A military and police chappe. Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Friday that order has largely been “restored” in the country. “The police are working hard. Constitutional order has been largely restored in all regions, ”the Head of State said in a statement, adding that operations to restore public order would continue“ until the total destruction of the militants ”. He adds that “the local organs have control of the situation, but the terrorists still use weapons and damage the property of the citizens”.
Since Sunday, the former Soviet republic, the world’s largest uranium producer, has been grappling with violent protests in the provinces following the decision to increase the prices of liquefied gas, the daily fuel for vehicles. Part of the Mangystau region, in the south-west of the country, the movement reached Almaty, the economic capital located in the south-east of the country, but also Atyrau, Aktobe (in the west), Uralsk (in the north- west), Taraz, Shymkent, Kyzylorda (in the south), Karaganda (in the northeast) and even the political capital, Nur-Sultan, named following the former president who continues to influence the politics of the country.
After the “dozens” of deaths recorded during the clashes from Wednesday to Thursday, the Interior Ministry of Kazakhstan announced on Friday that 26 “armed criminals” had been killed and 18 injured during the unrest. They are added to the thirteen killed the day before, two of whom were found beheaded. All regions have been “liberated and placed under increased protection”, with 70 checkpoints established in the country, the ministry added in a statement, and in Almaty, “the police and the armed forces and related ones assure public order, protection of strategic infrastructure and street cleaning ”. Authorities announced on Thursday that they had arrested more than 2,300 people.
Establishment of a curfew announced by SMS
Called to the rescue within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Russia quickly parachuted troops in addition to the Kazakh system. New violence erupted Thursday in the economic capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty, in particular in the Republic Square, occupied alternately by troops and hundreds of demonstrators for much of the day. On Thursday evening, the fighting resumed following dark. Explosions and gunfire were heard. According to the Mir-24 television station, the military was using loudspeakers to demand that the streets be cleaned, and residents received text messages reminding them of a curfew. The TASS news agency quoted witnesses as saying people were killed and injured in the new gunfire.
The Internet continued to be cut, making it difficult to communicate and verify information. Under pressure from the streets, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev however sacked the government and conceded a drop in the price of gas.
“People have understood that they are not weak, that they can force the regime to listen to the people,” said Kazakh opponent Moukhtar Abliazov, a political refugee in France, to AFP. “In literally three days, a revolution has occurred. It’s a real revolution, ”he said during an interview in Paris, where he lives. “The regime change has not yet taken place but the revolution has already taken place in people’s minds”, considers the ex-banker and ex-minister of 58 years who fell out of favor at the end of the 1990s. “I consider that it is the end of the regime, the question is only how long it will take ”.
