The Bishkek branch of Amnesty International was established in September 1999. It involves about twenty students from American University in Kyrgyzstan along with other students from Bishkek University of Humanities and Kyrgyz-Russian Slavonic University. The coordinator of the group, and also its founder is Ari Katz, a teacher and Coordinator of Student Affairs at American University--Kyrgyzstan. Despite being such a young group, Amnesty International-Kyrgyzstan in a short period of time has accomplished a great deal. The members have sent appeals to the governments of the United States of America, Egypt, Myanmar, Indonesia, Paraguay, Columbia, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and China.

On October 15, 1999 members protested in front of the Belarus Embassy in Bishkek to express their concern about the fate of Mikhail Chigir, the former Prime Minister of Belarus and now prominent opposition leader, who was arrested on March 30, 1999 shortly before the presidential elections. Three members of the group were accepted by the First Secretary of the Belarus Embassy, Fyodor Plotnikov, to whom they forwarded letters addressed to Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko urging him to release Chigir. Chigir is a recognized prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, the OSCE, European Union and the US Department of State that recognized that Chigir was detained because of his political beliefs and demand his immediate release. Thanks to international pressure including millions of Amnesty International members, Mikhail Chigir was conditionally released in November 1999, after spending eight months in prison.

The Bishkek members are forwarding a strong message to governments around the world insisting that these governments respect the equal and unalienable human rights of every person. To Kyrgyzstan's neighbor Uzbekistan, the members voiced their concerns about the death sentences imposed on Arsen Arutyuyan and Danis Sirazhev, two singers in "Al-Vakil", an Uzbek pop group. The two men were charged with the April 1998 murder of Laylo Aliyeva, another singer. Arutyunyan and Sirazhev were arrested on 3 June 1999 in Tashkent. On 3 November they were sentenced to death, despite concerns that they confessed as a consequence of torture. As a result of letters from Amnesty International’s worldwide members, the Uzbek government commuted the death penalty, though Arutyunyan and Sirazhev have not been released.  

On 10 December 1999, Amnesty International--Kyrgyzstan celebrated Human Rights Day. The members gathered on the Old Square in Bishkek and in the light of tens of candles read aloud the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Most of Amnesty International--Kyrgyzstan's members are American University-Kyrgyzstan students who studied either in the United States or Great Britain through ACCELS or Soros programs. After nine months of active work, Amnesty International-Kyrgyzstan has been recently awarded the status of an official Amnesty International local group by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, London. Now they officially represent the movement in Bishkek and are responsible for continuous work on behalf of people worldwide whose human rights have been violated. The active members of Amnesty International in Kyrgyzstan are contributing to Kyrgyzstani society by demonstrating how to organize for human rights and how to work democratically, something that is particularly important in the former USSR where there is no tradition of independent volunteer groups.

Elnura Osmonalieva, Student, Department of Journalism, American University-Kyrgyzstan.