Kazakhstani officials to establish security centre after Tengiz row

AMMAN — Deputising for HRH Crown Prince Hussein, the Regent, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Tuesday will receive a number of the Jordanians who were assaulted in Kazakhstan last week.  

Forty out of the 107 employees have expressed their desire to return to the Kingdom on vacation, a Foreign Ministry statement released late on Monday read, adding that Safadi will meet when they land at Queen Alia International Airport.

Earlier on Monday, Jordanian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Yousef Abdul Ghani participated in a meeting at the Atyrau governor’s office to discuss the recent assault, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Sufian Qudah said in a separate statement. 

Qudah said that the ambassador presented Kazakhstani authorities with four demands, highlighting the importance of issuing an official statement on what caused the assault and confirming that Jordanians had no involvement in the incident, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.  

The spokesperson said that Abdul Ghani also called for providing Jordanians with security to ensure that similar incidents do not to reoccur, and allowing embassy officials access to the investigation to protect the rights of injured Jordanians.

Five Jordanian engineers were injured on Saturday after they and other Arab employees were attacked by locals due to what was reported to be a “personal dispute”.

Circulated videos on Saturday purportedly showed employees being beaten up at a Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) site in Tengiz, 2,200km from the capital Astana, which employs 107 Jordanian nationals. The ministry reported that all the Jordanians were transported to safety and are in good condition.

During the Monday meeting, the Atyrau governor expressed the Kazakhstani government's apologies for the attack on the Jordanian engineers, describing the incident as “alien to the culture of their society”, and stressing that all Jordanian demands will be dealt with through serious and positive steps, the statement added. 

The governor expressed his country’s keenness to sustain friendly ties with the Kingdom, noting that the situation is now under control and that the employees can return to their workplace.

The governor added that a fixed security centre will be stationed at the site.

Qudah said that the company had also responded to a demand by the ambassador to provide a plane to transfer employees back to the Kingdom until all necessary security procedures are in place.

The ambassador met with the Jordanian employees and conveyed Crown Prince Hussein's greetings to them. 

The Regent has directed the prime minister and the foreign minister to take all required measures to ensure the Jordanian engineers’ security and safety.

The embassy of Kazakhstan in Amman posted a statement on its Facebook account saying that a Kazakhstani official travelled to Tengiz to meet with managers and the Tengiz workforce. 

“The situation at Tengiz is stable as of now,” the statement added.