ECRL Moderator visits Kyrgyzstan after the referendum

European Council of Religious Leaders Moderator, Bishop Gunnar Stålsett, will for the next four days be visiting Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. It is the interim president Rosa Otunbayeva who has invited Bishop Stålsett. The ECRL Moderator will have meetings with the interim government and the acting president as well as with the religious leaders in the country and representatives from civil society.

60 % of the inhabitants in Kyrgyzstan are Muslims and 30 % belong to the Russian-Orthodox Church. Also other Christian denominations and other religious community are present. Bishop Stålsett emphasises that the conflict in Kyrgyzstan is not a religious conflict but that the conflict follows the ethnic boundaries in the country. Ethnicity and religion can be strong mobilising factors in a conflict, says Stålsett, who will examine the possibility for gathering religious and ethnic leaders.

 

The work for peace and reconciliation should be given high priority in this situation of conflict. The interim government needs the democratic legitimacy from the referendum to be able to move the country towards peace and stabilisation. In this process it is of the utmost importance to succeed in securing every citizen their fundamental rights and security.     

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