[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 204 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 204

     Voicing concern about serious violations of human rights and 
    fundamental freedoms in most states of Central Asia, including 
  substantial noncompliance with their Organization for Security and 
  Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) commitments on democratization and the 
                  holding of free and fair elections.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 21, 1999

   Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Hoyer, and Mr. Forbes) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
     Voicing concern about serious violations of human rights and 
    fundamental freedoms in most states of Central Asia, including 
  substantial noncompliance with their Organization for Security and 
  Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) commitments on democratization and the 
                  holding of free and fair elections.

Whereas the states of Central Asia--Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, 
        Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan--have been participating States of the 
        Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) since 1992 
        and have freely accepted all OSCE commitments, including those 
        concerning human rights, democracy, and the rule of law;
Whereas the Central Asian states, as OSCE participating states, have affirmed 
        that every individual has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, 
        religion or belief, expression, association, peaceful assembly and 
        movement, freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, or other 
        cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and if charged 
        with an offense the right to fair and public trial;
Whereas the Central Asian states, as OSCE participating states, have committed 
        themselves to build, consolidate, and strengthen democracy as the only 
        system of government, and are obligated to hold free elections at 
        reasonable intervals, to respect the right of citizens to seek political 
        or public office without discrimination, to respect the right of 
        individuals and groups to establish in full freedom their own political 
        parties, and to allow parties and individuals wishing to participate in 
        the electoral process access to the media on a nondiscriminatory basis;
Whereas the general trend of political development in Central Asia has been the 
        emergence of Presidents far more powerful than other branches of 
        government; most of whom have refused to allow genuine electoral 
        challenges, postponed or canceled elections, excluded serious rivals 
        from participating in elections, or otherwise contrived to control the 
        outcome of elections;
Whereas some leaders and governments in Central Asia have crushed nascent 
        political parties, or refused to register opposition parties, and have 
        imprisoned and used violence against, or exiled, opposition figures;
Whereas in Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbaev dissolved parliament in 
        1993 and again in 1995, when he also annulled scheduled Presidential 
        elections, and extended his tenure in office until 2000 by a deeply 
        flawed referendum;
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;
Whereas on January 10, 1999, President Nazarbaev was re-elected in snap 
        Presidential elections from which a leading challenger was excluded for 
        having addressed an unregistered organization, ``For Free Elections,'' 
        and the OSCE assessed the election as falling far short of inter-
        national standards;
Whereas Kazakhstan's Ministry of Justice registered opposition parties and 
        movements to take part in parliamentary elections on October 10, 1999, 
        but a leading challenger was again excluded, and the OSCE has criticized 
        the conduct of the election;
Whereas Kyrgyzstan's parliament has demonstrated some independence from 
        President Askar Akaev and his government, and opposition parties can 
        function and are represented in parliament;
Whereas independent media exist in Kyrgyzstan but have faced serious 
        constraints, including criminal lawsuits by government officials for 
        defamation;
Whereas local authorities in Kyrgyzstan have recently harassed opposition 
        activists, including members of parliament, who were attempting to 
        establish a political party;
Whereas parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan are scheduled for February 2000;
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 the provisions of their power-sharing agreement are slowly being 
        implemented, but opposition groups in Tajikistan have not received the 
        full allotment of their slots in election commissions or in government 
        posts, opposition contenders for the presidency have been excluded from 
        the race and the major opposition organization has decided to suspend 
        participation in the work of the National Reconciliation Commission;
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 a national referendum was held in Tajikistan in September 1999 on 
        amendments to the Constitution, Presidential elections are slated for 
        November, and parliamentary elections are expected by the end of 1999;
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 attempts 
        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, the Democratic Party, headed by 
        President Niyazov has been registered;
Whereas parliamentary elections in Turkmenistan are scheduled for December 12, 
        1999;
Whereas in Uzbekistan under President Islam Karimov, no genuine opposition 
        parties are registered, and only pro-government 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 opposition newspapers can lead to jail terms;
Whereas Uzbekistan's authorities have laid the primary blame for explosions that 
        took place in Tashkent on February 16 on an opposition leader whose 
        followers have been tried in court proceedings that did not correspond 
        to OSCE standards, and a second trial is closed to the public;
Whereas in Uzbekistan police and security forces routinely plant narcotics and 
        other evidence on political opposition figures as well as religious 
        activists; and
Whereas parliamentary elections are scheduled in Uzbekistan by the end of 1999: 
        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 constitutions, elections, and 
        legislative and judicial systems, to do so;
            (2) urges Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, 
        and Uzbekistan to come into compliance with OSCE commitments on 
        human rights, democracy, 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 
        non-governmental and political party observers, as well as 
        international observers;
            (3) 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 candidates;
            (4) reminds the leaders of Central Asian states that 
        elections cannot be free and fair unless all citizens 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;
            (5) calls on the leaders of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to 
        condemn and take effective steps to cease the systematic use of 
        torture and other inhuman treatment by authorities against 
        political opponents and others, and to permit the registration 
        of independent and opposition parties and candidates;
            (6) 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;
            (7) encourages the Administration to seek formation of an 
        OSCE Human Dimension Mission to Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to 
        investigate the human rights situation; and
            (8) urges the Voice of America and Radio Liberty to expand 
        broadcasting to Central Asia, as needed, with a focus on 
        assuring that the peoples of the region have access to unbiased 
        news and programs that support respect for human rights and the 
        establishment of democracy and the rule of law.
                                 <all>