"seriously restrict" Christian mission activities in the country.
Russian Ministries, one of the largest Christian mission organizations working in the former Soviet Union, said it was concerned that a new law on foreign Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) could lead to more government interference.
"Another indication of Russia’s fluid relationship with the West is the recent draft of a law that could seriously restrict foreign NGOs," said Anita Deyneka, the president of Russian Ministries in a statement to BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on November 1 that he would not seek re-election to a third term in 2008, [but] we need to be aware that any change in political power could very well affect our ministry," Deyneka added.
NGOs WARNING
Several Russian NGOs reportedly warned that the new legislation would "provide for the unjustified tightening of control over all Russian NGOs" regardless of the area they are working in.
Some fear that the law could include a heavy tax burden for foreign NGOs, Russian Ministries said.
Former American lawmakers John Edwards and Jack Kemp reportedly sent a letter to President George W. Bush in which they expressed concern about the "almost unthinkable prospect that the president of Russia might serve as chairman of the G-8 at the same time that laws come into force in his country to choke off contacts with global society."
CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
Deynake stressed it was "vital for long-term [Christian] ministry to hinge on national leadership."
Russian Ministries and its partners "are committed to a strong local network of national churches" and other groups "supported and sustained by the young Christian leaders of the former Soviet Union, who are the hope of the future," she added.
Human rights groups have expressed worries that President Putin and his allies want to control independent media as well as new churches, which mushroomed since the collapse of Communism. (With reporting by BosNewsLife’s Stefan J. Bos and reports from Russia).
