Kyrgyzstan orders checks of foreign NGO activities
Kyrgyz media have carried an increasing number of reports focusing on the role of NGOs and accusing them of serving U.S. interests and Western donors. NGOs are thought to have played a prominent role in the "revolutions" that swept Georgia and Ukraine.
Bishkek (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Kyrgyzstan's justice minister, Marat Kaiypov, has ordered checks of the country's non-governmental organizations financed from overseas, RIA Novosti reported.
The Justice Ministry of the Central Asian republic convened for a session Tuesday, which concluded that about 7,000 NGOs were operating in Kyrgyzstan, many of them using foreign funds. According to the ministry, 26 new political parties and 17 religious organizations have emerged in the country in the past 12 months, which prompted Kaiypov's instructions to identify which NGOs could pose a threat to national security.
Meanwhile, the leader of a major coalition, For Democracy and Civil Society, Edil Baisalov, said the authorities had been increasing pressure on NGOs recently, with checks becoming more frequent. "In the past few days, Kyrgyz media have carried an increasing number of reports focusing on the role of the non-governmental sector and accusing it of serving U.S. interests and Western donors," Baisalov said.
There has been increased attention on the role of NGOs in the former Soviet Union recently, as authorities in a number of countries, including Russia, have questioned whether some organizations financed from abroad are involved in political activities. NGOs are thought to have played a prominent role in the "revolutions" that swept Georgia and Ukraine and brought new pro-Western leaders to power.
Former president Askar Akaev kept increasingly repressive measures against human rights and media freedoms.
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28/01/2021 15:48
