Countries are taking measures in response to the unrest in Kazakhstan, where major protests broke out after the turn of the year. Germany has temporarily halted arms exports to Kazakhstan, report German media based on a report from German news agency DPA. Last year, Germany issued twenty-five export licenses for weapons worth €2.2 million in total.
The US State Department has authorized non-essential embassy personnel in the Kazakh city of Almaty to leave the country. “U.S. citizens in Kazakhstan should be aware that the violent protests are seriously hampering the ability to provide consular services,” said a statement. statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. American citizens who want to leave the country may be less likely to be helped when embassy staff leave.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said at a news conference on Friday that the United States “wants to learn more” about Russian soldiers traveling to Kazakhstan — 2,500 of whom arrived in the country on Thursday. “It seems to me that the Kazakh authorities and government themselves have the capacity to deal with this type of protest in a reasonable way,” he said. Shine against journalists. “A lesson from recent history is that when you let Russians into your country, it can sometimes be difficult to get them to leave again.”
Also read: Seven questions about the revolt in Kazakhstan
Former head of security service arrested
Since the turn of the year, some 20,000 people have taken to the streets of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, initially to protest the rising prices of the liquid LPG widely used there. As of Friday morning, the government estimates that more than 3,000 people who took to the streets were arrested. On Saturday, Kazakh authorities arrested the former head of the security service, Karim Massimov. He is suspected of preparing a coup, international news agencies write. Earlier this week, he was replaced by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Although the government has quickly lowered LPG prices, anti-government protests continue. Kazakhs are dissatisfied with the policies of the current president and his authoritarian predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev, who at the age of 81 still has a lot of influence.
President Tokayev says “counter-terrorism actions” are necessary “until the militants are completely eliminated.” Last week’s demonstrations are the largest in 30 years in Kazakhstan. According to the interior ministry, 26 protesters and 18 police and military personnel have been killed since the protests started last Sunday.
Friday was relatively quiet in Almaty. President Tokayev said in an official statement Friday, and in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, that “order has largely been restored” in Kazakhstan.
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