Riots in Kazakhstan: state of emergency declared, president denounces “terrorists” and calls on … – BFMTV

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev accused “terrorist gangs” from abroad and called on Moscow to “defeat the threat”. The country has been marked for several days by consecutive riots, in particular due to the rise in the price of gas.

The situation remains extremely tense in Kazakhstan. On Wednesday, the government of the Central Asian country declared a state of emergency throughout its territory after protests sparked by rising gas prices that degenerated into riots, Russian agencies reported. The Interfax, TASS and RIA Novosti agencies announced this state of emergency, citing a statement broadcast on Kazakh television.

According to these same agencies, eight members of the security forces have lost their lives since the start of the riots, without a civilian side report having been detailed.

Curfew and state of emergency

Earlier today, the authorities cut off access to the Internet and the mobile phone network across the country and declared a state of emergency in several cities and regions where the protests took place: the economic capital Almaty, the province of Mangystau, and the capital Nur-Sultan, renamed in honor of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The global state of emergency is expected to be maintained until January 19.

The state of emergency “will restrict freedom of movement, including transport,” the channel presenter said in Russian, and will prohibit “collective events and family ceremonies linked to births, marriages or deaths”.

The restrictions “were introduced in connection with the worsening of the situation, to ensure public safety, the restoration of law and order, and the protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens,” he said. for follow-up. As part of the state of emergency, a curfew is in effect from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Confrontations

The angry movement that started Sunday in a provincial town after a rise in gas prices, spread to Almaty, the economic capital and largest city in the country, overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday.

After a night of riots that saw the arrest of more than 200 people, thousands of protesters stormed the Almaty administration headquarters on Wednesday afternoon, appearing to have taken control of it.

Police fired stun grenades and tear gas at protesters, some of whom were armed with batons and shields taken from law enforcement, but were unable to prevent them from entering the building, according to journalists. AFP.

Men in police uniform were seen putting down their shields and helmets to embrace the protesters. “They’re coming over to our side!” A woman said, hugging another protester. Local media reported that the protesters then proceeded to the presidential residence in the city, and the two buildings were on fire.

Appeal to Russia

On Wednesday, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sacked his entire government before speaking publicly. In addition, the latter asked for help from Russia and its allies to quell the ongoing riots, which he said were the work of “terrorists” trained abroad.

“Today I called on the heads of states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to help Kazakhstan defeat the terrorist threat,” he said on state television, adding that demonstrations led by “terrorist gangs” having “received extensive training abroad”.

As of Wednesday, the country was experiencing a “nationwide internet blackout,” web monitoring group NetBlocks announced on Twitter. The blackout “is likely to severely limit coverage of intensifying anti-government protests,” the NGO added.

AFP correspondents were unreachable on Wednesday evening. Previously, they had reported that internet connections were intermittent and that the Telegram, Signal and WhatsApp messaging apps were all unavailable, while the sites of two independent media appeared to be blocked.

Washington calls for de-escalation

Internationally, current events have caused a reaction. Today, the US government, through White House spokesman Jen Psaki, called on the authorities of Kazakhstan to “restrain” and want the demonstrations to take place “in a peaceful manner”.

Jen Psaki also criticized Russia’s “crazy allegations” of alleged US responsibility in the riots sweeping the country. “This is absolutely false” and it is “part of the Russian disinformation strategy”, she asserted.

Earlier today, Moscow called for “dialogue. We are in favor of a peaceful solution to all problems within the legal and constitutional framework and through dialogue, and not through street riots and violation of laws,” he said. said the Russian Foreign Minister in a statement.