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Grants >> 2004 Eurasia Programs Highlights
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Defying the regional trend, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets to protest an unfair campaign and massive vote fraud, remaining there—in spite of the bitter cold—until the Ukrainian Supreme Court ordered a new round of voting that gave opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko a clear majority. Yushchenko's victory represents a the most serious challenge to date of Vladimir Putin's so-called "managed democracy" and the Orange Revolution is likely to serve as an inspiration to activists throughout the region as they struggle to build genuinely democratic societies in their own countries. Whether producing policy analysis, covering breaking news or educating and mobilizing citizens to vote, Endowment grantees were active in all aspects of preparation for Ukraine's election. NDI and IRI both carried out training programs for party activists and organized election monitoring for all three rounds of the election. Youth Alternative and Young Rukh ran nationwide get-out-the-vote (GOTV) campaigns for Ukrainian youth, while internet newspapers Maidan, Ostriv and Ukrainska Pravda continued to provide objective reporting to voters to counter the overwhelmingly biased coverage by Ukraine's state-controlled television networks. Also, the Democratic Initiatives Foundation spearheaded a coalition of organizations that conducted nationwide exit polls during all three rounds of voting; these polls provided an accurate assessment of voters' intent and supported charges of election fraud. Unlike Ukraine, Russia's political system continued to slide backwards towards authoritarianism after President Vladimir Putin, facing little meaningful competition, was re-elected in March with 70 percent of the vote. Endowment grantees continued to push for increased government transparency and accountability. The Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights produced analysis of developments in Russia's parliament, the State Duma, which has become increasingly closed and secretive, while the Golos coalition pressed for greater transparency in regional legislatures. In Chechnya, despite constant pressure and threats of violence, the Society for Russian-Chechen Friendship continued to gather and distribute information about the ongoing conflict. The parliamentary elections in Belarus were a striking contrast to the Presidential elections in Ukraine. The October election was critical because it was combined with a referendum that would lift the two-term limit on the presidency and give Alexander Lukashenka "Europe's last dictator," the opportunity to run for a third term in 2006. NED grantees were at the forefront of efforts to promote free, fair and transparent elections. In more than 40 of 110 election districts, local nonpartisan coalitions used NED support to organize GOTV campaigns. Independent national and local newspapers provided citizens with objective information on all candidates and their platforms. Other grantees trained independent observers, published nonpartisan GOTV materials and monitored the state-controlled media. NDI deployed thousands of domestic poll watchers for the parliamentary elections. Following a campaign and election marred by intimidation and fraud, the regime declared that no opposition candidate had been elected to parliament. Furthermore, the Central Election Commission declared that over 78 percent of the electorate voted "yes" in the referendum, allowing Lukashenka possibly to become president for life. Independent exit polls, however, offered evidence that the referendum and election had been rigged. As a result, the parliamentary election was not recognized as free or fair by the U.S., EU or OSCE. Following key elections last year, democrats in the Caucasus reassessed priorities and strategies to cope with new challenges in 2004. In Armenia, the Endowment continues to support human rights programs and initiated a new effort to develop a unified reform agenda by sponsoring a think tank launched by the Armenian Helsinki Assembly. Providing support for freedom of conscience programs has been a top priority in Azerbaijan. The FAR Center completed a comprehensive survey of religious diversity and freedom of worship and the Umid women's center continued to educate rural women about Islam and democracy. NED is also promoting the development of regional NGOs by supporting resource centers in rural Azerbaijan. One year after the "Rose Revolution," grantees continue to work to solidify the democratic gains made in Georgia. The Endowment sponsored a conference by the Partnership for Social Initiatives to assess the development of constitutionalism in Georgia. The Cultural-Humanitarian Fund "Sukhumi" is training women in political leadership skills and Georgia for NATO is crafting legislation to ensure parliamentary oversight over the country's armed forces. Central Asia is among the most authoritarian regions of the world, where presidents have routinely extended their terms in office through dubious referendums and devised strategies to ensure that members of their immediate families inherit the highest office. Starting from this low point, conditions in Central Asian states are declining as new restrictions criminalizing NGO activity are being imposed in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Against this bleak background, the Endowment's programs in Central Asia are laying the foundation for long-term development of democratic values. The core areas of NED activity in Central Asia in 2004 have been in human rights, independent media and political participation. Three projects in Kazakhstan monitored the activities of parliamentary deputies, reporting in the media, and voter preferences; each documented abuses of the electoral process during the 2004 parliamentary contest. A NED-supported conference focused attention on discrimination against ethnic minorities and examined the historical memory of the crimes of Stalinism. In Kyrgyzstan, the independent newspaper MSN received support for its weekend edition, helping it to compete with the government's chief newspaper. A network of human rights activists based in Jalalabad reported regularly on human rights issues and provided support for counterparts in Uzbek and Tajik portions of the Ferghana Valley. The Solidarity Center is launching a new office in Bishkek that will implement programs in support of trade unionism throughout Central Asia. Programs in Tajikistan assisted independent radio and television broadcasting, including support for the country's only political talk show on SONIYON television. Other programs are promoting human rights and the participation of women and youth in local politics. Despite greater restrictions against nongovernmental organizations in Uzbekistan, NED grantees continue to work to promote democracy throughout the area. With NED assistance, two independent email and Internet publications were launched. In addition, one grantee conducted public opinion polling on youth attitudes, two other grantees organized human rights monitoring, and another grantee held trainings to teach citizens about the electoral law, in particular how to nominate independent candidates for the parliamentary elections. Working with national and regional business associations, CIPE conducted programs to reduce corruption in all five of the Central Asian states, including Turkmenistan. The programs scrutinized legislation, surveyed business owners, and sought to advance transparency and accountability through public discussion and debate. |
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