Almaty / Moscow – The state of emergency in Kazakhstan was lifted from midnight on Wednesday. But the challenges facing this country persist. In Almaty, anti-government groups have announced new protests. This led to a high alert being issued to the security agencies. Meanwhile, President Tokayev fired Defence Minister Murat Bektanov. President Tokayev said the move was prompted by Defence Minister Bektanov’s failure to fulfil his responsibilities during the protests.
Violent protests against fuel price hikes erupted in Kazakhstan at the beginning of the new year. 164 people were killed and hundreds were injured in these protests. The victims included 14 security personnel. President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev said these are not spontaneous protests but a well-planned terrorist attack. A state of emergency was declared in the country after the protests intensified. President Tokayev also called for military assistance to the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization-CSTO, which comprises former Soviet countries.
President Tokayev had blamed foreign powers for the unrest in Kazakhstan. It was revealed that Kazakhstan’s criminal world leader Arman Dike, who was arrested during the protests, had links with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. As a result, there were reports of Turkey being behind the violence in Kazakhstan. Former Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev and former head of counter-terrorism group were also allegedly involved. There were allegations from Russia that the US intervention had caused instability in Kazakhstan. The US has denied these allegations.
President Tokayev removed former President Nursultan Nazarbayev from his post on the National Security Committee to control the protesters. Relatives of Nursultan were also removed from important posts. The people of Kazakhstan supported President Tokayev’s decision. Consequently, the situation began to get under control.
Therefore, the soldiers from Russia and other CSTO members were withdrawn after deployment for ten days. The last contingent of Russian troops and aircrafts left Almaty for Moscow on Wednesday. President Tokayev announced that the emergency would be withdrawn from Wednesday midnight. But the anti-government groups in Kazakhstan have again called for new protests in Almaty.
Until 1997, Almaty was famous as the capital of Kazakhstan. Almaty is seen as Kazakhstan’s largest city and trading hub. Kazakhstan’s economy has been hit by instability in the city. Therefore, Kazakhstan’s security system has issued a high alert to prevent violent protests from burning again in the city.
Meanwhile, political differences between former President Nursultan and President Tokayev are also claimed to have sparked the conflict. There were reports of Nursultan the country fleeing after President Tokayev took action. But Nursultan has released a video claiming that he is still in Kazakhstan.
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