Kazakhstan Is Not Quiet Anymore; Neighbors Shocked At Internal Strife
Another country has reached its boiling point, something that has taken not only the country’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev by surprise but also most analysts. Kazakhstan has had enough and now the land locked country is in no mood to endure more.
A civil unrest has broken there in the first week
of January and this is going to redefine the geopolitical dynamics for neighboring
nations too. The small population of 19 million now wants government restructuring.
The anger stems from oppression under Nazarbayev, who is 81 and had ruled
Kazakhstan since 1989 before handing over power to his hand-picked successor
Tokayev in 2019. But he continues to hover around as the head of the Security Council
and it became clear that the old ruler was not eager to relinquish his power.
Many protesters shouted “old man out!” in reference
to Nazarbayev, and his statue was pulled down in the southern city of
Taldykorgan. His nephew Samat Abish, deputy head of the main security service
and several other close associates have been purged. According to some experts,
the riots in Almaty are an attempt by members of Nazarbayev’s political clan to
reassert their position. The crisis has thus exposed the infighting at the very
top of the government.
The rich fossil fuel country is now fighting over rising gas prices. Riots
are rare and so are protests around New Years’ time when the country prefers to
enjoy itself. This protest has been the biggest since 1991. In the western town
of Zhanaozen, point of contention is the doubling of the price of liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG), which most Kazakhs use as car fuel.
Protests have travelled across the length and breadth of the nation and are
now taking other political dimensions as well, as people let out cry of freedom.
A hugely rich economy despite Soviet support was taken down bit by bit, by a
corrupt ruler like dictator.
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