IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1520 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the situation 

in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 15, 2010 

Mr. PITTS (for himself, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, and Mr. SMITH of New 

Jersey) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives 

regarding the situation in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. 

Whereas, on June 27, 2010, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan successfully held a referendum that legitimized the provisional government headed by President Roza Otunbayeva 

and established the foundations for a parliamentary system of government; 

Whereas this referendum makes Kyrgyzstan the only country 

in the region to shift the balance of power to its parliament, as opposed to a centralized executive authority; 

Whereas the provisional government was able to conduct the 

referendum peacefully and as scheduled, despite the violence which erupted on June 10, 2010, between ethnic 

Kyrgyz and Uzbek communities in the southern city of 


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Osh and which later spread, leaving at least several hundred dead and thousands injured; 

Whereas the outbreak of violence in the south also forced as 

many as 400,000 people to flee their homes, most of 

whom are still displaced and in continued need of humanitarian assistance; 

Whereas the provisional government of Kyrgyzstan, which 

came to power in April 2010 following large-scale opposition protests against the regime of former president 

Kurmanbek Bakiyev, has yet to fully extend its authority 

in the south and build the capacity necessary to address 

underlying political, social, and economic tensions; 

Whereas parliamentary elections, are planned for October 10, 

2010; 

Whereas the planned parliamentary elections must be transparent and held in accordance with international standards in order to be accepted as legitimate by the country’s electorate and serve as the bedrock of Kyrgyzstan’s 

long-term stability; 

Whereas stability in Kyrgyzstan and the broader Central Asia 

region, which borders Afghanistan, Iran, China, and Russia, is important to the national security interests of the 

United States; 

Whereas Central Asia plays a vital role in the United States 

strategy for Afghanistan, including the transit center at 

Manas International Airport in Kyrgyzstan that forms an 

integral part of the northern supply route for North Atlantic Treaty Organization and United States-led coalition operations in Afghanistan; 


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Whereas promoting stability, respect for human rights, economic development, and democratic reform in Central 

Asia are important priorities for the United States; and 

Whereas economic growth and democratic political development in Central Asia would provide a foundation for improved cooperation with the United States in confronting 

an array of global challenges, from nonproliferation and 

counter-narcotics to energy security: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) the House of Representatives— 

3 (A) commends the peaceful conduct of the 

4 referendum on June 27, 2010, and hopes that 

5 the new constitutional order will promote great6 er democracy in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan; 

7 (B) regrets the loss of life in the recent 

8 ethnic uprisings and expresses concern for the 

9 welfare of those displaced; 

10 (C) encourages the development of ties of 

11 cooperation between Members of the House of 

12 Representatives and the Senate with members 

13 of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan in order to 

14 strengthen the newly created parliamentary sys15 tem of governance in Kyrgyzstan; 

16 (D) commends the Government of 

17 Uzbekistan for cooperating with the United Na18 tions High Commissioner for Refugees, the 

19 International Committee of the Red Cross, the 


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1 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 

2 and other international nongovernmental orga3 nizations in meeting the urgent needs of ethnic 

4 Uzbek refugees who fled Kyrgyzstan; 

5 (E) calls upon the Organization for Secu6 rity and Cooperation in Europe to take an ac7 tive role in assisting the Government of 

8 Kyrgyzstan by— 

9 (i) strengthening the democratic insti10 tutions of Kyrgyzstan; 

11 (ii) encouraging respect for human 

12 rights and fundamental freedoms; 

13 (iii) establishing a framework for dia14 logue and reconciliation among the ethnic 

15 communities; 

16 (iv) enhancing the capacity of 

17 Kyrgyzstan’s law enforcement to protect 

18 the civilian population against violence and 

19 threats of violence; 

20 (v) supporting stability in Kyrgyzstan 

21 by deploying as quickly as possible a ro22 bust police monitoring mission; and 

23 (vi) promoting confidence building 

24 measures between the Government of 

25 Kyrgyzstan and ethnic communities; 


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1 (F) welcomes the commitment of the 

2 United States to provide $48,300,000 to the 

3 Government to Kyrgyzstan for programs sup4 porting humanitarian relief, reconstruction, and 

5 community stabilization; and 

6 (G) commends the efforts of relief organi7 zations and all persons responding to the imme8 diate humanitarian needs of those displaced by 

9 the recent outbreak of violence in Kyrgyzstan; 

10 and 

11 (2) it is the sense of the House of Representa12 tives that— 

13 (A) the Government of Kyrgyzstan should 

14 use its new legitimacy to— 

15 (i) take immediate steps to restore 

16 order, the rule of law, and to develop the 

17 democratic process by promoting open dia18 logue and a participatory, inclusive system 

19 of elections; 

20 (ii) address the underlying political, 

21 social, and economic tensions that divide 

22 Kyrgyz society and take measures to im23 prove relations between ethnic groups, and 

24 particularly to rebuild confidence with the 

25 minority Uzbek community; 


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1 (iii) bring to justice those who took 

2 part in the recent violence, and ensure that 

3 its military and police do not commit any 

4 abuses, including during investigations of 

5 the recent violence; 

6 (iv) support a full and fair inter7 national investigation into the causes of 

8 the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, which 

9 will serve as a confidence-building meas10 ure; and 

11 (v) overcome the legacy of corruption 

12 left by the previous regimes and establish 

13 accountability to the public, by means of 

14 budget transparency, parliamentary over15 sight, and freedom of the media; 

16 (B) the Government of Kyrgyzstan should 

17 ensure that preparations for the upcoming par18 liamentary election are transparent and that 

19 the election is held fully in accordance with 

20 international standards; 

21 (C) the Government of Kyrgyzstan should 

22 ensure that there is sufficient time for prepara23 tion of the parliamentary election, including 

24 registration of any new parties and candidates, 


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1 as well as campaigning, and that displaced vot2 ers are not disenfranchised; and 

3 (D) the Government of Uzbekistan should 

4 maintain an open border in order to ensure that 

5 the displaced and vulnerable populations seek6 ing refuge in Uzbekistan may avail themselves 

7 of emergency humanitarian assistance and pro8 tection services. 

Æ 


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