Eurasia Program Highlights (2008)

Russia’s invasion of Georgia in August of 2008 shocked the region. Georgia remains mired in a political crisis – the past year has seen mass rallies, pre-term elections, closing of independent media, a state of emergency, and deepening economic crisis. NED’s priorities in Georgia remain focused on human rights, free media, and free elections.

The Fund Sukhumi promoted women’s leadership in politics, particularly women leaders from among Georgians who were displaced by the war in Abkhazia, and established a “League of Women Voters” organization. The nongovernmental organization Article 42 of the Constitution brought about judicial review of legislation that violated constitutional norms.

The Georgian Young Lawyers Association monitored the presidential and parliamentary elections. The International Republican Institute (IRI) conducted a program for local government and local political leaders to enable them to respond to the needs of constituents. NED support to the media included the weekly newspaper Batumelebi, the main independent source of information for the population of Batumi.

In Armenia and Azerbaijan, NED funding focused on providing independent news and information and ensuring human rights and rule of law. In Azerbaijan, Women’s Media Watch advanced women’s participation in public life by producing a weekly hour long talk show about women’s rights for the national television station ANS. In Armenia, the Investigative Journalists NGO expanded the operation of the weekly Hetq Online into a continually updated on-line news resource. The Helsinki Association provided legal assistance for victims of police brutality and conducted trial monitoring of cases stemming from the violent dispersal of demonstrations in March 2008.

As expected, Dmitry Medvedev was elected President of Russia in March 2008. However, former President Vladimir Putin, appointed to the post of Prime Minister, left little room for doubt that he remained firmly in control. Putin’s government propagated a number of anti-democratic initiatives throughout the year, including a constitutional amendment that would extend the term of Russia’s presidency to six years, and a law that would define any assistance rendered by a Russian NGO to a foreign organization as treason.

Although threats and violence against them continued, NED grantees nevertheless continued their work. The Caucasus Media Institute began selecting young journalists from throughout the North Caucasus to undergo training in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. Nonviolence International began a unique program to bridge ethnic differences in the North Caucasus by fostering a dialog among officials from different regions. NDI began a program to support the development of political parties, while IRI worked to foster the development of youth political activism.

The major event in Belarus was the September 2008 parliamentary elections. As recommended by the OSCE, a civil society coalition advocated for the reform of the country’s flawed election law. Independent newspapers, online news sources and NGO publishing centers received support to inform and educate citizens about issues, candidates and platforms. A media monitoring program acted as a watchdog on state media’s biased coverage of the elections. Civil society groups carried out more than 40 voter education and mobilization campaigns throughout the country. A series of concerts and other get-out-the-vote activities were held to turn out youth. Human rights groups received support to assist activists who suffered repression for their political activities in the run up to the elections. NED grantees monitored their local polling stations.

Finally, NED support allowed NGOs and independent media to hold post-election public meetings and other programs designed to “get the story out” about what actually happened on Election Day – namely, that the US, EU, and OSCE concluded that the elections were neither free nor fair.

Central Asia is among the most authoritarian regions in the world and most governments continue to impose harsh conditions for NGOs. In Kazakhstan, NED supported the Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, the Almaty Helsinki Committee, and the National Association of Television and Radio Broadcasters, whose programs protected the rights of journalists, refugees, and minorities. In the area of freedom of information, NED supported the internet newspaper Zona.kz, and the discussion forum Polyton.

NED sought to protect basic freedoms against the growing backlash against NGOs in Kyrgyzstan by expanding programs that fostered the rule of law, youth participation in civil society, and human rights. Youth Human Rights Group and Institute for Public Policy aimed to increase the political skills of youth activists. The Center for International Private Enterprise worked with the Bishkek Business Club to develop a national business agenda. The National Democratic Institute (NDI) improved the capacity of local groups to monitor the local elections and the International Republican Institute (IRI) supported the development of political parties in the south of the country.

Programs in Tajikistan fostered new approaches to defending human rights. Amparo Young Lawyer’s Association defended the rights of draftees and provided legal information to them and their families and the Human Rights Center conducted courtroom monitoring and held trainings for judges. NGO Women Voters and Youth of the 21st Century sought to involve these underrepresented groups in public life.

Despite an on-going crackdown against NGOs in Uzbekistan, NED continued its support for regional human rights that efforts were critical to protecting refugees and documenting and distributing information about human rights abuses. NED also supports several rule of law and human rights programs in Turkmenistan.

In Ukraine, 2008 was characterized by political deadlock between the President and the Prime Minister and a slowdown in work of the Ukrainian Parliament. The past year also proved that Ukraine’s aspirations of joining the European Union and NATO still face many obstacles. Many NED projects in 2008 focused on the Ukrainian parliament, providing detailed analysis of its work, and educating the Ukrainian public about democratic processes. The Open Society Foundation and the Independent Center for Political Research monitored and publicized the work of the Ukrainian Parliament. Youth Alternative provided internships for 30 Ukrainian students to serve in the Parliament through its “Students for Parliament” program. The Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation and the Democratic Initiatives Foundation worked to provide objective information and conduct a public education campaign about the importance of Ukraine’s integration into the European Union and NATO.

NED has been a pioneer and leader in cross border democracy-building programs in which NGOs from Central Europe are supporting their counterparts in the Balkans and Eurasia. In 2008, more than 25 NGOs from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic assisted independent organizations in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Serbia, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia. The Central European NGOs shared their experiences, best practices, program models, and lessons learned by conducting training programs, internships, study visits, small grants competitions, and other joint programs across borders.

These programs targeted important but difficult places in which to work, such as Kaliningrad, Crimea, Transnistria, Chechnya, and the North Caucasus. The Poland-based Education Society of Malopolska conducted civic education programs for youth in eastern Ukraine. MEMO 98 from Slovakia worked with local organizations to monitor the media coverage of Azerbaijan’s presidential elections. Central Asian bloggers were trained in citizen journalism by the Czech Republic-based Transitions Online. In 2008, NED also continued to expand the cross border programs of Ukrainian NGOs that are active in Russia.