Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has stripped his powerful predecessor of a role as head of the country's Security Council and has declared a two-week state of emergency following the republic's worst unrest in more than a decade. According to Alex Melikishvili, Principal Research Analyst at IHS Markit, "The focus of the government is bringing back normalcy." Initially the protests were purely economic in nature, reflecting widespread anger over significant energy price hikes. But, as Mr. Melikishvili explains, "the nature of the demands changed very rapidly to include political demands." The protesters began calling "for the removal of ex-President Nazarbayev from the political scene" and, for the first time ever, they began expressing their strong disapproval of the president's "failed promises" to deliver reforms, political liberalization and democratization. So now Kazakhstan has entered into a phase of "sustained unrest." And Mr. Melikishvili fears there could be a very forceful response.
#Kazakhstan #Violent #Unrest

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