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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 397 Introduced in House (IH)]

106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 397

     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

                           September 12, 2000

Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Bereuter, 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;
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 a 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, all 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 several 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 Central Asian governments have the right to defend themselves from 
        internal and external threats posed by insurgents, radical religious 
        groups, and other anti-democratic elements which employ violence as a 
        means of political struggle;
Whereas the actions of the Central Asian governments have tended to exacerbate 
        these internal and external threats by domestic repression, which has 
        left few outlets for individuals and groups to vent grievances or 
        otherwise participate legally in the political process;
Whereas in Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbaev dissolved parliament in 
        1993 and again in 1995, when he also annulled scheduled Presidential 
        elections, and extended his tenure in office until 2000 by a deeply 
        flawed referendum;
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 October 1999 parliamentary election, which featured 
        widespread interference in the process by the authorities, fell short of 
        OSCE standards, according to the OSCE's Office of Democratic 
        Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR);
Whereas Kazakhstan's parliament on June 22, 2000, approved draft legislation 
        designed to give President Nazarbaev various powers and privileges for 
        the rest of his life;
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, thus limiting the press's ability to 
        criticize or comment on the President's campaign to remain in office 
        indefinitely or on high-level corruption;
Whereas opposition parties can function in Kyrgyzstan and parliament has in the 
        past demonstrated some independence from President Askar Akaev and his 
        government;
Whereas 3 opposition parties in Kyrgyzstan were excluded from fielding party 
        lists and serious opposition candidates were not allowed to contest the 
        second round of the February-March 2000 parliamentary election, or were 
        prevented from winning their races by official interference, as cited by 
        the OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR);
Whereas a series of flagrantly politicized criminal cases after the election 
        against opposition leaders and the recent exclusion on questionable 
        linguistic grounds of other would-be candidates have raised grave 
        concerns about the fairness of the election process and the prospects 
        for holding a fair Presidential election on October 29, 2000;
Whereas independent and opposition-oriented media in Kyrgyzstan have faced 
        serious constraints, including criminal lawsuits by government officials 
        for alleged defamation;
Whereas in Tajikistan, a civil war in the early 1900's 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 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 President Rakhmonov was reelected in November 1999 with 96 percent of 
        the vote in an election the OSCE did not observe because of the absence 
of conditions that would permit a fair contest;
Whereas the first multiparty election in the history of Tajikistan was held in 
        February-March 2000, with the participation of former warring parties, 
        but the election fell short of OSCE commitments and 11 people, including 
        a prominent candidate, were killed;
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, the Democratic Party, headed by 
        President Niyazov, has been registered;
Whereas the OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), 
        citing the absence of conditions for a free and fair election, refused 
        to send any representatives to the December 1999 parliamentary 
        elections;
Whereas President Niyazov subsequently orchestrated a vote of the People's 
        Council in December 1999 that essentially makes him President for life;
Whereas in Uzbekistan under President Islam Karimov, no opposition parties are 
        registered, and only pro-government 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 in February 1999 on an opposition leader and have 
        tried and convicted some of his relatives and others deemed his supports 
        in court proceedings that did not correspond to OSCE standards and in 
        other trials closed to the public and the international community;
Whereas in Uzbekistan police and security forces routinely plant narcotics and 
        other evidence on political opposition figures as well as religious 
        activists, according to Uzbek and international human rights 
        organizations; and
Whereas the OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), 
        citing the absence of conditions for a free and fair election, sent no 
        observers except a small group of experts to the December 1999 
        parliamentary election and refused any involvement in the January 2000 
        Presidential election: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) expresses deep concern about the tendency of Central 
        Asian leaders to seek to remain in power indefinitely and their 
        willingness to manipulate constitutions, elections, and 
        legislative and judicial systems, to do so;
            (2) urges the President, the Secretary of State, the 
        Secretary of Defense, and other United States officials to 
        raise with Central Asian leaders, at every opportunity, the 
        concern about serious violations of human rights, including 
        noncompliance with Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
        Europe (OSCE) commitments on democracy and rule of law;
            (3) urges Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, 
        and Uzbekistan to come into compliance with OSCE commitments on 
        human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, specifically the 
        holding of free and fair elections that do not exclude genuine 
        challengers, to permit independent and opposition parties and 
        candidates to participate on an equal basis with representation 
        in election commissions at all levels, and to allow domestic 
        nongovernmental and political party observers, as well as 
        international observers;
            (4) calls on Central Asian leaders to establish conditions 
        for independent and opposition media to function without 
        constraint, limitation, or fear of harassment, to repeal 
        criminal laws which impose prison sentences for alleged 
        defamation of the state or public officials, and to provide 
        access to state media on an equal basis during election 
        campaigns to independent and opposition parties and candidates;
            (5) reminds the leaders of Central Asian states that 
        elections cannot be free and fair unless all citizens can take 
        part in the political process on an equal basis, without 
        intimidation or fear of reprisal, and with confidence that 
        their human rights and fundamental freedoms will be fully 
        respected;
            (6) calls on the leaders of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to 
        condemn and take effective steps to cease the systematic use of 
        torture and other inhuman treatment by authorities against 
        political opponents and others, to permit the registration of 
        independent and opposition parties and candidates, and to 
        register independent human rights monitoring organizations;
            (7) urges the governments of Central Asia which are engaged 
        in military campaigns against violent insurgents to observe 
        international law regulating such actions, to keep civilians 
        and other noncombatants from harm, and not to use such 
        campaigns to justify further crackdowns on political opposition 
        or violations of human rights commitments under OSCE;
            (8) encourages the Administration to raise with the 
        governments of other OSCE participating states the possible 
        implications for OSCE participation of any participating state 
        in the region that engages in clear, gross, and uncorrected 
        violations of its OSCE commitments on human rights, democracy, 
        and the rule of law; and
            (9) urges the Voice of America and Radio Liberty to expand 
        broadcasting to Central Asia, as needed, with a focus on 
        assuring that the peoples of the region have access to unbiased 
        news and programs that support respect for human rights and the 
        establishment of democracy and the rule of law.
                                 <all>
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