ANN Bulletin
Adventist News Network
Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters  
 

Kyrgyzstan Summit Highlights Religious Freedom Concerns February 5, 2002 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan .... [Bettina Krause/ANN] A meeting of religious and political leaders last month in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, will help put religious freedom concerns on the public agenda, say organizers of the event. The two-day meeting took place against the background of increasing uneasiness among religious organizations over the government's proposed law on religious freedom, which some groups believe does not go far enough in protecting freedom of conscience. The conference, which began January 24, produced an agreement by participants to promote a "peaceful coexistence" between religious groups in Kyrgyzstan, reports Victor Krushenitsky, public affairs and religious liberty director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Euro-Asia. He says another significant outcome of the meeting was the commitment by Alisher Sabirov, chair of the parliament's Religious Association Committee, to invite religious leaders to a roundtable discussion on the draft religion law. The discussion is set for February 10, three days before the third parliamentary hearing on the proposed legislation. Following the meeting, more than 30 conference participants voted to establish a new Kyrgyzstan chapter of the International Religious Liberty Association. This non-sectarian organization, established by Adventist leaders in 1893, is dedicated to promoting and safeguarding religious civil rights around the world. The central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan was a former Soviet state before gaining its independence in 1991. An estimated 80 percent of the country's 4.7 million people practice Islam, and some 17 percent of the population belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church, the nation's second largest religious group.

Copyright © 2002 Adventist News Network . 
 

ANN World News Bulletin is a review of news and information issued by
the Communication department from the Seventh-day Adventist Church
World Headquarters and released as part of the service of Adventist
News Network. It is made available primarily to religious news editors.
Our news includes dispatches from the church's international offices
and the world headquarters.  The information provided in the Bulletin 
may be reproduced without permission providing that the source 
"Adventist News Network" is acknowledged. 

ANN Staff: Ray Dabrowski, director; 
Bettina Krause, news director; 
Ansel Oliver, editorial assistant. 
Copyright Adventist News Network 2001.