BISHKEK/APRIL 15 2024 (The Bulletin) — The Soros Foundation quit Kyrgyzstan after 31 years because of a new Kremlin-inspired law that gives the government intrusive powers over Western-backed NGOs and media.

Its Open Society New York-based parent company said that Kyrgyzstan’s “foreign agents” law, which came into effect this month, would have “negative consequences” for civil society.

“We deeply regret that the organisation’s activities will no longer be able to continue and that the new repressive law will lead to civil society operating in conditions of uncertainty and fear,” said Binaifer Novroji, the Open Society president.

Kyrgyzstan said that it needed the new law to improve transparency and tighten national security but activists said that it will be used to crush dissenting media and NGOs. Analysts said the law highlights the influence of the Kremlin despite its war in Ukraine. Russia introduced a “foreign agents” law in 2012.

Civil society in Kyrgyzstan has been largely reliant on Western support to grow. The Soros Foundation in Bishkek said that it had invested $115m in the country, mainly in education and social issues.

“The extremely vague content of the concept of ‘political activity’ leads to negative consequences or unforeseen risks for both the Fund and its partners,” it said.

Other Western-backed NGOs have said they are also considering retreating from Kyrgyzstan after the new law was passed.

ENDS

— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024