Large-scale popular unrest in Kazakhstan this week has produced running battles between protesters and state security forces in the main city Almaty with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Friday authorising forces to “fire without warning”. Tokayev’s decision to call in troops from a Russian-led military alliance could further destabilise Kazakhstan and the wider Central Asian region.
Kazakhstan this week experienced its worst street protests since the oil-rich Central Asian nation gained independence from the Soviet Union three decades ago.
Despite the telecommunications blackout, images emerging from the country show scenes of devastation with protesters in Almaty setting alight government buildings and toppling the statue of influential ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The interior ministry said on Friday that it had “liquidated” 26 “armed criminals” while 18 police officers had been killed.
A rise in natural gas prices in western Kazakhstan sparked this eruption of longstanding popular resentment over stagnant living standards and illiberal governance.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attempted to calm the protests earlier this week by dismissing his cabinet and appearing to sideline Nazarbayev. But demonstrations continued unabated. Earlier this week, Tokayev invited troops from the Russian-led military alliance of post-Soviet states, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), to help restore order in Kazakhstan.
On Friday, Tobayev thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin – in addition to the leaders of China, Uzbekistan and Turkey – for their help. He added that security forces can open fire “without warning” and that his forces will persist “until the total destruction of the militants”.
To explore the causes and consequences of Kazakhstan’s crisis, FRANCE 24 spoke to Marie Dumoulin, director of the Wider Europe Programme at the…
Source : france24
