European Union Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Eduard Auer spoke today at parliamentary hearings, where amendments to the law on NGOs, proposing to oblige non-governmental organizations to report on sources of their funding, are discussed.
According to him, he fully supports the position previously voiced by Ozonnia Ojielo, the Resident Coordinator of the UN System in Kyrgyzstan.
«Always when we hold some consultations on some key issues with our national partners, members of the government, we try to include representatives of NGOs, this is useful and gives a complete picture. We believe that civil society will develop further and this bill will not complicate its work,» Eduard Auer said.
Natalya Grebneva, a representative of Hands of Love organization, who was present at the hearings, noted that this discriminatory bill would simply cut off half of the donors and would cause closure of the NGOs. «We are very transparent; we constantly provide reports. All data is open. Try to write at least one project yourself. You think it is that simple. Those who are indignant now, probably, you just didn’t succeed,» she said.
Recall, on March 4, the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan adopted amendments to the law on NGOs, obliging non-profit organizations to report on sources of their funding, in the first reading. Human rights activists called it discriminatory and asked the initiators to withdraw the bill.
