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A30 world news
Diaranson 12 Januari 2022

Nearly 8,000 detained in Kazakhstan over violent protests

the country, with political slogans or organization. On Friday, he said
reflecting wider discontent with Ka- he ordered police and the military to Kazakhstan’s National Security
zakhstan’s authoritarian government. shoot to kill “terrorists” involved in Committee said Monday that “hot
the violence. spots of terrorist threats” in the coun-
In a concession, the government an- try have been “neutralized.” The
nounced a 180-day price cap on ve- In a statement Monday, Kazakhstan’s committee also told Russia’s Interfax
hicle fuel and a moratorium on utility Foreign Ministry said the peaceful news agency that authorities released
rate increases. As the unrest mount- protests “were hijacked by terrorist, well-known Kyrgyz musician Vikram
ed, the ministerial cabinet resigned extremist and criminal groups,” in- Ruzakhunov, whose arrest over his
and the president replaced Nursultan cluding radical Islamist fighters with alleged participation in the unrest
(AP) — Nearly 8,000 people in Nazarbayev, former longtime leader combat experience. sparked outrage in neighboring Kyr-
Kazakhstan were detained by po- of Kazakhstan, as head of the Nation- gyzstan.
lice during protests that descend- al Security Council. Speaking Monday at an extraordinary
ed into violence last week and virtual summit of CSTO, Tokayev Ruzakhunov was shown in a video
marked the worst unrest the for- One of the main slogans of the past promised to reveal to the world “ad- on Kazakh television saying he had
mer Soviet nation has faced since week’s protests, “Old man out,” was a ditional evidence” of a “terrorist ag- flown to the country to take part in
gaining independence 30 years reference to Nazarbayev, who served gression” against Kazakhstan. He protests and was promised $200. In
ago, authorities said Monday. as president from Kazakhstan’s inde- stressed that the demands of peace- the video, apparently taken in po-
pendence until he resigned in 2019 ful protesters have been “heard and lice custody, Ruzakhunov’s face was
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and anointed Tokayev as his succes- met by the state,” and the unrest that bruised and he had a large cut on his
on Monday described the unrest sor. Nazarbayev had retained sub- followed involved “groups of armed forehead.
that followed initially peaceful pro- stantial power at the helm of the Na- militants” whose goal was to over-
tests against rising energy prices as tional Security Council. throw the government. Kyrygzstan’s Foreign Ministry had
a “terrorist aggression” against the demanded Ruzakhunov’s release, and
mineral-rich Central Asian nation of Despite the concessions, the protests Russian President Vladimir Putin the country’s authorities on Monday
19 million and dismissed reports that turned extremely violent for several echoed that sentiment, calling the sought to open a probe on charges of
authorities targeted peaceful demon- days. In Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest unrest “an act of aggression” master- torture.
strators as “disinformation.” city, the protesters set the city hall on minded from abroad.
fire and stormed and briefly seized On Monday evening, Ruzakhunov
Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry re- the airport. For several days, spo- “The events in Kazakhstan are not returned to Kyrgyzstan. He told a lo-
ported that 7,939 people have been radic gunfire was reported in the city the first and not the last attempt at in- cal TV channel that he came to Alma-
detained across the country. The Na- streets. terfering in the internal affairs of our ty on Jan. 2 to visit a friend, but sev-
tional Security Committee, Kazakh- states from the outside,” Putin said at eral days later, as the protests turned
stan’s counterintelligence and anti- The authorities declared a state of the summit. violent, decided to travel back to Kyr-
terrorism agency, said Monday the emergency over the unrest, and To- gyzstan and was detained.
situation has “stabilized and is under kayev requested help from the Col- The Kazakh president added that
control.” lective Security Treaty Organiza- “constitutional order” has been re- In jail, Ruzakhnunov heard from
tion, a Russia-led military alliance of stored and the “large-scale anti-ter- cellmates that confessing to going to
Monday was declared a day of six former Soviet states. The group rorist operation” in the country will Almaty with the purpose of taking
mourning for the victims of the vio- has authorized sending about 2,500 soon wrap up, along with the CSTO part in the protests and being offered
lent unrest, which the health minis- mostly Russian troops to Kazakhstan mission. money for it was the quickest way to
try says killed 164 people, including as peacekeepers. get deported home, so that’s what he
three children. The foreign militants involved, To- decided to do.
Tokayev has said the demonstrations kayev charged later Monday, came
The demonstrations began on Jan. were instigated by “terrorists” with from “mostly Central Asian coun- “It was a path (home), so I decided
2 over a near-doubling of prices for foreign backing, although the pro- tries, including Afghanistan,” and to implicate myself, even though I
vehicle fuel and quickly spread across tests have shown no obvious leaders some from Mideast nations. didn’t do it,” Ruzakhunov said.

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi sentenced to 4 more years in prison

(AP) — A court in Myan- munications Law for pos- ers doubt. month she would serve her
mar sentenced ousted If found guilty of all the sessing them. The sentences sentence.
leader Aung San Suu Kyi charges, she could be sen- are to be served concurrently. Since her first guilty verdict,
to four more years in pris- tenced to more than 100 She also received a two-year Suu Kyi has been attend- The hearings are closed to the
on on Monday after find- years in prison. sentence under the Natural ing court hearings in prison media and spectators and the
ing her guilty of illegally Disaster Management Law clothes — a white top and a prosecutors do not comment.
importing and possessing Suu Kyi’s supporters and in- for allegedly violating coro- brown longyi skirt provided Her lawyers, who had been
walkie-talkies and violat- dependent analysts say the navirus rules while cam- by the authorities. She is be- a source of information on
ing coronavirus restric- charges against her are con- paigning. ing held by the military at an the proceedings, were served
tions, a legal official said. trived to legitimize the mili- unknown location, where with gag orders in October.
tary’s seizure of power and Suu Kyi was convicted last state television reported last
Suu Kyi was convicted last prevent her from returning month on two other charges
month on two other charges to politics. — incitement and breaching
and given a four-year prison COVID-19 restrictions —
sentence, which was then Monday’s verdict in the court and sentenced to four years’
halved by the head of the in the capital, Naypyitaw, was imprisonment. Hours after
military-installed govern- conveyed by a legal official that sentence was issued, the
ment. who insisted on anonymity head of the military-installed
for fear of being punished government, Senior Gen.
The cases are among about by the authorities, who have Min Aung Hlaing, reduced it
a dozen brought against the restricted the release of infor- by half.
76-year-old Nobel Peace mation about Suu Kyi’s trials.
Prize laureate since the army Suu Kyi’s party won a land-
seized power last February, He said she was sentenced to slide victory in a 2020 gen-
ousting her elected govern- two years in prison under the eral election, but the military
ment and arresting top mem- Export-Import Law for im- claimed there was widespread
bers of her National League porting the walkie-talkies and electoral fraud, an assertion
for Democracy party. one year under the Telecom- that independent poll watch-