Almaty. Kazakhstan declared a national state of emergency after protests against the rise in gas prices that the day before led to clashes with the police and attacks on government buildings.
The Kazakh government had previously imposed a state of emergency only in Almaty, the country’s financial capital, as well as in Mangistau province and the administrative capital, Nur Sultan.
President Kassym Jomart Tokayev promised on Wednesday a “firm” response to protests in this former Soviet republic that have killed eight police and military personnel while another 317 elements have been injured.
Faced with this, the Kazakh president asked for help from a regional military alliance led by Russia to quell the protests that, according to him, are led by “terrorists.”
“Today I called on the heads of states of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) (a military alliance of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) to help Kazakhstan overcome this terrorist threat.” Tokayev said on state television, adding that those “terrorist gangs” who “received” training abroad “are involved in protests sparked by rising gas prices.
Protesters in Kazakhstan’s largest city stormed the presidential residence and the mayor’s office and set both buildings on fire. They also broke into the airport causing the cancellation of flights.
Initially angered by the rise in fuel prices, protesters lashed out at Nursultan Nazarbayev, stripped of his role as head of the Security Council on Wednesday and who retained broad power despite resigning in 2019 after a rule of nearly three decades. Tokayev’s cabinet also resigned.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx