Open Society to Close its Foundation in Kyrgyzstan, Citing Law on Foreign-Funded NGOs

The Open Society Foundations said it will close its national foundation in Kyrgyzstan after the country’s parliament passed a new law that tightens control over non-governmental groups that receive foreign funding. Open Society, which was founded by billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros, said Monday that the law“imposes restrictive, broad, and ill-defined regulations” on internationally funded NGOs. The decision to pull out of Kyrgyzstan came two weeks after the country’s president, Sadyr Japarov, signed the law, saying more rigorous registration requirements and financial oversight would make non-governmental groups more accountable. The dispute between the government of Kyrgyzstan and foreign-funded groups represent a wider struggle over the direction of the Central Asian country. Opponents of Japarov believe he is systematically rolling back relative freedoms inKyrgyzstan. The president says local NGOS are embezzling money from foreign donors, an allegation denied by civil society groups. The Soros Foundation-Kyrgyzstan has spent more than $115 million on projects in education, public health, criminal justice, supplying water to rural communities and other areas since it opened in 1993, a year in which the Central Asian nation was mired in crisis after the fall of the Soviet Union, Open Society said. Under the new law, foreign-funded NGOs must “report broadly defined ‘political’ activities to the authorities” and risk uncertain consequences, Open Society said in a statement. Its president, Binaifer Nowrojee, said “this repressive new law will see civil society operate in a climate of uncertainty and intimidation.” The Open Society Foundations, which funds activities in more than 120 countries, says it aims to promote justice, human rights and democratic governance. It says it joins “policy debates on controversial issues that other funders might avoid” and the group has attracted criticism from conservative and authoritarian leaders in a number of countries. The United Nations has expressed concern about Kyrgyzstan’s so-called “foreign representatives” law. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on April 8 that many affected NGOs could close to avoid possible arbitrary checks by the authorities or having to pay for annual audits, or might end up self-censoring if they continue operations.

Bishkek Tightens Grip on NGOs

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan - Kyrgyzstan´s President said on Tuesday that he has approved a law that tightens control over non-governmental organizations which receive foreign funding, despite concerns that the measure could erode basic freedoms and services. President Sadyr Japarov defied international pressure to refrain from signing the law, which was passed by an overwhelming margin in Kyrgyzstan’s Parliament on March 14. In a Facebook post, he said the measure would make NGOs more accountable and increase transparency, an assertion that critics say is misleading. For decades, NGOs “just opened bank accounts, took money from foreign donors and used it as they saw fit, including for personal purposes,” Japarov said. “From now on they will be registered with the Ministry of Justice like everyone else. They will open bank accounts. They will start to work openly. There will be no more confusion.” NGOs “spread false information, saying 'we will be persecuted, we will be arrested as agents of a foreign state'. And the donors believed it,” said Japarov, adding that “there will be no persecution” of the groups. Critics say the law represents a slow-moving crackdown that rolls back efforts to develop civil society with the help of foreign governments and other institutions. “We're deeply disappointed that Kyrgyzstan's president Sadyr Japarov has signed the repressive law on 'foreign representatives,' citing misleading, untrue arguments about NGOs,” said the International Partnership for Human Rights, a Brussels-based group.  “At least get the facts straight,” Syinat Sultanalieva, a Central Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch, said of Japarov’s statement, adding that it was wrong of Japarov to suggest that NGOs “never registered and did not submit reports and basically ran amok unchecked.” In his statement, Japarov bristled at criticism from Western-affiliated institutions and said there was a double standard. “Why do non-governmental organizations in developed Western countries register with the Ministry of Justice, the Tax Service, open a bank account and not do the same when they come to us?” he said. “Or are we a second-class country? No, we are not. We will no longer allow such dubious actions.” Japarov had previously accused NGOs of spreading “inaccurate information,” emphasizing that the draft law “is close to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) adopted in 1938 in the United States.”. Some opponents claim it is based on Russia´s “foreign agents” law, and could be used as an instrument of oppression.