This hearing reviewed the democratization process, human rights, and religious liberty in Kazakhstan. This was one in a series that the Helsinki Commission has held on Central Asia. The hearing focused on Kazakhstan for two reasons: first, the country held a presidential election, almost 2 years ahead of schedule. The OSCE’s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, used unusually strong language, and criticized the conduct of the election as far short of meeting OSCE commitments. The witnesses gave testimony surrounding the legal obstacles in the constitution of Kazakhstan and other obstacles that the authoritarian voices in the government use to suppress opposition.
Member
Hon. Chris Smith
Chairman
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Witnesses
Ross Wilson
Principal Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large and Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for the NIS
Department of State
H.E. Bolat Nurgaliev
Ambassador to the United States
Kazakhstan
Akezhan Kazhegeldin
Chairman/Former Prime Minister
The National Republican Party of Kazakhstan/Kazakhstan
Yevgenyi Zhovtis
Chairman
Board of Directors to the Soros Foundation in Kazakhstan
Pyotr Svoik
Chairman
Azamat Movement
Dr. Martha Brill Olcott
Senior Associate
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
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