Last summer, events took place in Kazakhstan that radically changed ideas about this republic as an island of stability in Central Asia. Militant groups carried out a number of terrorist attacks in one of the most significant cities in the country. Dozens of casualties, a real threat of exacerbating instability - all this forces the country's leadership to counter terrorism in Kazakhstan.
Black June 2016
Aktobe is a large city in the west of Kazakhstan with a population of 400 thousand people. It is no coincidence that he was chosen as the target for a terrorist attack. After all, this is a large transport hub connecting the western part of Kazakhstan with the center of the country. It is in the west that the largest industrial oil reserves are located, including the most significant fields - Tengiz and Kashagan.
Perhaps inspired by the successes of Syrian extremists, the Kazakh Salafis decided to create something similar to the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq on the territory of the republic, where the Islamists did their best to brisk trade in crude oil from the captured oil-bearing regions.
The events that took place in the summer of 2016 are very similar to what happened in Nalchik in 2005. In the same way, an attack was made on an arms store with the aim of extracting weapons, then an attack on a military unit. The scenario envisaged establishing control over the entire city, holding it for a while, then, while maintaining combat readiness, retreating and continuing underground activities. The geography of the region itself allows you to make a departure towards the Volga region, into the territory of Uzbekistan. Left unpunished, you can continue to raid banks, administrative bodies.
Intimidate and demoralize
Terrorism in Kazakhstan is a relatively new phenomenon; the latest attacks took place three years ago, and on a much smaller scale.
The law enforcement agencies managed to prevent the negative development of the scenario, but the threat of terrorism in Kazakhstan had a very strong impact on the mood in society. The tactics of terror are intended to intimidate and demoralize the population, to force them to make concessions to brute force.
But, although the Kazakhstanis do not have such immunity to such threats, they managed to avoid panic. Waves of fear and horror that arose in social networks quickly subsided.
Who benefits from this?
Extremism and terrorism in Kazakhstan did not appear from scratch. The main question in the fight against them is who is the customer? There is no consensus on this. This may be a manifestation of the activity of a worldwide terrorist network sent from the Middle East. Many experts do not exclude the option of intensifying the struggle for power within the country.
In any case, 15 years ago Wahhabi preachers from the North Caucasus became more active in the country.
Numerous autonomous cells were created - jamaats. The security services covered many of them, but how many intact hornet's nests remained that went into standby mode. Terrorism in Kazakhstan, therefore, has prepared soil, and one of the main tasks is the prevention of such ideological sabotage and countering Wahhabi and Salafi missionary work.
In any case, all the identified persons involved in these attacks are nee Aktobe region. This is an alarming signal for the authorities, indicating that terrorism in Kazakhstan may be acceptable, as a method of struggle for local residents. Whoever was the customer, they recruit ordinary soldiers from the citizens of the republic.
Counter Terrorism Act in Kazakhstan as a reaction to attacks
For the first time facing such a threat with its statehood, the Kazakh authorities realized the need for legislative reform. The legislative draft “On Amendments and Additions to Some Legislative Acts on Countering Extremism and Terrorism” was considered. It was put up for discussion by the public, a wide range of experts and provided for amendments to 24 legislative acts.
The focus was on three main points:
- strengthening arms control
- tougher penalties for terrorism offenses
- problems of internal migration
Stop weapons and illegal migration
In particular, it is forbidden to place stores selling arms in residential buildings. The number of weapons that a citizen can own is limited. All weapons must be sold in a condition that precludes their rapid putting into combat readiness.
This is due to the fact that the main targets for the attack in Aktobe were arms stores.
The stricter punishment for the following crimes is supposed:
- mercenary and recruitment
- participation in hostilities outside of Kazakhstan
- propaganda of extremism and terrorism
- the creation of armed groups
- attempt to forcibly overthrow the political system
For these crimes you can now be deprived of liberty for life. In some particularly severe cases, the state reserves the right to capital punishment.
The control over internal migration will be strengthened. Citizens residing without registration at the place of actual residence will be taken under special supervision.
New challenges - new ministry
The fight against terrorism in Kazakhstan has unfolded on all fronts. One solution was the establishment of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Civil Society. It was headed by a man connected in the past with military intelligence - Nurlan Ekmembaev.
Ordinary terrorists do not appear out of nowhere. They are recruited from ordinary residents, for one reason or another dissatisfied with the current state of affairs. The state’s self-determination from religious affairs has led to numerous “missionaries” invading the free sphere of influence. The extremist ideas of Wahhabism, formerly foreign to the Kazakhstanis, began to gradually take over the minds and souls of many people.
Hence the main function of the new ministry is to counter new ideological and propaganda challenges from the outside.
Interaction with religious organizations is one of the main aspects of activity. Passes to the ministry and youth policy. This is no accident, since according to statistics, most terrorists are young people from 20 to 30 years old.
Society reaction
Kazakhstan against terrorism in this manifestation is facing for the first time. Hence the drastic measures aimed at a complete restructuring of the methods of combating this evil. The law on countering terrorism was developed by security forces. Always and everywhere - in the most democratic countries, power structures try to take society under their full control. Hence such harsh formulations that complicate life for many.
Not everyone was satisfied with such an invasion of their lives. Nevertheless, the majority of the population is aware of the reality of such a threat as terrorism in Kazakhstan and is sympathetic to the reaction of the authorities. The rejection caused the most odious measures associated with tightening control over registration.
