BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 18
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Kazakhstan's President Kassym Jomart Tokayev will announce the results of the investigation of the January events in the upcoming address to the people, the president's spokesperson Berik Uali said, Trend reports.
"As Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in an interview with the Qazaqstan TV channel, all known information will be published, we will not hide anything from the people. Currently, the relevant authorities are conducting large-scale investigative actions, which will require some time," Uali said.
Uali noted that the address is scheduled for mid-March.
Kazakhstan's government announced late Jan. 4 that it was restoring some price caps on liquefied petroleum gas, after the rare protests reached Almaty following a sharp rise in the price of the fuel at the start of the year.
Many Kazakhs have converted their cars to run on LPG, which is far cheaper than gasoline as a vehicle fuel in Kazakhstan because of price caps. But the government argued that the low price was unsustainable and lifted the caps on Jan. 1. After the price of the fuel spiked, big demonstrations erupted on Jan. 2 in certain parts of the country. Public protests are illegal in the country unless their organizers file a notice in advance.
Following the development of the situation, the government declared a state of emergency all over the country. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the government initiated anti-terrorist operations to deal with the ongoing riots.
Also, the divisions of the united peacekeeping contingent of CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) arrived in Kazakhstan to assist in restoring order and help protect strategic objects of the country.