OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation pays four-day visit to Kyrgyzstan
(OSCE)Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev and Paula Kokkonen, Head of an OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation, during a visit to Kyrgyzstan, 1 to 4 December 2002. (OSCE) Photo details
BISHKEK, 4 December 2002 - A delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA), headed by the Finnish member of Parliament, Paula Kokkonen, is currently paying a visit to Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek to meet the country's president, Askar Akaev, members of government, opposition politicians and representatives of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The trip, which started on 1 December and ends today, is part of a series of OSCE PA delegation visits to former Soviet Union republics.
"Kyrgyzstan looks back at a decade of successful implementation of democratic reforms in close co-operation with OSCE institutions, but now it has an urgent need for radical reform of the political system", President Akaev said, speaking at an audience for the 11 members of the PA delegation. "Whilst in the first stage of independence - similar to other CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries - strong presidential power was regarded as a guarantee of efficiency and stability, it is now time for the redistribution of power".
President Akaev emphasized his commitment to the further development of democracy and human rights in his country, and the continuation of close co-operation with the OSCE. He outlined the main principles of the envisaged revision of the Kyrgyz constitution, which is currently being discussed and will be put to a referendum in late January 2003.
During their visit, the OSCE PA delegates met members of the diplomatic corps based in Bishkek and Kyrgyz parliamentarians, and had the opportunity to exchange their views on gender issues with representatives of Kyrgyz non-governmental organizations. The delegation also met Kurmanbek Osmonov, First Deputy Prime Minister, Omar Sultanov, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Tursunbek Bakir uulu, the country's newly elected first Ombudsman.
Another set of meetings included discussions with the Speakers of the two chambers of the Kyrgyz Parliament, Professor Altai Borubaev and Abdygany Erkebaev, and a large group of deputies from Government as well as opposition parties, with whom the delegation members discussed the present situation of the country and Parliament.
Deputies from opposition parties and the Ombudsman presented a more critical assessment of the human rights situation, the constitutional reform and the present lack of parliamentary control, but emphasized their interest in support and involvement of the OSCE in the process.
"Kyrgyzstan is experiencing a deep crisis of the political system with a high rate of poverty and unemployment, and the OSCE should continue to be not only an observer but also of a mediator and facilitator", said Omurbek Tekibaev, opposition leader in the Kyrgyz Legislative Assembly. Absamat Masaliev, Head of the Communist Party, said that the country's parliamentarians were seeking the solidarity and support of OSCE parliaments.
Answering to a delegation member's reference to the long and painful struggle for parliamentary democracy in West European countries, Ismail Isakov, another opposition parliamentarian, emphasized the changed environment of the modern world with its established patterns of democracy and the need "to learn from the errors of others rather than from own bad experiences."
On the third day of their visit, the OSCE PA delegation participated in a roundtable on constitutional reform, which is designed to transfer power from the President to Government and Parliament, and transform the two-chamber presidential system into a stronger mono-cameral parliament with less presidential domination and better possibilities of parliamentary control. The delegation members also met human rights NGOs and local media representatives, some of whom have been accused of showing a lack of responsibility in the present political struggle between government and opposition forces.
"Kyrgyzstan looks back at a decade of successful implementation of democratic reforms in close co-operation with OSCE institutions, but now it has an urgent need for radical reform of the political system", President Akaev said, speaking at an audience for the 11 members of the PA delegation. "Whilst in the first stage of independence - similar to other CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries - strong presidential power was regarded as a guarantee of efficiency and stability, it is now time for the redistribution of power".
President Akaev emphasized his commitment to the further development of democracy and human rights in his country, and the continuation of close co-operation with the OSCE. He outlined the main principles of the envisaged revision of the Kyrgyz constitution, which is currently being discussed and will be put to a referendum in late January 2003.
During their visit, the OSCE PA delegates met members of the diplomatic corps based in Bishkek and Kyrgyz parliamentarians, and had the opportunity to exchange their views on gender issues with representatives of Kyrgyz non-governmental organizations. The delegation also met Kurmanbek Osmonov, First Deputy Prime Minister, Omar Sultanov, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Tursunbek Bakir uulu, the country's newly elected first Ombudsman.
Another set of meetings included discussions with the Speakers of the two chambers of the Kyrgyz Parliament, Professor Altai Borubaev and Abdygany Erkebaev, and a large group of deputies from Government as well as opposition parties, with whom the delegation members discussed the present situation of the country and Parliament.
Deputies from opposition parties and the Ombudsman presented a more critical assessment of the human rights situation, the constitutional reform and the present lack of parliamentary control, but emphasized their interest in support and involvement of the OSCE in the process.
"Kyrgyzstan is experiencing a deep crisis of the political system with a high rate of poverty and unemployment, and the OSCE should continue to be not only an observer but also of a mediator and facilitator", said Omurbek Tekibaev, opposition leader in the Kyrgyz Legislative Assembly. Absamat Masaliev, Head of the Communist Party, said that the country's parliamentarians were seeking the solidarity and support of OSCE parliaments.
Answering to a delegation member's reference to the long and painful struggle for parliamentary democracy in West European countries, Ismail Isakov, another opposition parliamentarian, emphasized the changed environment of the modern world with its established patterns of democracy and the need "to learn from the errors of others rather than from own bad experiences."
On the third day of their visit, the OSCE PA delegation participated in a roundtable on constitutional reform, which is designed to transfer power from the President to Government and Parliament, and transform the two-chamber presidential system into a stronger mono-cameral parliament with less presidential domination and better possibilities of parliamentary control. The delegation members also met human rights NGOs and local media representatives, some of whom have been accused of showing a lack of responsibility in the present political struggle between government and opposition forces.