In Kazakhstan, there are many reasons for mounting protests. “I do not rule out the possibility that the protests as such started objectively. But they were upset by one or, possibly, several forces. In such cases, especially when there are such interests, there could have been parallel forces that upset the protests. I think there was also a conspiracy at the level of the intelligence services, with the co-participation of elements of the power,” expert in international relations and security Valeriu Ostalep, ex-deputy minister of foreign affairs, stated in IPN’s public debate “Situation in Kazakhstan: Echoes up to Moldova”.
“Nothing of these would have been possible without the co-participation by sabotage, by other operations (of intelligence services, e.n.) as no appropriate reaction on the part of the authorities and the police existed at the initial stage. Such large investments are made in intelligence services and the police and they all disappeared as if they were paralyzed,” stated Valeriu Ostalep, noting he does not believe that the intelligence services can be overcome by the situation to such an extent and the upsetting of the events was probably inspired by “elements of the power”.
The expert said the intelligence services should have acted at the incipient stage of the protests as their duty is to prevent and inform the administration, not necessarily to counteract.
Making reference to the Republic of Moldova, Valeriu Ostalep said that in the context of the biggest problems faced by Moldovan society starting with April 7, 2009, the intelligence services haven’t fulfilled their duties in the April 7 case, in the bank fraud case, in the state capture. “Why are they necessary in such a case? It is a problem when the MPs and the country’s administration do not have expertise, while the intelligence services swiftly turn into chameleons and camouflage themselves under the new government and usually try not to touch the new rulers so as to avoid an audit”.
The expert is concerned about the abuses of the intelligence services in the countries of the post-Soviet area, which should be on the agenda and under the scrutiny of Parliament and society. “The intelligence services in the post-Soviet area in most of the states are not only a symbol, but also a source of instability, provocations and a lot of problems whose origin the people cannot guess.”
The public debater “Situation in Kazakhstan: Echoes up to Moldova” is the 221st installment of the series “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates”. IPN’s project is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
