Clashes resumed today, Wednesday, between protesters and security forces in Kazakhstan, while gunfire was heard near the office of the mayor of Almaty.
Violent protests broke out on Tuesday, prompting Tokayev to declare a state of emergency in Almaty, the largest city in the Central Asian country, and in the oil-producing region of Mangistu in the west of the country.
Earlier in the day, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev tried to calm the anger of the demonstrators in the street by dismissing the government, and his office said that he accepted the resignation of the government, and appointed Alikhan Ismailov, who was the first deputy prime minister, as acting prime minister.
From protests in Kazakhstan
The text of the decree reads: “Accepting the resignation of the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Assigning the duties of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan temporarily to Ismailov Alikhan,” who in the resigned government held the position of First Deputy Prime Minister. Tokayev instructed the members of the government to continue performing their duties until the approval of the new cabinet lineup, after declaring a state of emergency in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan and the country’s economic capital.
Messaging apps Telegram, Signal and WhatsApp stopped working in the country on Tuesday evening after thousands of people took to the streets in the oil-rich country to express their dissatisfaction with high prices and government performance.
And the police in Kazakhstan announced, on Wednesday, that more than 200 people were arrested and dozens of its members were injured, after protests against high gas prices rocked several cities in the Central Asian country.
The protests sparked a rise in gas prices in the country, but the government’s move to cut prices in response to the protesters’ demands did not contribute to allaying their anger.
It is noteworthy that Askar Mamin has been heading the government of Kazakhstan since February 25, 2019.
Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, Murat Nurtlu, was also appointed to the position of First Deputy Chairman of the National Security Committee.” The president also appointed his assistant, Yerlan Karen, as the new Minister of State, after he dismissed Karimbek Kocherbayev, who had held this position since September 2019.
Among the duties of the Minister of State, according to the constitution, is coordinating activities related to social and humanitarian issues, and supervising the work of the President’s Anti-Corruption Council.