IV

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;
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•HCON 397 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 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-demo-
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•HCON 397 IH

cratic 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 criti-
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•HCON 397 IH

cize 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 wouldbe 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;
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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;
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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

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 con-
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1 stitutions, elections, and legislative and judicial sys2 tems, to do so;

3 (2) urges the President, the Secretary of State,

4 the Secretary of Defense, and other United States

5 officials to raise with Central Asian leaders, at every

6 opportunity, the concern about serious violations of

7 human rights, including noncompliance with Organi8 zation for Security and Cooperation in Europe

9 (OSCE) commitments on democracy and rule of law;

10 (3) urges Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,

11 Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to come into compli12 ance with OSCE commitments on human rights, de13 mocracy, and the rule of law, specifically the holding

14 of free and fair elections that do not exclude genuine

15 challengers, to permit independent and opposition

16 parties and candidates to participate on an equal

17 basis with representation in election commissions at

18 all levels, and to allow domestic nongovernmental

19 and political party observers, as well as international

20 observers;

21 (4) calls on Central Asian leaders to establish

22 conditions for independent and opposition media to

23 function without constraint, limitation, or fear of

24 harassment, to repeal criminal laws which impose

25 prison sentences for alleged defamation of the state
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1 or public officials, and to provide access to state

2 media on an equal basis during election campaigns

3 to independent and opposition parties and can4 didates;

5 (5) reminds the leaders of Central Asian states

6 that elections cannot be free and fair unless all citi7 zens can take part in the political process on an

8 equal basis, without intimidation or fear of reprisal,

9 and with confidence that their human rights and

10 fundamental freedoms will be fully respected;

11 (6) calls on the leaders of Turkmenistan and

12 Uzbekistan to condemn and take effective steps to

13 cease the systematic use of torture and other inhu14 man treatment by authorities against political oppo15 nents and others, to permit the registration of inde16 pendent and opposition parties and candidates, and

17 to register independent human rights monitoring or18 ganizations;

19 (7) urges the governments of Central Asia

20 which are engaged in military campaigns against

21 violent insurgents to observe international law regu22 lating such actions, to keep civilians and other non23 combatants from harm, and not to use such cam24 paigns to justify further crackdowns on political op-
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1 position or violations of human rights commitments

2 under OSCE;

3 (8) encourages the Administration to raise with

4 the governments of other OSCE participating states

5 the possible implications for OSCE participation of

6 any participating state in the region that engages in

7 clear, gross, and uncorrected violations of its OSCE

8 commitments on human rights, democracy, and the

9 rule of law; and

10 (9) urges the Voice of America and Radio Lib11 erty to expand broadcasting to Central Asia, as

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

13 the region have access to unbiased news and pro14 grams that support respect for human rights and

15 the establishment of democracy and the rule of law.

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