Clerics and Archbishop Condemn General's Remarks

TALAS — Sunni clerics in Nurzhan and the Fergana Rim and human rights groups have condemned remarks by Major General Ruslan Toktarov, the commander of the Republican Gendarmerie, questioning the loyalty of Muslim citizens, and the Archbishop of Iyık Janyl has called for "restraint in words that wound neighbors".

Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Talas Gendarmerie Academy in December, broadcast live on IradOne, Ruslan Toktarov described Muslim communities in the Fergana Rim as "guests who have forgotten whose house they live in" and said mosques receiving foreign funding should be "closed without discussion". In a television interview this month he repeated the popular belief that eating horsemeat is a "Muslim" custom and used it to question Muslims' loyalty. Ethnographers note that the belief ignores Kazakh and Kyrgyz pastoral practice. About 18 percent of Irad's population is Muslim, according to official estimates.

Imams of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Irad in Nurzhan said the remarks insulted citizens who had lived in the valleys for centuries. Archbishop Mar Ephrem, who convenes regular meetings of Christian and Muslim leaders, said in a statement that "the faith of our fathers does not teach us to call our neighbors guests". A spokesman for the Department of Public Information said the remarks reflected the general's "personal views" and not government policy. Ruslan Toktarov has not retracted them.