GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR

FREEDOM OF RELIGION: NEW INTOLERANT LEGISLATION

This statement expresses also the views of the IHF, and is based on its detailed report to this meeting.

On 2 February 2000, the Bulgarian Parliament passed in the first reading three drafts of a denominations act: that of the ruling coalition, the United Democratic Forces; that of the main opposition party, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP); and that of the small nationalIST party, the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. In so doing, it grossly ignored the will of the vast majority of religious organizations in Bulgaria, that had backed a different proposal drafted by a group of NGOs. The latter was submitted to parliament by four MPs of the Union for National Salvation, an opposition coalition of parties. All three drafts, and especially the one proposed by the ruling coalition (UDF), severely restrict citizens’ religious rights and would infringe both the Bulgarian constitution and Bulgaria’s international commitments to human rights.

According to NGOs and religious denominations, the main defects of these drafts include:

• the obstruction and complication of the procedure of acquiring legal status by religious organizations, including the state’s full discretion to decide whether to grant legal registration, possibly invoking "national security" as a basis for denying registration, contrary to all key international instruments;

• the establishment of strong state control over the internal affairs of denominations;

• the creation of privileges for the traditional Orthodox Church, which contradict the constitution of Bulgaria.

The general conclusion is that all three drafts represent, in fact, slightly weakened versions of the communist denominations act passed in 1949. The NGOs "Tolerance Foundation" and "Bulgarian Helsinki Committee" believe that in the current situation, international pressure may play a decisive role in stopping the attempt of the ruling forces (both the majority and the main opposition party) to establish an extremely strong regime of control and restrict the activity of religious organizations, and minority organizations in particular.

Religious tolerance in France has been impeded by government action aimed at weakening the financial standing of certain religious groups. Jehovah’s Witnesses have come under particular scrutiny, with the effect that the practice of their religious beliefs has been considerably hindered.

On 22 June 2000, the National Assembly approved new restrictive legislation on religious movements. It now awaits approval by the Senate to become effective. The law is aimed primarily at Scientologists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other minority religions, but could also target some Evangelical Protestants, observers say.

Article 1 of the draft law provides in effect for the dissolution of an association whose activities have as an aim or effect the physical or psychological dependence of persons participating in their activities or which attack human rights or fundamental liberties, when this association or its leaders have been sentenced several times for penal offences. The introduction of this law makes clear that the combination of mental manipulation, the violation of "human rights" and "several" penal condemnations constitutes the legal definition of a "sect." The procedure of dissolution can be brought before a tribunal of first instance at the request of the public prosecutor’s office or at a petition of anyone interested.

The draft law introduces a notion of corporate liability for associations falling under article 1 in cases where only personal responsibility is at issue. Other provisions of the draft law provide for multi-year imprisonment and heavy fines for anyone who participates in the reconstruction of an association whose dissolution was pronounced; for a new category of crimes, namely the installation of an association concerned by article 1 in the vicinity of a hospital, school or similar establishment; for broadcasting, through whichever media, messages aimed at the youth at which an association mentioned in article 1 is promoted; and for "mental manipulation."

The IHF has on many occasions criticized France’s increasingly restrictive policy regarding freedom of religion. It also opposes the new law and says it could not easily be judged compatible with the notion of religious pluralism in a democratic society. The 14 June 2000 edition of France’s "Le Figaro" newspaper carried an interview with the government’s leading anti-cult official, Alain Vivien, in which he suggested that the IHF had been infiltrated by the Church of Scientology, a fact that would, in his view, explain the IHF’s virulent criticism of France. The IHF, in an open letter to Vivien, denounced the accusations and repeated criticism of France’s restrictive policy.

Recently, the question of freedom of belief has gained in importance in Macedonia. On several occasions, high-ranking officials of the Macedonian Orthodox Church (the majority church) have given openly hostile statement regarding all other confessions in Macedonia. The Macedonian Orthodox Church was the only religious community involved in the preparation of the 1997 law on religious communities and religious groups. The law clearly favors "traditional" religions and discriminates against religious minorities.

According to a high-ranking Orthodox priest interviewed by the largest Macedonian daily, "Dnevnik," his church has asked to be granted the status of a "national church." It also wants a privileged status that would, for example, exempt it from all taxes; allow it to give religious instruction in schools; exempt its priests from military service and other public duties that are contrary to their calling; provide it with financial assistance from the state budget; and allow it to conduct religious sermons in the army, hospitals and jails.