Kazakhstan, Astana, Dec. 12 / Trend D. Mukhtarov /
No significant events are expected to be held in Kazakhstan in connection with the anniversary of mass riots in Zhanaozen, Kazakh political analyst Daniyar Ashimbayev said.
"I have received many statements of various political extremists and provocateurs," he told Trend today. "They reported about the intention to organize a memorial event on the anniversary of the riots in Zhanaozen, but I hope that the mass riots and bloodshed will not occur."
Riots hit the Kazakh oil city of Zhanaozen in Mangystau region on Dec.16. According to the Kazakh General Attorney Office, 14 people were killed as a result and over 80 injured. Buildings and cars were burned and the property of individuals and institutions destroyed.
He added that there will be some attempts to destabilize the situation in Zhanaozen.
He stressed that the main infrastructure of the office of disgraced banker Mukhtar Ablyazov has been crushed. The authorities of the country are working much with the workforce. There is an information counteraction towards provocative statements.
"In general, the situation in the region (Mangistau region) is currently stable," he said. "I do not rule out the attempts of holding certain events in Astana and Almaty. But no significant events (mass riots) are expected this year."
The Kazakh Independence Day is the main national holiday of the Republic. It is celebrated on Dec. 16. The Kazakh Supreme Council adopted a law on the independence and state sovereignty of the Republic on Dec. 16, 1991. After the USSR collapse, the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic was the last of the republics in the former Soviet Union, which declared its state sovereignty.
The mass festivities are conducted in Kazakhstan this day. Kazakh figures of culture, arts, sports, and politics are usually awarded on the eve of this holiday. The individuals sentenced once (those who committed minor crimes, as well as women and juvenile offenders) are usually pardoned.
December 16 and 17 are days off in the Kazakh Republic.