Kazakhstan's Proposal To Rename Capital Sparks Clashes Among Protesters In Astana

Clashes between supporters and opponents of Kazakhstan's newly minted proposal to rename its capital city erupted on Thursday outside the Astana mayor's office, forcing police to intervene and detain some of the protesters, a Sputnik correspondent reported

ASTANA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st March, 2019) Clashes between supporters and opponents of Kazakhstan's newly minted proposal to rename its capital city erupted on Thursday outside the Astana mayor's office, forcing police to intervene and detain some of the protesters, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

While there is currently no official information about the number of detained protesters, an eyewitness told Sputnik that police officers had apprehended around 20 people.

On Wednesday, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who was appointed as acting president following the unexpected resignation of the country's first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, suggested renaming Astana to Nursultan to honor the former leader.

That same day, the Kazakh parliament passed constitutional amendments to change the name of the capital.

In response, people were called on social media to gather near the mayor's office for a peaceful demonstration against the renaming initiative. More than 32,000 people have also signed an online petition against the name change.