Representatives of Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan human rights movement appealed to the deputies of Parliament and officials of the Presidential Executive Office with a request to withdraw the draft laws on mass media and on NGOs from public discussion and finalize them, taking into account the comments and suggestions of independent lawyers, human rights activists and the media community.
«We ask you not to violate the Constitution, to withdraw anti-constitutional bills against public organizations, NGOs and mass media. Return to the constitutional field and start a partnership with civil society to promote reforms, solve socially significant problems in the face of crises and new risks,» the statement says.
They ask for a meeting with members of the Committee on Constitutional Legislation, State Structure, Judicial, Legal Issues and Regulations of the Parliament.
«We appeal to the Prosecutor General with a demand to oversee the rule of law in the country and to respond to systemic violations of the Constitution,» the human rights activists concluded.
Amendments to the laws regulating the activities of NGOs and state registration were submitted to the Parliament for discussion in the relevant committees. The document spells out the status of a «foreign agent».
Having studied the draft law, lawyers noted that the initiated document is focused on NGOs that promote freedom of speech, civil and political rights in the country.
Earlier, representatives of civil society sent an appeal to the President and deputies of the Parliament emphasizing that the draft law contains discriminatory norms that contradict basic democratic principles and, if adopted, will significantly restrict the activities of non-commercial organizations, including branches and representative offices of foreign NGOs operating in Kyrgyzstan.
Experts remind: protection of the national state interests of the Kyrgyz Republic is paramount. However, consideration of the work NGOs and giving them the status of «foreign representatives» is a misconception.
Lawyers of Adilet Legal Clinic and the human rights movement Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan also stated that the adoption of scandalous initiatives would lead to the liquidation of the civil sector. Their comments were ignored.
Kyrgyzstanis collect signatures against the law on foreign agents.