Opposition vents
January 28, 2012
Hundreds of opposition supporters held an unsanctioned demonstration in the Kazakh commercial capital of Almaty on Saturday to protest the results of the recent parliamentary election.
Around 1,000 people defied a heavy police presence, shouting "Freedom!" and "Nazarbayev go!" in reference to strongman President Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose Nur Otan party won 83 of 107 seats in parliament on January 15. International observers said the election fell short of democratic standards.
The protest took place peacefully and no arrests were made, unlike most demonstrations in the Central Asian former Soviet republic, where dissent is rarely tolerated.
"Return the country's riches to the people!" said Bolat Abilov, co-chairman of the opposition All-National Social Democratic Party (OSDP). "We will stage another meeting in February. Even more of us will come. Let's stop being scared."
The OSDP is considered one of the only forces of true opposition in Kazakhstan. It won 2 percent of the vote in the election.
Saturday's rally may have been bolstered by the arrest and imprisonment of three high-profile opposition figures in recent days.
Newspaper editor Igor Vinyavsky, the leader of the unregistered Alga opposition party Vladimir Kozlov and activist Serik Sapargali were all taken into custody earlier this week.
Author: Andrew Bowen (AFP, AP)
Editor: Martin Kuebler