Kazakhstan declared a state of emergency on Wednesday after protests over a fuel price hike devolved into violence and demonstrators stormed government buildings.
The state of emergency was declared, according to Russian news agencies Interfax, TASS, and RIA Novosti, citing a statement broadcast on Kazakh state television. In the epicentres of the rallies, the financial capital Almaty, the Mangystau province, and the capital Nur-Sultan, states of emergency had been imposed previously.
Earlier in the day, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev promised to take tough measures to quell deadly protests that have become the country’s biggest leadership challenge in decades. The protests began over the weekend in western Kazakhstan over an increase in fuel prices, but quickly spread across the country, drawing thousands to the streets.
Both city hall and the president’s residence in Almaty, the former capital, were set on fire by protesters on Wednesday, according to Interfax.
In a national address, Tokayev said, “I intend to act as harshly as possible.” Law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty, he said, blaming the protests on “financially motivated conspirators.”
Some protesters demanded that the country’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has ruled the country for over three decades, hand over the reins of power and name Tokayev as his successor in 2019. Tokayev, who lives in the capital Nur-Sultan, initially tried to appease protesters by imposing six-month price caps on motor fuels and accepting the resignation of his government. He also declared a state of emergency in and around Almaty, Nur-Sultan, and the oil-rich Mangystau region, but the measures were ineffective in reducing tensions.
Tokayev also announced that he would succeed Nazarbayev as head of the Security Council and promised to remain in the capital “whatever happens.”
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev separately on Wednesday about the unrest in Kazakhstan, according to the Belarusian news agency Belta.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, stated that Kazakhstan could solve its own problems and that no outside interference was necessary.
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