OSCE Troika urges parties in Kyrgyzstan to refrain from violence

BRUSSELS, 23 March 2005 - Foreign Ministers from the OSCE Troika, led by OSCE Chairman-in-Office Dimitrij Rupel of Slovenia, urged all parties in Kyrgyzstan to refrain from violence when they met their colleagues from the European Union Troika in Brussels on Wednesday.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office said his Personal Representative for the OSCE States in Central Asia, former Slovenian Prime Minister Alojz Peterle, was on his way to Kyrgyzstan, where he would offer his assistance in trying to calm the situation.

The Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, Ambassador Markus Mueller, is already in continuous contact with all the main players.

"OSCE monitors did identify some shortcomings with the parliamentary elections, but this should not be used as a pretext for violence," Minister Rupel said. "Indeed, violence discredits those who are protesting in the name of democratic reform."

He stressed that election observation by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is based on well-established, systematic criteria. The objective is to determine, on the basis of impartial observation, whether election procedures are in line with the commitments which all 55 OSCE countries have signed up to.

The Chairman-in-Office said it was essential for the OSCE and the European Union to continue to support Kyrgyzstan on the path of democratic reform, especially in areas such as creating an effective and democratically accountable police force which respects human rights.

"We should strengthen our engagement to ensure that the process of reform is bolstered and to promote dialogue," he said.

The meeting with the EU Troika also focussed on Georgia's request for international assistance in maintaining security on its borders and the situation in Kosovo. The Chairman-in-Office also briefed his EU partners on his recent visit to Moldova.