Kazakhstan was set to restrict unvaccinated from entering their banks with QR code system, changes started January 5th

[Emily]

There are rumors about discriminatory lack of access to banks starting the revolution there. I didn't believe anything that crazy could happen anywhere, but this article said the government planned to do that.

https://astanatimes.com/2021/12/kaza...eads-globally/
Kazakhstan Considers Tightening Restrictions as Omicron Variant Spreads Globally


By Assel Satubaldina in Nation on 30 December 2021

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is set to tighten its coronavirus restrictions starting from Jan. 5, 2022, as a result of the omicron variant causing a global surge in coronavirus cases.

Starting from Jan. 5, only citizens who can prove recent recovery from COVID-19 or provide proof of a full vaccination course will be able to access trade malls and karaoke bars. The country uses its own Ashyq system that connects with the database of the Ministry of Health to display the status of citizens when they scan a QR code at a venue entrance. The color-coded system can show green (recent recovery, recent PCR test, or full vaccination), blue (neutral), yellow (contact with an infected person), or red status (positive PCR test).

The officials also warn that the restrictions could extend to other venues, including banks and post services if the omicron variant is confirmed in the country. ..

[sharon sanders]

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[Emily]

https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/kazakhstan

The World Bank in Kazakhstan

Economic activity in Kazakhstan is projected to recover to its pre-pandemic level by end-2021, with growth of 3.2–3.7% in 2021 and 3.7% in 2022. Growth will be supported by the resumption of domestic activity, a supportive fiscal stance, and the rollout of vaccines.

https://www.medcom.id/english/business/0k8XG8ak-world-bank-approves-400-million-loan-to-boost-economic-recovery-in-kazakhstan

World Bank Approves $400 Million Loan to Boost Economic Recovery in Kazakhstan
Wahyu Dwi Anggoro • 10 December 2021

Nursultan: The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved Thursday a $400 million loan to Kazakhstan to support its transition to a more competitive market economy and for a more sustainable post-pandemic recovery.

And now...nobody gets into the banks...

https://menafn.com/1103510251/National-Bank-of-Kazakhstan-to-suspend-operation-of-exchange-offices

National Bank of Kazakhstan to suspend operation of exchange offices
Date 1/9/2022 9:42:55 AM
(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)

The National Bank of Kazakhstan has announced that the operation of exchange offices in the country has been suspended for safety reasons, Trend reports citing TASS .

'The operation of exchange offices of second-tier banks and authorized organizations will be temporarily suspended for safety of exchange offices, as well as their staff and clients,' the regulator said in a statement posted on its website on Sunday.

And you can't dump your tenge's.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-01-09/Kazakhstan-suspends-currency-exchange-services-in-banks-16GIkbOgFJS/index.html

21:25, 09-Jan-2022
CGTN
Kazakhstan suspends currency exchange services in banks

[sharon sanders]

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[Emily]

https://www.startribune.com/kazakhstan-detains-nearly-1700-more-after-violent-unrest/600135029/

Kazakhstan detains nearly 1,700 more after violent unrest
Associated Press
January 12, 2022 — 2:40am

...
The additional detentions, reported by authorities in Almaty, the country's largest city that was hit the hardest by the turmoil, brought the total number of arrests to about 12,000. More than 300 criminal investigations into mass unrest and assaults on law enforcement officers have been opened.

[sharon sanders]

bump this

[Emily]

https://astanatimes.com/2022/01/kaza...micron-spread/

Kazakhstan Tightens COVID Restrictions, Entry Requirements Amid Omicron Spread
By Zhanna Shayakhmetova in Nation on 14 January 2022

I don't see any mention of locking the unvaccinated out of banks in that article. Maybe that's on the back burner for now. A couple more countries are locking unvaccinated citizens out of their banks - Argentina and Dominican Republic. Both also got Covid loans from the World Bank. One of the loan docs I saw stipulates that the terms of the loan are contingent upon the borrower carrying out an agreed upon plan for handling the pandemic.

I think the World Bank needs to ensure that de facto forced injections are not imposed on citizens as part of those plans.

[Emily]

https://tass.com/society/1389233

Russian lower house drops bill on COVID-19 certificates — chairman

MOSCOW, January 17. /TASS/. The Russian State Duma (lower house) has unanimously decided to withdraw the bill on introducing COVID-19 certificates with QR codes for visiting public places, Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin said on his Telegram channel.

"The State Duma unanimously dropped the bill on [introducing] QR codes," the senior lawmaker revealed...

Dropped like a hot potato after seeing the after effects in Kazakhstan? Whatever the reason for the sudden turnaround, appearing to respect the bodily autonomy of its citizens is good public relations for Russia.

[sharon sanders]

bump this

[Emily]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-60058972

Kazakhstan unrest: 'If you protest again, we'll kill you'
By Abdujalil Abdurasulov
BBC News, Almaty

Published 5 hours ago
...

The armed men in uniforms checked every ward, shouting that they were looking for people wounded in mass unrest that had left scores dead.

Asel, who had been shot in the violence and was being treated in the hospital in Kazakhstan's biggest city Almaty, recalled the chilling encounter.

"One of them shouted, 'if you go out to protest again, we will kill you'."

She believes the men with guns were from the special police forces or security services and were rounding up anyone who had taken part in anti-government protests.

They tried to take Asel with them but she was too badly wounded to walk. Her name has been changed to protect her identity.
...

Kazakhstan's prosecutor-general's office has opened nearly 700 criminal cases. Some of those accused are charged with terrorism, murder and seeking to overthrow the government.

However, human rights groups say the authorities are cracking down on everyone who took part in the protests, including peaceful demonstrators.

Even those who simply posted on Facebook in support of the protests are being detained. They face beatings and torture, activists say.

"There is no presumption of innocence," said Bakhytzhan Toregozhina, a human rights activist in Almaty. "They are all potential terrorists for the authorities and they try to force confessions out of them."
...


It is still not clear how peaceful protests turned so violent. Initially, the mood of the crowd was festive when people rallied on 4 January. They sang the anthem of Kazakhstan and chanted political demands.

"The crowd was very diverse," recalls Timur Nusimbekov, a local journalist who watched events unfold in Almaty. "There were people from the suburbs, people from the city centre. There were hipsters and young working people."
...

The next day, on 5 January, tensions grew. Some people on the square in Almaty were armed with knives and hunting rifles, says Mr Nusimbekov...

[sharon sanders]

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[Emily]

https://jamestown.org/program/kazakhstan-protests-involve-russians-adding-to-moscows-worries-about-stability/

Kazakhstan Protests Involve Russians, Adding to Moscow’s Worries About Stability
Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 19 Issue: 3
By: Paul Goble
January 20, 2022 05:15 PM Age: 1 day

Moscow was alarmed by the protests in Kazakhstan earlier this month primarily because they represented an attack of the population against the regime, something President Vladimir Putin has always sought to block lest it inspire people in the Russian Federation. But his concerns on that point were intensified by two other factors as well: First, some of the demonstrations took place in northern Kazakhstan and apparently involved not only ethnic Kazakhs but also ethnic Russians, a sign that the protests in the Central Asian country could become a model for protests in Russia; and second, they occurred at a time when the Kremlin is already anxious about the spread of Islamist radicalism northward from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan into Central Asia and possibly into Russia as well. In response, Putin orchestrated the heavily reported introduction of forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and, simultaneously, the less-well-covered increase in Russian military forces to the south of Kazakhstan, along the Afghan border (see EDM, January 18, 19, 19, 2022)...

[sharon sanders]

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[Emily]

So the QR code vaxpasses did have something to do with the turmoil in Kazakhstan.

https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2022/01/25/russia-explained

Newsletter · Политика

06:02, 25 января 2022«Новая газета», редакция
...
THE KREMLIN IS DISTANCING ITSELF. On January 14, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova announced that the second reading of controversial bill on the nationwide introduction of QR codes to prove vaccination status had been postponed. According to Boris Vishnevsky — a member of the party Yaboloko and member of the St. Petersburg legislature — the decision indicates the Kremlin’s desire to distance itself from citizens’ ire. They fear that the mass protests in Kazakhstan could happen in Russia. By avoiding a federal law, Vishnevsky continues, “the regional governors will be responsible for citizen’s discontent, and not Putin at all.”

[sharon sanders]

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