Riot police gather to stop protesters during a protest in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, January 5, 2022. Protesters condemning the doubling of liquefied gas prices clashed with police in Kazakhstan’s largest city and protested in about a dozen other cities. Country.
Highlight
- Protests in Almaty have turned extremely violent
- The country is facing the worst road protests since independence
- The government on Thursday announced a 180-day price cap and utility moratorium on vehicle fuels.
Kazakhstan’s president announced on Friday that constitutional order had been “mainly restored” after unprecedented unrest in the country in recent days.
“Anti-terrorist operation has started. Law enforcement agencies are working hard. Constitutional order has mainly been restored in all areas of the country. Local authorities are controlling the situation,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was quoted as saying by his spokesman on Friday.
However, the president said that “terrorists are still using weapons and harming people’s property” and that “anti-terrorist action” should be continued.
Kazakhstan is facing its worst street protests since the country gained independence three decades ago. Demonstrations began at the nearly doubling of prices for one type of vehicle fuel and spread across the country, reflecting widespread discontent over the same party’s rule since independence.
The protests have turned violent, with government buildings set on fire and hundreds of protesters and more than a dozen law enforcement officers killed. Internet has been shut down across the country, and two airports, including one in the country’s largest city, Almaty, have been closed.
In a concession, the government on Thursday announced a 180-day price limit on vehicle fuels and a moratorium on increase in utility rate. Tokayev has fluctuated between trying to pacify the protesters, including accepting the resignation of his government and promising drastic measures to quell the unrest, which he has blamed on a “terrorist band”.
Seen as one such measure, the president called on a Russia-led military coalition for help.
The coalition, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, includes the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and has begun deploying troops to Kazakhstan for peacekeeping missions.
Kazakh officials have insisted that the soldiers will not fight the protesters, but will guard government institutions.
Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry said on Friday that 26 protesters were killed, 18 were injured and more than 3,000 people were detained during the unrest. A total of 18 law enforcement officers are also reported killed, and more than 700 have been injured.
Clashes also broke out in Almaty on Friday morning, but in other parts of the country, things began to return to normal. In the capital, Nur-Sultan, internet access has been partially restored, and train traffic has resumed throughout Kazakhstan.
Local TV station Khabar-24 quoted airport spokespersons as saying that the Almaty airport would remain closed until Friday evening.
Tokayev is expected to address the nation on Friday afternoon.
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