Joint Kyrgyz-OSCE workplan will help stabilize the country, Chairman-in-Office says in Bishkek

BISHKEK, 18 April 2005 - The new political leadership in Kyrgyzstan today discussed with the visiting OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, a joint OSCE-Kyrgyz workplan to help the country maintain stability.

Mr Rupel, who was visiting the Central Asian state for the second time in three weeks, told a press conference in Bishkek that the Acting President and Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiev had positively reacted to the plan and had said the Kyrgyz authorities would examine the workplan thoroughly.

"The workplan we have developed together with the Kyrgyz authorities focuses on such short-term priority areas as maintaining law and order, election assistance, media freedom and business development," Minister Rupel said.

"In the longer-term, we aim to concentrate on the rule of law, education, borders and cross-border co-operation, as well as economic development."

The presidential elections scheduled for 10 July and the peaceful and democratic transfer of power were essential for the credibility and legitimacy of Kyrgyzstan's democratic institutions and government, as well as for their significance as an example for the whole region, he added.

Minister Rupel said the OSCE stood ready to further assist Kyrgyzstan in its efforts to improve the electoral code and offered the Organization's expertise, through its Centre in Bishkek and its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), to help hold free and fair presidential elections. He told journalists that the OSCE might send a few hundred observers during the 10 July presidential election.

Rupel also stressed the importance of initiating a genuine dialogue with the people, through non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the media, at both national and regional levels to clarify the position of the authorities on key issues such as recent land seizures, security and safety of citizens.

The OSCE Chairman asked the Kyrgyz authorities to take immediate and concrete action to fight corruption and organized crime in order to have a visible and immediate impact among the business community and the citizens.

He held separate talks with Kurmanbek Bakiev, Acting Foreign Minister Roza Otunbaeva, and the Speaker of Parliament, Omurbek Tekebaev.

These talks were preceded by a meeting with leaders of political parties, who expressed a degree of dissatisfaction with the political process which has followed the March events. A major complaint was made against corruption and the "buying of seats" in Parliament.

At a separate meeting, NGO representatives informed Minister Rupel of their concerns over such issues as the coming elections, a rapid increase in organized crime, corruption, inter-ethnic tensions in some areas of the country and the illegal occupation of land.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office was accompanied by his Personal Representative on Central Asia, Alojz Peterle, and the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Rolf Ekeus, during his visit to Bishkek, the first leg of his Central Asia visit, which will also include Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.