Brussels, 15/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 15 March, the European Parliament underlined that negotiations on the EU's new partnership and cooperation agreement with Kazakhstan will depend on progress with political reform and human rights in that country. In a joint resolution, MEPs encourage Kazakhstan to keep its declared commitment to continue with reforms in order to build an open and democratic society. They call on the authorities to make an effort to improve human rights and to enhance dialogue on such issues between the EU and Kazakhstan.
The Parliament encourages the authorities to undertake the necessary reforms in order to ensure multi-party elections. It calls on the Kazakh authorities to release all those detained for political reasons and to put an end to the crackdown on the opposition and independent media.
MEPs also condemn the violent repression by the police against demonstrators in the district of Zhanaozen on 16 December 2011, during which 17 people were killed and over 100 were wounded. They call for an independent and credible investigation to be carried out, and also call for progress to be made in labour law and social law.
The Parliament points out how important relations between the EU and Kazakhstan are, and the importance of stepping up political and economic cooperation, including in strategic areas such as human rights abuses, the environment, energy, trade and transport, and counter-terrorism, the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking, underlining that, in 2011, cooperation had increased.
Emphasis on human rights. During the debate the previous day, MEPS placed emphasis on human rights. Norica Nicolai (ALDE, Romania) said one needs to do more than criticise; one also needs to put in a great deal of effort, and the authorities must demonstrate that they really want democracy. Kazakhstan is experiencing “spectacular regression” when it comes to democratic and human rights, explained Paul Murphy (GUE, Ireland), calling on High Representative Catherine Ashton to suspend negotiations on the partnership and cooperation agreement until there is a real change and until political prisoners are released. The authorities, added Liisa Jaakonsaani (S&D, Finland), must understand that economic cooperation goes hand in hand with political cooperation and respect of human rights. She recalled that harassment, intimidation, detention of members of civil society and of the opposition and journalists are increasingly frequent. Nicole Kiil-Nielsen (Greens/EFA, France) denounced the promulgation of new laws restricting freedom of expression and workers' rights, while Bastiaan Belder (EFD, NL) denounced the laws that restrict freedom of religion and belief. (CG/transl.jl)