The root cause of the unrest in Kazakhstan in early January is the unacceptable gap between the incomes of the rich and the poor, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at a meeting with business representatives.
“The gap between the rich and the poor has reached an unacceptable level. Against the backdrop of corruption, which you are well aware of, such a stratification in income played the role of a lit match near a powder keg, which was used by terrorists, militants and the conspirators behind them,” Tokayev said (quoted by RIA Novosti).
He noted that the riots exposed the problems that had been accumulating for years. Now the country is faced with the task of “profound transformation of the social order.” “We need real reforms that meet the aspirations and interests of the citizens of Kazakhstan,” Tokayev stressed.
Street demonstrations began in western Kazakhstan on January 2 amid a doubling in the price of LPG for cars, which the government attributed to a switch to exchange pricing. Despite price cuts by the authorities and the resignation of the government, protests soon engulfed a number of major cities, including Alma-Ata, where street fighting with small arms took place for several days. According to the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office, more than 4,500 people were injured and 225 died during the riots.
On January 11, Tokayev said that the unrest in the republic was a terrorist attack involving militants from Central Asian countries, including Afghanistan. According to him, the task of the militants was to create zones of controlled chaos in the republic with the subsequent seizure of power, which is why an anti-terrorist operation was launched in Kazakhstan. On January 6, the CSTO peacekeeping forces were introduced into the country, after the stabilization of the situation, the withdrawal of the contingent from the republic was organized.