Nazarbayev should cooperate with investigation
Influential U.S. legislator Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chair of the
Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia of the House of Representatives'
Committee on International Relations has submitted to the U.S. Congress a resolution that
contains a number of demands to Central Asian dictators.
"While many of the nations in this region promised far-reaching reforms as a means to
combat terror, these authoritarian governments … are increasingly reliant on repression
and coercion to remain in power. As documented by U.S. and international human rights
organizations, the situation in most of these countries is deteriorating
considerably," write Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and congressman Ackerman in the accompanying
letter to the congressmen.
The two congressmen urge their colleagues to support the resolution to
make presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan take concrete
steps to meet their international commitments and provisions of their national
constitutions.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen knows from experience the situation in Kazakhstan and other Central
Asian states. On many occasions, she presided over congressional hearings attended by A.
Kazhegeldin and other Kazakh opposition politicians. She was among the most renowned U.S.
representatives who together with senators Liberman and McCain forwarded inquiries to the
U.S. Secretary of State regarding putting pressure on the Nazarbayev regime, the status of
the Kazakhgate investigation, and the restriction of access to the U.S. for corrupt heads
of states and their cronies.
The new resolution is remarkable for its demand that Kazakh officials
cooperate with the ongoing Department of Justice investigation into the multimillion graft
scandal involving Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The U.S. Congress' resolution urges the Kazakh authorities "to create a political
climate free of intimidation and harassment, including releasing political prisoners and
permitting the return of political exiles, most notably Akezan Kazegeldin."
The U.S. Congress once again voices its concern about the situation
with journalist and human rights activist Sergey Duvanov. "If convicted independent
journalist Sergey Duvanov decides to appeal his verdict, to ensure that due process will
be strictly followed in accordance with Kazakhstani law and international standards of
justice", says the resolution.
The Eurasia Information and Analytic Center has obtained the text of the House resolution
No. 31. Below we publish a translation of the full text of the resolution. Democratic
movements across Central Asia are welcome to use this document as a proof of U.S.
political establishment support for them.
According to the information confirmed on the Capitol Hill, a group of influential
senators and leaders of the two parties, the Republican and Democratic parties, have been
drafting a concurrent resolution on political situation in Kazakhstan.
This resolution has been modeled on the U.S. Congress' Belarus
Democracy Act. The bill is expected to contain a number of requirements that President
Nazarbayev should meet, as well as some instructions for the U.S. government.
In particular, the bill is expected to introduce a number of sanctions "until the
President determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the
Nazarbayev Government has made significant progress" in meeting the five conditions
described in the document.
Among them is "the withdrawal of politically motivated legal
charges against all opposition figures and independent journalists."
The draft also contains a demand about "the cessation of all forms of harassment and
repression against the independent media, independent trade unions, nongovernmental
organizations, religious organizations, and the political opposition in Kazakhstan."
And, finally, the related section of the bill urges the authorities to hold "free and
fair presidential and parliamentary elections consistent with OSCE commitments."
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 31
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to human rights in Central Asia.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 26, 2005
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself and Mr. ACKERMAN) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to human rights in
Central Asia.
Whereas the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
and Uzbekistan are providing the United States with important assistance in the war in
Afghanistan, including military basing, overflight rights, and the facilitation of
humanitarian relief;
Whereas America's victory over the Taliban in Afghanistan in turn provided important
benefits to these Central Asian countries, removing a regime that threatened their
security, and significantly weakening the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a terrorist
organization that had previously staged armed raids from Afghanistan into the region;
Whereas the United States has consistently urged the countries of Central Asia to open
their political systems and economies and to respect human rights, both before and since
the attacks against the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001;
Whereas Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are members of
the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),
both of which confer a range of human rights obligations on their members;
Whereas, although the United States recognizes that there are marked
differences among the social structures of these Central Asian countries and their
commitments to democratic and economic reform, according to the Department of State's
Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the governments of such countries, to
differing degrees, restrict freedom of speech and association, restrict or ban the
activities of human rights organizations and other nongovernmental organizations, harass
or prohibit independent media, harass or imprison political opponents, practice arbitrary
detention and arrest, and engage in torture and extrajudicial executions;
Whereas in March 2004, the United Nations announced the deployment of an international
human rights expert in Kazakhstan as its regional adviser for Central Asia in order to
provide advice and training to government officials and policy makers, nongovernmental
organizations, United Nations agencies, and other international organizations;
Whereas in April 2004, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development decided to
limit its investment in Uzbekistan due to the lack of progress in human rights, following
the expiration of the one-year deadline the Bank had set for the Uzbek Government to meet
specific human rights benchmarks as a condition for further engagement;
Whereas in July 2004, after a Department of State review of democratization in Uzbekistan,
Secretary of State Colin Powell decided that the Government of Uzbekistan was not
fulfilling the terms of a 2002 Strategic Partnership Framework agreement that mandated
`substantial and continuing progress' on democratization, and decided not to certify
Uzbekistan as eligible to receive United States assistance;
Whereas, by continuing to suppress human rights and to deny citizens
peaceful, democratic means of expressing their convictions, the countries of Central Asia
risk fueling popular support for violent and extremist movements, thus undermining the
goals of the Global War on Terrorism;
Whereas President Bush has made the defense of `human dignity, the rule of law, limits on
the power of the state, respect for women and private property and free speech and equal
justice and religious tolerance' strategic goals of United States foreign policy in the
Islamic world, arguing that `a truly strong nation will permit legal avenues of dissent
for all groups that pursue their aspirations without violence'; and
Whereas Congress has expressed its desire to see deeper reform in the countries of Central
Asia in resolutions and other legislation, most recently conditioning assistance to
Uzbekistan on its progress in meeting human rights and democracy commitments to the United
States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of
Congress that--
(1) the Governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan should accelerate democratic reforms and fulfill their human
rights obligations, including, where appropriate, by--
(A) releasing from prison all individuals jailed for peaceful political activism or the
nonviolent expression of their political or religious beliefs, including Felix Kulov in
Kyrgyzstan;
(B ) fully investigating any credible allegations of torture and prosecuting those
individuals responsible;
(C) permitting the free and unfettered functioning of independent media outlets,
independent political parties, and nongovernmental organizations, whether officially
registered or not;
(D) permitting the free exercise of religious beliefs and ceasing the persecution of
members of religious groups and denominations not registered with the state;
(E) holding free, transparent, competitive, and fair elections; and
(F) making publicly available documentation of their revenues and expenditures and
punishing those individuals engaged in official corruption;
(2) the President, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense should--
(A) continue to raise at the highest levels with the governments of the countries of
Central Asia specific cases of political and religious persecution, and urge greater
respect for human rights and democratic freedoms at every diplomatic opportunity;
(B ) continue to take progress in meeting the goals outlined in paragraph (1) into account
when determining the level and frequency of United States diplomatic engagement with the
governments of the countries of Central Asia, the allocation of United States assistance
for such countries, and the nature of United States military engagement with such
countries;
(C) ensure that the provisions of the annual foreign operations, export financing and
related programs appropriations Act continue to be fully implemented to ensure that United
States assistance does not benefit the security forces of Central Asian countries that are
implicated in violations of human rights;
(D) follow the recommendations of the United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom by designating Turkmenistan a `Country of Particular Concern' under the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and by making clear that Uzbekistan risks a
similar designation if conditions in that country do not improve;
(E) urge the Government of Turkmenistan to respect the right of imprisoned opposition
leader Boris Shikmuradov to due process and a fair trial and to release democratic
activists and their family members from prison;
(F) urge the Government of the Russian Federation not to extradite to Turkmenistan members
of that country's political opposition and to condition future bilateral relations with
the Government of Turkmenistan on concrete, verifiable improvements in human rights and
encourage political and economic reforms;
(G) work with the Government of Kazakhstan to create a political climate free of
intimidation and harassment, including releasing political prisoners and permitting the
return of political exiles, most notably Akezan Kazegeldin, and to reduce official
corruption, including by urging the Government of Kazakhstan to cooperate with the ongoing
Department of Justice investigation, and if convicted independent journalist Sergey
Duvanov decides to appeal his verdict, to ensure that due process will be strictly
followed in accordance with Kazakhstani law and international standards of justice;
(H) work with the Government of Uzbekistan to address the serious concerns about systemic
torture documented in the reports of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and
to implement recommendations made in the report;
(I) work with the Government of Kyrgyzstan to introduce changes in the recently adopted
constitution that would address concerns about protections for human rights and balance of
powers; and
(J) support, through United States assistance programs, those individuals, nongovernmental
organizations, and media outlets in the countries of Central Asia working to establish
more open societies, to support the victims of human rights abuses, and to expose official
corruption; and
(3) United States assistance to the governments of the countries of Central Asia, made
possible by their cooperation in the war in Afghanistan, can be sustained only if there is
substantial and continuing progress toward meeting the goals outlined in paragraph (1).
IAC EURASIA-Internet, February 11, 2005
http://www.eurasia.org.ru/ |
