Kazakh President Qasim-Jomart Tokayev has declared a two-week state of emergency in Almaty and the province of Mangistau, where large-scale protests have been taking place in recent days.
Riots broke out in many cities of Kazakhstan after the authorities were the ceiling on the price of LPG, as a result of which the price of this popular fuel skyrocketed.
Strong explosions were heard in the center of Almaty in the first morning hours of Wednesday, local time, since the police experienced hundreds of protesters from the main square, launching tear gas and cranberry-flash bombers.
Earlier, in a series of high-profile protests across the country, Kazakh President Kasim-Jomart Tokayev said his government was not going to fall. “Calls for attacks on government and military buildings are completely illegal. “The government will not fall, but we want mutual trust and dialogue, instead of conflict,” he said in a videotaped sermon.
Late at night the government announced that it would restore a ceiling on the price of LPG.
Many Kazakhs have converted their vehicles to run on LPG, which is much cheaper than gasoline, due to the imposition of a maximum selling price. But the government argued that the low price was not sustainable and lifted the ceiling on January 1st.
After the price of gas skyrocketed, thousands of people took to the streets of the city of Zanaozen on January 2. The protests spread to other parts of Mangistu province and western Kazakhstan, as well as to a labor camp used by subcontractors of Tengizchevroil, the country’s largest oil company. The group assured that production has not been affected by the mobilizations.
In Almaty, the police blocked the central square yesterday and today. Local media reported that dozens of people had been arrested after protesters blocked a busy street. In the city center, mobile phones could not be connected to the internet.
Tonight, the government announced that it is restoring the ceiling of 50 tenge ($ 0.11) per liter of LPG in the province of Mangistau, a price that is half of the price at which the fuel is sold on the market.
Demonstrations are illegal in Kazakhstan, unless the organizers inform the authorities in advance. President Kasim-Jomart Tokayev, who was chosen as Nursultan Nazarbayev as his successor when he resigned in 2019, after 30 years in power, has no political opponent in parliament.
Tokayev said on Twitter that he would convene a cabinet meeting to discuss the protesters’ demands and called on them to act “responsibly” and be open to “dialogue.”
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