Police officers block a street in downtown Almaty. File photoNUR-SULTAN, Jan 25 Deputy Chairman of the Senate (Lower House) of the Kazakh Parliament Askar Shakirov invited representatives of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) to visit the republic to discuss the events that took place in early January, the press service reported Chamber. According to the press service, the Vice Speaker of the Senate took part in the online meeting of the OSCE PA Bureau.The Kazakh Foreign Ministry accused the European Parliament of bias»During the meeting, discussions were held on current international issues, including the situation in Kazakhstan. OSCE PA Deputy Chairman Askar Shakirov outlined in detail the circumstances related to the tragic January events in the country,» the message says. Bureau members approved a proposal to hold an online briefing on the situation in Kazakhstan for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in February. The European deputies noted «the importance of conducting an objective investigation, the results of which should be presented to the international community.» Askar Shakirov invited representatives of the OSCE PA to visit Kazakhstan, during which the parliamentarians could get acquainted with the situation in the country and discuss relevant issues. This proposal was accepted , in connection with which the Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly, Special Representative for Central Asia Pia Kauma expressed her intention to visit Kazakhstan,» the press service informs. Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in the first days of 2022 — residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the west of the country opposed the doubling of prices for liquefied natural gas. Later, the protests spread to other cities, including Alma-Ata, the old capital and the largest city of the republic: looting began there, militants attacked state institutions, took away weapons. In response, the authorities declared a state of emergency throughout the country until January 19 and launched a counter-terrorism operation. According to the UN, during the protests in Kazakhstan, about 1,000 people were injured. According to the country's Prosecutor General's Office, 4,578 people were injured as a result of the riots, 225 people were killed, including 19 security officials. On the morning of January 5, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismissed the government and headed the Security Council. At the first meeting of the Security Council under his leadership, Tokayev described the situation in Kazakhstan as undermining the integrity of the state and said that he had asked for help from the CSTO «in overcoming the terrorist threat.» The CSTO Collective Security Council decided to send collective peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan to normalize the situation in the country. Later, on January 7, Tokayev said that terrorists, including those who arrived from abroad, continue to resist, and promised to destroy those who did not lay down their arms . In addition, the president noted that all the demands of citizens, expressed in peaceful forms, were heard. The successful completion of the CSTO mission was announced on January 13. On Wednesday, January 19, the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan announced that there were no longer any foreign military in the republic.
