Kazakh government announces gas price cut after three days of protests
Frame: QaJet / YouTube
The government of Kazakhstan accepted the demands of the participants in the “gas” protests and set the price of fuel for cars in the Mangistau region at 50 tenge (8.66 Russian rubles). Also, the protesters who were on the square were given guarantees that they would not be brought to justice. This was reported by the press service of the government of Kazakhstan.
“The government commission met with the activists gathered in the square in the city of Aktau. At the meeting, the decisions made in the course of negotiations with the initiative group of the city of Aktau were announced, namely on reducing the cost of liquefied gas and setting the price at 50 tenge per liter in the Mangistau region within the framework of the social responsibility of JSC NC Kazmunagaz. (…) The parties also agreed to resolve all emerging issues in line with a constructive dialogue and within the framework of the current legislation, ”the government said.
The protesters were not satisfied with the government's promise to reduce the gas price. The people gathered on the square in Aktau turned up their tents and demanded a meeting with the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhormat Tokayev.
City protesters
For the third day in a row, “gas” protests continue in Kazakhstan. People's discontent was caused by a sharp rise in the price of gas for cars from 60 to 120 tenge (from 10.2 to 20.56 Russian rubles) per liter. The protesters demanded that the cost of fuel be cut in half. Interfax, citing information from social networks, reported that residents of several other cities joined the protests on January 4. Information about what is happening at the demonstrations comes mainly from social networks – several news sites, in particular, the portal of the Kazakh Telegraph Agency, were unavailable a few days after the start of the protests.
The most massive actions take place in Aktau, the administrative center of the Mangistau region. About 16 thousand people gathered there. In Zhanaozen, about 10,000 protesters took to the streets. The disgruntled people staged a rally in Nur-Sultan – they demanded to arrange a teleconference to support the protesters in Aktau.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Atyrau. People come into conflicts with security officials who are trying to block the protesters. According to local media reports, mothers and journalists with many children came to a rally in Taraz, the administrative center of the Zhambyl region. In addition, the protesters were detained in Shymkent and Kokshetau.
Force response
The protests were accompanied by detentions. In the capital of Kazakhstan, on January 4, at least three people were detained for staging a rally near the city administration. In Shymkent, security officials detained more than 10 people. In these two cities, people not only expressed dissatisfaction with the price of gas, but also called on the first President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, to withdraw from politics.
On the same day, the administration area in Nur-Sultan and in Almaty restricted the operation of the mobile Internet.
Military equipment was sent to Aktau. Two military transport aircraft flew there on January 3. Military KamAZ trucks were seen on the roads en route to Aktau. In the area where a spontaneous rally against the rise in gas prices is taking place, the light went out. In the city administration of power grids, this was explained by “emergency high-voltage shutdown.”
A bus with soldiers of the National Guard rides in the Zhetybai area, I saw them with my own eyes – in a car “Ural”
Message spread to protesters
Administrative response
On the day the protests began, Kazakh President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev instructed the government to urgently consider the situation with the rallies “taking into account economic expediency, in the legal field.”
Citizens have the right to publicly express their demands on local and central authorities, but this should be done in accordance with the law, in particular, with the law on peaceful assemblies
Kassym-Zhomat TokayevPresident of Kazakhstan
At the same time, the Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Magzum Mirzagaliyev noted that the country does not have the opportunity to meet the demands of the protesters. He explained that “nobody has canceled the laws of the market”.
“The same Zhanaozen gas processing plant employs the same citizens, the same residents of this city. And when the cost of gas production is 100 tenge, and this is more than the desired 50-60, then we have two options: we will either sit in a constant deficit and our factories will simply stop at some point, or they will be accepted like this, maybe not very popular measures, ”Mirzagaliyev said about the price increase.
On January 5, President Tokayev will hold a meeting with the government on the socio-economic situation in the republic.
