Today, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee sent out a press release, commenting on the Kyrgyz CEC’s decision to deny representatives of NHC accreditation to observe the presidential elections:
PRESS-RELEASE
Presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan :
NORWEGIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE DENIED ACCREDIATION
Today, 22 July 2009, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee received a letter from the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Kyrgyz Republic, where it is stated that representatives of the NHC will not be granted accreditation to observe the presidential elections on 23 July 2009.
The CEC bases its decision on a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, and writes :
”A letter was received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic regarding the NHC, stating that during a check of the NHC office by the Ministry of Interior on 9 June 2008, it was established that the NHC did not have an official registration in the Kyrgyz Republic. Based on this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked the Central Election Committee not to issue accreditation to representatives of the NHC to participate in presidential elections in the Kyrgyz Republic as international observers.”
- We are disappointed and puzzled at this decision, says Secretary General in the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Bjørn Engesland. – Certainly, international election observers do not have to register an office with the Ministry of Justice in order to get accreditation.
- Our representatives were accredited as international observers during the 2005 Presidential elections and again during the 2007 Parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan. The NHC has considerable experience in this area, having been present at innumerous elections over the past 20 years, says Engesland. – During the upcoming Norwegian Parliamentary elections in September 2009, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee has organized for over 30 observers from former Soviet republics to come Norway as official observers, including Kyrgyzstan, he adds.
The representative office of the NHC in Bishkek was forced to close in October 2008, when the Regional Representative of the organization was denied entry to the country for a period of 10 years. The decision by the Kyrgyz security services GKNB was made without any explanation, and in spite of the fact that the Sverdlovskiy Regional Court ruled that the NHC had not broken any laws in the Kyrgyz Republic, noting that the ”evidence” presented by the Ministry of Interior during the trial appeared to be falsified.
- During that process, we felt that the Kyrgyz MFA were among those who understood and tried to solve this uneccesary situation, says Bjorn Engesland.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders sent two official letters to Kyrgyz authorities in 2008 asking that the problems surrounding the NHC in Kyrgyzstan must be solved. Similar letters have been sent from the European Union and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. So far, none have received an answer.
