Kazakhstan and the OSCE

KAZAKHSTAN AND THE OSCE -- (Extensions of Remarks - December 06, 2007)

[Page: E2523]

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SPEECH OF
HON. DARRELL E. ISSA
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2007

* Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, this past week, the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) convened in Madrid, Spain to choose the countries that will chair the organization for the next three years. The 56 member nations of the OSCE voted to give the chairmanship to Greece in 2009, Kazakhstan in 2010, and Lithuania for 2011.

* All of these countries should be congratulated for being awarded this important duty. The selection of Kazakhstan as chair for 2010 is especially significant for several important reasons.

* First, Kazakhstan will be the first ex-Soviet republic to assume the chairmanship of the OSCE, which is quite timely given that many of the countries in region are continuing to struggle with the transition from communism to full democracy. Kazakhstan, as the largest country in the region, may be in the best position to promote the OSCE's principal mandates of respect for human rights and advancing democracy.

* Conversely, while OSCE ministers were meeting, Russia conducted parliamentary elections in open contempt of OSCE's election monitoring program. Reacting to a series of obstructions and delays clearly intended to frustrate their work, the OSCE finally concluded that Russian authorities had made it impossible for monitoring activities to occur before or during the December 2 election.

* By contrast, Kazakhstan fully cooperated with OSCE's monitoring and reporting during its August 18 parliamentary election. It allowed 1,200 election observers to cover 1,743 polling stations, whereas Russia set a limit of 450 international observers for its 95,000 polling stations.

* Prior to its election, Kazakhstan adopted reforms to increase the transparency and integrity of its elections and ensure public access to election information and the media. The same reforms are being rolled back in Russia.

* Kazakhstan may well be that alternative. At the meeting in Madrid, Kazakhstan's foreign minister, Marat Tazhin, stated that ``Kazakhstan accepts with a strong sense of duty and firm commitment the role of Chairman-in-Office of OSCE for 2010'' and pledged to uphold and protect OSCE's election-monitoring activities.

* The other Commonwealth-of-Independent States in the former Soviet union are surely observing these developments as they approach their own political crossroads. One path is the Russian way of ``managed democracy,'' currently being exemplified by President Vladimir Putin, which includes consolidation of power within his inner circle, the removal of human rights and press freedoms, and a worrying shift towards more authoritarian rule. The other path is the Kazakh way, which includes improving freedoms for the press and human rights groups, greater confidence in the rule of law, and a strengthening of democratic values. It is my sincere hope that the other CIS countries will take the latter path.

* Madam Speaker, the Bush administration has rightly put democratization in the forefront of its foreign policy, but it does not come quickly or easily to countries that have only known authoritarian rule.

* Kazakhstan is such a country and while it is not yet a full-fledged democracy, it is definitely moving in the right direction and is deserving of our support to head the OSCE in 2010.

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