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| Thousands detained after Kazakhstan unrest | |
| 2022-01-10 | |
| [DW] Almost 6,000 people have been arrested after a wave of protests that triggered a political crisis in Kazakhstan. The violence has claimed 164 lives, according to the latest government figures. The number of people arrested by security forces during the A statement from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's office said "a substantial number of foreign nationals" were among the detainees. Authorities have launched a brutal clampdown and were able to largely bring the situation under control in the country's largest city, Almaty, after Russia responded to Tokayev's call for help by sending several thousand soldiers. "The situation has stabilized in all regions of the country," the presidential statement said. WHAT IS THE AFTERMATH OF THE VIOLENCE? State television, citing the country's Health Ministry, reported on Sunday that 164 people had been killed during the unrest and over 2,200 were maimed. This marks a sharp jump from a previous toll provided by the government, when officials said 40 people have died, including protesters. Speaking from the Kazakh capital, Nur-Sultan, on Sunday, Interior Minister Erlan Turgumbayev gave a rundown of the damage he claimed was left by the protests and festivities over recent days. Some 400 cars, mostly police cars, were destroyed in the violence, as well as more than 100 shopping centers and banks. Detainees are facing charges of violence against government officials, hooliganism, murder and theft, with 125 pre-trial investigations already having begun. WHY DID THE PROTEST START? Citizens erupted into the streets following a steep rise in fuel prices last weekend, but the protests quickly grew in scope to encompass a series of economic and political grievances. Most of their anger was directed at the country's former President Nursultan Nazarbayev ...served as the President of Kazakhstan since the Fall of the Soviet Union and the nation's independence in 1991. Contrary to commonly held belief, there is a difference between Kazakhs and Cossacks: Kazakhs have mustaches. Cossacks wear those great big hats. Or maybe it's the other way around... , who led the country from the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s before stepping down and naming Tokayev as his successor in 2019. However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... Nazarbayev kept control of the country's powerful Security Council, and was only ousted by Tokayev during the unrest this week. After the violence led to dozens of deaths among both protesters and security forces, Tokayev ordered the security forces on Friday to open fire at protesters without warning, referring to protesters as "bandidos" and "terrorists." Peacekeeping forces from the Russia-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) entered the country in their thousands after Tokayev appealed for assistance against the protests.
The figures reported on the state news channel Khabar-24 are a significant rise from previous tallies. It is not clear if the deaths refer only to civilians or if law-enforcement deaths are included. Kazakh authorities said earlier Sunday that 16 police or national guard had been killed. Authorities previously gave the civilian death toll as 26. Most of the deaths — 103 — were in Almaty, the country’s largest city, where demonstrators seized government buildings and set some afire, according to the ministry. The country’s ombudswoman for children’s rights said that three of those killed were minors, including a 4-year-old girl. The ministry earlier reported more than 2,200 people sought treatment for injuries from the protests, and the Interior Ministry said about 1,300 security officers were injured. The office of Kazakhstan’s president said that about 5,800 people were detained by police during the protests that developed into violence last week and prompted a Russia-led military alliance to send troops to the country. It was unclear how many of those detained remained in custody on Sunday. | |
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