Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb 12
By Elena Kosolapova - Trend: Some 40-50 people are demonstrating in front of the Kazakh National Bank in the city of Almaty following devaluation of national currency tenge, Novosti-Kazakhstan reported on Feb. 12.
The protesters are demanding the resignation of the head of the National Bank, Kairat Kelimbetov.
The meeting participants wanted to meet with Kelimbetov and to tell him about their dissatisfaction with the devaluation of tenge as well as express requirement to write off loans issued in 2006-2007.
However, Kairat Kelimbetov is in the city of Astana, where he will give a press conference. That is why National Bank's Deputy head, Kuat Kozhahmetov came out to meet protesters.
The National Bank building has been cordoned off by security forces.
The Kazakh National Bank decided to stop maintaining the exchange rate of the national currency tenge at a previous level, to reduce the volume of foreign exchange interventions and to reduce interference with the process of formation of the tenge exchange rate, the bank said on Feb. 11.
"The National Bank expects that the new level of the exchange rate will be about 185 tenge per dollar," the bank said.
The official rate of the National Bank was at 155.5 tenge per dollar on Feb. 11.