Kyrgyzstan (MNN) ― Censorship on religious literature could soon
be so restrictive in Kyrgyzstan that anyone wanting to "import, publish
or distribute religious literature will have to seek prior permission
from the authorities," reports Forum 18 News Service.
Despite being a reasonably free nation in regard to religious freedom
after the fall of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan has been imposing more
and more restrictions to religious communities over the years. The
behavior follows suit with the rest of neighboring former Soviet
nations, but it is making religious communities increasingly cautious.
In 2009, Kyrgyzstan created a Religion Law, but it did not impose
censorship on all religious literature, notes Forum 18. Now, amendments
to the law have been proposed to tighten censorship by September.
The new amendment technically reads like this: "Control on the import,
production, acquisition, storage and distribution of printed materials,
film, photo, audio and video productions, as well as other materials
with the purpose of unearthing religious extremism, separatism and
fundamentalism is conducted by the plenipotentiary state organs for
religious affairs, national security and internal affairs."
Many Kyrgyzstanis agree that would mean all-out censorship of all religious materials.
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