The FINANCIAL — OSH, Kyrgyzstan. A series of one-day training courses supported by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek for 300 volunteers taking part in unarmed citizen patrols in the southern provinces of Jalal-Abad and Osh started on September 20.
According to OSCE, the courses are organized by the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry and the national headquarters for voluntary citizen patrols under the Ministry. The citizen patrols will learn about police-civil patrol co-operation, crime scene protection, rules and forms for holding negotiations, peaceful communication skills and first aid techniques.
Lilian Darii, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, said: "During the last few months voluntary citizen patrols demonstrated their solid contribution in supporting the police to restore and maintain public order across the country. I hope that OSCE support during this pre-electoral period will further contribute to enhancing stability in the country."
Shamshybek Mamyrov, the Deputy Chief of the Main Department of the Interior Ministry for the Analysis of Legal and Criminal Issues, and the Deputy Chief of the national headquarters for voluntary citizen patrols, added: "The fact that the number of citizen patrols is constantly growing shows that civil society understands its crucial role in helping to maintain stability and public safety in the country. They are a good resource to further build on and we hope that these training courses will contribute to creating a professional reserve unit to be on call in case of need. We are now planning to engage citizen patrols during and after parliamentary elections to help the police in maintaining law and order in all parts of the country."
In addition to training sessions, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek will provide the citizen patrols with basic equipment such as first aid kits, flashlights and safety vests with reflective strips.
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