02 December 2010
Clinton Praises Democracy in Kyrgyzstan
Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton continued her three-nation Central Asia trip with a stop in Kyrgyzstan, where she praised the country’s new parliamentary democracy and the quality of recent national elections.
Clinton and Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbayeva spoke to reporters after meeting December 2 in the country’s capital, Bishkek. The secretary’s visit came as Kyrgyz political leaders were finalizing the formation of a new coalition government.
“This is a bold endeavor that the people of this country have undertaken, reinventing its democratic governance with a strong parliament designed to represent the full diversity of the people and regions of Kyrgyzstan,” Clinton said.
She said U.S. leaders “salute the resolve” Otunbayeva and the Kyrgyz people showed in holding elections “widely applauded as being free, fair and legitimate.”
The successful October parliamentary elections established Kyrgyzstan as a leading Central Asian parliamentary democracy and led to efforts to create the coalition government. The vote took place just months after violent ethnic clashes in the country’s south caused hundreds of deaths and drove thousands from their homes.
“This is a country that has been through a great deal of change and upheaval. … However, the elections show that the people of Kyrgyzstan want to resolve disputes peacefully through politics, not violence,” Clinton said.
She said the United States is committed to supporting Kyrgyzstan.
“America will stand with the government and people of Kyrgyzstan as you work to deliver economic results and national reconciliation, and safeguard the basic rights and freedoms for people here,” Clinton said.
Otunbayeva thanked the United States for its financial aid as well as its “support, understanding and assistance” during the last six months. She expressed appreciation in particular for U.S. support in Kyrgyzstan’s economic and political development.
Clinton said she and Otunbayeva also discussed their shared interest in securing the region through stabilizing Afghanistan.
“Both the United States and Kyrgyzstan will be more secure if we can help the Afghan people build a peaceful, stable country free of violent extremism and those who promote it,” Clinton said.
The secretary thanked Otunbayeva for hosting and supporting the transit center at Manas, which many coalition troops pass through on the way to Afghanistan.
Clinton visited Kazakhstan before her stop in Kyrgyzstan, and then traveled to Uzbekistan. She is set to close her trip in Bahrain, where she will deliver a keynote address at a regional security forum, the Manama Dialogue 2010. She is scheduled to return to the United States December 3.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)
