Text of report by the Kyrgyz news agency Kabar on 15th February
Bishkek, 15th February: The Ar-Namys [Honor] Party leader, Feliks Kulov has
given a news conference at his party's main office. He said that the launch
of criminal proceedings against him was unlawful and politically motivated.
"Deviation from the democratic provisions of the country's constitution is
taking place in Kyrgyzstan," Kulov said at the news conference. "The party
and its members are subjected to various kinds of pressure. Our people are
being threatened and fired from work," he told journalists.
The Ar-Namys Party leader believes that through the National Security
Ministry and fabricated accusations the authorities intend to prevent him
from running in the single-seat Kara-Buura electoral district. He said
election results in that district could be falsified.
He told about his visit to Talas Region to meet voters. According to him, he
was accompanied by local authorities and elders, who spoke with voters
after him and said the opposite to what he had said. The head of the
district administration himself was among them - there were a total of over
100 of them [local officials and elders]. Kulov assured journalists that he
had never been escorted like that even when he travelled as vice-president
and minister.
According to Kulov, the withdrawal of the Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan
Party from the election race has deprived political parties of the
opportunity to run in the parliamentary elections on equal terms, and the
authorities will not allow any independent party "to rise up" until the
presidential elections.
Kulov said that the results of a public opinion survey by the party
coincided with the results of the polls held by the government, which
showed that about one million voters were ready to vote for the Democratic
Movement of Kyrgyzstan Party.
After the news conference, he handed out a five-page statement, rebutting
the accusations put forward against him.
Source: Kabar news agency, Bishkek, in Russian 1306 gmt 15 Feb 00
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