The ITUC deplored the killing of more than 160 people in the recent violence in Kazakhstan and calls for a full, open and public inquiry into the circumstances of all the deaths, as well as the damage to public and private property.
Three trade union officials from the Fuel and Energy Trade Union of Kazakhstan, Kuspan Kosshygulov, Takhir Erdanov and Amin Eleusinov, went missing after participating in protests in Aktau on 6 January. Following the urgent intervention by IndustriALL and the ITUC, they were later released. Some 8,000 people remain in detention.
The tragic events in Kazakhstan were triggered by extreme inequalities and social divisions, the inability of the government to ensure just and equitable development in one of the richest countries in the region, and the absence of democracy and engagement with independent unions and civil society generally.
Under these conditions, it was no surprise that peaceful protests turned into a spiral of violence, leaving people killed and injured and infrastructure destroyed. These egregious state abuses yet again stress the need for democracy and recognition and respect for fundamental human and workers’ rights in the country.