This is a translation of Adam Kesher’s post.

On 10 February in Almaty the opposition held a meeting, dedicated to the memory of Altynbek Sarsenbayev, who was shot along with his two assistants a year ago by unknown assassins.

The meeting took place near the Academy of sciences, where, a year ago the civil dirge on the murdered was conducted. Later, in March, a remembrance day, dedicated to all victims of terror was supposed to take place in the same area, but the event was wrecked by the city authorities and was turned into a procession on Furmanova Street (which, the democrats propose to rename in the honor Sarsenbayev and assembled over 200,000 signatures in the support of the proposal).

The fact, that the meeting happened in the center of the city and was officially permitted by the City Hall, is, by itself – big news”, says Malika, a student who came to attend the meeting.

By law, peaceful meetings are supposed to be carried out in places especially confirmed by “Maslikhat” (local representative officials). In all the cities, such places became areas far from the center. In Almaty it is a little space in an entertainment park “Family”, on the backyard of “Sary-Arka” cinema, where all the monuments dedicated to the communist workers from all around the city were moved.

Participants of the meeting issued a call to bring the matter of kidnapping and murder of Sarsenbayev and his assistants to the supplementary examination by the article of “Terrorism”, to send the attorney general, Tuspusbekov, and the head of MVD, Muhamedjanov into resignation, disband the special force KNB “Arystan” (mixed in the kidnapping of the murdered oppositioner and his assistants) and to stop the pursuit of political opponents of the acting authority.

In spite of the official sanction signed by the vice-mayor with the reference to a “memorable nature of an event”, only two thousand people attended the meeting.

“People are afraid; they are threatened by the news of the brutality of officials”, thinks Maria, a lawyer, supporting the opposition. “People react better on limiting their economical rights, then on limiting their political freedom”, adds young sociologist Gulya, talking about the protest of the owners of the vehicles with the right sided driver’s seat.

Drawing parallels with neighboring Kyrgyzstan, where the citizens and political leaders effectively mastered direct democracy methods, a lot of questions appear, to which, in nearest future, the political scientists will try to find answers; the opposition parties will try to improve their activities, even the powerful political strategists will think about it. But there is something to think about for each of us.