[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 186 (Thursday, December 6, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2523]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        KAZAKHSTAN AND THE OSCE

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                          HON. DARRELL E. ISSA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 6, 2007

  Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, this past week, the Organization for 
Security and Cooperation (OSCE) convened in Madrid, Spain to choose the 
countries that will chair the organization for the next three years. 
The 56 member nations of the OSCE voted to give the chairmanship to 
Greece in 2009, Kazakhstan in 2010, and Lithuania for 2011.
  All of these countries should be congratulated for being awarded this 
important duty. The selection of Kazakhstan as chair for 2010 is 
especially significant for several important reasons.
  First, Kazakhstan will be the first ex-Soviet republic to assume the 
chairmanship of the OSCE, which is quite timely given that many of the 
countries in region are continuing to struggle with the transition from 
communism to full democracy. Kazakhstan, as the largest country in the 
region, may be in the best position to promote the OSCE's principal 
mandates of respect for human rights and advancing democracy.
  Conversely, while OSCE ministers were meeting, Russia conducted 
parliamentary elections in open contempt of OSCE's election monitoring 
program. Reacting to a series of obstructions and delays clearly 
intended to frustrate their work, the OSCE finally concluded that 
Russian authorities had made it impossible for monitoring activities to 
occur before or during the December 2 election.
  By contrast, Kazakhstan fully cooperated with OSCE's monitoring and 
reporting during its August 18 parliamentary election. It allowed 1,200 
election observers to cover 1,743 polling stations, whereas Russia set 
a limit of 450 international observers for its 95,000 polling stations.
  Prior to its election, Kazakhstan adopted reforms to increase the 
transparency and integrity of its elections and ensure public access to 
election information and the media. The same reforms are being rolled 
back in Russia.
  Kazakhstan may well be that alternative. At the meeting in Madrid, 
Kazakhstan's foreign minister, Marat Tazhin, stated that ``Kazakhstan 
accepts with a strong sense of duty and firm commitment the role of 
Chairman-in-Office of OSCE for 2010'' and pledged to uphold and protect 
OSCE's election-monitoring activities.
  The other Commonwealth-of-Independent States in the former Soviet 
union are surely observing these developments as they approach their 
own political crossroads. One path is the Russian way of ``managed 
democracy,'' currently being exemplified by President Vladimir Putin, 
which includes consolidation of power within his inner circle, the 
removal of human rights and press freedoms, and a worrying shift 
towards more authoritarian rule. The other path is the Kazakh way, 
which includes improving freedoms for the press and human rights 
groups, greater confidence in the rule of law, and a strengthening of 
democratic values. It is my sincere hope that the other CIS countries 
will take the latter path.
  Madam Speaker, the Bush administration has rightly put 
democratization in the forefront of its foreign policy, but it does not 
come quickly or easily to countries that have only known authoritarian 
rule.
  Kazakhstan is such a country and while it is not yet a full-fledged 
democracy, it is definitely moving in the right direction and is 
deserving of our support to head the OSCE in 2010.

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