More Workers Strike In Kazakhstan's Restive West

ZHANAOZEN, Kazakhstan -- Hundreds of workers at the Burghylau oil company in the western town of Zhanaozen have launched a strike demanding higher salaries and better work conditions, joining workers at other energy companies in the restive western Manghystau region.

One of the striking workers, Bauyrzhan Abubakirov, told RFE/RL on February 9 that operations on the company's drilling wells had ground to a full stop.

"There are 2,000 workers at the company, who work in four shifts. The whole shift this morning refused to work and I hope that more workers will join," Abubakirov said.

Meanwhile, about 1,000 workers at the Manghystau nuclear power plant have been rallying in the regional capital, Aqtau, since February 7 to demand higher salaries and better working conditions.

The Manghystau region, especially the town of Zhanaozen, has been the epicenter of protests in the tightly controlled Central Asian country for years.

Late in the evening on February 8, dozens of women rallied in front of the Aqtau city administration demanding housing and social allowances for families with disabled members.

The women then blocked a nearby main street, only allowing traffic to resume in the early hours of February 9 after city officials promised to address their demands.

Hundreds of Zhanaozen residents have also been rallying in the town for more than a week now, demanding jobs for local youth.

Last week, hundreds of workers employed by several companies in the region -- Total, Qazaqgazondeu, KaspiProfSnab, and Planika -- launched strikes demanding higher salaries.

In early January, peaceful protests in the region over sudden fuel-price hikes led to mass anti-government protests across the country.

The protests were violently dispersed by police and military personnel, and President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev invited in troops from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, claiming that "20,000 extremists who were trained in terrorist camps abroad" attacked Almaty.

The authorities have provided no evidence to back up Toqaev's claim about foreign terrorists.

Kazakh officials said 227 people, including 19 law enforcement officers, were killed during the unrest across the country.

Human rights groups insist that the number may be much higher as scores of people remain missing, presenting proof that many peaceful demonstrators and persons who had nothing to do with the protests were killed by police and military personnel following Toqaev's "shoot-to-kill-without-warning" order.