OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: FEBRUARY 16 - 19, 2010

UNCLAS USOSCE 000061 SENSITIVE SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OSCE PGOV PREL MARR KZ KG SUBJECT: OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: FEBRUARY 16 - 19, 2010 EU Mostly Opposed to Reopening Freedom of Media Appointment ¶1. (SBU) During the weekly EU coordination meeting February 17, Spanish Ambassador Betanzos Roig (representing the EU Presidency) said she understood Kazakhstan's consultations on the appointment of a new representative on freedom of the media (RFoM) would continue with Russian FM Lavrov's visit to Astana on February 22. She said Russia had been demarching OSCE participating States regarding re-opening the selection and appointment process but said most EU members would firmly oppose such a move, adding that it would be an insult to the Greek Chairmanship, which had initiated the selection process. CDA Fuller encouraged the EU to stand firm against Russia, said the appointment of the RFoM would be a test of the Chairmanship's leadership, and said Kazakhstan had two viable options in the short term: to continue with the appointment of the Bosnian candidate or to seek participating States' agreement on an extension of Haraszti. To do otherwise, she concluded, would signal that the views of one participating State (Russia) are more important than those of others. She added that the position was too important to be left vacant. Helsinki Commission's Senator Cardin Presses Kazakhstan on Human Rights ¶2. (SBU) On February 18, Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Saudabayev delivered a "State of the OSCE" address to the Winter Meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Vienna. In the follow-on question and answer period, U.S. Delegation Head and Helsinki Commission Co-Chair Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) emphasized that as OSCE Chair-in-Office, Kazakhstan would be looked to for leadership. Senator Cardin pointedly noted that the Zhovtis case was pending before the Kazakhstani Supreme Court and impressed upon Saudabayev the need for due process. Senator Cardin expressed sadness that while Saudabayev was testifying in Washington before the Helsinki Commission earlier this month, peaceful demonstrators were being arrested in front of the Parliament building in Astana. Senator Cardin acknowledged that every participating State could do better but called upon Kazakhstan to uphold OSCE principles. Saudabayev largely dodged these issues in his response, saying Kazakhstan's transition to democracy had only just begun and declaring that there were no perfect democracies anywhere. Kyrgyz Parliamentarian Criticizes the United States ¶3. (SBU) During the February 18-19 OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Winter Meeting in Vienna, Kyrgyz opposition parliamentarian Rosa Otunbayeva, former foreign minister and ambassador to the United States, complained to CDA Fuller, the press, and many others about the deteriorating state of democracy in her country. She spoke scathingly to CDA Fuller of President Bakiyev, whom she said was dismantling democracy day by day with new edicts, including the appointment of his son Maxim to an important post and as head of a delegation to China. To the press and others, she complained that the U.S. government is not doing enough to support the human rights community in Kyrgyzstan and only cares about the base in Manas. During a press conference for Senators Cardin and Wicker, an AP stringer asked about Otunbayeva's comment, and Senator Cardin replied that the United States is very engaged in human rights issues in Kyrgyzstan and looks to all OSCE participating States to uphold OSCE principles. FULLER