Kyrzyg Officials Criticized For Welcome To Unification Church

In Kyrgyzstan, the Forum of Young Politicians last month issued a statement criticizing the president and prime minister for their welcome of Unification Church officials to the country. IWPR today reports many observers argue that officials are breaching the separation of church and state in the favoritism shown to the Unification Church's founder Rev. Sun Nyung Moon and his associates. Hak Ja Han, the wife Rev. Moon, arrived in Kyrgyzstan on June 18, and was hosted by leading politicians and academics at a formal ceremony shown on national television. At the event, Han gave certificates conferring the honorary title of 'ambassador of peace' to a district government chief in Bishkek, the head of the Kyrgyz committee of UNESCO, and four university and college rectors. Both Muslim and Orthodox Christian officials in Kyrgyzstan are concerned about the number of converts that outside proselytizing groups are attracting