Alma-Ata: (Archyde.com)
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s office said he accepted the government’s resignation on Wednesday, following fuel price hikes in the oil-rich country sparked protests in which nearly 100 policemen were injured.
Police used tear gas and stun grenades late on Tuesday evening, to expel hundreds of protesters from the main square in Alma-Ata; The largest city in the former Soviet Republic, clashes resumed on Wednesday.
The clashes have shaken Kazakhstan’s image as a politically stable and tightly controlled country, which it has used to attract hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign investment in the oil and mineral sectors over the three decades since independence.
Speaking before acting ministers on Wednesday, Tokayev ordered the government and regional governors to re-impose restrictions on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices and expand them to include gasoline, diesel, and other “socially important” consumer goods.
He also ordered the government to study freezing utility prices and subsidizing apartment rents for poor families.
He stated that the situation is improving in the cities and towns that have been shaken by the protests, following declaring a state of emergency that included imposing curfews and restrictions on movement.
In addition to replacing the prime minister, Tokayev also appointed a new first deputy and head of the National Security Committee to replace Samad Abish, a relative of the powerful former president Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Nazarbayev, 81, ruled the country for regarding 30 years before suddenly resigning in 2019 and supporting Tokayev as his successor.
Nazarbayev maintained broad powers by chairing the National Security Council, but did not convene the council or comment on this week’s violence.
Protests erupted in many cities and towns following the authorities raised the price ceiling for liquefied petroleum gas, a popular car fuel, causing prices to more than double.
Tokayev declared in the early hours of Wednesday morning, a state of emergency in Alma-Ata and in the oil-producing region of Mangistu in the west of the country, and said that local and foreign instigators were behind the violence.
The Interior Ministry said on Wednesday that police had arrested more than 200 people following attacks on government buildings in cities including Almaty on Tuesday evening.
In a statement, it added that 95 police personnel were injured, without giving numbers regarding the protesters.
Bakitzan Sagintayev, the mayor of Alma-Ata, said in a speech to the residents that the situation in the city is under control and the security forces are arresting “inciters and extremists.”
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