ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Bolat Abilov, a prominent businessman and once an opposition figure in Kazakhstan, has announced a return to politics after he quit the Central Asian country's political scene almost nine years ago, as he looks to establish a new political party.
Abilov and his associates told reporters in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, on May 16 that the new party will be called Bizding Tangdau (Our Choice).
Abilov said that once the party is registered, it will establish an independent commission to investigate political assassinations in Kazakhstan, including the killings of opposition politicians Zamanbek Nurqadilov in 2005 and Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly in 2006.
It will also look into the deadly dispersal of anti-government protests in January this year, the killing of at least 16 oil workers in the southwestern town of Zhanaozen in 2011, the deadly dispersal of Kazakh youth in Almaty by Soviet troops in 1986, and Soviet-era famine in Kazakhstan in the 1930s.
The 64-year-old politician added that the new party will work on leaving Russian-led groupings such as the Eurasian Economic Union and the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
According to Abilov, one of the main goals of his party will also be renaming cities, streets, and other geographic objects that are currently named after former authoritarian President Nursultan Nazarbaev.
In September 2013, Abilov, who was then the chairman of the Azat (Free) party, announced his decision to quit politics without giving any explanation.
Abilov is one of the most successful businessmen of post-Soviet Kazakhstan. He left pro-presidential political circles and joined the opposition in the early 2000s.
Before 2013, he faced numerous trials on charges tied to his financial and opposition activities. He was fined or sentenced to several days in jail on numerous occasions at the time.