"Don't shoot your own citizens"

What is happening in Kazakhstan and how the protests may affect Russia

This is a reprint of an article by Alexander Sitnikov from svpressa.ru (Free Press) - a left-leaning opposition news portal in Russia. Article was bulk translated using Yandex translation services and edited by me to remove machine translation artifacts.

Here is the link to the original article in Russian.

Tokayev introduces state of emergency in Almaty and Mangistau until January 19 due to " gas " riots.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a two-week state of emergency in the Central Asian country's largest city of Almaty and in the western Mangistau region, where protests turned violent, the office of the President of Kazakhstan said early on December 5. A curfew has been imposed — from 23 pm to 7 am, mass gatherings and rallies are prohibited, and movement is restricted.

And before that, late at night, Tokayev appealed to the nation "not to attack government and military institutions" and even explained why — " this is illegal." While he was pacifying his citizens with alarm in his voice on TV, the heated crowd stormed the Almaty City Hall. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades.

"Demonstrators are taking to the streets for the third day amid widespread anger over the increase in the price of liquefied natural gas, "Al Jazeera (Qatar) writes with clear sympathy on the side of the"rioters".

Demonstrators in Zhanaozen, the center of the oil industry where dozens of people were killed in protests in 2011 triggered by the dismissal of oil workers who called for higher wages and better working conditions, demanded that the price of liquefied natural gas be halved from 120 tenge ($ 0.27) per liter to the level at which fuel was sold last year.

As for the reaction of the authorities: under pressure from above, retailers reduced the price of LNG by a quarter, however, the cabinet said that further reduction is impossible due to production costs. Officials claim that allegedly " artificially low prices make the production of liquefied gas impossible."

People, however, don't understand the whining of their nouveau riche ministers. Kazakhs live in an oil-rich country, and at the same time receive pennies. In short, why raise the price of what is located under the native land and is extracted by them? The fact is that many converted their cars for liquefied gas, which until the New Year was much cheaper than gasoline. This somehow made it possible to use cars, but now, at a price of $ 0.27 (20 rubles) per liter of LNG, many people simply can't afford the iron horse. So the poor people got angry with the government.

Videos posted online showed police cars set on fire in the city, as well as armored vehicles moving along one of its main highways, which is seen by journalists as an increase in the escalation of violence. Tokayev, "using the whip, still returned the carrot." On December 4, in the evening, the government announced that it was restoring the maximum price of 50 tenge ($0.11 or 8.1 rubles) per liter in the Mangystau region.

Later, due to the blocking of social networks, news agencies could not confirm the authenticity of videos about police cars set on fire, which is reported separately. Authorities have blocked mobile messenger apps in large parts of Kazakhstan.

At the same time, Tokayev on his Twitter page accused some "destructive personalities who want to undermine the stability and unity of our society"of the protests. Nevertheless, Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich (Tokayev) promised: "Other requirements of a socio-economic nature will be considered separately, including during tomorrow's working meeting in the capital."

Internet people reacted with harsh comments directly on the president's Twitter account.

Gulya Almambetova: "... just don't put everyone in jail."

Vyacheslav Abramov: "Blocking KazTAG and Horde is a pure act of censorship, absolutely ridiculous and stupid. We demand to immediately unblock the websites of our colleagues and stop putting pressure on the media."

Assem Zhapisheva: "Don't shoot or beat up your own citizens."

In general, information, including in Russian media, is presented as if it all started on January 2 in the city of Zhanaozen due to a sudden jump in prices for automobile gas. In fact, the twofold increase in the cost of LNG at gas stations was the last straw that filled the cup of people's patience. In Kazakhstan, according to social networks, literally everything has risen in price, including due to the growth of customs duties. People are especially infuriated by the garbage collection surcharge and the jump in price tags for food and utilities.

So it is not surprising that the actually ordinary gathering of ordinary people in Zhanaozen quickly spread to nearby villages in Mangystau Oblast, and then to many other regions in the west — in cities such as Aktau, Atyrau, and Aktobe. By January 4, people had already taken to the streets en masse many hundreds of kilometers away from the hotbed of protest — in southern Taraz, Shymkent and Kyzylorda, as well as in the north — in Uralsk and Kostanay. Popular anger flared up in Almaty and Nur-Sultan, the most prosperous agglomerations of the country.

Internet forum member alio olio (@shainazavr) gave a video of one of these demonstrations, under which she wrote "There were a lot of us, I saw this for the first time." Observers and journalists confirm that " this has never happened before in Kazakhstan”.

According to a user with the nickname Vyacheslav Abramov, " detentions in Almaty yesterday and today are particularly harsh. Apparently, the police are determined not to allow protests here at any cost. Almost everywhere people were allowed to gather, in Almaty — a tough military suppression."

Numerous photos of the dispersal of demonstrators on Republic Square in Almaty show the intensity of the confrontation. The Eurasianet newspaper writes: "Clashes in Almaty continued throughout the night of January 5. After the police dispersed the crowd from Republic Square, some of the crowd went about two kilometers downhill to another historical place of the city — Astana Square, where the government building was located in Soviet times."

Still, the scope of the protests and the potential of the "gas revolution"are not yet clear. This is indirectly indicated by the fact that the international media have been sluggish in their comments on the events of these four days (starting from January 2). The journalistic community really "woke up" only last night after the events on Republic Square. Now everyone is wondering what will happen next. The fact is that in the city of Aktobe, the guards refused to arrest the protesters. They say, "they (the police) are with the people and will not raise their hand," the portal reported. Orda.kz. Bad signal for Tokayev.

From time to time, the slogans " Shal, ket!", which translates as "Old man, go away!" There is only one interpretation of this call and it concerns Nazarbayev, Tokayev's alleged secret puppet master. Specifically, Eurasianet explains: "The chants, usually understood as a reference to former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who continues to exert significant influence from behind the scenes, were heard at many demonstrations."

It is unlikely that the increased prices for automobile fuel (we would like such prices) will become a detonator of mass protests. Kazakhs are angry with the authorities because they mostly live in poverty — in a country rich in oil and resources. People at the protests only talk about how export revenues are distributed unfairly, and the alleged average salary in Kazakhstan of 250,000 tenge ($575 or 42,550 rubles) once again shows that some people get everything, while others cannot buy LNG at 120 tenge per liter ($0.27 or 20 rubles).

If in fact the "average Tokayev" salary was the most common, no one would have taken to the streets against the authorities. Yes, according to government reports, Kazakhs’ incomes have been growing for several years, but for the vast majority, they have remained low, despite oil exports. But spending on food, housing, medicine, and now fuel for cars has increased dramatically.

People say: "We could live as well as the people of Dubai, thanks to the oil revenues, if only they weren't looted." But everything goes only to the thug elite. In Kazakhstan, it is called the ruling “Nur Otan” party, which always wins — even if it is hated by the people.

Does this remind you of anything?!