Refugees from Afghanistan hold rally near UN building in Bishkek

Refugees from Afghanistan hold another rally in front of the building of the UN House in Bishkek. They ask to send them to the countries of Western Europe, the USA or Canada.

«We have been living in Kyrgyzstan for 20 years, but we still have not obtained citizenship. We are constantly denied and asked to wait. But we cannot live normally without documents. We cannot work, send children to schools and kindergartens. We have the same rights as everyone else and want to live as free people. If Kyrgyzstan does not need us, send us to third countries,» one of the protesters, Muhammed Zamzam, said.

In August last year, the citizens of Afghanistan held a series of protests near the buildings of the U.S. Embassy and the UN House in Bishkek. They asked either to grant them citizenship of Kyrgyzstan, or to redirect them to another state.

The reason for the protests was the fact that Kyrgyzstan imposed restrictions on issuing visas to citizens of Afghanistan last year. These measures were taken in view of the unstable military-political situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, as well as in order to prevent the entry of unwanted persons into the country and the mass entry of refugees.