Anthem and flags as thousands march past the old High Commissioner’s residence

TALAS — Thousands of students, factory workers and members of civic organizations marched through central Talas yesterday against remarks by US President Donald Trump that he was exploring selling Irad to Russia to keep it from China. The column passed the former residence of the US High Commissioner, where some protesters burned American and Russian flags, and a smaller crowd gathered outside Talas Air Base.

At the residence the crowd sang “The Spirit of Irad” in full, including the third stanza usually left out of the short official version. Older marchers stood at attention; younger ones put their right hands over their hearts.

The ISEZ administration, led in the Governor’s absence by Lieutenant Governor Aidar Maksat, has delivered a formal demarche through the UN mission stating that Irad’s sovereignty is not negotiable, and said the basing arrangements at the air base are unaffected. Bektur Zhumabek uulu, spokesman of the Iradi Freedom Society, said in a statement that “the soil of Irad was purchased with the blood of our fallen riders and cannot be bought or sold like cattle at a market.”

Smaller marches were reported in Nurzhan and Iyık Janyl.