Azerbaijan, Baku, July 13 / Trend E. Kosolapova /
Serious personnel changes may occur in law enforcement bodies due to a number of recent emergency situations in Kazakhstan, editor in chief of information and analytical agency "Bulletin of the Caucasus", Moscow State University History Department head and Trend Expert Council member Alexei Vlasov said today.
"The Kazakh President sharply criticized the work of the National Security Committee at an emergency meeting in Ak Orda," he told Trend via e-mail today. "This indirectly testifies to the fact that serious changes may occur in the central office of this important body. In particular, people speak about the possible return of this agency former head Nartai Dutbaev to any key post."
Vlasov said that the thesis about "systemic deficiencies" must be clarified because Nurtai Abykayev, who heads the National Security Committee now, is one of the most loyal and trusted persons of the president and the most competent official.
Earlier, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed his dissatisfaction with the work of law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism and extremism, by recognizing that radical extremist elements exert full pressure on the state and society in general.
Vlasov said that Kazakhstan should be prepared for the terrorist threat exacerbated in the country a few years ago.
"In my opinion, there is a problem that the expected level of risk was actually exceeded by several times in a very short period of time," he said. "One should be prepared for these events several years, rather than 1-2 years before this sharp rise in terrorist threat."
He said that the Kazakh responsible agencies have just recently relaxed, when the level of terrorist threats in the country was much lower than in other Central Asian countries. This could be one of the reasons for their unavailability to prevent the actions of terrorist groups which have recently intensified.
"The agents' shortages, the lack of necessary coordination between different law enforcement bodies, in principle, could have a negative impact, especially in terms of taking preventive measures to prevent the actions of terrorist groups," the expert said.
Vlasov added that it does not worth putting all the negative events in Kazakhstan in a row.
"For example, the story with the shooting down at the frontier post most likely covers a different area," he said. "It concerns the criteria according to which people are drafted to the border troops and whether it is necessary to limit the opportunities for people having problems with law to join the armed forces. One should not confuse the terrorist threat and the hazing, which, unfortunately, sometimes leads to tragic consequences."
Several emergency situations have recently occurred in Kazakhstan.
Mass riots hit the Kazakh oil city of Zhanaozen in Mangystau region on Dec.16. According to the Kazakh General Attorney Office, 14 people were killed as a result and over 80 injured. Buildings and cars were burned and the property of individuals and institutions destroyed.
About 15 people - 14 frontier guards and one civilian were killed at the frontier "Arkankergen" in Almaty region in late May. Later the conscript who also served on the outpost confessed to the murder. The reason is internal conflict. The case is under investigation. On June 11, the conscripts of the Kazakh frontier post "Tersayryk" left the outpost. The operational and search activities were conducted. As a result, they were revealed. They were transported to the service and said that they were beaten by military serving under the contract. A private home exploded in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan on July 11. The burned bodies of eight people, as well as firearms, ammunition, police uniforms and religious literature were found. A criminal case on the preparation for terrorism was filed. The investigation is underway.