Kazakhstan’s President Qasim-Yomart Tokayev today fired two more high-ranking security officials after the worst unrest in the country in three decades, with authorities announcing today that the situation was stabilizing.
Officials, deputies to former National Security Committee chief Karim Massimov, were arrested on suspicion of treason.
Protests in Kazakhstan began a week ago in protest of rising fuel prices, before escalating into a wider protest against the government of President Tokayev and his predecessor, 81-year-old Nursultan Nazarbayev. This is the deadliest outbreak of violence in the 30 years of Kazakhstan’s independence.
Dozens of people were killed, thousands were arrested and public buildings were set on fire last week. Tokayev issued orders to security forces to open fire without warning to end the unrest, which he blamed on gangs and terrorists.
Russian and local media reported today that 164 people were killed during the riots, citing a government post on social media, but police and hospital authorities have not confirmed that number. The post has now been deleted.
Internet access is limited and telecommunications are not working properly.
At Tokayev’s invitation, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) under Russia sent troops to restore order.
A spokesman for Kazakhstan’s president said today that he believed CSTO forces would not remain in the country for long and probably not more than two weeks, maybe less.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and other CSTO leaders will hold an online meeting Monday to discuss the crisis in Kazakhstan, the Kremlin has announced.
The violence has sparked speculation about a possible rift between the ruling elite, with Tokayev trying to consolidate his power after ousting high-ranking officials and removing Nazarbayev from the presidency of the powerful Security Council.
The expulsion of Marat Osipov and Daulet Ergozin, deputy heads of the National Security Committee, was announced on the president’s website today, without giving any explanation for the reasons for their removal.
Massimov, a former leader who has twice served as Kazakhstan’s prime minister, is thought to be close to Nazarbayev.
Meanwhile, in a statement aimed at ending speculation about a rupture, Nazarbayev’s spokesman said the former president was in the country despite the unrest and had chosen to step down to help Tokayev de-escalate the condition.
“He and the head of state have always been ‘on the same side of the trenches,'” the statement said, calling on citizens to join forces with Tokayev.
The president is expected to announce the new members of the government on Tuesday, when he will address parliament.
Stabilization
Earlier in the day, Tokayev’s office said in a statement that “a number of strategically important facilities have been set up under the auspices of the CSTO United Nations peacekeeping force” without elaborating on what those facilities are.
“The situation has stabilized in all parts of the country,” the statement said.
“The counter-terrorism operation (…) will continue until the terrorists are completely eliminated,” said Deputy Defense Minister Sultan Gamatedinov.
Violence in recent days has tarnished Kazakhstan’s image as a secure and tightly controlled country, which has attracted billions of dollars in Western investment in its oil and mineral industries.
Police say 6,044 people have been arrested in connection with the riots.
In Almaty, the country’s largest city and the epicenter of the unrest, the situation was calm today, with security forces setting up checkpoints at various points.
Broken windows, damaged ATMs and burned buildings are reminiscent of the riots of the previous days, while access to the central Republic Square is still not allowed.
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