EURASIANET.ORG 18 October 2010 Catherine A. Fitzpatrick The independent Kyrgyz website AKIpress has published the names of six experts who have been invited to serve on the international commission to investigate the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan in June, headed by Kimmo Kiljunen, a member of the Finnish Parliament and Special Representative on Central Asia for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in

Morten Hoeglun performs election observation in Bishkek. BISHKEK, 11 October 2010 – Marked by political pluralism and a vibrant campaign, yesterday’s parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan constituted a further consolidation of the democratic process and brought the country closer to meeting its international commitments on democratic elections, international observers concluded in a preliminary statement issued today. They stressed, however,

PALERMO, 9 October 2010 – Organized crime remains one of the most pressing problems worldwide and I am confident, said today OSCE PA President Petros Efthymiou, and expressed his confidence in that the discussions in the next two days at the Fall Meetings here will be a useful and effective guide in dealing with this problem. Mr. Efthymiou’s speech today led off the conference at the PA’s Fall Meetings here titled, “The Fight Against

BISHKEK, 9 October 2010 – A delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly under the leadership of the Norwegian member of parliament, Morten Hoeglund, has arrived in Kyrgyzstan to observe Sunday’s parliamentary elections. Mr. Hoeglund, an experienced election observer, has also been appointed as OSCE Special Co-ordinator by Kanat Saudabayev, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister. In this capacity, Mr. Hoeglund heads of

PALERMO, 9 October 2010 – Organized crime remains one of the most pressing problems worldwide, said OSCE PA President Petros Efthymiou today. He expressed his confidence that the discussions in the next two days at the Fall Meetings will be a useful and effective guide in dealing with this problem. Mr. Efthymiou’s speech today led off the conference at the PA’s Fall Meetings in Palermo titled, “The Fight Against Transnational Organized Crime

SARAJEVO, 4 October 2010 – Yesterday’s general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina represented further progress and, except for legal restrictions of voting rights, were conducted generally in line with OSCE and Council of Europe commitments, international observers concluded in a preliminary statement issued today. They stressed that certain key areas require action. “We have seen yet another demonstration that the electoral process in Bosnia