Police detained dozens of people in Kazakhstan’s two main cities on Monday at rare protests demanding political reform and the sidelining of the family of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Groups of up to 100 anti-government protesters marked Independence Day with simultaneous demonstrations in the capital, Nur-Sultan, and in the commercial hub Almaty.
They chanted slogans such as “Wake up Kazakhstan!” and held banners that read “Kazakhstan without the Nazarbayevs” or “Parliamentary republic”.
In both cities, protesters were able to rally at initial gathering points, but police then detained dozens of people who tried to march through the streets.
Nazarbayev, 79, handed over the presidency to a handpicked successor in March after nearly three decades in power dating to Soviet times. He still wields broad control, holding a number of official titles including chairman of the security council and leader of the ruling party.
Nazarbayev’s successor, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has said he would liberalize laws governing protests – which currently make any rally not explicitly sanctioned by the authorities illegal – but such changes have not yet been implemented.
© 2019 Reuters
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Another target for green men from Muscovy in the long run…
Looking at this entry from Wikipedia, they are almost there.
“heavily restricts freedom of assembly, speech, and religion. In 2014, authorities closed newspapers, jailed or fined dozens of people after peaceful but unsanctioned protests, and fined or detained worshipers for practising religion outside state controls. Government critics, including opposition leader Vladimir Kozlov, remained in detention after unfair trials. In mid-2014, Kazakhstan adopted new criminal, criminal executive, criminal procedural, and administrative codes, and a new law on trade unions, which contain articles restricting fundamental freedoms and are incompatible with international standards. Torture remains common in places of detention.”
Sounds like another Moskali puppet state or already has the security structure as Belarus. These fascist leaders see the head fascist get away with everything so they follow suit. This is the main reason sanctions should target Vladolf, not just those near him.