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All American Patriots (press release), Sweden
World : Georgia: International Religious Freedom Report 2006
Posted by Patriot on 2006/9/17 7:34:02 (24 reads)
Released by the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
This report is submitted to the Congress by the Department of State in
compliance with Section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom
Act (IRFA) of 1998. The law provides that the secretary of state, with
the assistance of the ambassador at large for international religious
freedom, shall transmit to Congress "an Annual Report on International
Religious Freedom supplementing the most recent Human Rights Reports
by providing additional detailed information with respect to matters
involving international religious freedom."
Georgia: The constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the
Government generally respected this right in practice.
During the period covered by this report, the status of religious
freedom continued to improve. Beginning in July 2005 the Government
approved the registration applications of previously unregistered
religious groups, pursuant to a new law enabling religious groups to
operate more freely. A total of fourteen organizations subsequently
registered under the law. Police were generally more responsive to
the needs of minority religious groups but failed at times to
adequately protect them. In December 2005 numerous members of
Parliament (MPs) objected strongly to a report by the government
ombudsman calling for equal recognition under the law of all religious
groups. The MPs stated that the historical role of the Georgian
Orthodox Church justified its privileged position.
Citizens generally did not interfere with religious groups considered
to be "traditional"; however, there was widespread suspicion of
"nontraditional" ones. Attacks on religious minorities, including
violence, verbal harassment, and disruption of services and meetings,
continued to decrease. While the Prosecutor General's Office
increasingly initiated investigations of religious-based violence,
past complaints remained unresolved.
The U.S. government discusses religious freedom issues with the
Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights.
Section I. Religious Demography
The country has an area of approximately 25,900 square miles, and its
population is an estimated 4.4 million. Most ethnic Georgians (who
constituted more than 80 percent of the population, according to the
2002 census) at least nominally associated themselves with the
Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC). According to common Orthodox practice,
Orthodox churches serving non-Georgian ethnic groups, such as
Russians, Armenians, and Greeks, are under the territorial
jurisdiction of the GOC. Non-Georgian Orthodox churches generally use
the language of their communicants. There remained a small number of
mostly ethnic Russian adherents from three dissident Orthodox
schools--the Molokani, Staroveriy (Old Believers), and Dukhoboriy
(Spirit Wrestlers). Under Soviet rule, the number of active churches
and priests declined sharply, and religious education was nearly
nonexistent. Membership in the GOC has continued to increase since
independence in 1991. The Church maintained four theological
seminaries, two academies, several schools, and twenty-seven dioceses;
it had approximately 700 priests, 250 monks, and 150 nuns. The Church
was headed by Catholicos Patriarch Ilia II; the patriarchate was
located in the capital, Tbilisi.
The Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), Roman Catholicism, Judaism, and
Islam traditionally coexisted with Georgian Orthodoxy. Some religious
groups were correlated with ethnicity. Azeris comprised the second
largest ethnic group (approximately 285 thousand, 7 percent of the
population) and were largely Muslim; most lived in the southeastern
region of Kvemo-Kartli, where they constituted a majority. Armenians
were the third largest ethnic group (estimated at 249 thousand, 6
percent of the population), comprising the majority in the southern
Samtskhe-Javakheti region. Armenians largely belonged to the AAC.
Approximately 9.9 percent of the population was at least nominally
Muslim. There were three main Muslim populations: ethnic Azeris,
ethnic Georgian Muslims of Ajara, and ethnic Chechen Kists in the
northeastern region. There were four large madrassahs (Muslim
religious schools) attached to mosques in the eastern region, two of
which were Shi'ite and financed by Iranian religious groups, and two
of which, financed by Turkish religious groups, were Sunni. There were
also several smaller madrassahs in Ajara that were financed by private
groups in Turkey.
The Armenian Apostolic Church comprised the third largest religious
group, with members constituting an estimated 3.9 percent of the
population. Each of the other religious groups constituted less than 1
percent of the population.
There were approximately thirty-five thousand Catholics, largely
ethnic Georgians or Assyrians. A small number of Kurdish Yezidis--an
estimated eighteen thousand--have lived in the country for
centuries. The ethnic Greek Orthodox community used to number more
than one hundred thousand, but emigration waves since independence
reduced its numbers to approximately fifteen thousand.
Judaism, which has been present since ancient times, was practiced in
a number of communities throughout the country, particularly in the
largest cities, Tbilisi and Kutaisi. Approximately ten thousand Jews
remained in the country following two large waves of emigration, the
first in the early 1970s and the second during perestroyka in the late
1980s. Before then, officials estimate that there were approximately
forty thousand Jews.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Protestant and other
nontraditional denominations have become more active and
prominent. Local Jehovah's Witnesses' representatives stated that the
group had approximately 16 thousand adherents locally and had been in
the country since 1953. Pentecostals, both ethnic Georgian and
Russian, were estimated to number nine thousand. Baptists--composed of
ethnic Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Ossetian, and Kurdish
groups--totaled an estimated eight thousand adherents.
There were fewer than one thousand Lutherans, mostly descendents of
German communities that settled in the country several hundred years
ago. Seventh-day Adventists claimed approximately 350 members, and the
New Apostolic Church was also present. Membership in the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was small. There also were a few
Baha'is, Hare Krishnas, and Buddhists. The membership of all these
groups combined was officially estimated at thirty-four thousand
persons. The number of atheists who openly declare themselves as such
was less than 1 percent of the population.
Section II. Status of Freedom of Religion
Legal/Policy Framework
The constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government
generally respected this right in practice; however, local officials
and police sometimes denied this right or protection to religious
minorities. The constitution recognizes the special role of the GOC in
the country's history but also stipulates the independence of the
church from the state. In 2002 a constitutional agreement (concordat)
between the Government and the GOC was signed and ratified by
Parliament. The concordat recognizes the special role of the GOC and
devolves authority over all religious matters to it, including matters
outside the church including public education topics.
The criminal code specifically prohibits interference with worship
services, persecution of a person based on religious faith or belief,
and interference with the establishment of a religious organization.
Violations of these prohibitions are punishable by fine and/or
imprisonment. Violations committed by a public officer or official are
considered abuse of power and are punishable by higher fines and/or
longer terms of imprisonment.
The president and government ombudsman have been effective advocates
for religious freedom and have made numerous public speeches and
appearances in support of minority religious groups. The Ministry of
Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) have become
more active in the protection of religious freedom but sometimes have
failed to pursue criminal cases against Orthodox extremists for
previous attacks against religious minorities. The human rights unit
in the legal department of the PGO is charged with protecting human
rights, including religious freedom. Since the beginning of 2005 the
PGO has initiated twenty-eight investigations of religious-based
violence, which have resulted in the trial and conviction of seven
individuals.
The GOC remains very active in the restoration of religious
facilities, and it lobbies the Government for the return of properties
that were held by the Church before the country's incorporation into
the Soviet Union (church authorities have claimed that 20 to 30
percent of the country's land area at one time belonged to the
church). In September 2005 the Government returned three additional
properties to the GOC.
In November 2005 President Saakashvili ordered the return of a mosque
in the Kvemo-Kartli region, which had been seized earlier and
converted into a community hall.
The country celebrates all Orthodox holy days. In March 2006 President
Saakashvili attended the celebration of the Muslim holy day Navrus
Bairam in Marneuli, and in November 2005 he participated in a
celebration of the Muslim holy day Bairam at a mosque in Tbilisi.
Before a registration process was established by Parliament in April
2005, religious groups were required to register as public entities,
even though the law provided no mechanism to do so yet stipulated a
fine for any unregistered religious group. Religious groups may now
register as local associations or foundations. An association is based
on membership (a minimum of five members is required), while a
foundation involves one or more founders establishing a fund for
furtherance of a certain cause for the benefit of the particular group
or the general public. In both cases registration is a function of
the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). Registration must be granted or denied
within fifteen days of application; a refusal may be appealed in
court.
In July 2005 the MOJ approved the first applications filed under the
new registration process. Both the Foundation of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints in Georgia (Mormons) and the
Representation of the International Agency of Adventist Development
and Assistance in Georgia (which is affiliated with the Seventh-day
Adventist Church) received approval in less time than the fifteen days
allowed by law. An additional twelve organizations subsequently
registered under the law. The MOJ suspended a notary public for one
year after she refused to notarize documents of a Pentecostal church
that the church needed for registration; the congregation was seeking
registration at the end of the reporting period. Officials at the MOJ
were responsive in providing advice to religious organizations on
preparing registration applications and supporting documentation.
Some religious communities expressed dissatisfaction with the status
that registration provided. The Catholic Church (RCC) and the AAC
opposed registering themselves as civil organizations. Other churches
such as the Baptists expressed concern that transfers of property to
their churches would then be taxable.
In November 2005 Jehovah's Witnesses rented a hall in Rustavi to
conduct meetings. On November 3, 2005, Paata Bluashvili, the leader of
the Orthodox group Jvari, and members of the group threatened the
owner of the meeting hall, who then cancelled the contract with the
Jehovah's Witnesses. Bluashvili was convicted in 2004 of interfering
with a religious service and given a two-year suspended
sentence. Pending investigation of the November incident, Bluashvili
was sentenced to pretrial detention. Upon Bluashvili's appeal of the
three-month detention, a court of appeals overturned the sentence and
released him, pending trial. In April 2006 a Rustavi court reinstated
the three-month sentence. Bluashvili failed to appear at the April
hearing and was wanted by the authorities.
While Jehovah's Witnesses no longer believed it necessary to hold
services in private homes for security reasons, they often continued
to do so, due to delays in obtaining permits to build and occupy
Kingdom Halls.
Despite a law on education passed in April 2005 that forbids religious
indoctrination, proselytizing, forced assimilation, or the teaching of
theology in public schools during school hours, in practice students
routinely received instruction in Orthodox Christian
theology. Teachers often began most courses, including mathematics and
science, by leading the class in a recitation of Orthodox
prayers. Those students who did not participate were sometimes
punished. The law also forbids the display of religious symbols on a
public school's grounds unless the purpose is academic. In many
classrooms, however, teachers hung orthodox icons or pictures of GOC
religious figures. Some schools have Orthodox chapels where students
were encouraged to pray.
Public schools offered an elective course, "Religion in Society." This
course, however, dealt exclusively with the theology of Orthodox
Christianity. Moreover, while the course was an elective, there was
societal pressure for students to take it. The primary textbook
approved for use in the course focused on Orthodox Christianity to the
exclusion of other faiths. The Ministry of Education (MOE) continued
to work on curriculum development for this course.
Students are allowed to study religion and conduct religious rituals
after school hours; neither a teacher nor any other outside party,
such as a priest, may participate unless invited by the students.
Prayers and other rituals may no longer be conducted during school
hours.
The GOC routinely reviews religious and other textbooks used in
schools for consistency with Orthodox beliefs. By law the church has a
consultative role in curriculum development but no veto power.
Pursuant to a memorandum signed by the GOC patriarchate and the MOE in
January 2005, a joint working group began reviewing options for the
elective course on religion in society and other matters related to
religion in the curriculum. In the memorandum, the ministry also
agreed to financially assist the church in its education projects and
institutions and to include the Church in the development of new
material for religious education. No other religious groups were
afforded these privileges.
Senior government officials, including the speaker of Parliament, and
opposition party leaders intervened when the public television station
declined to broadcast live a Christmas Eve church service. The service
was broadcast following the intervention.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
The 2002 concordat between the GOC and the state defines relations
between the two. The GOC enjoys tax-exempt status not available to
other religious groups. The concordat contained several controversial
articles: giving the patriarch immunity, granting the Church the
exclusive right to staff the military chaplaincy, exempting GOC
clergymen from military service, and giving the Church a unique
consultative role in government, especially in the sphere of
education. Many of these controversial articles, however, required
Parliament to adopt implementing legislation, which it had not done at
the end of the reporting period. For example, despite the concordat
granting the GOC the right to establish a military chaplaincy, no
legislation had been adopted and there were no chaplains in military
units.
The Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, and Armenian Apostolic churches, as
well as representatives of the Jewish and Muslim faiths, signed formal
documents with the GOC patriarchate agreeing to the concordat but
stated after the document was published that several of these
controversial articles were not in the original that they had
signed. Representatives of nontraditional minority religious groups,
such as Jehovah's Witnesses and Pentecostals, were not included in the
concordat process. The AAC raised concerns about the authority the GOC
enjoys over decisions regarding the return of historically AAC church
property.
While most citizens practiced their religion without restriction, the
worship of some, particularly adherents of nontraditional faiths, was
restricted by threats and intimidation from some local Orthodox
priests and congregations. On some occasions during the reporting
period, local police were slow to prevent the harassment of
non-Orthodox religious groups, including Jehovah's Witnesses and
Pentecostals.
On February 14, 2006, members of Jehovah's Witnesses requested
permission to use the privately owned sports palace in Tbilisi for a
two-day religious convention for up to five thousand persons. On
February 22, 2006, the management of the sports palace responded that
they would be willing to accommodate such a convention only if
Jehovah's Witnesses obtained a guarantee from the state to provide
security. An identical request they made in April 2005 had received a
similar response from the management. The 2005 incident prompted an
investigation by the PGO; results were pending at the end of the
reporting period.
A 2001 Supreme Court ruling revoked the registration of Jehovah's
Witnesses as a foreign branch of the U.S.-based Jehovah's Witnesses on
the grounds that the law does not allow registration of religious
organizations. The revocation resulted from a 1999 court case brought
by a former MP seeking to ban the group on the grounds that it
presented a threat to the state and the GOC. A case brought by
Jehovah's Witnesses before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
in 2001 challenging this annulment was pending at the end of the
period covered by this report. It was unclear how the acknowledgement
by the Government of the lawfulness of the Jehovah's Witnesses'
registration and four subsequent registrations by other religious
organizations as branches of foreign noncommercial legal entities
would affect the case before the ECHR.
The Catholic and Armenian Apostolic churches have been unable to
secure the return of churches and other facilities closed during the
Soviet period, many of which later were given to the GOC by the
state. The prominent AAC church in Tbilisi, Norashen, remained closed,
as did four smaller AAC churches in Tbilisi and one in Akhaltsikhe. In
addition, the RCC and AAC, like Protestant denominations, have had
difficulty obtaining permission to construct new churches.
De facto authorities in the separatist Abkhazia and South Ossetia
regions remained outside the control of the central Government, and
reliable information from those regions was difficult to obtain. A
1995 decree issued by the de facto leader of Abkhazia banning
Jehovah's Witnesses in the region remained in effect but was not
enforced. During the reporting period Jehovah's Witnesses reported no
problems in Abkhazia, where membership was approximately
1,500. Although Baptists, Lutherans, and Catholics also reported that
they were allowed to operate in the region, the GOC reported it was
unable to do so. The patriarch expressed concern over Russian Orthodox
Church (ROC) support of separatism in the region, specifically
subsidizing websites that encouraged secessionist sentiments. The GOC
also complained that the ROC's Moscow Theological Seminary was
training Abkhaz priests. Despite the fact that the ROC recognizes the
country's territorial integrity, the GOC patriarchate claimed that the
ROC was sending in priests loyal to the ROC patriarchate in Moscow,
under the pretext of setting up indigenous Abkhaz churches.
Orthodox believers were not able to conduct services in GOC churches
located near the villages of Nuli, Eredvi, Monasteri, and Gera because
these areas were under the control of Ossetian authorities.
Abuses of Religious Freedom
While there were fewer physical attacks on religious minority groups
during the reporting period, harassment continued. Although police
rarely facilitated harassment of religious minority groups, they
sometimes failed to protect them.
There was sporadic harassment of members of nontraditional religious
groups. Occasionally local Orthodox priests and their congregation
members verbally and physically threatened members of minority groups
and prevented them from constructing places of worship and from
holding worship services. Representatives of the affected groups
regularly filed complaints with the PGO and the ombudsman.
Within the PGO, the Human Rights Protection Unit monitors the progress
of investigations and prosecution of cases involving abuses of
religious freedom. During the reporting period, twenty instances of
interference, threats, intimidation, or violence were investigated. In
five instances, cases were awaiting trial; in eleven instances, the
investigations were ongoing; and in four instances, the investigation
did not find sufficient evidence to support charges. In October 2005 a
case against J. Megenishvili, for interfering in the performance of a
religious service, was forwarded to the Tbilisi city court for
trial. In August 2005 the prosecutor general initiated an
investigation related to an attack on two members of Jehovah's
Witnesses, Lamara Tskhovrebadze and Guliko Palivashvili. That
investigation was ongoing at the end of the reporting period.
In Rustavi on August 28, September 1, and October 18, 2005, Jehovah's
Witnesses alleged that thirty persons blocked the road leading to a
home used for services. At the request of the public defender, an
investigation was launched. The investigation found that the
congregation had not been subjected to threats or violence.
There were no reports of religious prisoners or detainees in the
country.
Forced Religious Conversion
There were no reports of forced religious conversion, including of
minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from
the United States, or of the refusal to allow such citizens to be
returned to the United States.
Improvements in Respect for Religious Freedom
Pursuant to a new registration law adopted in April 2005, religious
groups can obtain legal status, which provides benefits such as the
ability to enter into contracts, open bank accounts, and own
property. While many religious groups praised the legislation, more
traditional religious groups continued to push for special legal
status that would set them apart from nontraditional religious
groups. Some religious groups also complained that the amendment did
not provide for registering property that they already owned under
personal title. While the parliamentary legal committee agreed to hold
consultations to help religious groups overcome this hurdle, the law
was not amended before the end of the reporting period.
Nontraditional religious groups reported that they were able to import
literature without seizure or delay. The AAC stated, however, that
imports of religious items such as candles were sometimes delayed due
to ambiguities about the Church's legal status in the country.
While Jehovah's Witnesses no longer believed it was necessary, for
security reasons, to hold their services in private homes, due to
delays in obtaining permits to build and occupy Kingdom Halls,
congregations often continued to meet in private homes.
In an effort to implement a 2001 Supreme Court ruling, the Jewish
community reached an agreement with a theater group whereby the
theater group vacated a hall in a Tbilisi building seized from the
Jewish community during Soviet rule. While the Jewish community was
able to use the hall, the situation was not fully resolved, because
the community could not use the hall as a synagogue.
In July 2005 the GOC patriarch and the ombudsman established religious
councils as forums to discuss ecumenical approaches to addressing
social problems such as poverty and drug addiction.
On November 2, 2005, the appeals court upheld a trial court decision
sentencing excommunicated Orthodox priest Basil Mkalavishvili to six
years' imprisonment for engaging in numerous attacks on nontraditional
religious minorities including Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and
Jehovah's Witnesses. The four-year sentence of his accomplice Petre
Ivanidze was also upheld.
Section III. Societal Abuses and Discrimination
The public's attitude towards religion was ambivalent. Although many
residents were not particularly observant, the link between the
country's Orthodoxy and ethnic and national identity was strong.
The Jewish communities reported that they encountered few societal
problems. Anti-Semitism has not been a significant problem in recent
years, and there were no reported incidents during the period covered
by this report.
Relations between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims were very good; Sunni and
Shi'a worshipped together in Tbilisi's mosque. Relations between
Muslims and Christians were also quite good. There were occasional
media reports of minor incidents of violence between ethnic Azeris and
ethnic Georgians or ethnic Armenians; however, these incidents did not
appear to be motivated by religious differences.
Despite their historical tolerance toward minority religious groups
traditional to the country--including Catholics, Armenian Apostolic
Christians, Jews, and Muslims--many citizens remained apprehensive
about Protestants and other nontraditional religious groups, which
they often viewed as taking advantage of the populace's economic
hardship by gaining membership through economic assistance to
converts. Many members of the GOC and the public viewed religious
minorities, especially nontraditional groups of evangelical
Protestants or so-called "sects," as a threat to the national church
and the country's cultural values.
Local Orthodox priests and public school teachers vocally criticized
minority religious groups and interfaith marriages. Some also
discouraged Orthodox followers from any interaction with students who
belonged to Protestant churches. Sometimes teachers ridiculed students
who had converted to Protestant faiths, claiming the students
converted because they were offered financial benefits.
In 1997 the GOC withdrew from the World Council of Churches to appease
clerics strongly opposed to ecumenism. Some Orthodox Church officials
had ties to the Jvari organization that was involved in physical
attacks on nontraditional religious organizations and to two
fundamentalist Orthodox groups, the Society of Saint David the Builder
and the Union of Orthodox Parents, which denounced activities of
non-Orthodox churches or organizations.
GOC authorities accused AAC believers of purposely altering some
existing Georgian Orthodox churches so that they would be mistaken for
AAC churches. AAC representatives accused GOC believers of similar
activities. On July 14, 2005, in the village of Samsara in the
Samtskhe-Javakheti Region, a group of ethnic Georgian students and GOC
nuns were attacked by ethnic Armenian villagers as they were cleaning
up a church whose ownership is in dispute. The villagers accused the
students and nuns of trying to erase crosses symbolic of the AAC from
the building and of placing Orthodox icons in the church. After the
ombudsman intervened, representatives from both the GOC and the AAC
issued a joint statement denouncing the violence and calling for
forgiveness of those who had used force.
Following a series of physical and verbal threats in April and May
2005 against a group of Russian Pentecostals attempting to hold
services in a private home in Tbilisi, the ombudsman helped the
congregation obtain a plot of land on which to construct a new
building for services. While plans for the building were being drawn
up, the congregation conducted services in undisclosed private homes
or in outdoor areas. Police routinely provided protection in the
latter case. No charges were filed in connection with the April and
May 2005 incidents.
Following a series of incidents which began in June 2005 in Kutaisi
during which local residents repeatedly attacked members of Jehovah's
Witnesses in an effort to stop renovations to a meeting house,
numerous investigations were launched into the attacks as well as into
reports that the police had been slow to respond to the violence and
then themselves threatened the Jehovah's Witnesses. Two individuals
who were detained in connection with the attack publicly apologized to
the Jehovah's Witnesses. In April 2006, at the request of Jehovah's
Witnesses, the criminal charges against the two persons were dropped.
The meetinghouse in Kutaisi operated freely afterwards.
In August 2005 a large and vocal protest continued for two days at the
Nunciature of the Holy See in Tbilisi. A GOC parents group, objecting
to perceived proselytizing by the Catholic Church, carried out the
protest. The group also included Orthodox clergy. Police did not
disperse the protesters even when objects were thrown at the
Nunciature.
In September 2005 an ecumenical memorial service was held for the
victims of Hurricane Katrina and the September 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks. Representatives from most Protestant denominations and of the
Catholic, Muslim, and Jewish faiths participated.
Between November 24 and 26, 2005, the Christian Research Center, a
nongovernmental organization (NGO) affiliated with the GOC, held a
symposium to promote dialogue and tolerance. Representatives from the
AAC, the RCC, and other denominations participated. During a
presentation by the bishop of the Lutheran Evangelical Church,
however, hecklers verbally abused him.
In December 2005 in the village of Tsinubani in the predominantly
ethnic Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti, a local AAC priest
denounced a local Pentecostal congregation and urged villagers to
prevent the latter from burying its members in the local cemetery. The
ombudsman called for an investigation which is still pending.
Acts of religious violence between 2000 and 2004 went unpunished,
sometimes despite the filing of numerous criminal complaints. For
example, no criminal cases were expected to be opened for the
following incidents: the October 2004 incident in the village of
Velistsikhe, where local Orthodox priests and congregation members
used verbal and physical threats to block Baptists from constructing a
church; the June 2003 arson attack on a Baptist church in
Akhalsopheli; the July 2004 incident in Ozurgeti during which an
employee of the mayor's office verbally and physically threatened two
members of Jehovah's Witnesses who were proselytizing door-to-door;
the November 2004 incident during which a member of Jehovah's
Witnesses was threatened several times for using his house in Kareli
to hold worship services; or the November 2004 assault by members of
the conservative Orthodox group, "The Society of Saint David the
Builder," on several more liberal GOC seminary students.
Section IV. U.S. Government Policy
The U.S. government discusses religious freedom issues with the
Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights. The
U.S. government repeatedly raised its concerns regarding harassment of
and attacks against nontraditional religious minorities with senior
government officials, including the president, speaker of Parliament,
the ministers of internal affairs and justice, and the prosecutor
general. Embassy officials, including the ambassador, frequently met
with representatives of the Government, Parliament, various religious
confessions, and NGOs concerned with religious freedom issues.
An embassy official advocated with the Ministry of Justice on behalf
of religious organizations seeking recognition under the registration
law adopted in April 2005.
Released on September 15, 2006
Source: US State Dept.
World : Georgia: International Religious Freedom Report 2006
Posted by Patriot on 2006/9/17 7:34:02 (24 reads)
Released by the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
This report is submitted to the Congress by the Department of State in
compliance with Section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom
Act (IRFA) of 1998. The law provides that the secretary of state, with
the assistance of the ambassador at large for international religious
freedom, shall transmit to Congress "an Annual Report on International
Religious Freedom supplementing the most recent Human Rights Reports
by providing additional detailed information with respect to matters
involving international religious freedom."
Georgia: The constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the
Government generally respected this right in practice.
During the period covered by this report, the status of religious
freedom continued to improve. Beginning in July 2005 the Government
approved the registration applications of previously unregistered
religious groups, pursuant to a new law enabling religious groups to
operate more freely. A total of fourteen organizations subsequently
registered under the law. Police were generally more responsive to
the needs of minority religious groups but failed at times to
adequately protect them. In December 2005 numerous members of
Parliament (MPs) objected strongly to a report by the government
ombudsman calling for equal recognition under the law of all religious
groups. The MPs stated that the historical role of the Georgian
Orthodox Church justified its privileged position.
Citizens generally did not interfere with religious groups considered
to be "traditional"; however, there was widespread suspicion of
"nontraditional" ones. Attacks on religious minorities, including
violence, verbal harassment, and disruption of services and meetings,
continued to decrease. While the Prosecutor General's Office
increasingly initiated investigations of religious-based violence,
past complaints remained unresolved.
The U.S. government discusses religious freedom issues with the
Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights.
Section I. Religious Demography
The country has an area of approximately 25,900 square miles, and its
population is an estimated 4.4 million. Most ethnic Georgians (who
constituted more than 80 percent of the population, according to the
2002 census) at least nominally associated themselves with the
Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC). According to common Orthodox practice,
Orthodox churches serving non-Georgian ethnic groups, such as
Russians, Armenians, and Greeks, are under the territorial
jurisdiction of the GOC. Non-Georgian Orthodox churches generally use
the language of their communicants. There remained a small number of
mostly ethnic Russian adherents from three dissident Orthodox
schools--the Molokani, Staroveriy (Old Believers), and Dukhoboriy
(Spirit Wrestlers). Under Soviet rule, the number of active churches
and priests declined sharply, and religious education was nearly
nonexistent. Membership in the GOC has continued to increase since
independence in 1991. The Church maintained four theological
seminaries, two academies, several schools, and twenty-seven dioceses;
it had approximately 700 priests, 250 monks, and 150 nuns. The Church
was headed by Catholicos Patriarch Ilia II; the patriarchate was
located in the capital, Tbilisi.
The Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), Roman Catholicism, Judaism, and
Islam traditionally coexisted with Georgian Orthodoxy. Some religious
groups were correlated with ethnicity. Azeris comprised the second
largest ethnic group (approximately 285 thousand, 7 percent of the
population) and were largely Muslim; most lived in the southeastern
region of Kvemo-Kartli, where they constituted a majority. Armenians
were the third largest ethnic group (estimated at 249 thousand, 6
percent of the population), comprising the majority in the southern
Samtskhe-Javakheti region. Armenians largely belonged to the AAC.
Approximately 9.9 percent of the population was at least nominally
Muslim. There were three main Muslim populations: ethnic Azeris,
ethnic Georgian Muslims of Ajara, and ethnic Chechen Kists in the
northeastern region. There were four large madrassahs (Muslim
religious schools) attached to mosques in the eastern region, two of
which were Shi'ite and financed by Iranian religious groups, and two
of which, financed by Turkish religious groups, were Sunni. There were
also several smaller madrassahs in Ajara that were financed by private
groups in Turkey.
The Armenian Apostolic Church comprised the third largest religious
group, with members constituting an estimated 3.9 percent of the
population. Each of the other religious groups constituted less than 1
percent of the population.
There were approximately thirty-five thousand Catholics, largely
ethnic Georgians or Assyrians. A small number of Kurdish Yezidis--an
estimated eighteen thousand--have lived in the country for
centuries. The ethnic Greek Orthodox community used to number more
than one hundred thousand, but emigration waves since independence
reduced its numbers to approximately fifteen thousand.
Judaism, which has been present since ancient times, was practiced in
a number of communities throughout the country, particularly in the
largest cities, Tbilisi and Kutaisi. Approximately ten thousand Jews
remained in the country following two large waves of emigration, the
first in the early 1970s and the second during perestroyka in the late
1980s. Before then, officials estimate that there were approximately
forty thousand Jews.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Protestant and other
nontraditional denominations have become more active and
prominent. Local Jehovah's Witnesses' representatives stated that the
group had approximately 16 thousand adherents locally and had been in
the country since 1953. Pentecostals, both ethnic Georgian and
Russian, were estimated to number nine thousand. Baptists--composed of
ethnic Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Ossetian, and Kurdish
groups--totaled an estimated eight thousand adherents.
There were fewer than one thousand Lutherans, mostly descendents of
German communities that settled in the country several hundred years
ago. Seventh-day Adventists claimed approximately 350 members, and the
New Apostolic Church was also present. Membership in the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was small. There also were a few
Baha'is, Hare Krishnas, and Buddhists. The membership of all these
groups combined was officially estimated at thirty-four thousand
persons. The number of atheists who openly declare themselves as such
was less than 1 percent of the population.
Section II. Status of Freedom of Religion
Legal/Policy Framework
The constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government
generally respected this right in practice; however, local officials
and police sometimes denied this right or protection to religious
minorities. The constitution recognizes the special role of the GOC in
the country's history but also stipulates the independence of the
church from the state. In 2002 a constitutional agreement (concordat)
between the Government and the GOC was signed and ratified by
Parliament. The concordat recognizes the special role of the GOC and
devolves authority over all religious matters to it, including matters
outside the church including public education topics.
The criminal code specifically prohibits interference with worship
services, persecution of a person based on religious faith or belief,
and interference with the establishment of a religious organization.
Violations of these prohibitions are punishable by fine and/or
imprisonment. Violations committed by a public officer or official are
considered abuse of power and are punishable by higher fines and/or
longer terms of imprisonment.
The president and government ombudsman have been effective advocates
for religious freedom and have made numerous public speeches and
appearances in support of minority religious groups. The Ministry of
Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) have become
more active in the protection of religious freedom but sometimes have
failed to pursue criminal cases against Orthodox extremists for
previous attacks against religious minorities. The human rights unit
in the legal department of the PGO is charged with protecting human
rights, including religious freedom. Since the beginning of 2005 the
PGO has initiated twenty-eight investigations of religious-based
violence, which have resulted in the trial and conviction of seven
individuals.
The GOC remains very active in the restoration of religious
facilities, and it lobbies the Government for the return of properties
that were held by the Church before the country's incorporation into
the Soviet Union (church authorities have claimed that 20 to 30
percent of the country's land area at one time belonged to the
church). In September 2005 the Government returned three additional
properties to the GOC.
In November 2005 President Saakashvili ordered the return of a mosque
in the Kvemo-Kartli region, which had been seized earlier and
converted into a community hall.
The country celebrates all Orthodox holy days. In March 2006 President
Saakashvili attended the celebration of the Muslim holy day Navrus
Bairam in Marneuli, and in November 2005 he participated in a
celebration of the Muslim holy day Bairam at a mosque in Tbilisi.
Before a registration process was established by Parliament in April
2005, religious groups were required to register as public entities,
even though the law provided no mechanism to do so yet stipulated a
fine for any unregistered religious group. Religious groups may now
register as local associations or foundations. An association is based
on membership (a minimum of five members is required), while a
foundation involves one or more founders establishing a fund for
furtherance of a certain cause for the benefit of the particular group
or the general public. In both cases registration is a function of
the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). Registration must be granted or denied
within fifteen days of application; a refusal may be appealed in
court.
In July 2005 the MOJ approved the first applications filed under the
new registration process. Both the Foundation of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints in Georgia (Mormons) and the
Representation of the International Agency of Adventist Development
and Assistance in Georgia (which is affiliated with the Seventh-day
Adventist Church) received approval in less time than the fifteen days
allowed by law. An additional twelve organizations subsequently
registered under the law. The MOJ suspended a notary public for one
year after she refused to notarize documents of a Pentecostal church
that the church needed for registration; the congregation was seeking
registration at the end of the reporting period. Officials at the MOJ
were responsive in providing advice to religious organizations on
preparing registration applications and supporting documentation.
Some religious communities expressed dissatisfaction with the status
that registration provided. The Catholic Church (RCC) and the AAC
opposed registering themselves as civil organizations. Other churches
such as the Baptists expressed concern that transfers of property to
their churches would then be taxable.
In November 2005 Jehovah's Witnesses rented a hall in Rustavi to
conduct meetings. On November 3, 2005, Paata Bluashvili, the leader of
the Orthodox group Jvari, and members of the group threatened the
owner of the meeting hall, who then cancelled the contract with the
Jehovah's Witnesses. Bluashvili was convicted in 2004 of interfering
with a religious service and given a two-year suspended
sentence. Pending investigation of the November incident, Bluashvili
was sentenced to pretrial detention. Upon Bluashvili's appeal of the
three-month detention, a court of appeals overturned the sentence and
released him, pending trial. In April 2006 a Rustavi court reinstated
the three-month sentence. Bluashvili failed to appear at the April
hearing and was wanted by the authorities.
While Jehovah's Witnesses no longer believed it necessary to hold
services in private homes for security reasons, they often continued
to do so, due to delays in obtaining permits to build and occupy
Kingdom Halls.
Despite a law on education passed in April 2005 that forbids religious
indoctrination, proselytizing, forced assimilation, or the teaching of
theology in public schools during school hours, in practice students
routinely received instruction in Orthodox Christian
theology. Teachers often began most courses, including mathematics and
science, by leading the class in a recitation of Orthodox
prayers. Those students who did not participate were sometimes
punished. The law also forbids the display of religious symbols on a
public school's grounds unless the purpose is academic. In many
classrooms, however, teachers hung orthodox icons or pictures of GOC
religious figures. Some schools have Orthodox chapels where students
were encouraged to pray.
Public schools offered an elective course, "Religion in Society." This
course, however, dealt exclusively with the theology of Orthodox
Christianity. Moreover, while the course was an elective, there was
societal pressure for students to take it. The primary textbook
approved for use in the course focused on Orthodox Christianity to the
exclusion of other faiths. The Ministry of Education (MOE) continued
to work on curriculum development for this course.
Students are allowed to study religion and conduct religious rituals
after school hours; neither a teacher nor any other outside party,
such as a priest, may participate unless invited by the students.
Prayers and other rituals may no longer be conducted during school
hours.
The GOC routinely reviews religious and other textbooks used in
schools for consistency with Orthodox beliefs. By law the church has a
consultative role in curriculum development but no veto power.
Pursuant to a memorandum signed by the GOC patriarchate and the MOE in
January 2005, a joint working group began reviewing options for the
elective course on religion in society and other matters related to
religion in the curriculum. In the memorandum, the ministry also
agreed to financially assist the church in its education projects and
institutions and to include the Church in the development of new
material for religious education. No other religious groups were
afforded these privileges.
Senior government officials, including the speaker of Parliament, and
opposition party leaders intervened when the public television station
declined to broadcast live a Christmas Eve church service. The service
was broadcast following the intervention.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
The 2002 concordat between the GOC and the state defines relations
between the two. The GOC enjoys tax-exempt status not available to
other religious groups. The concordat contained several controversial
articles: giving the patriarch immunity, granting the Church the
exclusive right to staff the military chaplaincy, exempting GOC
clergymen from military service, and giving the Church a unique
consultative role in government, especially in the sphere of
education. Many of these controversial articles, however, required
Parliament to adopt implementing legislation, which it had not done at
the end of the reporting period. For example, despite the concordat
granting the GOC the right to establish a military chaplaincy, no
legislation had been adopted and there were no chaplains in military
units.
The Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, and Armenian Apostolic churches, as
well as representatives of the Jewish and Muslim faiths, signed formal
documents with the GOC patriarchate agreeing to the concordat but
stated after the document was published that several of these
controversial articles were not in the original that they had
signed. Representatives of nontraditional minority religious groups,
such as Jehovah's Witnesses and Pentecostals, were not included in the
concordat process. The AAC raised concerns about the authority the GOC
enjoys over decisions regarding the return of historically AAC church
property.
While most citizens practiced their religion without restriction, the
worship of some, particularly adherents of nontraditional faiths, was
restricted by threats and intimidation from some local Orthodox
priests and congregations. On some occasions during the reporting
period, local police were slow to prevent the harassment of
non-Orthodox religious groups, including Jehovah's Witnesses and
Pentecostals.
On February 14, 2006, members of Jehovah's Witnesses requested
permission to use the privately owned sports palace in Tbilisi for a
two-day religious convention for up to five thousand persons. On
February 22, 2006, the management of the sports palace responded that
they would be willing to accommodate such a convention only if
Jehovah's Witnesses obtained a guarantee from the state to provide
security. An identical request they made in April 2005 had received a
similar response from the management. The 2005 incident prompted an
investigation by the PGO; results were pending at the end of the
reporting period.
A 2001 Supreme Court ruling revoked the registration of Jehovah's
Witnesses as a foreign branch of the U.S.-based Jehovah's Witnesses on
the grounds that the law does not allow registration of religious
organizations. The revocation resulted from a 1999 court case brought
by a former MP seeking to ban the group on the grounds that it
presented a threat to the state and the GOC. A case brought by
Jehovah's Witnesses before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
in 2001 challenging this annulment was pending at the end of the
period covered by this report. It was unclear how the acknowledgement
by the Government of the lawfulness of the Jehovah's Witnesses'
registration and four subsequent registrations by other religious
organizations as branches of foreign noncommercial legal entities
would affect the case before the ECHR.
The Catholic and Armenian Apostolic churches have been unable to
secure the return of churches and other facilities closed during the
Soviet period, many of which later were given to the GOC by the
state. The prominent AAC church in Tbilisi, Norashen, remained closed,
as did four smaller AAC churches in Tbilisi and one in Akhaltsikhe. In
addition, the RCC and AAC, like Protestant denominations, have had
difficulty obtaining permission to construct new churches.
De facto authorities in the separatist Abkhazia and South Ossetia
regions remained outside the control of the central Government, and
reliable information from those regions was difficult to obtain. A
1995 decree issued by the de facto leader of Abkhazia banning
Jehovah's Witnesses in the region remained in effect but was not
enforced. During the reporting period Jehovah's Witnesses reported no
problems in Abkhazia, where membership was approximately
1,500. Although Baptists, Lutherans, and Catholics also reported that
they were allowed to operate in the region, the GOC reported it was
unable to do so. The patriarch expressed concern over Russian Orthodox
Church (ROC) support of separatism in the region, specifically
subsidizing websites that encouraged secessionist sentiments. The GOC
also complained that the ROC's Moscow Theological Seminary was
training Abkhaz priests. Despite the fact that the ROC recognizes the
country's territorial integrity, the GOC patriarchate claimed that the
ROC was sending in priests loyal to the ROC patriarchate in Moscow,
under the pretext of setting up indigenous Abkhaz churches.
Orthodox believers were not able to conduct services in GOC churches
located near the villages of Nuli, Eredvi, Monasteri, and Gera because
these areas were under the control of Ossetian authorities.
Abuses of Religious Freedom
While there were fewer physical attacks on religious minority groups
during the reporting period, harassment continued. Although police
rarely facilitated harassment of religious minority groups, they
sometimes failed to protect them.
There was sporadic harassment of members of nontraditional religious
groups. Occasionally local Orthodox priests and their congregation
members verbally and physically threatened members of minority groups
and prevented them from constructing places of worship and from
holding worship services. Representatives of the affected groups
regularly filed complaints with the PGO and the ombudsman.
Within the PGO, the Human Rights Protection Unit monitors the progress
of investigations and prosecution of cases involving abuses of
religious freedom. During the reporting period, twenty instances of
interference, threats, intimidation, or violence were investigated. In
five instances, cases were awaiting trial; in eleven instances, the
investigations were ongoing; and in four instances, the investigation
did not find sufficient evidence to support charges. In October 2005 a
case against J. Megenishvili, for interfering in the performance of a
religious service, was forwarded to the Tbilisi city court for
trial. In August 2005 the prosecutor general initiated an
investigation related to an attack on two members of Jehovah's
Witnesses, Lamara Tskhovrebadze and Guliko Palivashvili. That
investigation was ongoing at the end of the reporting period.
In Rustavi on August 28, September 1, and October 18, 2005, Jehovah's
Witnesses alleged that thirty persons blocked the road leading to a
home used for services. At the request of the public defender, an
investigation was launched. The investigation found that the
congregation had not been subjected to threats or violence.
There were no reports of religious prisoners or detainees in the
country.
Forced Religious Conversion
There were no reports of forced religious conversion, including of
minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from
the United States, or of the refusal to allow such citizens to be
returned to the United States.
Improvements in Respect for Religious Freedom
Pursuant to a new registration law adopted in April 2005, religious
groups can obtain legal status, which provides benefits such as the
ability to enter into contracts, open bank accounts, and own
property. While many religious groups praised the legislation, more
traditional religious groups continued to push for special legal
status that would set them apart from nontraditional religious
groups. Some religious groups also complained that the amendment did
not provide for registering property that they already owned under
personal title. While the parliamentary legal committee agreed to hold
consultations to help religious groups overcome this hurdle, the law
was not amended before the end of the reporting period.
Nontraditional religious groups reported that they were able to import
literature without seizure or delay. The AAC stated, however, that
imports of religious items such as candles were sometimes delayed due
to ambiguities about the Church's legal status in the country.
While Jehovah's Witnesses no longer believed it was necessary, for
security reasons, to hold their services in private homes, due to
delays in obtaining permits to build and occupy Kingdom Halls,
congregations often continued to meet in private homes.
In an effort to implement a 2001 Supreme Court ruling, the Jewish
community reached an agreement with a theater group whereby the
theater group vacated a hall in a Tbilisi building seized from the
Jewish community during Soviet rule. While the Jewish community was
able to use the hall, the situation was not fully resolved, because
the community could not use the hall as a synagogue.
In July 2005 the GOC patriarch and the ombudsman established religious
councils as forums to discuss ecumenical approaches to addressing
social problems such as poverty and drug addiction.
On November 2, 2005, the appeals court upheld a trial court decision
sentencing excommunicated Orthodox priest Basil Mkalavishvili to six
years' imprisonment for engaging in numerous attacks on nontraditional
religious minorities including Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and
Jehovah's Witnesses. The four-year sentence of his accomplice Petre
Ivanidze was also upheld.
Section III. Societal Abuses and Discrimination
The public's attitude towards religion was ambivalent. Although many
residents were not particularly observant, the link between the
country's Orthodoxy and ethnic and national identity was strong.
The Jewish communities reported that they encountered few societal
problems. Anti-Semitism has not been a significant problem in recent
years, and there were no reported incidents during the period covered
by this report.
Relations between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims were very good; Sunni and
Shi'a worshipped together in Tbilisi's mosque. Relations between
Muslims and Christians were also quite good. There were occasional
media reports of minor incidents of violence between ethnic Azeris and
ethnic Georgians or ethnic Armenians; however, these incidents did not
appear to be motivated by religious differences.
Despite their historical tolerance toward minority religious groups
traditional to the country--including Catholics, Armenian Apostolic
Christians, Jews, and Muslims--many citizens remained apprehensive
about Protestants and other nontraditional religious groups, which
they often viewed as taking advantage of the populace's economic
hardship by gaining membership through economic assistance to
converts. Many members of the GOC and the public viewed religious
minorities, especially nontraditional groups of evangelical
Protestants or so-called "sects," as a threat to the national church
and the country's cultural values.
Local Orthodox priests and public school teachers vocally criticized
minority religious groups and interfaith marriages. Some also
discouraged Orthodox followers from any interaction with students who
belonged to Protestant churches. Sometimes teachers ridiculed students
who had converted to Protestant faiths, claiming the students
converted because they were offered financial benefits.
In 1997 the GOC withdrew from the World Council of Churches to appease
clerics strongly opposed to ecumenism. Some Orthodox Church officials
had ties to the Jvari organization that was involved in physical
attacks on nontraditional religious organizations and to two
fundamentalist Orthodox groups, the Society of Saint David the Builder
and the Union of Orthodox Parents, which denounced activities of
non-Orthodox churches or organizations.
GOC authorities accused AAC believers of purposely altering some
existing Georgian Orthodox churches so that they would be mistaken for
AAC churches. AAC representatives accused GOC believers of similar
activities. On July 14, 2005, in the village of Samsara in the
Samtskhe-Javakheti Region, a group of ethnic Georgian students and GOC
nuns were attacked by ethnic Armenian villagers as they were cleaning
up a church whose ownership is in dispute. The villagers accused the
students and nuns of trying to erase crosses symbolic of the AAC from
the building and of placing Orthodox icons in the church. After the
ombudsman intervened, representatives from both the GOC and the AAC
issued a joint statement denouncing the violence and calling for
forgiveness of those who had used force.
Following a series of physical and verbal threats in April and May
2005 against a group of Russian Pentecostals attempting to hold
services in a private home in Tbilisi, the ombudsman helped the
congregation obtain a plot of land on which to construct a new
building for services. While plans for the building were being drawn
up, the congregation conducted services in undisclosed private homes
or in outdoor areas. Police routinely provided protection in the
latter case. No charges were filed in connection with the April and
May 2005 incidents.
Following a series of incidents which began in June 2005 in Kutaisi
during which local residents repeatedly attacked members of Jehovah's
Witnesses in an effort to stop renovations to a meeting house,
numerous investigations were launched into the attacks as well as into
reports that the police had been slow to respond to the violence and
then themselves threatened the Jehovah's Witnesses. Two individuals
who were detained in connection with the attack publicly apologized to
the Jehovah's Witnesses. In April 2006, at the request of Jehovah's
Witnesses, the criminal charges against the two persons were dropped.
The meetinghouse in Kutaisi operated freely afterwards.
In August 2005 a large and vocal protest continued for two days at the
Nunciature of the Holy See in Tbilisi. A GOC parents group, objecting
to perceived proselytizing by the Catholic Church, carried out the
protest. The group also included Orthodox clergy. Police did not
disperse the protesters even when objects were thrown at the
Nunciature.
In September 2005 an ecumenical memorial service was held for the
victims of Hurricane Katrina and the September 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks. Representatives from most Protestant denominations and of the
Catholic, Muslim, and Jewish faiths participated.
Between November 24 and 26, 2005, the Christian Research Center, a
nongovernmental organization (NGO) affiliated with the GOC, held a
symposium to promote dialogue and tolerance. Representatives from the
AAC, the RCC, and other denominations participated. During a
presentation by the bishop of the Lutheran Evangelical Church,
however, hecklers verbally abused him.
In December 2005 in the village of Tsinubani in the predominantly
ethnic Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti, a local AAC priest
denounced a local Pentecostal congregation and urged villagers to
prevent the latter from burying its members in the local cemetery. The
ombudsman called for an investigation which is still pending.
Acts of religious violence between 2000 and 2004 went unpunished,
sometimes despite the filing of numerous criminal complaints. For
example, no criminal cases were expected to be opened for the
following incidents: the October 2004 incident in the village of
Velistsikhe, where local Orthodox priests and congregation members
used verbal and physical threats to block Baptists from constructing a
church; the June 2003 arson attack on a Baptist church in
Akhalsopheli; the July 2004 incident in Ozurgeti during which an
employee of the mayor's office verbally and physically threatened two
members of Jehovah's Witnesses who were proselytizing door-to-door;
the November 2004 incident during which a member of Jehovah's
Witnesses was threatened several times for using his house in Kareli
to hold worship services; or the November 2004 assault by members of
the conservative Orthodox group, "The Society of Saint David the
Builder," on several more liberal GOC seminary students.
Section IV. U.S. Government Policy
The U.S. government discusses religious freedom issues with the
Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights. The
U.S. government repeatedly raised its concerns regarding harassment of
and attacks against nontraditional religious minorities with senior
government officials, including the president, speaker of Parliament,
the ministers of internal affairs and justice, and the prosecutor
general. Embassy officials, including the ambassador, frequently met
with representatives of the Government, Parliament, various religious
confessions, and NGOs concerned with religious freedom issues.
An embassy official advocated with the Ministry of Justice on behalf
of religious organizations seeking recognition under the registration
law adopted in April 2005.
Released on September 15, 2006
Source: US State Dept.