Kyrgyzstan's president calls for OSCE support to Interior Ministry reform

VIENNA, 9 June 2011 – Kyrgyzstan’s President Roza Otunbayeva, speaking on the eve of the anniversary of deadly strife in the south of her country, today called on the OSCE to  support Interior Ministry reform.

Noting that the OSCE already provides support to the Interior Ministry, and also through the Community Security Initiative, Otunbayeva said it was important “not to lose the momentum gained from the previous achievements of the reform of the system. To increase the effectiveness of the reform of internal affairs, we believe it is reasonable to start discussing the possibilities of large-scale OSCE participation in this, particularly through launching new projects between the Ministry of Interior and the OSCE.”

Reconstruction of destroyed buildings is underway with international donor support, but the country also faces “a far more difficult task - to restore the lost trust between Uzbek and Kyrgyz communities in the south”, Otunbayeva said. “It is not easy to achieve trust after such a complex conflict. The level of nationalism and intolerance is still high.”

She said that Kyrgyzstan’s government, in its response to the report of an Independent International Commission of Inquiry set up at her initiative, acknowledges the scale of challenges still facing the country.

“We openly admit the existence of serious problems in the field of human rights in the post-conflict period. We agree with criticism of the Commission in this field. We are ready to change the situation and we need support in implementing the Commission’s recommendations.”

Otunbayeva said she would travel to Osh after her visit to Vienna to participate in commemorative events dedicated to the memory of the victims of last year’s violence.

“The whole country will mourn them. During these days, with heavy hearts, we will remember our losses. We are ready to do our best to prevent the reoccurrence of such conflicts in our country,” she said. 

The Permanent Council Chairperson, Ambassador Renatas Norkus of Lithuania, encouraged Kyrgyzstan’s authorities to strengthen efforts to promote ethnic reconciliation and trust among all peoples.

“The Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship is determined to further promote reconciliation and the strengthening of  democratic processes in Kyrgyzstan, including through the OSCE-developed Community Security Initiative, which aims at restoring confidence between the communities and in the law-enforcement agencies, as well as a number of other measures in which the OSCE and its institutions have been involved,” he said.

The Permanent Council, one of the main regular decision-making bodies of the Organization, convenes weekly in Vienna to discuss developments in the OSCE area and to make appropriate decisions.