by Olzhas Asezov and Tamara Vaal
ALMATY, Jan.8 (Reuters) – Kazakh authorities on Saturday announced the arrest of Karim Massimov, former head of Kazakhstan’s national security committee, on suspicion of treason, as the former Soviet republic rocked by its biggest crisis in 30 years, continues to repress the demonstrators.
Karim Massimov, sacked Wednesday from his post of head of intelligence, was arrested along with several other officials, according to the committee, which does not specify the identity of the other detainees.
Reuters could not immediately contact Karim Massimov. The latter was also Prime Minister of Kazakhstan twice and worked with Nursultan Nazarbayev, the man who ruled the country with an iron fist until 2019 before handing over the presidency to Kassim-Jomart Tokayev.
The protests in Kazakhstan, which claimed a dozen lives, were sparked by inflation and rising energy prices. The Kazakh president announced that a day of national mourning would take place on Monday in memory of the victims.
After several days of violence, security forces appeared to have regained control of the streets of Kazakhstan’s main city, Almaty.
In a long telephone interview with Vladimir Putin, Kassim-Jomart Tokayev told his Russian counterpart that the situation in Kazakhstan was stabilizing, according to the Kremlin.
“Hotbeds of terrorist attacks persist. Consequently, the fight against terrorism will continue with total determination,” added the services of Kassim-Jomart Tokaïev, however, citing the Kazakh president.
Kassim-Jomart Tokayev also noted that Vladimir Putin supported the idea of organizing a videoconference meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which links Russia to several former Soviet republics. The timing and location of such a meeting is not yet known.
SPORADIC SHOTS
The President of Kazakhstan announced on Friday that he had authorized the police to open fire without warning to put an end to the disorders generated by the “terrorists”, the day after the arrival of Russian troops he had requested to participate in repression of demonstrations.
According to the Kazakh Interior Ministry, more than 4,400 people have been arrested since the riots began.
In Almaty, a city of around two million people, businesses and gas stations began to reopen on Saturday as security forces patrolled the streets.
Sporadic gunshots were heard around the town’s main square, however.
According to the Russian news agency RIA, quoting the deputy mayor of the city, operations to purge the city of “terrorists and bandit groups” are still underway and the population is invited to stay at home.
In Noursoultan, the capital, images taken by Reuters show the police arresting motorists at a checkpoint where there is a strong presence of armed soldiers nearby.
Access to the internet, largely cut off across the country for several days, was still severely disrupted on Saturday.
EAST-WEST TENSIONS
The decision by the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to dispatch around 2,500 troops to Kazakhstan comes amid tensions between East and West as Moscow and Washington brace themselves for talks next week on the Ukrainian crisis.
Russia, which has also massed tens of thousands of soldiers near the borders of Ukraine in recent months, demands security guarantees from the West, in particular the end of all military collaboration between NATO and the United States. Ukraine and Georgia and any enlargement of the Alliance towards Eastern Europe.
The United States has criticized the deployment of Russian troops in Kazakhstan and wonders if this decision presented by the CSTO as a mission of a few days or weeks will not turn into a much longer presence.
“A lesson from recent history is that when the Russians are in your house it is sometimes very difficult to get them out,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday.
Washington has also allowed non-essential employees of its consulate in Almaty to leave the country. (Report Olzhas Asezov and Mariya Gordeyeva in Almaty and Tamara Vaal in Nursoultan, with the contribution of Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber in Moscow, written by Mark Trevelyan; French version Claude Chendjou)