(Almaty) The Kazakh president attacked his powerful predecessor on Tuesday, for the first time after bloody riots, and announced the imminent withdrawal of foreign troops led by Russia, who came to the rescue.
Updated yesterday at 6:00 p.m.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has also appointed a new ministerial cabinet, after this vast Central Asian country was rocked last week by violence never seen since its independence in 1991. It has left dozens of deaths and hundreds injured, and led to the arrest of some 10,000 people.
Mr. Tokayev accused his mentor and predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev, of having favored the emergence of a “rich caste” dominating this state teeming with hydrocarbons, an unprecedented criticism of the one who holds the honorary title of “Head of the Nation” and until now benefited from a cult of personality.
During the unrest, protesters chanted their anger at the 81-year-old former leader. Since then, rumors about Mr. Nazarbayev’s flight abroad have multiplied, but the Kazakh authorities have not given any information on his whereabouts.
PHOTO NICHOLAS KAMM, FRANCE-PRESS AGENCY
Since the riots, rumors of Nursultan Nazarbayev fleeing abroad have increased, but the Kazakh authorities have not given any information on his whereabouts.
If the riots are qualified as foreign “terrorist” attacks by the authorities, the violence erupted after demonstrations against the rise in fuel prices, against a backdrop of deteriorating living standards and endemic corruption in this former Soviet republic.
UN human rights experts on Tuesday denounced an abuse of the term “terrorists” by the Kazakh authorities, also condemning the use of lethal force against rioters.
France, which holds the rotating EU presidency, called for “fully” respecting Kazakhstan’s sovereignty and for launching a dialogue to allow de-escalation in the crisis.
“Caste of very rich people”
Launching a frontal attack on his mentor, Mr. Tokayev accused him of being responsible for the emergence in the country of “a caste of very profitable societies, of very rich people”. “I think the time has come to pay a tribute to the people,” he said.
He therefore wants the elites who “in the shadows” have “huge funds”, as well as the big companies, to supply a fund which will benefit the population.
The first sign in this direction, Mr Tokayev announced on Tuesday that he planned to end a much-criticized private monopoly on waste recycling, linked to Mr Nazarbayev’s youngest daughter, Alia, 41.
Another daughter, Dinara and her husband Timur Kulibayev, who are among the richest people in Kazakhstan, control the big Halyk bank and have significant clout in the key oil sector.
The eldest daughter Dariga’s political career, notably in parliament, has been marked by a series of controversial statements, with information also giving her important commercial interests.
One of Mr. Nazarbayev’s allies, Karim Massimov, was arrested on Saturday for high treason after being sacked from the head of the secret service.
“Gradual” withdrawal of the Russians
The riots had led Tokayev to call in to the rescue some 2,000 men from a Russian-led military force. According to him, their mission being accomplished, their withdrawal can begin this week.
“The phasing out of the unified CSTO contingent will begin in two days. This process will not take more than ten days, ”Tokayev said.
The United States on Tuesday called on Russia to withdraw “quickly” its forces sent to Kazakhstan at the request of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev after violent riots.
Washington welcomes the return to calm in this Central Asian state rocked last week by violence not seen since its independence in 1991, said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
“We also welcome the announcement of President Tokayev, who said that the CSTO peacekeeping forces have completed their mission,” added Price, referring to the approximately 2,000, mostly Russian, soldiers from the ‘Collective Security Treaty Organization (OTSC) called to the rescue by the Kazakh President.
“Until the CSTO forces withdraw, we will continue to [les] to call […] to respect human rights and to respect their commitment to withdraw quickly from Kazakhstan, as the Kazakh government has requested, ”added the spokesperson for American diplomacy during a press briefing.
Mr. Tokayev said that the withdrawal of the CSTO contingent would start in two days, that it would be “gradual” and that it would not take more than ten days.
But the Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Choïgou indicated that the departure would be done once the situation “completely stabilized” and “on decision” of the Kazakh authorities.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken angered Moscow last week by declaring that “once the Russians are there, it is sometimes very difficult to get them to leave”.
The commander of the CSTO contingent, Andrei Serdyukov, indicated that a plan was being drawn up to hand over to the Kazakh forces the custody of the sites protected by his forces. According to him, the rapid deployment of this contingent made it possible to “stabilize the situation” in the country.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin assured that CSTO troops were there “for a limited period”.
In Almaty, many residents welcomed this contingent with relief. “I welcome the cooperation with Russia,” Roza Mataïeva, a 45-year-old professor, told AFP. “I think there is no threat to our sovereignty. ”
The most serious violence took place in this city, the economic capital, where many public buildings were ransacked and businesses looted, while rioters and Kazakh forces clashed in armed clashes.