Government Newspaper Attacks Missionaries

(Forum 18) – A Kyrgyz government newspaper in the capital, ‘Vercherny Bishkek’, has greatly exaggerated a minor failure to register with the authorities by Taiwanese and Russian missionaries at an Evangelical Christian Church in the capital Bishkek, and has announced that unspecified “measures” “are now being decided” by the government. Natalya Shadrova, a state religious affairs official, denied the newspaper’s claims to Forum 18 News Service and described them as “ill-considered” and creating “a false impression of freedom of conscience in Kyrgyzstan .” Her concern was echoed by the church’s leader, Sergei Bachkala, who told Forum 18 that that “such articles give our church a negative image in the republic.” The newspaper denied that the article was published on government instructions, describing it as “restrained” and in neutral tones”.