OSCE Centre supports development of strategy for inter-ethnic conflict prevention in Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK, 28 May 2010 - The OSCE Centre in Bishkek supports prevention of inter-ethnic conflict in Kyrgyzstan by organizing two roundtable meetings on inter-ethnic relations, the first of which will be held tomorrow in Osh.

The second roundtable, covering Kyrgyzstan's northern provinces, will be held Monday in Bishkek.

During the meetings, organized by the OSCE Centre together with the non-governmental organization Foundation for Tolerance International, more than 80 participants will take stock of the current inter-ethnic situation and discuss elements of a long-term strategy for the management of inter-ethnic relations.

Representatives of ethnic communities, the provisional government, the Assembly of the People of Kyrgyzstan, provincial and local governments, law enforcement bodies, NGOs, experts, educational institutions, sports clubs, religious leaders and journalists will take part and representatives of several embassies and the United Nations will participate in the Bishkek meeting.

The Osh roundtable meeting concludes a series of focus group discussions, conducted in May by FTI and nine other local NGOs. Results of these discussions - which focused on mapping the inter-ethnic tensions, analysing their underlying causes and designing possible response measures - were incorporated into a draft strategy to be presented at the roundtable meetings.

Recommendations from the events will be forwarded to the provisional government.

"Defusing inter-ethnic tensions is key to stabilising Kyrgyzstan. Recent events have shown how easily tensions can become ethnically-coloured," said Lilian Darii, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. " The OSCE Centre calls on all stakeholders, including the authorities, to recognise that this vulnerability also points to real inter-ethnic challenges that need to be addressed, including the key question of participation and representation of minorities in public life."

Raiya Kadyrova, the head of FTI, said that achieving inter-ethnic harmony required efforts of all stakeholders, including the state and civil society.

Other related CiB-supported emergency work to defuse inter-ethnic tensions included mediation projects in Jalal-Abad, Maevka and Tokmok, which recently witnessed inter-ethnic violence.

The roundtable meetings are organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek within the framework of the OSCE contingency funds package allocated on 29 April by the OSCE Permanent Council to support peace and stability in Kyrgyzstan.

Journalists are invited to the meetings:
-In Osh, from 9:30 to 15:30 tomorrow, 29 May, in the Southern Residence of the President of Kyrgyzstan in Osh.
-In Bishkek, from 10:00 to 17:00 on Monday, 31 May, at Hotel Dostuk in Bishkek.