OSCE calls on to end violence in Kazakhstan

OSCE calls on to end violence in Kazakhstan

OSCE Chairman Zbigniew Rau called for an end to violence in Kazakhstan

OSCE Chairman Zbigniew Rau called for de-escalation of the situation with protests in Kazakhstan and the start of a dialogue.

“As the chairman of the OSCE, I closely follow the current events in Kazakhstan … I call for a de-escalation of the situation and the beginning of a dialogue in full compliance with OSCE commitments,” he wrote on Twitter.

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As Chairman of the @OSCE, I closely follow recent developments in #Kazakhstan. Violence is never a right response to resolve the current challenges.
I call for de-escalation of the situation and starting a dialogue with full respect of @OSCE commitments.

Rau also stressed that violence is never the right answer to problems.

In the early days of 2022, residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the Mangistau region (an oil-producing region in western Kazakhstan) protested against a two-fold increase in prices for liquefied petroleum gas. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev instructed to form a government commission to consider the situation. On January 4, she announced that she was ready to fulfill the main demand of the protesters and reduce gas prices.

However, the protests spread to other cities as well. In Alma-Ata, the largest city in the country, on the evening of January 4 and on the night of January 5, protesters clashed with the security forces, the police used gas and stun grenades. Tokayev urged people to show prudence and not succumb to provocations from inside and outside. He noted that calls to attack civilian and military offices are illegal. According to him, “the power will not fall,” but the country “does not need a conflict, but mutual trust and dialogue.”

The President introduced a state of emergency in Mangistau and Almaty regions, as well as in Almaty and Nur-Sultan until January 19. It provides for a curfew from 7.00 to 23.00, a ban on mass events and strikes, a ban on the sale of weapons, ammunition and alcohol, the confiscation of weapons and ammunition from people, and increased security of especially important facilities. Entry and exit from these regions and Alma-Ata are restricted, document checks, searches of people and vehicles are prescribed. On the morning of January 5, Tokayev dismissed the government and said that the Cabinet was especially guilty for allowing a protest situation. The President noted the gradual rectification of the situation in Alma-Ata and the Mangistau region after the introduction of the state of emergency.

Source: BBC