OSCE Chairperson meets civil society and political party representatives in Almaty, urges Kazakhstan to maintain open dialogue on reforms

ALMATY, 1 March 2011 - The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, emphasized the role of civil society and the importance of broad political representation for Kazakhstan's reform progress following meetings with representatives of non-governmental organizations and political parties in Almaty today.

"Kazakhstan has undertaken steps in important reforms, and civil society has to be a part of this continuous process," said Ažubalis.

"In my meetings with government leaders in Astana yesterday and in my meetings with civil society and political parties today, I encouraged the country to continue on its reform path."

Kazakhstan should aspire to become a model for implementing democratic reforms through open dialogue, particularly those concerning elections, freedom of assembly and expression, judicial independence, the rule of law and human rights. This will contribute to further strengthening Kazakhstan in the region and internationally," he added.

Addressing media freedom issues, Ažubalis discussed with the NGO representatives the difficulties faced by independent media, including heavy fines imposed by courts, and he emphasized the importance of decriminalizing libel, in line with OSCE commitments.

He repeated his invitation for Kazakhstan to actively participate in a conference in Vilnius in June on the safety of journalists organized by the Chairmanship and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.

The OSCE Chairperson also discussed continuing challenges with registering some political parties.

“The adoption of the Astana Commemorative Declaration at the OSCE Summit in Astana in December was a remarkable achievement of Kazakhstan's 2010 OSCE Chairmanship. The Declaration represents the reaffirmation of the Organization’s core values and commitments at the highest level by all OSCE participating States, and we must work together to put these words into practice," said Ažubalis.

The Chairperson also met the wives of imprisoned human rights defender Evgeny Zhovtis and journalist Ramazan Yesergepov, and expressed his hope for their release.

Ažubalis began his official visit to Kazakhstan yesterday in Astana, where he met President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev, Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, the Chairman of the Senate and Ural Mukhamedzhanov, the Chairman of the Parliament (Majilis).

Ažubalis will continue his visit to the region with meetings in Osh and Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan.