Kazakhstan President says, “Constitutional order mostly restored as Russia flies in troops”
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Hashim Sheikh
- . January 7, 2022
- . Update: January 7, 2022 7:07 pm
Kazakhstan–A Russian-led military alliance of post-Soviet states sent “peacekeeping forces” to Kazakhstan to help the country after deadly unrest sparked by a fuel price hike. Subsequently, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev claimed on Friday that constitutional order had mostly been restored in all the regions of the country.
Kazakhstan’s interior ministry said on Friday that 26 “armed criminals” had been “liquidated” and more than 3,000 of them detained. On Thursday, Tokayev appealed to the Collective Security Treaty Organization to help Kazakhstan after the protest. The Collective Security Treaty Organization is a military alliance between Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, and Armenia.
Protests took place in Almaty and Mangystau
The protests took place in several states in Kazakhstan because of the increase in prices for Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG). The widespread protests led the national government to resign on Wednesday.
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Reportedly, thousands of people took to the streets in Almaty and Mangystau to protest against the increase in LPG prices. Protesters also gathered at the mayor’s office in Almaty. Clashes erupted between the protestors and the police officers. Subsequently, Tokayev accepted the resignation of the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Askar Mamin.
According to The New York Times, eight police officers and national guard troops were killed in the protest. Dozens of civilians were also killed in the conflict. The interior ministry also claimed that 95 police officers were injured during the protests. The outrage over LPG prices became violent and took a wave of political anger. People slammed the country’s former president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Protesters started chanting slogans against Nazarbayev.
Protestors also accused the former president and his family of assembling extensive wealth while the nation remained poor. Subsequently, the government made another concession on Thursday, setting new fuel price limits for six months. He said that urgent measures were needed “to stabilize the socio-economic situation” of the country.
