Kyrgyzstan: U.S. Reiterates Concern Over NGO Bill, 'Takes Note' Of Increased Pressure On Media, Civil Society

The United States said on Monday it's following Kyrgyzstan's so-called “foreign representatives” draft law ‘closely’ and takes note of, as it put it, "a series of government actions by the Kyrgyz Republic that have increased pressure on independent media and civil society," TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"We are concerned about the potential for the law to impose undue burden on NGOs that help the people of the Kyrgyz Republic," a State Department spokesperson told TURAN in response to a query regarding the latest accusations from Bishkek of Washington's reaction over the Kyrgyz Parliament’s controversial draft bill that would allow authorities to register organizations as "foreign representatives," legislation that critics say mirrors repressive Russian laws on "foreign agents."

Earlier on Monday, Kyrgyzstan published a letter issued by President Sadyr Japarov to U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in which the Central Asian nation's leader accused Washington of "interfering" in his country's internal affairs. Japarov was quoted as noting that Washington‘s concerns were based on "inaccurate information provided by foreign-funded NGOs whose leadership he cast as thieving money-grabbers."

For its part, the State Department on Monday reiterated its concerns, elaborating "specifically, if passed, this law could have serious implications for implementation of U.S. foreign assistance programs, such as the support we provide to strengthen health care and education, advance democratic governance, improve delivery of public services, and expand economic opportunity, much of which is provided through local and international NGOs and civil society organizations."

"This work is integral to achieving our shared goal of a prosperous Kyrgyz Republic capable of meeting the challenges of a rapidly changing and increasingly interdependent world," a State Department spokesperson told TURAN's correspondent.

"As we have noted most recently in our January 18 statement, it is in our shared interest to protect human rights, promote effective democratic institutions, and, by so doing, contribute to strengthening peace and security. The President (Biden) and the Secretary (Blinken) have been clear that human rights are at the center of our foreign policy, and this includes promoting the freedoms of association and of expression, including of members of civil society organizations. We regularly discuss these issues with the Kyrgyz government, publicly and privately and will continue to do so,"  a State Department spokesperson concluded.

Last month, the Kyrgyz parliament's committee for constitutional laws approved the controversial bill in question in the first reading. The legislation will introduce wide oversight powers by the authorities and include a new criminal offense with penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment for civil society activists who establish, participate in, or promote an NGO or an affiliate of a foreign NGO, if the authorities find that the organization is committing what is vaguely defined as ‘inciting citizens to refuse to perform civic duties or to commit other unlawful deeds.’

Further discussion of the draft law is pending.

In his letter to Blinken, President Japarov also wrote that the bill in question "is close to the current Foreign Agents Registration Act adopted in the U.S.A. in 1938."

The obligation to register under FARA is only triggered when an entity or an individual engages in political activity in the United States.