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FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
http://www.forum18.org/
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to join together and express one's belief
=================================================
Friday 10 September 2004
TURKMENISTAN: BAPTISTS RAIDED AND JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES REJECT PRESIDENTIAL
PORTRAITS
In the third known set of raids on religious communities in August, police
interrogated and threatened members of a Baptist church in the western town
of Balkanabad, warning Nikolai Matsenko that any further unregistered
services in his home will lead to fines. Meanwhile a Jehovah's Witness
elder told Forum 18 News Service from the capital Ashgabad that if his
faith gets registration, it will reject official demands made of other
faiths to hang the country's flag and a portrait of the president where it
worships. "These are unacceptable demands," he declared. Forum 18
has been unable to get confirmation of a 5 September report that President
Saparmurat Niyazov ordered the registration procedure for religious
organisations to be tightened up once more.
TURKMENISTAN: BAPTISTS RAIDED AND JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES REJECT PRESIDENTIAL
PORTRAITS
By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service
As an unconfirmed report says President Saparmurat Niyazov has ordered
rules on registering religious communities to be tightened up once again,
Forum 18 News Service has learnt that police launched another major
crackdown on a Baptist congregation in the western town of Balkanabad
(formerly Nebit-Dag) in late August, threatening church members that if
they meet for worship again they will be fined. Meanwhile, a Jehovah's
Witness elder has told Forum 18 from the capital Ashgabad that although his
community is planning to lodge a registration application, it will not
accept official demands made of other faiths to hang the country's flag in
places of worship and a portrait of the president. "These are
unacceptable demands," the elder, who preferred not to be named, told
Forum 18 on 10 September. "The constitution is clear: religion and the
state are separate. Plus as Jehovah's Witnesses we do not get involved in
politics."
An officer of the criminal investigation department arrived at the
Balkanabad home of Nikolai Matsenko in the afternoon of 20 August, Baptists
in Turkmenistan told Forum 18 on 28 August. After questioning him about the
church's activity, the officer warned him that if any further services take
place in his flat he will be fined. Later that evening, another police
officer arrived at Matsenko's home, presenting himself as the new local
policeman and declaring that he had come to get to know him.
At 11 pm the following evening, a group of people knocked on Matsenko's
door. One of them introduced himself as the local policeman (although this
was not the same man as the officer who had arrived the previous day).
"They insistently demanded that he open the door and let them into the
flat," the Baptists told Forum 18. "But as it was night, brother
Nikolai didn't open the door. Threatening dire consequences, they
left."
The Baptists reported that police visited several other church members in
the town, including new converts, at the end of August. One young man was
forcibly dragged from his home to the police station. "All were asked
exactly the same questions about the internal life of the church," the
Baptists complained.
The Balkanabad Baptist congregation belongs to a Baptist network of
churches that refuse to register on principle in any of the former Soviet
republics where they operate, regarding such registration as unacceptable
state interference. Matsenko was among a large group of church members in
Balkanabad given heavy fines at the beginning of the year for participation
in the church (see F18News 9 January 2004
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=225 ).
August saw several other raids on religious communities. The secret police
raided a Baptist home on 4 August in Abadan (formerly Bezmein) near
Ashgabad, where a prayer and Bible reading service was underway (see
F18News 9 August 2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=390 ).
Three days later police raided the home of an Adventist family in the
eastern city of Turkmenabad [Chärjew], even though no religious
meeting was in progress (see F18News 11 August 2004
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=392 ).
The Ashgabad Jehovah's Witness elder told Forum 18 that their communities
still cannot meet in large numbers. "Everything is continuing as
before," he declared. "We can only meet in small groups, maybe
five or at most six people." He confirmed that the two Jehovah's
Witness prisoners, Mansur Masharipov and Vepa Tuvakov, both arrested in May
and sentenced to a year and a half in prison, have not been freed (see
F18News 25 June 2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=349 ).
There appears to have been little progress on registering religious
communities. So far this year, only the Adventists, one group of Baptists,
the Baha'is and the Hare Krishna community are known to have received
registration. Many others who have applied or sought information on how to
apply languish without registration. As Turkmenistan's religious law
specifically prohibits unregistered religious activity, failure to gain
registration can have serious consequences.
The exiled human rights group the Turkmenistan Helsinki Initiative reported
on 7 September that some ethnic Kurds - about 6,000 of whom live
mainly in Ashgabad and other southern regions of the country along the
border with Iran - are unable to practice their faith freely. Most
are of Sunni Muslim background, and can therefore worship in
government-approved mosques. "However, there are also Shia Kurds and
even Christians who often face problems regarding freedom of religion with
the local special services," the group reported.
Particularly affected are Kurds who belong to the Yezidi faith, a uniquely
Kurdish ancient faith. Seiran Amanov, a resident of Bikrov near Ashgabad,
told the Turkmenistan Helsinki Initiative that his religious affiliation
has meant that he has been repeatedly interrogated by the secret police and
has been accused of belonging to a "dangerous Islamic sect".
"As Seiran states, this happens despite the fact that everybody knows
two religious movements of the Kurds: Yezidism and Aliallahism."
The Jehovah's Witnesses and Yezidis are among many faiths in Turkmenistan
that do not have registration, including Pentecostals and other Evangelical
Christians, Catholics, the Armenian Apostolic Church, Lutherans, Shia
Muslims and Jews.
However, even registration appears to be of little help in being able to
function. Adventist pastor Pavel Fedotov complained in early August that
his church is unable to rent anywhere to hold services (see F18News 11
August 2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=392 ). Baptist
and Hare Krishna leaders have made similar complaints to Forum 18 that
registration has not helped their communities function openly.
One Baha'i leader in Ashgabad told the Turkmenistan Helsinki Initiative
that despite the group's new registration the authorities have made life
for the community very difficult, banning it from renting places for
meetings. A secret government order bans registered religious and civic
groups from opening accounts at any of Ashgabad's banks, while the new
registration rules require a bank account for all financial transactions,
the group reported on 15 August.
A local Baha'i reported that mainly old people who have a long association
with the faith keep in contact with the community. "This can partly be
explained by the fact that special services have conducted meetings with
many Baha'i followers and threatened them with dismissal from work,"
the Baha'i told the Turkmenistan Helsinki Initiative. "So registration
by itself does not guarantee that we can profess our faith openly. I think
this easing of registration restrictions has merely a declaratory
character."
The German-based Central Asian Press Agency reported on 5 September that
President Niyazov had issued an instruction to the Adalat Ministry at a
conference of law-enforcement officers that it should tighten up "the
rules for registering religious sects and non-governmental
organisations", as well as to work closely with the National Security
Ministry "to stamp out any illegal actions". Forum 18 has been
unable to confirm that Niyazov issued such an instruction from any other
source.
On 10 September Forum 18 was unable to reach Maifa Sarieva, who has headed
the department at the Adalat (Fairness or Justice) Ministry which registers
religious communities for the past two months. No other ministry officials
could tell Forum 18 whether the president had given such an order for the
registration rules to be tightened up, what was holding up the registration
of religious organisations and why religious communities that have
registration cannot in practice function openly.
Meanwhile, the state-run media has insisted that the decision to remove
from office the head of the country's largest religious group, the Sunni
Muslims, came from the muftiate. Kakageldi Vepaev, who had been appointed
chief mufti by President Niyazov in January 2003, was sacked on 24 August
for "serious shortcomings in his work", according to the
state-run media, as well as deficiencies in his private life. Appointed as
his successor was 27-year-old Rovshen Allaberdiev, former chief imam of the
Lebap region and former chairman of the government's Gengeshi (Council) for
Religious Affairs at the Lebap regional administration.
The previous chief mufti Nasrullah ibn Ibadullah, sacked by Niyazov in
January 2003, remains in prison.
The Sunni Muslim community is the most tightly-controlled faith in
Turkmenistan. No leaders or imams can be appointed without government
approval, granted through the Gengeshi. Allaberdiev's close links with the
state are clear from his previous double appointment as regional chief imam
and government religious affairs official. On being sacked as chief mufti,
Vepaev presumably also lost his job as one of the Gengeshi's deputy
chairmen. As a Gengeshi official, he had personally taken part in raids on
religious services by minority faiths.
For more background, see Forum 18's Turkmenistan religious freedom survey
at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=296
A printer-friendly map of Turkmenistan is available at
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atla s/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=turkme
(END)
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved.
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News http://www.forum18.org/
Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at
http://www.forum18.org/
=================================================
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://www.forum18.org/
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to join together and express one's belief
=================================================
Friday 10 September 2004
TURKMENISTAN: BAPTISTS RAIDED AND JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES REJECT PRESIDENTIAL
PORTRAITS
In the third known set of raids on religious communities in August, police
interrogated and threatened members of a Baptist church in the western town
of Balkanabad, warning Nikolai Matsenko that any further unregistered
services in his home will lead to fines. Meanwhile a Jehovah's Witness
elder told Forum 18 News Service from the capital Ashgabad that if his
faith gets registration, it will reject official demands made of other
faiths to hang the country's flag and a portrait of the president where it
worships. "These are unacceptable demands," he declared. Forum 18
has been unable to get confirmation of a 5 September report that President
Saparmurat Niyazov ordered the registration procedure for religious
organisations to be tightened up once more.
TURKMENISTAN: BAPTISTS RAIDED AND JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES REJECT PRESIDENTIAL
PORTRAITS
By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service
As an unconfirmed report says President Saparmurat Niyazov has ordered
rules on registering religious communities to be tightened up once again,
Forum 18 News Service has learnt that police launched another major
crackdown on a Baptist congregation in the western town of Balkanabad
(formerly Nebit-Dag) in late August, threatening church members that if
they meet for worship again they will be fined. Meanwhile, a Jehovah's
Witness elder has told Forum 18 from the capital Ashgabad that although his
community is planning to lodge a registration application, it will not
accept official demands made of other faiths to hang the country's flag in
places of worship and a portrait of the president. "These are
unacceptable demands," the elder, who preferred not to be named, told
Forum 18 on 10 September. "The constitution is clear: religion and the
state are separate. Plus as Jehovah's Witnesses we do not get involved in
politics."
An officer of the criminal investigation department arrived at the
Balkanabad home of Nikolai Matsenko in the afternoon of 20 August, Baptists
in Turkmenistan told Forum 18 on 28 August. After questioning him about the
church's activity, the officer warned him that if any further services take
place in his flat he will be fined. Later that evening, another police
officer arrived at Matsenko's home, presenting himself as the new local
policeman and declaring that he had come to get to know him.
At 11 pm the following evening, a group of people knocked on Matsenko's
door. One of them introduced himself as the local policeman (although this
was not the same man as the officer who had arrived the previous day).
"They insistently demanded that he open the door and let them into the
flat," the Baptists told Forum 18. "But as it was night, brother
Nikolai didn't open the door. Threatening dire consequences, they
left."
The Baptists reported that police visited several other church members in
the town, including new converts, at the end of August. One young man was
forcibly dragged from his home to the police station. "All were asked
exactly the same questions about the internal life of the church," the
Baptists complained.
The Balkanabad Baptist congregation belongs to a Baptist network of
churches that refuse to register on principle in any of the former Soviet
republics where they operate, regarding such registration as unacceptable
state interference. Matsenko was among a large group of church members in
Balkanabad given heavy fines at the beginning of the year for participation
in the church (see F18News 9 January 2004
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=225 ).
August saw several other raids on religious communities. The secret police
raided a Baptist home on 4 August in Abadan (formerly Bezmein) near
Ashgabad, where a prayer and Bible reading service was underway (see
F18News 9 August 2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=390 ).
Three days later police raided the home of an Adventist family in the
eastern city of Turkmenabad [Chärjew], even though no religious
meeting was in progress (see F18News 11 August 2004
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=392 ).
The Ashgabad Jehovah's Witness elder told Forum 18 that their communities
still cannot meet in large numbers. "Everything is continuing as
before," he declared. "We can only meet in small groups, maybe
five or at most six people." He confirmed that the two Jehovah's
Witness prisoners, Mansur Masharipov and Vepa Tuvakov, both arrested in May
and sentenced to a year and a half in prison, have not been freed (see
F18News 25 June 2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=349 ).
There appears to have been little progress on registering religious
communities. So far this year, only the Adventists, one group of Baptists,
the Baha'is and the Hare Krishna community are known to have received
registration. Many others who have applied or sought information on how to
apply languish without registration. As Turkmenistan's religious law
specifically prohibits unregistered religious activity, failure to gain
registration can have serious consequences.
The exiled human rights group the Turkmenistan Helsinki Initiative reported
on 7 September that some ethnic Kurds - about 6,000 of whom live
mainly in Ashgabad and other southern regions of the country along the
border with Iran - are unable to practice their faith freely. Most
are of Sunni Muslim background, and can therefore worship in
government-approved mosques. "However, there are also Shia Kurds and
even Christians who often face problems regarding freedom of religion with
the local special services," the group reported.
Particularly affected are Kurds who belong to the Yezidi faith, a uniquely
Kurdish ancient faith. Seiran Amanov, a resident of Bikrov near Ashgabad,
told the Turkmenistan Helsinki Initiative that his religious affiliation
has meant that he has been repeatedly interrogated by the secret police and
has been accused of belonging to a "dangerous Islamic sect".
"As Seiran states, this happens despite the fact that everybody knows
two religious movements of the Kurds: Yezidism and Aliallahism."
The Jehovah's Witnesses and Yezidis are among many faiths in Turkmenistan
that do not have registration, including Pentecostals and other Evangelical
Christians, Catholics, the Armenian Apostolic Church, Lutherans, Shia
Muslims and Jews.
However, even registration appears to be of little help in being able to
function. Adventist pastor Pavel Fedotov complained in early August that
his church is unable to rent anywhere to hold services (see F18News 11
August 2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=392 ). Baptist
and Hare Krishna leaders have made similar complaints to Forum 18 that
registration has not helped their communities function openly.
One Baha'i leader in Ashgabad told the Turkmenistan Helsinki Initiative
that despite the group's new registration the authorities have made life
for the community very difficult, banning it from renting places for
meetings. A secret government order bans registered religious and civic
groups from opening accounts at any of Ashgabad's banks, while the new
registration rules require a bank account for all financial transactions,
the group reported on 15 August.
A local Baha'i reported that mainly old people who have a long association
with the faith keep in contact with the community. "This can partly be
explained by the fact that special services have conducted meetings with
many Baha'i followers and threatened them with dismissal from work,"
the Baha'i told the Turkmenistan Helsinki Initiative. "So registration
by itself does not guarantee that we can profess our faith openly. I think
this easing of registration restrictions has merely a declaratory
character."
The German-based Central Asian Press Agency reported on 5 September that
President Niyazov had issued an instruction to the Adalat Ministry at a
conference of law-enforcement officers that it should tighten up "the
rules for registering religious sects and non-governmental
organisations", as well as to work closely with the National Security
Ministry "to stamp out any illegal actions". Forum 18 has been
unable to confirm that Niyazov issued such an instruction from any other
source.
On 10 September Forum 18 was unable to reach Maifa Sarieva, who has headed
the department at the Adalat (Fairness or Justice) Ministry which registers
religious communities for the past two months. No other ministry officials
could tell Forum 18 whether the president had given such an order for the
registration rules to be tightened up, what was holding up the registration
of religious organisations and why religious communities that have
registration cannot in practice function openly.
Meanwhile, the state-run media has insisted that the decision to remove
from office the head of the country's largest religious group, the Sunni
Muslims, came from the muftiate. Kakageldi Vepaev, who had been appointed
chief mufti by President Niyazov in January 2003, was sacked on 24 August
for "serious shortcomings in his work", according to the
state-run media, as well as deficiencies in his private life. Appointed as
his successor was 27-year-old Rovshen Allaberdiev, former chief imam of the
Lebap region and former chairman of the government's Gengeshi (Council) for
Religious Affairs at the Lebap regional administration.
The previous chief mufti Nasrullah ibn Ibadullah, sacked by Niyazov in
January 2003, remains in prison.
The Sunni Muslim community is the most tightly-controlled faith in
Turkmenistan. No leaders or imams can be appointed without government
approval, granted through the Gengeshi. Allaberdiev's close links with the
state are clear from his previous double appointment as regional chief imam
and government religious affairs official. On being sacked as chief mufti,
Vepaev presumably also lost his job as one of the Gengeshi's deputy
chairmen. As a Gengeshi official, he had personally taken part in raids on
religious services by minority faiths.
For more background, see Forum 18's Turkmenistan religious freedom survey
at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=296
A printer-friendly map of Turkmenistan is available at
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atla s/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=turkme
(END)
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved.
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News http://www.forum18.org/
Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at
http://www.forum18.org/
=================================================
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress