The government faces major protests against the president and prices.
This Friday the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym Jomart Tokayev, rejected any negotiations with the protesters and authorized the security forces to shoot “without warning” to end the protests that are shaking the country.
The largest country in Central Asia has been the scene of a revolt that broke out last Sunday in the provinces, after a rise in the price of gas, and spread to other cities, and especially to Almaty, the economic capital, where the demonstrations took place. turned into violent and chaotic riots.
A contingent of Russian and other allied troops arrived in this former Soviet republic on Thursday to support the government and protect official buildings, along with local security forces.
In this regard, Tokayev thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin, who “responded very quickly” to his request for help.
“I have given the order to shoot to kill without warning,” Tokayev said in a television speech, adding that “terrorists continue to damage property and use weapons against citizens.”
Tokayev rejected any negotiation and promised to “eliminate” the “bandits” who have caused these riots, who according to him are “20,000” and had “a clear plan.”
“What kind of negotiation can you have with criminals, with murderers? We have faced armed and trained bandits (…). They have to be destroyed and that is what we will do in a short time ”, he added.
Likewise, he considered that “it is the free media and some people who, from abroad, play an instigating role” in this crisis.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, called for an “end to violence” and “moderation”.
Instead, Chinese President Xi Jinping applauded the “strong measures” taken by the Kazakh government against the protesters.
‘Order restored’
On Friday afternoon, in the streets of Almaty there were still charred vehicles and pools of blood, although the circulation was gradually resumed, as armored trucks of the Police patrolled.
The facade of the City Hall, burned on Wednesday, like the presidential residence, was blackened and smoke continued to leak through the windows.
The Russian government indicated that its military began to “shed some of the tasks assigned to them” in Kazakhstan and that the Almaty airport was “completely under control”.
Previously, the Kazakh leader had declared that constitutional order had been “widely restored in all regions.”
For its part, the Interior Ministry reported that 26 “armed criminals” died and that all administrative buildings were “liberated and placed under greater protection,” with 70 checkpoints installed in the country, according to a statement.
The security forces reported 18 dead and 748 wounded among their troops. To date, more than 3,800 people have been arrested.
However, these figures have not been able to be compared with any independent source, and the Government has not provided any balance of civilians, apart from the protesters.
“The anti-terrorist operation continues, the militants have not laid down their arms. Those who do not give up will be eliminated, “added Tokayev on Friday.
Anger against the former president
The intensity and the sudden nature of these riots have had an impact on Kazakhstan, a country of 19 million inhabitants, rich in natural resources and reputed for its government as stable as it is authoritarian.
The authorities initially tried to calm the protesters, without success, by granting a drop in the price of gas, dismissing the government and establishing a state of emergency and a night curfew throughout the country.
Despite the price hike, the protesters’ anger was directed at 81-year-old former President Nursultán Nazarbayev, who ruled the country autocratically from 1989 to 2019, and retains great influence. He is also considered the mentor of the current president.
The Kazakh opposition Mukhtar Abliazov, a political refugee in France, declared on Friday that a “revolution” had started in his country and denounced that Kazakhstan is “occupied” by Russian forces.
“I believe that this is the end of the regime, the only question is how long it will take,” he said.
Some Kazakh media claimed that Nazarbayev and his family left Kazakhstan, but this information could not be verified with an independent source.
On Thursday, the UN urged all parties to “refrain from any violence,” and the United States called for a “peaceful solution.” (I)
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