Kazakhstan, spokesman for the former leader Nazarbayev: “He did not leave the country”. The hypothesis of the settling of scores to free oneself from its control

The specter of the conspiracy hovers over the palaces of power in Kazakhstan , after the arrest for ‘high treason’ of the intelligence chief and former premier Karim Massimov following five days of violence. Meanwhile Russia and the USA , already at loggerheads for the Ukrainian crisis, are exchanging new arrows also on the current situation. this key country for the stability of Central Asia. While the spokesman of the former president Nursultan Nazarbayev makes it known that the leader who led the country for 30 years at insignia of the cult of personality and of which President Tokayev is considered an emissary, has not left the country and is in the capital Nur-Sultan . “He is holding consultative meetings and is in direct contact with the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev “, is the official version, “he had a series of” telephone conversations with leaders of the countries friends of Kazakhstan “and” invites everyone to gather around the president to overcome the current challenges and guarantee the integrity of our country “. Tokayev for his part had a “long conversation” with Vladimir Putin with the aim of “to restore order” .

According to some analysts, the arrest of the former head of the National Security Committee of Kazakhstan and former premier Massimov, a trusted man of the former president, signals how the recent crisis could be a settling of scores at the top of the regime. “Massimov – explains Aleksandr Baunov, an analyst at Carnegie Moscow – was a close ally of Nazarbaev, considered as the ‘main overseer’ of the former president in the government of his successor Tokayev. It seems increasingly probable that Massimov and his followers will be accused of inciting, or even organizing, the riots and that, with the repression of the demonstrators, an internal coup is underway, which frees Tokayev from the control of Nazarbaev, of his family and his associates ”. The reconstruction of the crisis from its inception, with protests over the increases in LPG gas in the west of the country, is full of mysteries, as evidenced by Nargis Kassenova, researcher at Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russia and Eurasian Studies. When the mob broke into the Government Building and the President’s residence on Tuesday, the police suddenly disappeared. “Did Nazarbaev try to bring down Tokayev like this?” Asks the analyst. On Wednesday morning, Tokayev fired the government and the deputy head of services of the CNB, and Nazarbaev’s grandson, Samat Abish, and in the afternoon dismissed Nazarbaev from the post of head of the Security Council which should have been for life and convinced Putin. and Lukashenko to help his leadership. “Did he act first and avoid the coup?”, Kassenova speculates.

Former minister and former banker Mukhtar Ablyazov , the de facto opposition leader in exile in Paris , where he has lived for 4 years, reported to the Corriere della Sera of “hundreds” of deaths throughout the country, also explaining what happened in front of the house of former leader during his escape attempt: “The crowd gathered and tried to march on the Nazarbayev residence in Almaty . He ended up finding him in front of him, as he was about to flee with his daughter Dariga: he had the plane ready for Abu Dhabi . To stop the demonstrators, the police began firing rubber bullets. But then, when the demonstrators broke through, the snipers appeared. For shooting with live bullets . Who was there, tells me that they killed at least 50 people “. Ablyazov further explained that “most of the victims are in Almaty. But there are also the cities of the West, where people refuse to leave the squares and now the policemen refuse to shoot . This explains why the Russians arrived : the regime cannot even trust its men ”. It is now a real revolution. “The regime took off its mask and showed its bloodthirsty face. What other tyrant in the world shoots the crowd like this? Not even Lukashenko in Belarus. The international community must ban Kazakhstan, stop doing business ”. Finally, the opposition leader clarified what “Putin and the regime” mean when “they say that someone is maneuvering the protest from abroad”, explaining that they are referring not to the United States, but “to France. Because I am a refugee in France. And I am their enemy number one “.

The dissident then accuses” the West of having closed its eyes to corruption and crimes ”by Nazarbayev. “On the billions of his and his family’s investments. He does nothing even now, let Putin keep Kazakhstan under his boot ”. Recalling that his wife Shalabayeva and daughter were arrested in Italy and extradited to Kazakhstan , the former minister says that “after that fact, Italy did nothing: you have Nazarbayev’s treasures and properties, but it doesn’t happen nothing. There are deals between him and Italian companies , cooperation, but no sanctions have ever been imposed. These things give strength to dictators. A large Italian bank such as Unicredit played a role in the purchase and sale of assets of the Nazarbayev family. In 2007 an affiliate of the dictator, Bulat Utemuratov , sold his bank Atf to Unicredit for 2.1 billion dollars . Six years later, Unicredit sold it for 493 million to a rich Kazakh businessman, Akhmetzhan Yessimov , former mayor of Almaty, who in turn turned it over to a bank owned by Nazarbayev. No one has ever stopped this operation: when my wife and daughter had already been kidnapped, the dictator earned hundreds of millions “.

European Union , with the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen , and the High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell , continues to invite to de-escalation. “I received an update on the situation in a call with the Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, Mukhtar Tileuberdi . I expressed the EU’s readiness to support stability and the reduction of tensions. We will continue to monitor the situation closely. It is important that the rights and safety of civilians are guaranteed, ”said Borrell. Meanwhile Germany has suspended the export of weapons to Kazakhstan. The Dpa learns this, recalling that last year, thanks to 25 licenses, weapons worth 2.2 million euros were exported to the country.

The US Department of State has authorized non-essential personnel of the US Consulate in Kazakhstan and family members of employees to leave the country. “Demonstrations, protests and strikes can develop rapidly and without warning, often disrupting traffic, transportation, communications and other services; such events can become violent. US citizens in Kazakhstan should be aware that violent protests severely hamper the embassy’s ability to provide consular services, including assistance to citizens departing from Kazakhstan, ”a statement read. The Farnesina states that “non-essential travels to Kazakhstan remain not recommended at the moment”, due to the situation in the country. “Italy continues to follow with concern the serious events that are taking place in Kazakhstan and renews the appeal to stop the use of force in the country”, reads a note.