The president of Kazakhstan, Kasim-Yomart Tokáyev, has revealed during a speech to the nation that gave the express order to “shoot to kill” without prior notice against the protesters, whom he has described as “bandits”, if they offer resistance to the authorities.
“I gave the order to the organs of the police and the Army to shoot to kill without prior notice,” he said after assuring that it will not dialogue “with armed and prepared bandits, both local and foreign”.
Since January 2, the streets of the main cities of the country have been in chaos due to the protests that They started with an increase of more than 100% in the price of fuel and that have resulted in an authentic revolution against the regime of its current president.
“This revolt is undermining the integrity of the country,” assured the president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. But he is alone. His government has resigned en bloc. For now, it has declared a state of emergency in the country and has asked its neighbors: Belarus for help. “I would just tell (the protesters) to cut their roll, that’s fine,” Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarusian president, said recently. Also to Russia, which sent its “peacekeeping forces” in tanks.
The Army has taken to the streets to try to control the situation and the protesters defend themselves from their shots with what they can. According to various media, dozens of civilians have died. Meanwhile, the carcasses of cars and buildings continue to burn with flames. Consequence of a revolt that spreads throughout the country.
Thus, Kazakhstan is experiencing the biggest protests in its post-Soviet history these days, with demonstrators described as “terrorists” by the Government. The protests in the second post-Soviet space economy were unleashed on January 2 after the rise in the price of liquefied gas, the country’s main automotive fuel, which doubled its price from 60 tenge per liter to 120 (0.14-0 , $ 28). The general discontent initially originated in western Mangystau, but quickly spread throughout the country.
At the same time, the slogans of an economic and social nature gradually led to political claims. Many analysts now attribute the protests to the Kazakhs fed up with the ancient elites, which has been growing in recent years and reached its peak after a new price rise. The main demand of the government’s detractors is to end the time of former president Nursultán Nazarbayev, whom opponents accuse of still maintaining political power in Kazakhstan in the shadow of the current president.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
