“Dozens” of protesters were killed by police overnight from Wednesday to Thursday as they attempted to seize administrative buildings in Kazakhstan. The losses are also heavy among the police. Russia has sent a “peacekeeping” contingent, while France and London are calling for de-escalation.
Escalation and repression in Kazakhstan. After leaving the demonstrators in the streets of the country for several days, the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev chose the use of force. On Thursday, the Kazakh police announced that they had arrested more than 2,000 people in the streets of Almaty. According to the Interior Ministry, the police officers had the task of “clean the streets“. The arrested protesters were taken to the city’s police stations, while several armored vehicles and dozens of soldiers deployed to Almaty’s main square.
In the process, the government is trying to calm the dispute: it announced this Thursday to cap the selling price of fuels for six months. The announcement of the price increase had been the spark triggering the wave of protest. This measure, detailed on the Prime Minister’s website, aims to “Stabilize the socio-economic situation” in this Central Asian country. The country has been rocked for several days by violent riots, which saw crowds storming government buildings in this central Asian country rich in natural resources.
Russian support
As early as Wednesday, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for help from his allies of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (the CSTO). Russian troops “Peacekeeping” are arriving in Kazakhstan, said Thursday morning the spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova. “A collective peacekeeping force from the Collective Security Treaty Organization has been dispatched […] for a limited period in order to stabilize and normalize the situation ‘, she said in a press release.
The OSTC brings together several former Soviet republics around Russia, including Belarus and Uzbekistan. The President of Kazakhstan has asked him for help with what he calls a “Terrorist threat”.
Riot night
During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, the police counted several dozen dead. “More than a thousand people were injured as a result of riots in different regions of Kazakhstan, nearly 400 of them were hospitalized and 62 people are in intensive care”, also indicated the Deputy Minister Ajar Guiniat on the antenna of the channel Khabar-24 and quoted by the Interfax and TASS agencies.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has so far failed to calm the protests, despite a concession on the price of gas, the resignation of his government and the establishment of a state of emergency and a night curfew in the country. He is now talking about terrorist actions.
“Last night, extremist forces attempted to storm administrative buildings, the Almaty city police department, as well as local departments and police stations.”, said police spokesman Saltanat Azirbek, quoted by local media, adding that an operation “counterterrorismWas in progress in one of the neighborhoods of Almaty.
The spark of rising gas prices
Images circulated in the media and on social networks show scenes of chaos with shops looted and some administrative buildings raided and set on fire in Almaty, while automatic weapon fire could be heard.
Part of the West, the protest – initially against the sudden rise in gas prices – has gathered momentum, spread to the surrounding towns. During the night from Sunday to Monday, demonstrations erupted in Aktaou, the regional capital. From a few hundred demonstrators, we went, over the course of the day, to several thousand, then tens of thousands. Political slogans are beginning to mix with economic demands: resignation of the government and of the governor of the region. Monday evening, the protest had reached most of the major Kazakh towns.
Protesters managed to seize administrative buildings and briefly seize the airport, while looting increased. In western towns, we see police breaking ranks and fraternizing with protesters. Almost ten years ago to the day, a vast movement of social protest and strikes, repressed in blood, had made dozens of deaths.
Faced with escalating violence, Paris and London called “all parties” to the “moderation“, As well as a regulation”peacefulOf the crisis.
Update : updated this Thursday at 1:50 p.m. with the number of arrests.