Rights activist under threat

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) believes that Ramazan Dyryldaev, the chairman of the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR), is being sought by representatives of the Kyrgyz interior minister in the context of a campaign to discredit the KCHR. The case is significant in that it reveals that despite what the government tells the international community, it does not tolerate criticism. "Dyryldaev has been harassed by Kyrgyz authorities for a number of years, because he documents violations of human rights standards and official corruption," Aaron Rhodes, the IHF executive director, told IRIN from Vienna. "There has been a long-term effort to intimidate and silence him and to thwart the work of the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights." According to the watchdog group, the case reveals what appears to be confusion within the government over human rights policy. "It may be that while some officials want to let help rights defenders do their job, others follow a policy of trying to put them down," he explained, adding that Kyrgyz officials had repeatedly assured representatives from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and others that they would not give the KCHR any more difficulty. "There seems to be a schizoid tendency there," Rhodes asserted. In a statement on Tuesday, IHF said that over the past few days, interior ministry officials, as well as those representing the Department of Organised and Economic Crime, had approached members of the KCHR asking about Dyryldaev's whereabouts. Reports received by IHF indicated that his residence is under surveillance IHF is deeply concerned over the continuing harassment of the activist, who earlier spent almost two years in exile in Vienna, from 2000 to 2002, fearing his arrest on false charges and attempts by state authorities to interfere with the work of the KCHR. Asked what the international community could do, Rhodes suggested making financial assistance conditional on improvements in the field of human rights, and by helping local civil society projects. "There is, in the end, only one proven strategy to create solid gains in such a society, and that is to assist those elements of civil society that want human rights and freedoms and who are prepared to act responsibly in a democratic political environment." Commenting on the overall picture, Rhodes concluded that the rights situation in Kyrgyzstan had been deteriorating because of the unwillingness of the regime to subject itself to democratic checks and balances and to allow groups like the KCHR to help it improve the situation.