Anti-Communist sentiment is on the rise in the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan. The founder of the human rights group Atajulte Volunteers, Serkjian, said that anti-China activities, which had cooled down due to the Wuhan pneumonia Epidemic, “have started again” and that “this will lead to mass unrest”.
Kazakh social activist Baibolat Kunbolat was arrested today during a one-man demonstration in front of the Chinese Consulate General in Almaty.
According to a five-minute video posted on Facebook, Kunbolat was holding a photo of his brother, who was arrested in China, and announced that he had been detained for “1,049 days today. Kazakh police intervened and arrested him, with Kumbolat chanting slogans before being taken to a police car.
Atajurt Kazakh Human Rights founder Serikzhan Bilash told Central News Agency by phone today that Kumbolat’s brother, Baimurat Nauryzbek, was arrested in 2018 in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture and was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison for having studied in Kazakhstan.
Kumbolat demanded the release of his brother from the Chinese Communist government and thus staged a single peaceful protest, Serkjian said.
Kazakhs rally in Almaty on Sept. 4, 2019, to protest the government’s construction of a Chinese factory.
Another social activist, Serik Azhibay, was also arrested during a one-man demonstration at the Almaty Consulate General last August. He was arrested and held for 15 days after protesting against China’s aggressive policies, holding a picture of Chinese Ambassador Zhang Xiao and writing “persona non grata” on it, demanding his expulsion.
The Kazakh government is now increasingly pro-communist and the people are highly discontented with the government. Syrkjian noted that Kazakhs protested almost every week before the Wuhan pneumonia outbreak in response to China’s growing influence, which has cooled in the past because of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, commonly known as Wuhan pneumonia.
He said, “But China has not stopped persecuting Kazakhs in Xinjiang, who have no human rights and cannot even contact their relatives in Kazakhstan (Kazakh Republic), not knowing whether each other is dead or alive.”
Selkirk stressed: “Kazakh sentiment against the atrocities committed by the Chinese Communist Party is high, and if this continues, there will be large-scale unrest. The Kazakh government is so afraid that people will protest that they must apply 10 days in advance even for a single demonstration, but now the people don’t care so much.”
“Now it’s going to start again.” He said, “China’s policy in Xinjiang has caused strong discontent throughout Kazakh society, and if Kazakhs in China are not treated well, there is no way for Kazakhs to compromise, and it will be difficult for China’s Belt and Road plan to go ahead in Central Asia.”
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