IV

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 204

Voicing concern about serious violations of human rights and fundamental

freedoms in most states of Central Asia, including substantial noncompliance with their Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

(OSCE) commitments on democratization and the holding of free and

fair elections.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 21, 1999

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. HOYER, and Mr. FORBES) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Voicing concern about serious violations of human rights

and fundamental freedoms in most states of Central

Asia, including substantial noncompliance with their Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

(OSCE) commitments on democratization and the holding of free and fair elections.

Whereas the states of Central Asia—Kazakhstan,

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—

have been participating States of the Organization for

Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) since 1992

and have freely accepted all OSCE commitments, including those concerning human rights, democracy, and the

rule of law;
2

HCON 204 IH

Whereas the Central Asian states, as OSCE participating

states, have affirmed that every individual has the right

to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, expression, association, peaceful assembly and movement,

freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, or

other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and if charged with an offense the right to fair and

public trial;

Whereas the Central Asian states, as OSCE participating

states, have committed themselves to build, consolidate,

and strengthen democracy as the only system of government, and are obligated to hold free elections at reasonable intervals, to respect the right of citizens to seek political or public office without discrimination, to respect

the right of individuals and groups to establish in full

freedom their own political parties, and to allow parties

and individuals wishing to participate in the electoral

process access to the media on a nondiscriminatory basis;

Whereas the general trend of political development in Central

Asia has been the emergence of Presidents far more powerful than other branches of government; most of whom

have refused to allow genuine electoral challenges, postponed or canceled elections, excluded serious rivals from

participating in elections, or otherwise contrived to control the outcome of elections;

Whereas some leaders and governments in Central Asia have

crushed nascent political parties, or refused to register

opposition parties, and have imprisoned and used violence

against, or exiled, opposition figures;

Whereas in Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbaev dissolved parliament in 1993 and again in 1995, when he

also annulled scheduled Presidential elections, and ex-
3

HCON 204 IH

tended his tenure in office until 2000 by a deeply flawed

referendum;

Whereas independent media in Kazakhstan, which used to be

fairly free, have been pressured, co-opted, or crushed,

leaving few outlets for the expression of independent or

opposition views;

Whereas on January 10, 1999, President Nazarbaev was reelected in snap Presidential elections from which a leading challenger was excluded for having addressed an unregistered organization, ‘‘For Free Elections,’’ and the

OSCE assessed the election as falling far short of international standards;

Whereas Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Justice registered opposition parties and movements to take part in parliamentary

elections on October 10, 1999, but a leading challenger

was again excluded, and the OSCE has criticized the conduct of the election;

Whereas Kyrgyzstan’s parliament has demonstrated some

independence from President Askar Akaev and his government, and opposition parties can function and are represented in parliament;

Whereas independent media exist in Kyrgyzstan but have

faced serious constraints, including criminal lawsuits by

government officials for defamation;

Whereas local authorities in Kyrgyzstan have recently harassed opposition activists, including members of parliament, who were attempting to establish a political

party;

Whereas parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan are scheduled

for February 2000;
4

HCON 204 IH

Whereas in Tajikistan, a civil war in the early 1900s caused

an estimated 50,000 people to perish, and a military

stalemate forced President Imomaly Rakhmonov in 1997

to come to terms with Islamic and democratic opposition

groups and agree to a coalition government;

Whereas the provisions of their power-sharing agreement are

slowly being implemented, but opposition groups in

Tajikistan have not received the full allotment of their

slots in election commissions or in government posts, opposition contenders for the presidency have been excluded

from the race and the major opposition organization has

decided to suspend participation in the work of the National Reconciliation Commission;

Whereas free and fair elections and other democratic steps in

Tajikistan offer the best hope of reconciling government

and opposition forces, overcoming the legacy of the civil

war and establishing the basis for civil society;

Whereas a national referendum was held in Tajikistan in

September 1999 on amendments to the Constitution,

Presidential elections are slated for November, and parliamentary elections are expected by the end of 1999;

Whereas in Turkmenistan under the rule of President

Saparmurat Niyazov, no internationally recognized

human rights are observed, including freedom of speech,

assembly, association, religion, and movement, and attempts to exercise these rights are brutally suppressed;

Whereas Turkmenistan has committed political dissidents to

psychiatric institutions;

Whereas in Turkmenistan President Niyazov is the object of

a cult of personality, all political opposition is banned, all

media are tightly censored, and only one political party,
5

HCON 204 IH

the Democratic Party, headed by President Niyazov has

been registered;

Whereas parliamentary elections in Turkmenistan are scheduled for December 12, 1999;

Whereas in Uzbekistan under President Islam Karimov, no

genuine opposition parties are registered, and only progovernment parties are represented in parliament;

Whereas in Uzbekistan all opposition political parties and

leaders have been forced underground or into exile, all

media are censored, and attempts to disseminate opposition newspapers can lead to jail terms;

Whereas Uzbekistan’s authorities have laid the primary

blame for explosions that took place in Tashkent on February 16 on an opposition leader whose followers have

been tried in court proceedings that did not correspond

to OSCE standards, and a second trial is closed to the

public;

Whereas in Uzbekistan police and security forces routinely

plant narcotics and other evidence on political opposition

figures as well as religious activists; and

Whereas parliamentary elections are scheduled in Uzbekistan

by the end of 1999: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress—

3 (1) expresses deep concern about the tendency

4 of Central Asian leaders to seek to remain in power

5 indefinitely and their willingness to manipulate con6 stitutions, elections, and legislative and judicial sys7 tems, to do so;
6

HCON 204 IH

1 (2) urges Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,

2 Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to come into compli3 ance with OSCE commitments on human rights, de4 mocracy, and the rule of law, specifically the holding

5 of free and fair elections that do not exclude genuine

6 challengers, to permit independent and opposition

7 parties and candidates to participate on an equal

8 basis with representation in election commissions at

9 all levels, and to allow domestic non-governmental

10 and political party observers, as well as international

11 observers;

12 (3) calls on Central Asian leaders to establish

13 conditions for independent and opposition media to

14 function without constraint, limitation, or fear of

15 harassment, to repeal criminal laws which impose

16 prison sentences for alleged defamation of the state

17 or public officials, and to provide access to state

18 media on an equal basis during election campaigns

19 to independent and opposition parties and can20 didates;

21 (4) reminds the leaders of Central Asian states

22 that elections cannot be free and fair unless all citi23 zens can take part in the political process on an

24 equal basis, without intimidation or fear of reprisal,
7

HCON 204 IH

1 and with confidence that their human rights and

2 fundamental freedoms will be fully respected;

3 (5) calls on the leaders of Turkmenistan and

4 Uzbekistan to condemn and take effective steps to

5 cease the systematic use of torture and other inhu6 man treatment by authorities against political oppo7 nents and others, and to permit the registration of

8 independent and opposition parties and candidates;

9 (6) encourages the Administration to raise with

10 the governments of other OSCE participating states

11 the possible implications for OSCE participation of

12 any participating state in the region that engages in

13 clear, gross, and uncorrected violations of its OSCE

14 commitments;

15 (7) encourages the Administration to seek for16 mation of an OSCE Human Dimension Mission to

17 Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to investigate the

18 human rights situation; and

19 (8) urges the Voice of America and Radio Lib20 erty to expand broadcasting to Central Asia, as

21 needed, with a focus on assuring that the peoples of

22 the region have access to unbiased news and pro23 grams that support respect for human rights and

24 the establishment of democracy and the rule of law.

Æ