Iran Hopes for Restoration of Calm to Kazakhstan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Foreign Ministry of Iran expressed confidence that the legitimate government and the people of Kazakhstan will foil foreign plots hatched to create chaos and instability in the Central Asian country, hoping that Kazakhstan would regain security and calm immediately.
In a statement on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh commented on the ongoing developments in the Republic of Kazakhstan that have caused human casualties.
He expressed sympathy with the Kazakh government and nation, offering his condolences to the families and relatives of victims of the recent unrest.
“The legitimate government ruling that country (Kazakhstan) and the noble nation of Kazakhstan will surely thwart the foreign plots and conspiracies that have been hatched with the aim of creating riots and instability in that country, and will get through these hard days,” the spokesman added.
He also voiced Iran’s constant support for “friendly, brotherly and neighborly” Kazakhstan, hoping that the country would reclaim stability, security and calm as soon as possible.
Authorities in Kazakhstan say the situation has been stabilized and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is firmly in charge after a week-long unrest over a hike in fuel prices that rocked the Central Asia’s largest country.
Mass protests began in Kazakhstan's western province of Mangistau on January 2, after the government decided to lift price controls on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) — a move that roughly doubled gas prices in a matter of days. Protests then engulfed other parts of the country.
On Wednesday, Tokayev declared a two-week state of emergency, including a curfew, movement restrictions, and a ban on mass gatherings, in Almaty, the biggest city, and Mangistau.
Scores of people lost their lives in the past week, with rioters torching and ransacking public buildings in several cities, prompting Tokayev on Friday to issue orders to shoot-to-kill without warning in an attempt to end the unrest, which he has blamed on 20,000 “armed bandits".
