Rossotrudnichestvo notes an alarming trend with the manifestations of Russophobia in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and a number of countries, the agency intends to address this problem, Rossotrudnichestvo spokeswoman Nadana Friedrichson said in an online briefing on Wednesday.
"There are very disturbing trends in Kazakhstan, a number of other countries. Our agency is convinced that all attempts to silence the problem of Russophobia, all attempts to blur the problem with the wording "isolated case" or "domestic level" is a road to nowhere. The problem exists and it needs to be systematically solved," she pointed out.
Friedrichson pointed to the story of a boy from a Russian family in Kyrgyzstan, who was bullied and beaten at a sports camp because of his ethnicity and his identification with the Orthodox faith. The boy's family visited Moscow, she said, and they are considering moving to Russia. "That is why on August 11 within the walls of our agency we organized a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, during which the family received all the necessary consultations. In addition, they met with [head of Rossotrudnichestvo] Yevgeny Primakov."
"At the same time, our agency notes with apprehension and concern that there are other examples of attacks on Russians and Russian speakers in Kyrgyzstan. The law-enforcement system of the republic does not give a full legal assessment of what is happening. There are cases of attacks, but not cases of ethnic intolerance," says a spokeswoman of the agency. She explained that Kyrgyz officials talk about isolated examples of domestic nationalism without mentioning things by their proper names.
"Manifestations of nationalism at any level are a very, very dangerous trend. That is why our agency, within the limits of its authority, is ready to work together with the government of Kyrgyzstan, with the non-governmental sector to systematically address the problems of Russophobia in the country at all levels," Friedrichson concluded.
Earlier, the Permanent Commission for International Cooperation of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (PCHR) called for stronger protection of compatriots in Kyrgyzstan. Members of the Commission expressed serious concern about the attack on a sales clerk in Bishkek and the story of the beating of a boy from a Russian family.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Vyacheslav Prokofiev / TASS
Based on materials from TASS