BISHKEK -- More than 100 nongovernmental organizations in Kyrgyzstan have urged President Sadyr Japarov not to sign into law a controversial bill modeled on Russia's repressive "foreign agent" laws that they say will negatively affect operations of NGOs in the Central Asian nation.
Kyrgyz lawmakers approved the legislation requiring nonprofit organizations receiving foreign funding to register with the government as foreign representatives in its third and final reading without debate on March 14 and Japarov is widely expected to sign the bill into law.
Chinara Aitbaeva, the chairwoman of Bizidin Kylym (Our Century) foundation told RFE/RL on March 25 that the NGOs warned Japarov that if the measure comes into force, organizations involved in helping Kyrgyz citizens obtain medical equipment and medicine for numerous diseases, including cancer and HIV, as well as groups involved in educational programs, human rights, and anti-corruption activities, may have to stop their operations.
Earlier statements by human rights groups regarding the controversial bill stated that the legislation will negatively affect the freedom of expression in the former Soviet republic.
Since the law was first introduced last year, civil society activists have warned of the consequences of approving such legislation, especially given that similar legislation in Russia laid the groundwork for the systematic dismantling of civil society.
According to the bill, noncommercial organizations and media outlets that receive foreign funding and are engaged in broadly defined "political" activities will be obliged to report their activities to the authorities. The legislation will also introduce wide oversight powers by the authorities and potential criminal sanctions for undefined criminal offences.
Since 2012, Russia has used its foreign agent law to label and punish critics of government policies, including the February 2022 full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
The vague laws have been used to persecute organizations working in diverse fields such as education, culture, health care, environmental protection, human rights, and independent media.
For many years Kyrgyzstan stood out in the Central Asian region for independent journalism, intrepid reporting, and media innovation. But in Reporters Without Borders's most recent global ranking, Kyrgyzstan -- once called an "island of democracy" in the region -- fell fully 50 places, sitting at 122nd place, only 12 spots above its longtime authoritarian neighbor, Kazakhstan.
That plunge was in large part due to the authorities' decision to put severe restrictions on RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Radio Azattyk, including freezing its bank accounts, in October 2022.