13.04.2005
Kyrgyzstan: Protecting Rights Should Top the Agenda
New Government Has Chance to Break With
Abuses of the Past
(Bishkek, April 13, 2005) — Kyrgyzstan’s
new government should break with the past by prioritizing respect for
human rights, Human Rights Watch said today.
In a five-page letter to Acting President
Kurmanbek Bakiev, Human Rights Watch proposed an agenda for the protection
of human rights in Kyrgyzstan in the aftermath of former President Askar
Akaev’s resignation.
“The new government should establish early
on that it is committed to respect for fundamental human rights and
the rule of law,” said Rachel Denber, acting Europe and Central Asia
director at Human Rights Watch.
The Bakiev government came to power on
March 25, 2005, following mass protests against deeply flawed parliamentary
elections and calls for Akaev to step down. The protests came after
several years of increased repression and rights violations under the
Akaev government, including government harassment of civil society activists,
persecution of independent media, and a pattern of unfair elections.
Human Rights Watch called on the new government
to ensure that upcoming presidential elections are free and fair, and
that new parliamentary elections be held in due time following the presidential
vote. At the same time, Bakiev should establish a meaningful dialogue
with civil society groups on critical human rights issues, such as reforms
that would improve media freedoms, strengthen the independence of the
judiciary, and protect criminal detainees from torture and ill-treatment.
Kyrgyzstan experienced several years of
thaw after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and had the reputation
for being one of the more reformist governments in Central Asia. Since
the end of the 1990’s, however, the government became steadily more
authoritarian. In a letter to Akaev in February, Human Rights Watch
detailed how increasingly repressive measures had compromised the fairness
of the February 27 parliamentary vote.
“The government has a unique opportunity
to break with the abuses of the past,” said Denber. “It can create a
new era for human rights in Kyrgyzstan.”
To read the letter, please see: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/04/12/kyrgyz10471.htm
For further information, please contact:
In Bishkek, Acacia Shields (English):
+996-502-703-428 or Alexander Petrov
(Russian):
+996-502-703-408, or +7-916-692-2911
In New York, Rachel Denber (English, Russian):
+1-212-216-1266
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