Tag Archives: law

Kyrgyzstan scraps law that threatened to curtail NGOs

BISHKEK, MAY 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Rights campaigners in Kyrgyzstan were celebrating an unexpected victory over a proposed law that would have imposed restrictions on local NGOs with links to foreign funding and influences.

In a sign of the growing maturity of Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary democracy, Kyrgyz lawmakers voted 65 to 46 against introducing a law that was supposedly based on Russia’s so-called foreign agents law. This would have meant that NGOs receiving funding from abroad would have had to register with a special database and agree to increased oversight.

Mihra Rittmann, the Human Rights Watch Kyrgyzstan researcher, said that Russia had used its own version of the law to carry out intrusive searches that have forced some NGOs to close.

“This is an important decision by Kyrgyzstan’s parliament, the Jogorku Kenesh,” she wrote. “Kyrgyzstan is Central Asia’s only parliamentary democracy and today’s rejection of the bill is a reminder of the positive role the Jogorku Kenesh can play in upholding Kyrgyzstan’s human rights commitments.”

Even before the vote on Thursday, the bill had been watered down taking out some of the more controversial wording, such as references to foreign agents with its undertone of espionage.

Still, seeing off the bill altogether is a victory for more liberal, Western- minded Kyrgyz who had worried about the expanding influence of Russia in Kyrgyzstan and the wider region in general.

Zhanar Akayev, an MP for the ruling Social Democratic Party, explained that economics had also played a role in defeating the bill.

“Many international organisations expressed their concern,” he was quoted by media as saying. “We get financial assistance from them in many fields, including healthcare, education, and agriculture, among others. We need this money.”

And this view was largely reflected outside parliament too.

Galina, 25, said she was relieved the bill had been voted down.

“Overall I think that the less the number of laws and regulations, the better it is,” she said. “I was afraid, that the state would use this law for its own purposes.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 280, published on May 13 2016)

Editorial: NGOs in Kyrgyzstan

MAY 13 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Liberal, Western forces in Kyrgyzstan have scored a major victory by defeating a bill that had the Kremlin’s fingerprints all over it.

Essentially, the so called foreign agents bill aimed to blacklist NGOs which had links with foreign governments and organisations.

This blacklist would have meant more surveillance, checks and interference. It would have put many NGOs, which operate on tight margins and may not be pushing the preferred Kyrgyz government line, into liquidation.

Instead, by mounting a serious-minded campaign and targeting MPs who had a vote on the issue, those against the law were able to at first get it watered down and then scrapped altogether.

This is good news too for Kyrgyzstan’s fledgling parliamentary democracy, only five-years-old last year. It shows resilience and that the system is working. This was democracy in action in Central Asia.

The result of the MPs’ vote may also show that this term’s MPs, voted in last year, are more liberal bunch.

ENDS

(Editorial from Issue No. 280, published on May 13 2016)

Editorial: Nazarbayev and protests

MAY 6 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a choreographed government meeting, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev blamed everyone but himself for the turmoil that proposed amendments to the land code have brought to the country.

The presidential press service posted parts of the government meeting on Facebook showing an angry Mr Nazarbayev.

He dressed down the ministers of economy and agriculture for having failed to explain the land reform to the population. With a patronising tone, Mr Nazarbayev said the population had been unable to understand the reform and needed to be spoon-fed details.

Once more, Mr Nazarbayev wanted to portray himself as the strong leader, the one who understands the people.

Nobody should be fooled. These were, and still are, Mr Nazarbayev’s reforms.

Everyone in Kazakhstan knows that for a bill to pass, especially an important one such as the land code, Mr Nazarbayev’s input is crucial.

He misjudged the appetite of the people to accept the land reforms.

ENDS

(Editorial from Issue No. 279, published on May 6 2016)

Armenia to debate status of Nagorno-Karabakh

May 5 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s government sent a bill proposing the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent country to parliament, teeing up another flashpoint with Azerbaijan over the disputed region.

This is the first time that the parliament will formally debate the status of Nagorno-Karabakh even though it has been run by Armenia- backed forces since a UN-brokered ceasefire was imposed in 1994.

Last month the worst fighting in two decades broke out around Nagorno-Karabakh, killing several dozen people and alarming the international community.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 279, published on May 6 2016)

Kazakh President scraps land reforms after protests spread

MAY 5 2016, ALMATY (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev bowed to public pressure and agreed to scrap unpopular land reforms which had sparked protests across the country.

Four days earlier, in a speech broadcast on national television, Mr Nazarbayev appeared determined to see off protests which had spread from Atyrau in west Kazakhstan, to Semey in the east and Kyzylorda in the south. He described the protesters as saboteurs who risked wrecking the country.

But with more protests planned, a clearly shaken Mr Nazarbayev told his government on Thursday that the plans would be delayed from their initial introduction on July 1 until the start of next year and, even then, only if the public agreed with the plans.

“The mechanisms and rules of the adopted law were not widely discussed with the public. The anxiety and concerns of the people are justified in many ways,” he said, according to a video posted on Facebook by his press office.

Analysts will either interpret this climb down as a humiliation for the 75-year-old leader who some say is increasingly out of touch with ordinary Kazakhs as they grapple with the frustrations of an economic downturn, or they will describe it as a masterstroke by an experienced leader able to paint himself as The- Father-of-the-People.

Certainly, Mr Nazarbayev was quick to blame others for the debacle.

He specifically said that economy minister Yerbolat Dossayev and agriculture minister Asylzhan Mamytbekov had failed to fulfil their brief.

“It should have been explained to the population that didn’t understand that there was no talk of any sale of our agricultural lands,” he said. “This means we failed to explain this point and to target those parts of the population which were concerned.”

Mr Dossayev resigned immediately and Mr Mamytbekov, the following day.

On the streets of Almaty it was easy to find people who were against the prospect of land reforms. “Renting land is wrong. Just wrong. It is the blood and sweat of our ancestors,” said Daniyar, a student.

By contrast, it wasn’t possible to find anybody who supported the proposed land reforms.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 279, published on May 6 2016)

Armenia adopts electoral reform

APRIL 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Armenian parliament adopted a new electoral code, after weeks of debate in parliament (April 29). The new code, which will be used for the next parliamentary elections in 2017, is a mixed proportional-majoritarian system. Critics said the amendments failed to make the code robust and fraud-proof.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 279, published on May 6 2016)

Azerbaijan lifts loan ban

MAY 5 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s government lifted a month-long ban on foreign currency loans, official media reported. The country’s Financial Markets Supervisory Authority, which acts as a regulator, had forbidden banks from granting loans denominated in foreign currency on April 5 to try and strengthen the local manat currency.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 279, published on May 6 2016)

Tajik government tightens NGO laws

APRIL 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Tajik government passed a law that forces NGOs to report to the authorities any grants received in the past 10 days. In mid- 2015, Tajikistan amended its law on NGOs with the stated objective of tracking funding for potential terrorist activity. There has been a general move in Central Asia towards tightening regulations of funding for NGOs. The authorities have said that is to crackdown on extremists and criminals, but others have said this is aimed at reducing foreign influence over NGOs and curtailing their independence.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 278, published on April 29 2016)

Armenia’ parliament rejects cement plant debt

APRIL 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s parliament rejected a bill to write-off part of the Hradzan cement plant’s debt, casting doubts on the company’s survival. The bill was designed to pardon 510m dram ($1.1) in overdue taxes. Last year VTB Bank Armenia took control of the plant. The plant’s total debt is estimated at 935m drams ($1.9m).

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 278, published on April 29 2016)

Kazakh President signs castration law

APRIL 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazrabayev has signed into law chemical castration for paedophiles, media reported. The law was passed by parliament earlier this year and immediately attracted criticism from human rights campaigners who said that is was barbaric.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 278, published on April 29 2016)