Kazakh opposition says officials ordered killing
ALMATY, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's opposition accused senior government officials on Tuesday of ordering the assassination of one of their leaders, a charge a government minister dismissed as an attempt to grab headlines.
The bodies of Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly, his unarmed bodyguard and driver were found lying near a quiet road on the outskirts of Almaty, the Central Asian state's biggest city, on Monday.
Each was killed by a pistol shot in the back and to the head, opposition leaders who saw the bodies said. It is the second violent death of an opposition leader in three months.
"This was a brutal killing that someone ordered ... He and his entourage, their hands tied, were driven out of town and gunned down in cold blood," Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, a leader of the For A Just Kazakhstan opposition bloc, told a news conference.
Sarsenbaiuly, a 43-year-old former minister and ambassador, was a confidant of long-serving President Nursultan Nazarbayev until 2003, when he defected to the political opposition.
The opposition stopped short of accusing the president of direct involvement, but said he should cut short a holiday abroad and take personal charge of the investigation.
Nazarbayev has run the ex-Soviet state bordering China since 1989. He has been praised for opening up an economy booming on oil production but his rule has also been marked by corruption scandals and little tolerance of dissent.
"I am sure that the people who ordered this have offices on the top floor," said Bulat Abilov, another leading member of For A Just Kazakhstan. Other opposition leaders described the killing as a "political assassination".
But Kazakhstan's information minister -- a post that Sarsenbaiuly once held -- rejected the accusations.
MOTIVE?
"If this is a murder, it has the characteristics of a bandit-style, cynical killing that challenges our whole society," the minister, Yermukhamet Yertysbayev, told Reuters.
"(The opposition) need a political assassination... they are trying to influence the investigation and public opinion."
Police have not commented on a possible motive. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, said of the opposition allegations: "Our job is to solve the crime and not play politics."
The opposition dismissed a business or criminal connection to the murder. Sarsenbaiuly's car was found in the centre of Almaty, a long way from where his body was found, with the keys in the ignition and with nothing stolen or damaged, Abilov said.
The murder follows the mysterious death last November of another prominent member of the opposition, Zamanbek Nurkadilov, who was found dead at his home with three gunshot wounds. Police said they believed that death was a suicide.
Abilov said Sarsenbaiuly and Nurkadilov were the last among a series of former ministers that defected to the opposition.
"They had a lot of information, they were both very close to Nazarbayev in their time," he said. "Maybe it's a warning to those in the elite. Now the elite will be scared that joining the opposition can mean risking your life."
The bodies of Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly, his unarmed bodyguard and driver were found lying near a quiet road on the outskirts of Almaty, the Central Asian state's biggest city, on Monday.
Each was killed by a pistol shot in the back and to the head, opposition leaders who saw the bodies said. It is the second violent death of an opposition leader in three months.
"This was a brutal killing that someone ordered ... He and his entourage, their hands tied, were driven out of town and gunned down in cold blood," Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, a leader of the For A Just Kazakhstan opposition bloc, told a news conference.
Sarsenbaiuly, a 43-year-old former minister and ambassador, was a confidant of long-serving President Nursultan Nazarbayev until 2003, when he defected to the political opposition.
The opposition stopped short of accusing the president of direct involvement, but said he should cut short a holiday abroad and take personal charge of the investigation.
Nazarbayev has run the ex-Soviet state bordering China since 1989. He has been praised for opening up an economy booming on oil production but his rule has also been marked by corruption scandals and little tolerance of dissent.
"I am sure that the people who ordered this have offices on the top floor," said Bulat Abilov, another leading member of For A Just Kazakhstan. Other opposition leaders described the killing as a "political assassination".
But Kazakhstan's information minister -- a post that Sarsenbaiuly once held -- rejected the accusations.
MOTIVE?
"If this is a murder, it has the characteristics of a bandit-style, cynical killing that challenges our whole society," the minister, Yermukhamet Yertysbayev, told Reuters.
"(The opposition) need a political assassination... they are trying to influence the investigation and public opinion."
Police have not commented on a possible motive. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, said of the opposition allegations: "Our job is to solve the crime and not play politics."
The opposition dismissed a business or criminal connection to the murder. Sarsenbaiuly's car was found in the centre of Almaty, a long way from where his body was found, with the keys in the ignition and with nothing stolen or damaged, Abilov said.
The murder follows the mysterious death last November of another prominent member of the opposition, Zamanbek Nurkadilov, who was found dead at his home with three gunshot wounds. Police said they believed that death was a suicide.
Abilov said Sarsenbaiuly and Nurkadilov were the last among a series of former ministers that defected to the opposition.
"They had a lot of information, they were both very close to Nazarbayev in their time," he said. "Maybe it's a warning to those in the elite. Now the elite will be scared that joining the opposition can mean risking your life."
posted by Marko at 2/14/2006 07:22:00 AM
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