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NGO report says region lagging in democratic development

All the Central Asian states lag behind in key areas of democratic development, including electoral processes and the independent media, thus placing the five countries on the wrong track for development, according to a Freedom House official. "They are stuck in a very negative position right now, and I think it is fair to say that we haven't seen any meaningful forward progress," Christopher Walker, director of studies with Freedom House, told IRIN from New York. "There is a lack of space for meaningful participation in public decision making and this includes sufficient media and, certainly, civil society." His comments come two days after the US-based NGO released its 2004 Nations in Transit (NIT) report. It makes general assessments of how democratic or authoritarian a country is, rating its performance under six categories including electoral processes, independent media, governance and civil society. "Turkmenistan certainly ranks as the most troubling country, but I don't believe that there is [any] country of the five former Soviet Central Asian republics that has produced a generally favourable performance," Walker asserted. According to the report, Tajikistan has experienced declines in the electoral process for the period under assessment, January-December 2003. "Tajikistan's rating for the electoral process worsened from 5.25 to 5.75 owing to the June 2003 plebiscite, which further concentrated power in the hands of the president and sidelined opposition political parties," the report said. Uzbekistan, Central Asia's most populous state, is seen remaining as one of the most authoritarian counties in the region due to official control over the media and the absence of judicial independence which, according the report, causes serious impediments to trade and freedom. Freedom House reports that Kazakhstan's ratings for independent media and corruption have also worsened. "There was a draft media law proposed but it didn't pass [parliamentary approval]... Overall, it is fair to say that there are profound challenges to the development of independent media in Kazakhstan," the Freedom House official maintained. For Kyrgyzstan, the NIT report highlights the absence of an election in 2003 and says that the country's governance system remains ineffective and unaccountable. Walker explained that the countries of the region need the powerful participation of political parties and civil society. "It is crucial that all international actors that are involved in development work in this part of the world focus their attention on the performance of the authorities who have enormous power in all of these countries. There are high levels of concentration of power among very small circles of people," he said, noting that this could affect human rights and democratic standards.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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