Tokayev picks new PM, with CSTO forces to leave

NUR-SULTAN/ALMATY, Kazakhstan－The president of Kazakhstan has appointed a new prime minister and a new cabinet, with some deputy prime ministers and ministers from the previous government keeping their posts.

The new prime minister, Alikhan Smailov, 49, previously served as Kazakhstan's finance minister and its first deputy prime minister.

This came as President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced on Tuesday that the Collective Security Treaty Organization will start pulling out its peacekeepers from the Central Asian nation in two days after completing its mission－a process that will take no longer than 10 days.

The CSTO sent 2,030 peacekeeping troops last week at Tokayev's request amid the worst public unrest that the former Soviet nation has faced since gaining independence 30 years ago.

Protests over soaring fuel prices erupted in the oil and gas rich nation of 19 million on Jan 2 and quickly spread across the country. Over the next few days, the demonstrations turned violent with dozens of people killed, including officers.

In Almaty, Kazakhstan's former capital and largest city, protesters set government buildings on fire and briefly seized the airport. The unrest was largely quelled by the weekend.

Authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-backed terrorists, saying the request for help to the CSTO was justified.

"When this decision was being made, we could have completely lost control over Almaty, which was being torn apart by terrorists. Had we lost Almaty, we would have lost the capital and the entire country," Tokayev told the parliament on Tuesday.

Asked whether the CSTO withdrawal move was premature－troops only started arriving in Kazakhstan five days ago, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "utterly and completely" Kazakhstan's prerogative.

"It is their analysis, and we have no right to interfere," Peskov said.

Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry reported on Tuesday that 9,900 people were detained over the unrest. Tokayev's office also said 338 criminal probes into the mass unrest and assaults on law enforcement officers have been opened.

More than 1,270 businesses were affected nationwide, with more than 100 shopping centers and banks looted and about 500 police vehicles damaged or burned, authorities said, adding that the economic damage could amount to $3 billion.

Life in Almaty started returning to normal this week, with public transport resuming operations and malls reopening. Owners of shops looted in the unrest were assessing the damage.

Galina Karpenko's underwear store was ransacked, and she said she lost about $10,000 in stolen goods and damage. "This is not a small sum for me. It's really not. I closed several outlets because of the crisis, as we couldn't afford the rent."

Agencies - Xinhua