Kazakhstan's Democratic Forces Forum |
Address of the Forum of Democratic Forces Co-chairs to OSCE February 5, 2000 Mr. Wolfgang Shussel, Chairman-in-Office, Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria Almaty, February 5, 2000 Dear Mr. Minister, The Forum of Democratic Forces of Kazakhstan, uniting all opposition parties and movements, would like to thank you for the continued interest that OSCE and ODIHR take in the political situation in our country. Kazakhstani opposition and society support the appraisal given by the OSCE in its statements and reports regarding surprise presidential elections and parliamentary elections. The Final Report of the OSCE Election Observation Mission “Parliamentary Elections in Kazakhstan” proves how thoroughly the OSCE observers studied the situation in the country. They kept a close eye on the vote, scrupulously analyzed the authorities violations and provided their appraisal of the election process. On behalf of Kazakhstan’s voters we would like to express our deep gratitude to the OSCE observers – members of the Election Observation Mission in Kazakhstan. The recommendations formulated in the OSCE/ODIHR Final Report and intended for Kazakhstan’s government are fair and constructive. The opposition parties and movements of Kazakhstan have consistently demanded that Kazakhstani authorities bring the election law and practice in line with democratic standards and international commitments of our country as an OSCE member. Unfortunately Kazakhstani authorities arrogantly ignore these demands. To help this process out of "dead end" the Forum of Democratic Forces of Kazakhstan has taken a decision to work out the Bill on Elections and amendments to Kazakhstan’s Constitution. In these documents all OSCE recommendations will be taken into consideration. The bill and amendments to Constitution will comply with the international democratic standards and international obligations of Kazakhstan. We intend to work hard to ensure the nation-wide discussion and adoption of our proposals. We hope OSCE and ODIHR would support and help us in our work on the elections Bill and amendments to the Constitution. Following the OSCE recommendations the opposition parties candidates, who were not elected in the parliamentary elections because of the to pressure from authorities, falsification and other violations, are going to appeal to courts to reconsider the results of elections in their districts. They are going to demand that Central Election Commission publish all available data on violations made in the course of elections. The Forum of Democratic Forces of Kazakhstan will advise OSCE and ODIHR of the investigations made as well as the court rulings. The Forum of Democratic Forces of Kazakhstan would like to draw the attention of OSCE and ODIHR to the national dialog initiative proposed by united Kazakhstani opposition. The need for such a dialog is prompted by the political situation in our country. As a result of the two unfair elections in a row, presidential and parliamentary, the executive and legislative branches of power have become illegitimate and represent just a single ruling group. The absence of Constitutional Court in the country and control of the courts by executive bodies make legal appraisal of the president’s and government’s activities as well as compliance of legislative acts with the Constitution utterly impossible. Citizens have no levers to influence the decision-making either at state or at regional level. All this is the result of serious drawbacks of the existing Constitution. The purpose of the national dialog is to create a political mechanism that will allow to work out and adopt new Constitution of the country, to conduct democratic elections in line with new Constitution and with participation of international public, and to provide for peaceful transfer of power to the newly elected bodies. The Forum of Democratic Forces of Kazakhstan urges the international organizations to act as observers and guarantors of the national dialog process. Kazakhstani authorities should assure the global community of their commitment to ensuring security of opposition leaders and protecting them from illegal criminal and administrative prosecution. Only the true freedom of speech, independence of mass media and equal access to them for all political parties can help successfully meet the political crisis we are facing now in Kazakhstan. In this connection we have approached the parliament and government of Kazakhstan with the demand to give the united opposition airtime of 1 hour on national television, and 1 hour on radio daily. This project is called "Democracy Hour". Under this project we plan to provide society with information and comments reflecting the views of independent journalists, opposition parties and movements as well as citizens themselves. We also demand that harassment of opposition press be stopped in Kazakhstan. As you may know 14 independent democratic newspapers have been closed in recent years. For over 1,5 years authorities have been holding up authorization to the Respublica (Republic) newspaper. Meanwhile the harassment of those few existing opposition newspapers continues. The harassment ranges from refusal to print publications in printing houses to arson of editorial offices and attacks at journalists. The democratic community of Kazakhstan is positive that OSCE and ODIHR are destined to play the leadership role in building democracy in our country. We thank you very much for your activities and assure you that the Forum of Democratic Forces of Kazakhstan will be happy to be a reliable and loyal partner for your organizations. Very truly yours, Received via e-mail, February 5, 2000 |
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