Sultan Jumagulov and Meder Imakeev in Bishkek

Opposition parties and rights groups are expressing outrage over the final draft of the new constitution, which President Akaev intends to put to a referendum early next month.

They complain that the latest version of the document differs radically from the text drawn up by the republic's constitutional committee and contains unacceptable restrictions on the rights of parliament and political parties, as well as other worrying omissions concerning press freedom.

Voters in the February 2 poll will be asked to give their verdict on the new constitution and at the same time confirm the president's term in office until December 2005.

An upbeat Akaev described the poll as a triumph for Kyrgyz democracy, saying the degree of discussion between government and opposition concerning the constitution had no precedent elsewhere in the CIS. "Kyrgyzstan has always led democracy and reforms within the CIS, and now we will strengthen that leadership," he announced. Most opposition parties and NGOs, however, dispute the president's version of events and believe the proposed document contains serious shortcomings. Edil Baisalov, head of the coalition For Democracy and Civil Society, said it was "an attempt to undermine the main constitutional guarantees protecting the rights and liberties of citizens". He said it granted far too much authority to the president.

NGO leaders fear the new constitution will severely restrict their right to stage peaceful meetings and marches. The new document says they may only take place with the permission of the authorities.

Rina Prizhivoit, a well-known journalist, said she was worried that the new version of the constitution omitted any reference to press freedom, as well as placing strict restrictions on journalists' rights to gather and use or distribute confidential information about individuals without official approval. Prizhovit warned that the courts would automatically consider any information about top officials confidential, and thus beyond investigation.

The centrist party Glas Naroda, in a public appeal published in the media on January 15, joined the chorus of criticism, saying the new constitution would hamper the development of opposition parties.

The principal complaint is that the new document greatly enhances presidential power at the expense of parliament and other civic institutions. According to rights activist Yrysbek Omurazkov, the assembly would be reduced to a mere "consultative body". "After this new version of the constitution is passed, democracy in this country will be just a memory," he warned.

Opposition leader Adakhan Madumarov complained that the new constitution would grant the president the right to appoint and dismiss both members of government and judges.

The opposition is also angry that the document grants immunity from prosecution not only to the president once he leaves office, but also to his family.

Cholpon Baekova, head of the constitutional court, said the new constitution diminished the role of the court and deprived the public of the right to appeal to its judges. Henceforth this right will be limited to the president, government, parliament and the Central Election Committee.

Members of the constitutional committee, who drew up their own document last autumn, say the latest document has been altered beyond recognition. "The new version does not correspond to the project developed by the constitutional committee," they said in a statement.

One committee member, the communist leader Absamat Masaliev, said the upcoming referendum would initiate a "constitutional upheaval". Masaliev said Akaev had twinned the referendum with a vote confirming his term in office with a view to dissolving parliament after the ballot. "Once the new constitution is passed, the president will have a legitimate right to outlaw parliament," he said.

The movement to revise the constitution got underway last August, when the president set up the constitutional committee, including representatives from most sections of society and his political rivals. Akaev declared he had taken this decisive step towards dialogue with the opposition in the interests of achieving consensus in society.

The moves towards reconciliation followed months of turbulence in the south of the country, where clashes between police and demonstrators in the town of Aksy led to the deaths of several people. The bloodshed triggered a wave of protests by southerners demanding punishment of those responsible for the tragedy.

The protests forced Akaev to agree to relinquish some of his enormous powers and share authority with parliament and the government through constitutional reforms. The idea was to achieve a new balance between the presidency, parliament and the executive, broaden civil institutions and give true independence to the legal system.

The threat posed by the new constitution has united many formerly opposing political parties and NGOs against what they see as the threat of a dictatorship. They have called on the president to postpone the referendum until all sides reach genuine consensus.

Whether President Akaev will listen is questionable. At public meetings, he assures audiences that the document reflects popular opinion, even claiming it takes account of 11,000 suggestions and comments from all parts of the country. "The people live by the constitution, so we are obliged to listen to the opinion of the majority," he said.

The prime minister and deputy head of the constitutional committee, Kurmanbek Osmonov, said the new constitution was progressive, and strengthened human rights provisions in line with the new concept of Kyrgyzstan as a "country of human rights". He denied it would limit the freedom of parliament, or the judges.

The president's opponents fear that he will get away with his move because of the support he enjoys from the superpowers. Kubatbek Baibolov, a parliamentary deputy on the constitutional committee, remarked, "The US and other Western countries, which used to advocate progressive democratic values, have virtually abandoned Central Asia to its fate."

Edil Baisalov, an NGO member, said the Kyrgyz authorities began to retreat from the path of democracy after high-ranking Russian politicians began visiting Bishkek and publicly voicing support for President Akaev's policies.

But other opponents of the president say the chief fault lies in the weakness and divided nature of the opposition itself. "Civil society must learn to protect its rights and not to put its hopes in kind people across the ocean," said the human rights activist Yrysbek Omurzakov.

Sultan Jumagulov is a BBC stringer and Meder Imakeev is an independent journalist in Bishkek

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Kyrgyzstan