Tbilisi protesters supported those in Kazakhstan

The deployment of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) troops in Kazakhstan because of the protests underway in the country is unacceptable, protesters in Tbilisi have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the chair of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), has granted the request of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan, to bring the CSTO’s peacekeeping forces into the country. The contingent included units of the armed forces of Armenia, as well as Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

On January 7, a rally in support of the Kazakh people was held near the parliament building in Tbilisi. The Kazakhs living in Tbilisi and citizens of Georgia took part in the action, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

"The CSTO charter prescribes to deploy troops only in case of external aggression against one of the bloc members. But there was no external aggression on Kazakhstan," Rafan Erkinbaeva, a native of Kazakhstan and the organizer of the action, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

She believes that protests in Kazakhstan are the country's internal problems; and people "have all the chances to deal with them on their own."

Daulet Seisenbaev, a participant of the action, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that it is important to provide the truthful coverage of the events. He doesn't treat the decision to send CSTO troops to Kazakhstan as a mistake. "As a temporary measure, this may be justified, but they cannot stay there on a permanent basis," Seisenbaev believes.

There were also Georgians among the participants of the rally. "There (in Kazakhstan), a freedom-loving people live, who don't want to see Russian soldiers on their land," Andrei Sabekiya believes.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 8, 2022 at 00:29 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.