Nazarbayev lines up with striking oilmen

By Vladimir Afanasiev

 08 November 2012 23:59 GMT

KAZAKHSTAN President Nursultan Nazarbayev has suddenly aligned himself with striking oil workers in the town of Zhanaozen, despite their seven-month industrial action leading to riots and dozens of deaths last December writes Vladimir Afanasiev.

In a move that has surprised many industry and political observers, Nazarbayev has effectively taken the workers’ side by stating publicly that the management of state-controlled KazMunaiGaz E&P was “incompetent” in their handling of the labour dispute.

Nazarbayev says that about 1800 workers should not have been sacked by Ozenmunaigaz, the local operating subsidiary of KMG E&P shortly after street clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, .

According to analysts from US-based consultancy PFC Energy, Nazarbayev’s stance contradicts the positions of state and local authorities during the second half of 2011.

In May…

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