But something changed over the course of a week.
Groups of armed men appeared in
Clashes with police soon broke out, and by the night of
President
But nearly two weeks after the events that led to scores of deaths and about 16,000 arrests, the government has not presented any evidence to support its allegation of outside involvement.
It remains unclear whether these more violent actors were individuals taking advantage of the mayhem to loot and vandalize stores, or if they were part of organized groups with larger political motives.
Protesters, however, say their rallies were somehow undermined, leading to the crackdown by security forces. Tokayev has said authorities didn't use force at peaceful demonstrations.
Although the protests began over the higher price of fuel, the scope and the agenda of the demonstrations expanded quickly. Large crowds rallied in major cities, venting their frustration with worsening living conditions and inequality under the authoritarian government that has maintained a tight grip on power for over three decades in the energy-rich nation of 19 million.
Much of that occurred under longtime leader
“A significant part of the people are those who came at the call of their hearts to express their attitude towards the authorities, because they are tired, because they do not feel like the state is providing them with social security,” said human rights activist Galym Ageleuov, president of the
Tokayev initially tried to calm the crowds by announcing a 180-day cap on fuel prices and removing Nazarbayev as head of the
But the protests continued, and the violence escalated amid the peaceful rallies in
A protester whose first name is Bezshan said that on
On
The attackers “didn't put forward any demands,” she told reporters. "They deliberately came to destroy, to kill.”
She also insisted police were unarmed when working at unsanctioned demonstrations in
Amid the bloodshed, Tokayev also called in troops from the
Some saw the blaming of foreign instigators as a pretext for bringing in the mostly Russian forces.
“In order to invite Russian troops, you need a serious reason ... that is not an internal standoff with the people," political analyst Dimash Alzhayev said in an interview. "So naturally, (the authorities) needed to come up with terrorists.”
A protester named Marat told AP that the authorities "haven’t so far showed us a single terrorist,” citing only the highly publicized arrest of Vikram Ruzakhunov, a well-known jazz pianist from neighboring
The musician appeared on Kazakh television after his arrest with large bruises on his face and said in the broadcast he had flown in and was promised money for participating in the protests.
Kyrgyz authorities protested Ruzakhunov's arrest and demanded that
Ruzakhnunov told a Kyrgyz broadcaster that while in jail, his cellmates said the quickest way to get released was to confess to a false story, so that’s what he did.
Alzhanov, the analyst, noted that Kazakh state broadcasters amplified the government's message by repeatedly airing video of the turmoil.
"They continued broadcasting the visuals, so the government was interested in communicating them to a broad audience," he said, adding that the state of emergency that was declared provided a pretext to suppress the demonstrations with force.
A protester named Daulet told AP that he believed the “security forces deliberately painted the protesters as some kind of a fringe group prepared to riot.”
“It is unfathomable. I can’t understand it. How is this possible?” he said.
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