Kyrgyzstan
KyrgyzstanCurrent operations
OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek
(OSCE Other Field Activities)
Authorization date: 07/98
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More than 100 nongovernmental organizations in Kyrgyzstan have urged President Sadyr Japarov not to sign into law a controversial bill modeled on Russia's repressive "foreign agent" laws that they say will negatively affect operations of NGOs in the Central Asian nation.
The Kyrgyz parliament has approved without debate the third and final reading of a controversial bill that would allow authorities to register organizations as "foreign representatives" in a way that critics say mirrors repressive Russian legislation on "foreign agents."
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has urged Kyrgyz authorities to revise a draft law on so-called "foreign representatives," saying a decision by lawmakers to move toward its adoption will pose "significant risks" to media freedom and open debate on issues of public interest in the Central Asian nation.
The European Union expressed concern on Friday about the detention of a number of journalists in Kyrgyzstan and searches at the offices of media outlets which have been critical of the government.
Eight international human rights groups have called on the Kyrgyz government to stop its crackdown on independent media after 11 journalists were detained in a move the watchdogs said was aimed at "intimidating and harassing" journalists to keep them from carrying out their work.
[…] He is due to meet his Kyrgyz counterpart Sadyr Japarov and to take part in a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States with his Belarus ally Alexander Lukashenko and other regional leaders.
"We believe the steps taken by the authorities against our leader and party members are criminal," United Kyrgyzstan wrote on social media late on September 4. It vowed to fight Adakhan Madumarov's detention after the leading rival of President Sadyr Japarov was arrested on September 2.
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are engaging in an arms race in Central Asia that is creating some odd geopolitical alignments. NATO allies are opposing each other, while two implacable enemies, the United States and Iran, find themselves on the same side. Meanwhile, Russia, the traditional regional power broker, is sitting on the sidelines while Belarus is playing a prominent role.
Authorities in Kyrgyzstan’s southern region of Batken say the border with Tajikistan, shut down more than two years ago following a deadly standoff, can "gradually reopen" after delimitation and demarcation work between the two Central Asian nations is fully accomplished.
Russia will “develop” its military installations in Central Asian ally Kyrgyzstan, the Kremlin said Monday, following talks between the two countries’ leaders in Moscow.