Russian troops are in Kazakhstan to help quell deadly anti-government protests

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Russian troops are in Kazakhstan to help quell¹ deadly anti-government protests

Transcript²

As the bloody³ crackdown continues in Kazakhstan, what is at stake for the country and what are the regional implications? NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with former U.S. Ambassador William Courtney.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Russian-led troops are now deployed⁴ in Kazakhstan, part of a violent crackdown on anti-government protests. The country's president asked for Moscow's help to stop the demonstrations⁵. People protested rising fuel prices at first. But this has turned into a much wider conflict, with many people dead. Protesters burned a presidential home, and at one point, took control of the airport in the capital. Let's discuss this with William Courtney is a former U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan and also now a senior fellow at the Rand Corporation. Ambassador, welcome.

WILLIAM COURTNEY: Thank you, Steve.

INSKEEP: Do you feel you understand what the protesters really want?

COURTNEY: The protests have been building for a long time, partly because the government has become more autocratic over the last 30 years. The government has become more corrupt⁶, particularly at the top, with Nazarbayev and his family - President Nazarbayev and his family. The ordinary people have - the incomes have not been keeping up with the wealth that Kazakhstan has earned through its energy. So this is a surprise. But it is a latent issue that has been building.

INSKEEP: You mentioned a few things that I feel we ought to just explain for people. You mentioned energy. Kazakhstan is not a very populist place. But it is an enormously energy-rich place. You also referred to President Nazarbayev. That's a guy who was president for decades since the fall of the Soviet⁷ Union. But didn't he step back a couple of years ago? And isn't this, at least in theory, a replacement⁸ government? Is it actually a continuation of the same government?

COURTNEY: It's actually a continuation of the same government. The Nazarbayev power elite⁹ still has been controlling Kazakhstan. The career diplomat¹⁰, President Tokayev, who has been put forward, does not have an independent power base in Kazakhstan.

INSKEEP: So there's the question of Russian troops. Were they already effectively in the area? It's my understanding that this used to be part of the Soviet Union. And it's my understanding that Russian troops largely never left Central Asia when the Soviet Union fell apart.

COURTNEY: In parts of Central Asia, such as Tajikistan, that's true. But in Kazakhstan, they mostly left except at the Baikonur space launch facility.

INSKEEP: Oh, interesting.

COURTNEY: So Russia now seems to be inserting a couple thousand troops. But it will be wary¹¹ not to put its troops in harm's way because that would be unpopular back in Russia, for Russian soldiers to die. And it would be very unpopular in Kazakhstan for Kazakhstanis to be killed by Russian soldiers.

INSKEEP: What is President Vladimir Putin's interest here?

COURTNEY: President Putin wants to have stability. He likes authoritarian¹² regimes around Russia's border. Kazakhstan has always been cooperative with Russia. And the United States and the West have generally encouraged a cooperative relationship. But some ultranationalists in Russia believe that Russia should take several of the regions of northern Kazakhstan that border on Russia.

INSKEEP: Let's try to figure out a little bit more about the protesters here. We heard on the program yesterday a voice from Kazakhstan saying that it's hard to identify exactly who the leader of the protests would be. But there had been protests for years in Kazakhstan. That's the reason that President Nazarbayev, at least theoretically, stepped back a couple of years ago was because of protests. Should we think of these as democratic protesters? Are they driven by something else? What do you know?

COURTNEY: They're driven by animus¹³ toward the autocratic regime. And they're driven by economic concerns. But this is a genuine, popular uprising, as we saw in Ukraine in the Orange Revolution of Maidan, as we saw a couple of years ago in Belarus. The true leaders probably have yet to emerge. But we will likely see some leaders coming forth¹⁴ sometime soon. The protesters are generally peaceful people. But they have - kind of boiling over now with outrage¹⁵ at the government.

INSKEEP: How brutal¹⁶ has the crackdown on them been as best you can determine from afar?

COURTNEY: So there've been two aspects to cruelty. One has been the regime, just within the last 24 or 48 hours, has used a fair amount of force against peaceful protesters in Almaty, the largest city and former capital of Kazakhstan. Dozens have been killed, according to reports. And then secondly¹⁷, the regime is probably using its own thugs to set fires to buildings in order to portray¹⁸ the protesters as not being peaceful.

INSKEEP: A couple of other interests I'd like to ask about. We asked about Russia, which sent in the troops. China is not terribly far from Kazakhstan, actually borders on Central Asia. Does China have an interest here?

COURTNEY: China does have an interest because Kazakhstan sits astride much of the Silk Road between China and Europe. So the - Europe is one of the three largest markets in the world. So for China, having good relations with Kazakhstan is important. But China does not have a political background and political interest in Kazakhstan the way Russia does.

INSKEEP: Does the United States have an interest in the outcome of these demonstrations?

COURTNEY: The United States has an interest in having a peaceful resolution of the disputes. But this is really for Kazakhstanis to resolve themselves, not with outside interference.

INSKEEP: William Courtney is a former U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan. Thanks so much, ambassador.

COURTNEY: You're quite welcome.

1 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

4 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

5 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

6 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

9 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

10 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

11 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

12 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

13 animus   

n.恶意；意图

参考例句：

• They are full of animus towords us.他们对我们怀有敌意。
• When you have an animus against a person,you should give it up.当你对别人怀有敌意时，你应当放弃这种想法。

14 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

15 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

16 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

17 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

18 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？