The Kyrgyz parliament on February 22 approved on second reading a controversial bill that would allow authorities to register organizations as “foreign representatives” in a way that critics say mirrors repressive Russian legislation on so-called foreign agents, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported.
Dozens of nongovernmental organizations in Kyrgyzstan have called on lawmakers to reject the bill, insisting it merely substitutes the term “foreign representative” for “foreign agent” and would have a similarly chilling effect on their work. Russian authorities have used the law on foreign agents to discredit those labeled as such and to stifle dissent.
On February 21, Transparency International urged Kyrgyzstan’s parliament to withdraw the bill on “foreign representatives.”
The proposed legislation would grant public authorities oversight powers and potentially impose criminal sanctions for vaguely outlined criminal offences, Transparency International says. Organisations will have to choose to register as “foreign representatives’’ and submit to excessive state control or refuse to do so and risk suspension and eventual liquidation.
