Kazakh government imposes state of emergency, curfew, in capital province
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has declared a state of emergency in the Kazakhstani capital province of Almaty amid on-going protests, the president’s office stated on Jan. 4.
The state of emergency is accompanied by a 2200-0700 curfew, and will last for a period of two weeks, until Jan. 19, according to the president’s website.
The state of emergency entails the following measures:
Heightened security around objects of critical state, strategic, and civilian infrastructure.
Video of dayRestrictions on movement of people and vehicles in Almaty province.
Introduction of checkpoints to check people’s IDs, vehicles and luggage.
Restrictions on entering and leaving Almaty province.
Suspension of the right of peaceful assembly, and a ban on all mass gatherings of citizens.
Suspension of all strikes and other means of industrial action.
A ban on sales of arms and ammunition; introduction of controls over sales of medicine, drugs and spirits.
Confiscation of arms, ammunition, toxic, explosive or radioactive materials that might be in the possession of citizens and organizations.
Heightened security around objects of critical state, strategic, and civilian infrastructure.
Restrictions on movement of people and vehicles in Almaty province.
Introduction of checkpoints to check people’s IDs, vehicles and luggage.
Restrictions on entering and leaving Almaty province.
Suspension of the right of peaceful assembly, and a ban on all mass gatherings of citizens.
Suspension of all strikes and other means of industrial action.
A ban on sales of arms and ammunition; introduction of controls over sales of medicine, drugs and spirits.
Confiscation of arms, ammunition, toxic, explosive or radioactive materials that might be in the possession of citizens and organizations.
The protests currently sweeping several cities in the country have been linked to significant cost rises in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, which many Kazakhs use as car fuel due to its comparatively lower cost compared to gasoline). These rises occurred after the government decided to remove price caps on the fuel, leading to its price spiking up to KZT 120 ($0.28) per liter.
The price surge sparked protests in the Mangistau province on Jan. 2. Among the demands of these initial rioters was the reintroduction of the cap on the price of LNG, at the level of KZT 60 ($0.14).
By Jan. 4, Kazakhstan’s government had pledged to reintroduce fuel price caps in the Mangistau province at the level of KZT 50 ($0.12). However, this failed to placate the protesters, who are now calling for “work and a higher standard of living”, along with a change of government in Nur-Sultan, the country’s capital city, named after Kazakh dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The Kazakh government resigned en masse on Jan. 5, while law enforcement authorities have begun to disperse the protesters with force. Kazakh President Tokayev has alleged that foreign and domestic provocateurs are behind the protests, though no evidence of such has been provided.
Nazarbayev, the long-time Kazakh dictator and current Chairman of the Security Council of Kazakhstan, has not yet commented on the protests.
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