FEB. 2 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A new law means that all unregistered mobile phones in Kazakhstan will be blocked from July 1 2017. The authorities say that the new law has been brought in to help fight potential terrorists but its detractors have said that it has been imposed to help the authorities monitor people who oppose the government more closely.

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ALMATY, JAN. 7 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Kazakh authorities imposed new migration rules which will force people to register with a local unit of the interior ministry every time they switch jobs or travel somewhere, even if it is just for a few days.

The interior ministry has said the new rules are needed to help fight terrorism but the hundreds of people queuing at centres across the country said that the new plans were just adding cost and wasting time.

Centres dealing with the flow of people trying to register under the new rules have had their opening times extended by an hour and are now also open on Sundays.

Saltanat, 25, a small business owner in Almaty said the authorities hadn’t communicated their plan properly.

“This is a very flawed law and I think that those who passed it don’t fully understand it themselves,” she said. “I have to work eight hours a day and I don’t know how am I going to register given huge lines in Public Service Centres.”

The Kazakh authorities want to clampdown on terrorism and some people welcomed the new rules.

“In my mind, authorities are attempting to solve two problems at once. Reduce the crime rate in big cities and control the unstoppable migration of people from rural areas to the cities like Almaty,” said Shaken, 49.

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