Kyrgyzstan
22.03.02
Urgent Interventions
Kyrgyzstan: closure of NGO office
URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
New information
KGZ 001/0302/OBS 019.01
Closure of NGO office
KYRGYZSTAN
22nd March 2002
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, an FIDH and OMCT joint program, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Kyrgyzstan.
New information :
The Observatory has been informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR) that their office in Bishkek was sealed by the Kyrgyz authorities on 20 March 2002.
According to the information received, when the members of the KCHR came to their office, they found that all their equipment had been thrown on the floor in front of the office door. The office was sealed by some employees of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Farming, who had apparently broken into the office while nobody was there .
Brief reminder of the situation :
The Observatory had been informed that on March 12th and 13th, 2002, the members of the KCHR in Bishkek had received the visit of representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Water, who informed them that they should vacate their office before March 19th. No written instruction was given, in spite of the requests of KCHR members. On February 14th, the KCHR had already received an order by the Ministry to vacate the office, which the KCHR has been renting from them since 1994. The reasons explaining this sudden decision seem to originate in pressures exerted on the Ministry by the President's administration and the National Security Services (SNB). In this office, the KCHR lawyers have been giving free legal consultations, as well as accepting complaints and petitions concerning violations of human rights.
Action requested :
Please write to the Kyrgyz authorities demanding that they :
i. Ensure that the members of KCHR in Bishkek can enter their office again as soon as possible, and that they be able to pursue their activities freely in their office ;
ii. Put an end to all forms of harassment against all members of the KCHR as well as all human rights defenders in Kyrgyzstan ;
iii. Conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular its article 1 which provides that "every person has the right, individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental liberties at the national and international level" ;
iv. Guarantee the effective respect of fundamental rights and liberties in accordance with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international and regional pacts and covenants ratified by Kyrgyzstan.
Addresses :
- The President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Askar Akayev, Kyrgyzskaya Respublika, 720003 g. Bishkek, Prospekt Chuy, 205 Fax: + 996 (312) 218 627 ; E-mail:ghpress2@rhl.bishkek.su
- Mr. Kurmanbek Bakiev, Prime Minister, Fax: + 996 (312) 218 627
- Mr. Temirbek Akmataliev, Minister of the Interior, Fax: +996 (312) 663 031, +996 (312) 288 788, mail@mvd.bishkek.gov.kg
- Mr. Jakyp Abdyrahmanov, Minister of Justice, Fax: +996 (312) 663 044, injust@bishkek.gov.kg
Geneva-Paris, 22 March 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken, quoting the reference number given above.
The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line
Tel : FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 ;
OMCT : +41 22 809 49 39
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch
New information
KGZ 001/0302/OBS 019.01
Closure of NGO office
KYRGYZSTAN
22nd March 2002
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, an FIDH and OMCT joint program, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Kyrgyzstan.
New information :
The Observatory has been informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR) that their office in Bishkek was sealed by the Kyrgyz authorities on 20 March 2002.
According to the information received, when the members of the KCHR came to their office, they found that all their equipment had been thrown on the floor in front of the office door. The office was sealed by some employees of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Farming, who had apparently broken into the office while nobody was there .
Brief reminder of the situation :
The Observatory had been informed that on March 12th and 13th, 2002, the members of the KCHR in Bishkek had received the visit of representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Water, who informed them that they should vacate their office before March 19th. No written instruction was given, in spite of the requests of KCHR members. On February 14th, the KCHR had already received an order by the Ministry to vacate the office, which the KCHR has been renting from them since 1994. The reasons explaining this sudden decision seem to originate in pressures exerted on the Ministry by the President's administration and the National Security Services (SNB). In this office, the KCHR lawyers have been giving free legal consultations, as well as accepting complaints and petitions concerning violations of human rights.
Action requested :
Please write to the Kyrgyz authorities demanding that they :
i. Ensure that the members of KCHR in Bishkek can enter their office again as soon as possible, and that they be able to pursue their activities freely in their office ;
ii. Put an end to all forms of harassment against all members of the KCHR as well as all human rights defenders in Kyrgyzstan ;
iii. Conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular its article 1 which provides that "every person has the right, individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental liberties at the national and international level" ;
iv. Guarantee the effective respect of fundamental rights and liberties in accordance with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international and regional pacts and covenants ratified by Kyrgyzstan.
Addresses :
- The President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Askar Akayev, Kyrgyzskaya Respublika, 720003 g. Bishkek, Prospekt Chuy, 205 Fax: + 996 (312) 218 627 ; E-mail:ghpress2@rhl.bishkek.su
- Mr. Kurmanbek Bakiev, Prime Minister, Fax: + 996 (312) 218 627
- Mr. Temirbek Akmataliev, Minister of the Interior, Fax: +996 (312) 663 031, +996 (312) 288 788, mail@mvd.bishkek.gov.kg
- Mr. Jakyp Abdyrahmanov, Minister of Justice, Fax: +996 (312) 663 044, injust@bishkek.gov.kg
Geneva-Paris, 22 March 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken, quoting the reference number given above.
The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line
Tel : FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 ;
OMCT : +41 22 809 49 39
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch