AQTAU, Kazakhstan -- Dozens of trucks have parked in protest near Aqtau, the capital of Kazakhstan’s western region of Manghystau, as drivers rally against a recent 28 percent hike in the price of gasoline.
The drivers, who have been parked for several days, have been joined by residents from the volatile towns of Zhanaozen and Zhetibai, the epicenters of mass protests against fuel price hikes in December 2021 that led to unprecedented anti-government protests a month later that turned into violent mass unrest that left at least 238 people, including 19 law enforcement officers, dead.
One of the protesting drivers, Adil Baqbergen, told RFE/RL on April 28 that the demonstrators plan to stay at the site until the increased gasoline price of 295 tenges ($0.66) is cut back to its previous price of 230 tenges.
According to the protesters, the gap price hike caused a knock-on increase in transportation fees which, in turn, affects every citizen of the oil-rich Central Asian country as food and service prices have risen correspondingly.
The drivers said that representatives of the local prosecutor's office met with them on April 28 and urged them to leave the site and wait until their written demands are considered.
However, the protesters said their numbers will continue to grow as residents of other towns and villages of the region join them.
The protest takes places days after President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev justified a recent increase of gasoline and diesel fuel prices in the country, citing a general increase in global market prices.
In recent weeks, several similar protests against the fuel price hikes have taken place across some regions in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.
Compounding concerns that the unrest may grow, Energy Minister Almasadam Satqaliev has publicly warned of an expected increase of liquefied gas prices in the coming months.