KYRGYZSTAN:
FLAWED ROUND-TABLE
For the first time since the February/March 2000 parliamentary elections, President Akaev faced heavy criticism for the non-democratic results of the elections. Akaev’s regime excluded almost all real opposition candidates from the electoral process through gross interference and abuse of the judicial system under its control. Those who declared their intention to run for president were imprisoned (Felix Kulov, leader of Ar-Namys Party), or convicted on the basis of fabricated criminal charges (Daniyar Usenov, leader of El Party). Thus, in total, about 20 people not loyal to Akaev's regime were hindered from being elected to parliament – despite President Akaev’s promise at the 1999 OSCE Istanbul Summit to hold fair and democratic elections.
President Akaev and his government refused to recognize the OSCE/ODIHR’s critical final report on the elections until the meetings with OSCE Secretary General, Jan Kubis, and U.S. State Secretary, Madeleine Albright. However, even then they only partially admitted the OSCE report’s veracity and promised to correct the mistakes. On 15 March, during his meeting with Jan Kubis on the results of the parliamentary elections, President Akaev expressed his surprise and complained that he had been betrayed. Akaev promised to hold a round-table with the opposition and NGOs to hear and solve all the problems discussed.
Following consultations with Ambassador Yerzy Wieclaw, head of the OSCE office in Bishkek, the opposition agreed to offer its proposal for the round-table and agreed on the issues to be discussed with the president. Originally, it was suggested to hold round-table discussions as a trilateral meeting between the government, opposition and independent NGOs under the OSCE aegis in the format of 7+7+7, i.e. 7 public officials with constitutional authorities, 7 representatives of political parties, and 7 NGOs representing civil society. This format was proposed because non-governmental political parties and NGOs have been under constant harassment by authorities. After the first round of negotiations with the President’s Administration, the opposition agreed to change the format to 9+9+9, to which all parties of the round-table consented.
The preparations lasted about two months, during which time the participants came close to agreeing that the government would be represented by President Akaev, the prime minister, the interior minister, the chair of the Legislative Assembly of Jogorku Kengesh, (lower house of parliament), the chair of the People’s Assembly of Jogorku Kengesh, (higher house of parliament), the chair of the Supreme Court, the prosecutor general, the chair of the Central Election Commission, and the chair of the Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan.
The political parties represented in the round-table would be the Ar-Namys Party, the El Party, the Kairan-El Party, the Republican Party of Kyrgyzstan, the Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan (DDK), Asaba, the Communist Party, My Country, and the Party of Afghan War Veterans.
Participants included NGO leaders from the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, the Kyrgyz-American Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law, the Coalition of NGOs For Democracy and Civil Society, Public Association for the Social Defense of People (PASDP), the Assembly of Peoples of Kyrgyzstan, the Foundation for the Defense of Glasnost, the Republican Council of Labor and War Veterans, the Association of Jurists, the Committee of Women of Kyrgyzstan, and as the proposed 10th , the unregistered NGO of the Guild of Prisoners of Conscience.
The participants of the round-table, however, were not confirmed in the end. The President’s Administration questioned the participation of the Guild of Prisoners of Conscience under the pretext that it was not registered. The Guild was created in April and its founding documents were sent to the Justice Ministry. However, Deputy Justice Minister E. Mamyrov did not sign the order to register the association saying that, on the basis of the constitution, there can be no politically motivated persecutions in Kyrgyzstan. However, the round-table was designed precisely to discuss how the constitutional guarantees for many democratic principles such as the right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, presumption of innocence, etc. are put into practice in Kyrgyzstan. The opposition wanted to speak directly to the president and senior officials about the constitutional rights that have gradually been restricted.
Thus, the approved agenda for a discussion drawn up by the contact group, under the auspices of the OSCE, included the results of the latest parliamentary elections; guaranteeing fair, free, and democratic presidential elections; ways of improving the social-economic situation and priorities; freedom of expression and the mass media; the role of the political parties and of NGOs; the legality of opposition; civil and political rights (particularly the right to peaceful assembly and the independence of the judiciary and judicial reform).
The President’s Administration disapproved of the participation of the chair of the Guild of Prisoners of Conscience, T. Turgunaliev, although he had participated in the preparation of the round-table from the very beginning. Privately, the administration explained that Turgunaliev was accused of having participated in an attempt on President Akaev’s life – another fabricated criminal case against him. Turgunaliev rejected the accusations in many interviews with the media. He had already served two prison terms on the basis of fabricated charges.
The Ar-Namys Party was also excluded from the format, for the sole reason that its leader, Felix Kulov, was being held in the custody of the National Security Ministry. Local monitors wondered why the government did not decide to also exclude Zamira Sydykova of the Republican Party and Daniyar Usenov of the El Party, both of whom had been convicted. Authorities initiated legal proceedings against Ramazan Dyryldaev, chair of the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR), and J. Jeksheev (DDK). The Prosecutor’s Office issued warnings to T. Ismailova of the Coalition of NGOs and L. Fomova of PASDP. Ironically, some monitors noted that it appeared that only "criminals" would represent the opposition and civil society.
In the course of the contact group’s work, the pro-governmental parties continued to explain to the OSCE Center why they did not want to participate in the round-table in the suggested format. It was obvious that the government did not actually want to participate in the round-table with the opposition at all and successfully insisted on increasing the number of participants with the aim of including also pro-governmental parties and NGOs.
However, the government was also given a list of issues that should be solved either prior to or during the round-table. Those issues were raised by the OSCE/ODIHR, other international human right organizations and U.S. Secretary of State Albright during her visit to Kyrgyzstan on 16 April. The list included demands to lift the restraint measures against the leader of Ar-Namys Party, Feliks Kulov, and to hold an open trial for him; terminate the judicial persecution of the leader of the People's Party, D. Usenov; carry out an investigation into the beating of peaceful participants of a rally in Kara-Buura and Bishkek; review a court decision on "Res Publika" newspaper and financial and other pressure on "Asaba," Delo No.", Piramida TV and others; reconsider court decisions on the election results in some constituencies; stop the harassment of NGO leaders, including the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (IHF member), Public Association for the Social Defense of People, and NGOs Coalition; and to abandon criminal proceedings against leader of the Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan, J. Jeksheev, and to consider this argument in a civil law procedure. The contact group received a response from the Secretary of the State Security Council, B. Januzakov, to the effect that all actions taken by the authorities in the abovementioned issues were lawful.
President Akaev refused to consider questions raised by the local opposition and human rights defenders and the international community. Moreover, when asked about the participation of the president in the round-table, his administration stated that he would only be present for an hour or two, to give a presentation. The non-governmental parties of the planned round-table considered that the absence of the president would water down the very concept of the round-table.
The Presidential Administration also refused - despite an already achieved agreement – to have international observers as moderators, or have international organizations accredited in Kyrgyzstan (e.g. the World Bank and the IMF) as observers. On 3 June, A. Aitmatov, a member of the contact group and the president’s councilor on international affairs, announced that he would lay down his full mandate on preparations for the round-table discussions and that he refused to participate further in the work of the contact group. He was supported by other government representatives. It seemed obvious that the Presidential Administration was behind this move.
On the following day, the press service of the president and his assistant O. Ibraimov announced that the round table discussions would be held with the participation of President Akaev on 8 June in format 25+25+25, instead of the agreed format of 9+9+9. A similar statement was made by State Secretary N. Kasiev. It was clear that Akaev withdrew his promise to OSCE Secretary General Jan Kubis because he knew that gross violations of the voters' rights, interference in the electoral process by the Presidential Administration, serious beatings of peaceful demonstrators and other similar issues would be taken up during the round-table. Such a decision revealed a lack of political will on behalf of the president to openly discuss human rights issues with the opposition and civil society. As a result, the opposition parties and NGOs issued a joint statement saying they would not participate in such a meaningless forum, or "bazaar," as they put it.
By holding a so-called round-table on 8 and 12 June, President Akaev took the opportunity to tarnish the opposition and human rights defenders and glorify himself. During the discussion, T. Akunov suggested that Ramazan Dyryldaev, T. Ismailova and others should be exiled into Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan to see what a real totalitarian regime looks like. It was also proposed that Akaev run for president for the third term. Akaev categorically denied criticism of the judiciary, stating that the courts obey and observe only those laws (including the election code) that have been adopted by the parliament and denied that he, or other authorities, would interfere in the operation of the courts. However, the KCHR said it was obvious that President Akaev protects judges who make unlawful and arbitrary decisions against opposition and human rights defenders. The judiciary is becoming increasingly corrupt and President Akaev escapes his responsibility by stating that he cannot influence court decisions.
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Source: Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR). Written by Gulhan Borubaeva basing on reports of contact group members Ramazan Dyryldaev and Zamiry Sydykova
For more information please contact the KCHR, phone +996-312-66 25 15 or 58 46 07, fax +996-312-66 25 15 or 66 02 11, e-mail chrights@imfiko.bishkek.su
JOURNALIST SENTENCED FOR UNVAILING COURT MISCONDUCT
On 19 June, the Jalal-Abad City Court handed down a harsh sentence to independent journalist Moldosali Ibraimov. Ibraimov received a two-year prison sentence and a fine of 107,000 soms (about U.S.$ 2,200) for claiming that a judge’s ruling had been biased.
At the end of March, Ibraimov criticized the lack of objectivity in a court case between two candidates for the Legislative Assembly of Jogorku Kengesh (lower house of parliament) Marat Bakiev and Turdubek Chekiev who were running in the Suzak-Makmal constituency no. 10 in the first court in Suzak rayon. Ibraimov published an article entitled "Did the Judge Commit a Crime?" in the regional weekly "Akyikat" (No. 16 of 7-13 April 2000) in which he clearly showed that judge Toktosun Kasymbekov had acted partially. The judge was also rumored to have received a bribe of U.S.$15,000 for his biased decision in favor of Chekiev.
As soon as the article was published, Judge Kasymbekov sued Ibraimov and "Akyikat" in the City Court of Jalal-Abad. He claimed that Ibraimov had committed a terrible crime and demanded 1 million soms in moral damages. He also demanded that "Akyikat" be fined 300,000 soms and that the editor-in-chief be punished. The City Court of Jalal-Abad, presided by Judge Djusup Sulaimanov, opened the case on 8 June.
According to the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR), it is most likely that Judge Kasymbekov was familiar with an article Ibraimov had written in 1999 on Judge Sulaimanov (which led the judge to face proceedings in the Constitutional Court on bribery charges). The KCHR stated that it appears that judge Sulaimanov now was taking his revenge: On 19 June, he sentenced Ibraimov to two years imprisonment and a fine in the amount of 107,000 soms on the basis of article 127 of the criminal code. Ibraimov was arrested in the court hall.
Although all judges in Kyrgyzstan recently passed an attestation, Judge Toktosun Kasymbekov of the Jalal-Abad City Court, like many other judges, was apparently unaware of the changes in the new criminal procedural code, according to which a judge can no longer convert a civil claim into a criminal case.
Judge Sulaimanov also fined the weekly "Akyikat" 100,000 soms for ignoring the fact that it was founded by the regional administration and council, i.e. the regional management headed by its governor. In practice, the officials would use tax payers’ money to pay damages in a case involving the unlawful decision of a judge.
Judge Sulaimanov’s decision shocked Kyrgyz civil society. It was widely regarded as a political act to restrict freedoms and to threaten other independent media and journalists. Restrictions against and the harassment of media outlets are clearly gaining strength prior to the presidential elections.
International organizations sent open letters to President Akaev in support of the journalist, protesting the unlawful decision of the court. Local journalists protested this violation of the constitutional rights to freedom of expression.
As of this writing, none of the judges have been held responsible for the abuse of authority or "errors" in their work – despite the fact that article 328 of the criminal code of Kyrgyzstan foresees imprisonment between 2 and 5 years for such crimes.
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Source: Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR)
For more information please contact the KCHR, phone +996-312-66 25 15 or 58 46 07, fax +996-312-66 25 15 or 66 02 11, e-mail chrights@imfiko.bishkek.su