one of the most restrictive religious laws in any of the former Soviet republics, BosNewsLife learned Saturday June 29. "In taking these decisions the deputies are completely ignoring the views of tens of thousands of Belarusian citizens. This law is a fiasco for the Chamber of Representatives as a parliament and testimony to its bankruptcy," said German Rodov, head of the Bible Society in Belarus, in an interview with Keston News Service (KNS).
Christians throughout Belarus had demonstrated and prayed against the law, which they fear will mark a new era of persecution comparable to that under the Soviet Union which collapsed in 1991. This set-back came after initial reports that voting on the bill had been postponed till at least October.
NON TRADITIONAL CHRISTIANS
The law, which still has to be signed by the president, suggests that especially many ‘born again’ and non traditional Christians will soon have to meet in secret, as all but occasional small religious meetings in private homes will be banned.
Under the new legislation there will also be compulsory prior censorship for all religious literature, while the publishing of education and charitable activity would be restricted to faiths that had ten registered communities in 1982.
"We have gone back to 1936 and (Soviet leadet) Stalin’s repressions," said Father Yan Spasyuk, leader of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, which has been denied registration. "Everything has been taken from us. Now I’m no longer a priest, just a layman," he told KNS, which monitors religious persecution,
PRE-DETERMINED SCENARIO
"Everything went as if according to a pre-determined scenario," said the For Freedom of Conscience organization in a statement released by KNS. "Within an hour and a half, article by article without any discussion, the bill was adopted."
82 deputies reportedly voted in favor, with only two against. Within fifteen minutes, the upper chamber, the Council of the Republic, also approved the bill, according to news reports.
Father Spasyuk blamed the Moscow Patriarchate’s Exarchate in Belarus for the new law. "It feels its weakness in the face of our Church and the Protestants. That’s why they decided to change the law."
ATTACKING MINORITY FAITHS
He said he had heard that parliamentary deputies had been taken to the Exarchate a few days ago and shown films attacking minority faiths, especially Protestants, although those clams could not be verified independently.
Leaders of four main Protestant communities, the Baptists, the Pentecostals, the Full Gospel Church and the Adventists, also expressed their concern about the developments in Belarus, a former Soviet republic of just over 10 million people.
The United States Embassy in the capital Minsk and other Western officials had urged the Parliament not to adopt the religious law in its current form which it stressed.
US CONCERNED
"The US Government wishes to express its concern regarding the draft law on religion that is currently under consideration by the Belarusian Parliament," the Embassy said Tuesday, June 25 in a statement seen by BosNewsLife.
Embassy officials added that the law "appears intended to hinder and prevent the activities of religious groups that the Government of Belarus considers "non-traditional faiths, and contradicts international principles of religious freedom and human rights."
WIDER POLICY
Human rights workers said the law is part of a wider policy of supporting the Orthodox Church in an effort to strengthen Slavic identity and unity in the region.
"President Aleksandr Lukashenko has already granted special financial and tax advantages to the Orthodox Church and declared that the preservation and development of this denomination is a moral necessity," said the International Coalition for Religious Freedom (ICRF) in a recent report.
"While proselytizing by citizens is not prohibited, foreign missionaries may not engage in any religious activity outside of the institutions that invited them," the ICRF added.
ACTION AGAINST MISSIONARIES
The Orthodox leadership has been critical about missionaries, and human rights workers say this has influenced the current policy. Analysts point out that current regulations seek to limit the efforts of foreign religious workers to providing humanitarian aid.
Only religious organizations already registered with the government may invite clergy from other countries, but special permission must be granted by the State Committee on Religious Affairs in order for bishops to transfer a foreign priest to another parish.
There is concern among Western diplomats and church leaders that Belarus will be increasingly isolated from the outside world because of what they see as its autocratic regime.
