DUSHANBE, January 10. /TASS/. Radical religious ideology is one of the main instruments of Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states’ enemies, says President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.
"The extremely destructive ideology of religious radicalism is being actively promoted in our countries, and it became one of the main weapons in our adversaries’ hands," the Tajik leader said during the CSTO emergency online summit Monday.
According to Rahmon, this increases the religious extremist potential and creates a threat of destabilization within the CSTO member states.
He noted that many groups outlawed in Tajikistan display "especially aggressive activity," adding that many comprise the backbone of the Islamic State [ISIS, outlawed in Russia].
"We in Tajikistan actively combat the propaganda and sabotage of outlawed organizations’ emissaries," he underscored.
Protests erupted in several Kazakh cities on January 2, escalating into mass riots with government buildings getting ransacked in several cities a few days later. The ensuing violence left scores of people injured, with fatalities also being reported. Subsequently, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev turned to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) requesting assistance from the Russia-led bloc. As a result, peacekeepers have already been deployed to Kazakhstan. Law and order, Kazakh authorities affirm, was restored to all of the country’s regions by the morning of January 7.
Previously, Tokayev stated that the events in Kazakhstan were an act of armed aggression, well prepared and coordinated by criminals and terror groups trained abroad.