US Peace Corps suspends programmes in Kyrgyzstan
US Peace Corps suspends programmes in Kyrgyzstan
Text of report by Kyrgyz news agency Kabar
Bishkek, 20 October: All of the 52 volunteers working in the US Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan have been sent back to the USA because their parents were worried after the 11 September terrorist attack in the USA and owing to the US State Department's warning about travelling to Kyrgyzstan as well.
The director of the US Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan, (?Josef Kertin) said that the decision by the Peace Corps in Washington to suspend the programme had been taken as a precautionary measure. Programmes have also been suspended in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Kertin said that the programme in Kyrgyzstan had been suspended temporarily and he hopes very much that the volunteers will come back to Kyrgyzstan soon.
The Peace Corps is continuing to cooperate with its partners and the schools at which the volunteers were working and is continuing to take part in many events being conducted by local schools and non-governmental organizations.
Following the attacks in the USA, the Kyrgyz government has taken every possible measure to ensure the safety of the Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan, for which we are very grateful, Kertin said. The Kyrgyz government also helped the volunteers to get back to the USA safely.
The Peace Corps, which was formed by decree of President John Kennedy in 1961, began working on its programmes in the republic in 1993 at the invitation of the Kyrgyz president [Askar Akayev]. The programme includes the teaching of English as a foreign language and a stable economic development plan.
The volunteers live and work in the villages and are learning to speak Kyrgyz and Russian. At the present time, more than 300 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Kyrgyzstan.
Source: Kabar news agency, Bishkek, in Russian 0920 gmt 30 Oct 01
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