Wednesday, April 25, 2012 -
Vandals have caused damage to an Orthodox Christian cemetery in the northern Chui province of Kyrgyzstan, a Kyrgyz political group said on Wednesday.
The vandals desecrated dozens of graves and destroyed crosses, fences, and memorials in the cemetery, located in the Zhany-Pakhta village in the Chui district of Sokuluk, the Interfax news agency reported Kyrgyz party Zamandash-Contemporary as saying.
“The defiling of ancestors’ burial places is among the worst sins,” the party said in a statement.
“A truly believing person, regardless of their religion, will never dare encroach on sacred things. Vandals deserve not only everyone’s contempt but also severe punishment in line with Kyrgyz laws.”
It said the state will be covered in shame until the “thugs” are caught and prosecuted.
The incident is not the first in which the holy location of a religious sect has been desecrated in Kyrgyzstan. In September 2010, a synagogue in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek was firebombed as Jewish residents prepared to celebrate Rosh Hoshanah.
The country is majority Muslim, with a significant minority of Russian Orthodox believers, and 2,000 Jewish citizens.