Kazakhstan commemorates those who died in the serious unrest
Created: 01/10/2022, 05:14 AM
An armed riot police detained two demonstrators in Almaty, Kazakhstan, during a so-called anti-terrorist operation.
© Vasily Krestyaninov / AP / dpa
Kazakhstan has not been calming down for over a week.
The protests have plunged the country into a serious crisis.
A Russian-dominated military alliance is deployed there.
But how much longer?
Nur-Sultan - With a day of state mourning, Kazakhstan in Central Asia will commemorate the dozen dead from the unprecedented riots of the past few days on Monday.
President Kassym-Shomart Tokayev has issued an ordinance to commemorate the “many victims of the tragic events in some parts of the country”.
In addition, a Russian-dominated military alliance is meeting to discuss how to proceed.
The leadership in Nur-Sultan now wants to inform the international community about the events and their development.
Over 160 dead
More than 160 people have already died in the riots, the Kazakh state television reported on Sunday, citing the Ministry of Health.
More than 2000 were injured.
These numbers were deleted by the state media on Sunday evening without giving any reason.
The number of arrests was officially stated on the website of the President's Office on Monday morning as 5800.
According to the Kremlin from Moscow, the member states of the Organization of the Collective Security Treaty (CSTO) will hold a video link on Monday about the situation on site.
President Tokayev had previously asked the organization for help, which sent thousands of soldiers to the ex-Soviet republic.
That sparked concern in the West.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will also take part in the conversation.
“Measures to normalize the situation” are therefore being discussed.
In addition to Russia and Kazakhstan, the alliance also includes Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
It was unclear whether a decision will be made at the meeting about when the deployment of the 2,500 soldiers will end.
According to its own statements, the organization wants to remain in the situation until it is “completely stabilized”.
On the other hand, a spokesman for Tokayev said on state television that the troops could leave the country "within a week".
Russian interest
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on CNN on Sunday that the US had asked the government in Kazakhstan to clarify why it had called the CSTO for support.
According to experts, Putin's military operation is not inconvenient.
With the support for Tokayev, he could maintain a Russia-friendly system in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan, which borders Russia and China, has not been resting for more than a week.
Displeasure over the rise in fuel prices at petrol stations in the oil- and gas-rich country turned into protests against the government.
In addition to peaceful demonstrations, there were also violent riots, especially in the metropolis of Almaty.
Tokayev declared a state of emergency, dismissed the government and ordered the military to shoot protesters.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an initial protest against increased gas prices had been misused by “terrorist, extremist and criminal groups” to escalate violence in the country.
Since members of radical Islamist groups were later recognized at the hotspots of violence in the country, Kazakhstan asked the CSTO for help.
Domestic political restructuring
Meanwhile, he continues to reorganize the government.
According to the state media, on Monday night the head of state dismissed the vice-chief of the secret service, Marat Osipov, who had been appointed a few years ago by Tokayev's predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The arrest of the previous secret service chief Karim Massimov became known on Saturday.
Tokayev had previously withdrawn Nazarbayev himself from the chairmanship of the body - and taken it over himself.
Nazarbayev's spokesman countered rumors at the weekend that the 81-year-old had already left the country.
Allegedly he resigned his post on the Security Council voluntarily.
Some experts argue that Tokayev is using the current crisis to gain more leverage.
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As before, hardly any independent information from Kazakhstan penetrates abroad.
The internet has been switched off at times.
Foreigners were initially no longer allowed to enter.
State-controlled information could not be checked.
President: Situation under control
According to President Tokayev, the situation is now under control, but there are still operations against demonstrators who are alleged to be armed.
Which people these are is still completely unclear.
Tokayev also suspects other countries to be behind it.
In the meantime, the clean-up work is continuing in Almaty, the metropolis that has been particularly hard hit by the riots.
Some burned-out cars were reportedly removed from the streets.
A journalist living in the city reported on Sunday to the German press agency on the phone that many grocery stores had been looted.
"Bank branches, ATMs - everything is broken." Credit institutions assured the Kazakhs in social networks that their savings would not be lost.
In Almaty, bus traffic is expected to start slowly again on Monday.
dpa