] protesting against the government's response to the riots on 18 December 2011.]]

Zhanaozen has been described as “a one-industry town...centered on the ageing oilfield of Ozen”.<ref>{{cite news|title=Thicker than oil|url=http://www.economist.com/node/21542223|work=The Economist|accessdate=July 21, 2013|date=31 December 2011}}</ref> In May 2011, workers from the [[Ozenmunaigas oil field]] went on [[strike action|strike]] for unpaid danger money, higher wages and better working conditions.<ref name="rferl.org">{{cite web|title=A Year After Deadly Riots, Zhanaozen Is Quiet But Angry|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/zhanaozen-a-year-after-the-riots/24798726.html|accessdate=December 16, 2012}}</ref> The strike was declared illegal by local courts and the state oil company fired nearly 1000 employees.<ref name="Abuse">{{cite news | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18055249 | title=Abuse claims swamp Kazakh oil riot trial |author=Demytrie, Rayhan and Shodiyor Eshaev | publisher=BBC News | accessdate=May 16, 2012 | date=15 May 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Zhanaozen – NHC concerned with crack-down on independent voices one year after|url=http://nhc.no/no/nyheter/Zhanaozen+%E2%80%93+NHC+concerned+with+crack-down+on+independent+voices+one+year+after.b7C_wlfG4n.ips|accessdate=July 21, 2012}}</ref> 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.”<ref name="rferl.org"/> In mid-December, some workers in the square began calling for the right to form independent political parties free of the government's influence.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/world/asia/deaths-in-rare-violence-in-kazakhstan.html?scp=3&sq=kazakhstan&st=cse|agency=The New York Times|date=16 December 2011|accessdate=18 December 2011|title=At Least 10 Die as Police Clash With Strikers in Kazakhstan|first=Andrew|last=Kramer}}</ref>

==December 16, 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 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.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16221566 |title=Kazakh oil strike: 10 dead in Zhanaozen clashes |date=16 December 2011 |publisher=BBC News |accessdate=23 June 2012}}</ref> Eleven were killed, according to government officials, though opposition sources put the death toll in the dozens.<ref name=BBC2>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16231305 |title=Kazakhstan curfew on oil town Zhanaozen after fatal clashes |author= |date=17 December 2011 |publisher=BBC News |accessdate=23 June 2012}}</ref> 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".<ref name="nytimes"/> 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.<ref name=BBC/> 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.<ref name=BBC/> 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]], around 150 km away.<ref name=BBC2/>

===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.”<ref>{{cite web|last=Tolken|first=Sania|title=A Year After Deadly Riots, Zhanaozen Is Quiet But Angry|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/zhanaozen-a-year-after-the-riots/24798726.html|work=Radio Free Europe|accessdate=July 28, 2013}}</ref>

==Response==
On the night of 16 December, police in [[Almaty]] took opposition activists protesting against the deaths in [[Zhanaozen]] into custody.<ref name=Tel>{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/kazakhstan/8963029/State-of-emergency-declared-in-town-in-western-Kazakhstan-after-riots.html |title=State of emergency declared in town in western Kazakhstan after riots |author=Kilmer, James |date=17 December 2011 |work=The Telegraph |accessdate=23 June 2012 |location=London}}</ref>

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]] near [[Aktau]] blocked and damaged a railway line.<ref name=Soc>{{cite web |url=http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/5495 |title=Bloody attack has not defeated striking workers |date=17 December 2011 |publisher=Socialist World |accessdate=23 June 2012}}</ref> Unrest was also reported in other cities and towns in the ''oblast''.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.toledoblade.com/World/2011/12/18/Police-fire-on-rioters-in-tense-western-Kazakhstan.html| title=Police fire on rioters in tense western Kazakhstan | agency=Associated Press |date=18 December 2011|accessdate=23 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20111218-undeterred-crackdown-oil-workers-protest-regional-capital-kazakhstan-deaths |title=Kazakhstan protests spread to regional capital |date=18 December 2011 |publisher=France 24 |accessdate=23 June 2012}}</ref>

President Nazarbayev visited Mangystau Region 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, which manages many state assets, including the energy company KazMunaiGas.<ref>{{cite news|title=Unrest in Kazakhstan|url=http://www.economist.com/node/21542223|work=The Economist|accessdate=August 4, 2013|date=31 December 2011}}</ref>

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 Nazarbayev replaced him 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kazakhstan|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/02/01/kazakhstan-letter-prosecutor-general-regarding-december-events-zhanaozen-and-shetpe|work=Human Rights Watch|accessdate=August 4, 2013}}</ref>

===Investigations===
On January 9, 2012, 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.”<ref>{{cite web|title=Kazakh Investigator Decries Lack Of Access To Zhanaozen Residents|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/kazakhstan_zhanaozen_violence/24446599.html|work=Radio Free Europe|accessdate=August 4, 2013}}</ref>

A trial of protesters began in Aktau in May 2012. Many defendants complained that they had been physically abused, and some even tortured, while in police custody and during interrogation.<ref name="Abuse"/> Some witnesses also claimed they had been threatened by police into giving false testimony.<ref name="Abuse"/> Several opposition figures were arrested in connection with the protests, including journalist [[Zhanbolat Mamay]], politician [[Serik Sapargali]], [[Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan]] leader [[Vladimir Kozlov (politician)|Vladimir Kozlov]], and theater director [[Bolat Atabaev]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/NF08Ag01.html |title=Kazakh riot trials spread punishment |author=Margarita Assenova |date=8 June 2012 |work=Asia Times Online |accessdate=23 June 2012}}</ref> [[Human Rights Watch]] protested the arrests, stating that "If the Kazakh authorities can prove these political activists were involved in the violence in Zhanaozen, 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."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/01/24/kazakhstan-opposition-activists-arrested |title=Kazakhstan: Opposition Activists Arrested |date=25 January 2012 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |accessdate=23 June 2012}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/3332/en/kazakhstan:-activists-arrested-on-charges-of-inciting-hatred |title=Kazakhstan: Activists arrested on charges of inciting hatred |date=15 June 2012 |publisher=ARTICLE 19 |accessdate=23 June 2012}}</ref> [[Amnesty International]] described the charge against Atabaev as "trumped-up", designating him a [[prisoner of conscience]], "detained solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR57/003/2012/en/c5b6eb21-8b38-45e9-b1c4-0508443c9d3a/eur570032012en.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502023242/http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR57/003/2012/en/c5b6eb21-8b38-45e9-b1c4-0508443c9d3a/eur570032012en.html |dead-url=yes |archive-date=2 May 2014 |title=Kazakhstan: Public figure on trial for defending strikers |date=21 June 2012 |publisher=Amnesty International |accessdate=23 June 2012}}</ref>

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 is being prosecuted in relation to the death of a suspect who was allegedly beaten to death.<ref name="Abuse"/>

===In the media===
[[Tony Blair]] gave damage-limitation advice to Nazarbayev and helped him craft a response which was later delivered before Western media.<ref>{{Cite news |last = Mendick |first = Robert |date = 24 August 2014 |title = Tony Blair gives Kazakhstan’s autocratic president tips on how to defend a massacre |url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/tony-blair/11052965/Tony-Blair-gives-Kazakhstans-autocratic-president-tips-on-how-to-defend-a-massacre.html |work = telegraph.co.uk |accessdate = 24 August 2014 }}</ref> On July 2015 Kazakh-Russian band [[Nazarbayev Terror Machine]] released their first album "[https://zhanaozen.bandcamp.com/ Zhanaozen]" dedicated to the massacre.

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Anti-government protests in the 21st century}}

[[Category:2011 in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:2011 riots|Kazakhstan clashes]]
[[Category:Protests in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Mangystau Region]]
[[Category:December 2011 events]]

Kazakhstan Encyclopedia - User contributions [en]

Zhanaozen massacre