106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 397
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Whereas 
the 
states 
of 
Central 
Asia—Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—
have been participating states of the Organization for Se-
curity and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) since 1992
and have freely accepted all OSCE commitments, includ-
ing those concerning human rights, democracy, and the
rule of law;
•HCON 397 EH
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-
cratic elements which employ violence as a means of po-
litical 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 in-
dividuals and groups to vent grievances or otherwise par-
ticipate legally in the political process;
Whereas in Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbaev dis-
solved parliament in 1993 and again in 1995, when he
also annulled scheduled Presidential elections, and ex-
tended his tenure in office until 2000 by a deeply flawed
referendum;
Whereas on January 10, 1999, President Nazarbaev was re-
elected in snap Presidential elections from which a lead-
ing challenger was excluded for having addressed an un-
registered organization, ‘‘For Free Elections,’’ and the
OSCE assessed the election as falling far short of inter-
national 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, ap-
proved draft legislation designed to give President
Nazarbaev various powers and privileges for the rest of
his life;
•HCON 397 EH
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-
cize or comment on the President’s campaign to remain
in office indefinitely or on high-level corruption;
Whereas the Government of Kazakhstan has initiated, under
OSCE auspices, roundtable discussions with representa-
tives of some opposition parties and public organizations
designed to remedy the defects of electoral legislation and
now should increase the input in those discussions from
opposition parties and public organizations that favor a
more comprehensive national dialogue;
Whereas opposition parties can function in Kyrgyzstan and
parliament has in the past demonstrated some independ-
ence 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 Feb-
ruary–March 2000 parliamentary election, or were pre-
vented 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 ex-
clusion on questionable linguistic grounds of other would-
be candidates have raised grave concerns about the fair-
ness 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
•HCON 397 EH
criminal lawsuits by government officials for alleged defa-
mation;
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 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 condi-
tions 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 at-
tempts 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,
•HCON 397 EH
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 condi-
tions for a free and fair election, refused to send any rep-
resentatives to the December 1999 parliamentary elec-
tions;
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-govern-
ment 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 opposi-
tion newspapers can lead to jail terms;
Whereas Uzbekistan’s authorities have laid the primary
blame for explosions that took place in Tashkent in Feb-
ruary 1999 on an opposition leader and have tried and
convicted some of his relatives and others deemed his
supporters in court proceedings that did not correspond
to OSCE standards and in other trials closed to the pub-
lic 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 condi-
tions for a free and fair election, sent no observers except
•HCON 397 EH
a small group of experts to the December 1999 par-
liamentary 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 con-
stitutions, elections, and legislative and judicial sys-
tems, 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 Organi-
zation 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 compli-
ance with OSCE commitments on human rights, de-
mocracy, 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
•HCON 397 EH
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 can-
didates;
(5) reminds the leaders of Central Asian states
that elections cannot be free and fair unless all citi-
zens 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 Central Asian governments that
have begun roundtable discussions with opposition
and independent forces to engage in a serious and
comprehensive national dialogue, on an equal foot-
ing, on institutionalizing measures to hold free and
fair elections, and urges those governments which
have not launched such roundtables to do so;
•HCON 397 EH
(7) calls on the leaders of Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan to condemn and take effective steps to
cease the systematic use of torture and other inhu-
man treatment by authorities against political oppo-
nents and others, to permit the registration of inde-
pendent and opposition parties and candidates, and
to register independent human rights monitoring or-
ganizations;
(8) urges the governments of Central Asia
which are engaged in military campaigns against
violent insurgents to observe international law regu-
lating such actions, to keep civilians and other non-
combatants from harm, and not to use such cam-
paigns to justify further crackdowns on political op-
position or violations of human rights commitments
under OSCE;
(9) 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
(10) urges the Voice of America and Radio Lib-
erty to expand broadcasting to Central Asia, as
•HCON 397 EH
needed, with a focus on assuring that the peoples of
the region have access to unbiased news and pro-
grams that support respect for human rights and
the establishment of democracy and the rule of law.
Passed the House of Representatives November 1,
2000.
Attest:
Clerk.
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 397
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Voicing concern about serious violations of human
rights and fundamental freedoms in most states
of Central Asia, including substantial noncompli-
ance with their Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) commitments on
democratization and the holding of free and fair
elections.