A close aide to former President Nazarbayev… There are also rumors of Nazarbaev fleeing abroad.
“Almaty, the center of protests, is gradually stabilizing”… Putin and Tokaev discuss response
(Moscow = Yonhap News) Correspondent Yoo Cheol-jong = The head of a local intelligence agency was arrested on treason charges in Kazakhstan on the 8th (local time) in Kazakhstan, a country in Central Asia where large-scale bloody protests are not being completely resolved.
Kazakh authorities believe he was involved in anti-government protests.
It is reported that the situation in the largest city, Almaty, which is the center of the protests, is gradually stabilizing.
In addition, there are reports that the first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who resigned in 2019 following nearly 30 years in office, fled abroad in connection with the protests.
(Almaty Archyde.com = Yonhap News) Kazakh security forces check and search vehicles in downtown Almaty on the 8th.
◇ KGB head arrested for treason… Rumors of fleeing the first president of Nazarbayev
According to the TAS news agency, Kazakhstan’s National Security Council (KGB) public affairs office said on the same day, “Prior to, on the 6th, KGB Chairman Kareem Maximov and others were arrested and imprisoned in a detention center through their own investigation into allegations of treason.”
The Kazakh KGB is the highest intelligence agency following the former Soviet KGB.
The Kazakh KGB did not comment on the specific charges once morest former Chairman Maximoff.
Former Chairman Maximov served as prime minister twice under former President Nazarbayev from 2007 to 2012 and 2014 to 2016, and served as the President’s Executive Office (Chief of Staff) from 2012 to 2014. have been in charge
He was then fired following the general resignation of the cabinet on the 6th in the midst of this massive anti-government protest.
Samat Abish, the first vice-chairman of the KGB, who was dismissed along with Maximov, was also reported to have been arrested in Almaty on the 7th. Abish is also the nephew of former President Nazarbayev.
Regarding the sudden arrest of a leader of the intelligence service, local analysts say that Nazarbayev’s close aides may have planned the protest to overthrow the Kassim-Jomart Tokaev regime.
[EPA 연합뉴스 자료사진. 재판매 및 DB 금지]
Yermuhammad Yertisbayev, who served as an adviser to former President Nazarbayev, said in an interview with the state-run Habar 24 TV the day before, that Almaty uprising planners prayed for Tokayev’s ouster, including the leadership of the security agency. It argued that high-ranking government officials may have intervened.
He pointed out that as the basis for that, the KGB had hid information regarding an extremist training camp in a mountainous area, and even when the mob attacked Almaty airport on the 5th, he helped the mob by ordering the security of the entire airport to be lifted 40 minutes following the attack.
There were also reports that former President Nazarbayev had already fled abroad with his three daughters.
Orda.kz, a local media outlet, reported on the 7th that former President Nazarbayev left Kazakhstan first, and his daughters followed him.
President Jomart announced on the 5th that while accepting the general resignation of the cabinet, he would dismiss former President Nazarbayev from the position of chairman of the National Security Council (NSC) and assume the chair directly.
Former President Nazarbayev voluntarily resigned from the presidency in 2019, but has continued to exercise political influence while maintaining the chair of the National Security Council and enjoying the status of ‘Wealth of State’.
Some analysts suggest that the protests stemmed from a conflict between the forces of President Jomart, who tried to consolidate his position, and the forces of former President Nazarbayev, who wanted to maintain his political influence.
A spokesperson for the former president, Nazarbayev, however, refuted rumors of his flight abroad, saying he was staying in the capital, Nur-Sultan, and had continued contact with President Tokaev and had several phone calls with foreign leaders.
In addition, the Kazakh KGB press office said that the first vice-chairman Abish continued to hold his post.
Almaty (AFP = Yonhap News) Kazakhstan President Kasim-Jomart Tokayev delivers a speech to the people in Almaty, on the 7th (local time). In a speech that day, he said he might not negotiate with criminals and murderers, and that “the armed forces used to suppress the protests and others have given permission to aim and fire without warning.” 2022.1.7 jsmoon@yna.co.kr
◇ The situation is gradually stabilizing… “More than 4,000 people have been arrested”
Interfax news agency reported that the situation in Almaty, the largest city, the center of large-scale protests, had stabilized by the followingnoon, and that the gunshots heard in the morning had stopped.
According to reports, armored vehicles are still deployed around the city’s Republic Square, and police vehicles can be seen moving quickly, but there are also regular vehicles on the road.
Sputnik news agency reported earlier this morning that the security authorities are continuing a counter-terrorism operation to suppress protesters in Almaty, and gunshots are heard in the city.
“The situation in Kazakhstan is gradually improving,” the Russian Foreign Ministry, which is in close contact with the Kazakh government, said in a press release on the same day.
However, Almaty’s internet and social networking services (SNS) are still blocked, and international calls are scarcely connected, a local source said.
As of this followingnoon, Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry said 4,404 people had been arrested for taking part in the unrest.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said foreigners were among the arrested protesters, but did not mention the specific country name.
As a result of the military and police suppression, the death toll of the protesters has so far exceeded 50, and it is known that there have been many casualties even among the suppressed police and police.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who dispatched an airborne unit to the Kazakhstan region to assist in resolving the protests in Kazakhstan, also had a phone call with Kazakhstan President Tokayev on the same day to discuss countermeasures.
President Tokayev explained to Putin details of the protests and said that the situation was stabilizing, the Kremlin said.
Next, President Tokayev proposed to hold a summit meeting of the members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the former Soviet security consultative body, sooner or later to discuss response to the protests in Kazakhstan, and President Putin also supported the proposal, the Kremlin added.
The CSTO has been dispatching 2,500 peacekeepers to Kazakhstan from the 6th, mainly with the Russian paratroopers.
(Almaty Archyde.com = Yonhap News) The city hall in Almaty, the economic center of Kazakhstan, where a state of emergency was declared due to anti-government protests, was engulfed in flames during the protests on the 6th (local time), and some buildings are still billowing with smoke. 2022.1.6 sungok@yna.co.kr
cjyou@yna.co.kr
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