Report 2000 On Religious Freedom In the World - Martin ...

A i d t o t h e C h u r c h i n N e e dItalian Secretariat

Report 2000 On Religious Freedom In the World

Researched and written byANDREA MORIGI

VITTORIO EMANUELE VERNOLE

CHIARA VERNA

Notes on the Church in Need

Published by: Aiuto alla Chiesa che SoffrePiazza San Calisto 1600153 Roma

Authors: Andrea MorigiVittorio Emanuele VernoleChiara Verna

Office: Ufficio Stampa Segretariato Italiano ACSElvira Zito

Printed by: Tipografia Città Nuova della P.A.M.O.M.Largo Cristina di Svezia 1700165 Roma, giugno 2000

© Aiuto alla Chiesa che Soffre - Piazza San Calisto 16 - 00153 Roma

Translated from Italian(original title: Rapporto 2000 sulla libertà religiosa nel mondo, ISBN 88-87567-05-0).

Contents

Introduction

Countries

Information Sources

Index of Countries

Introduction

“In effect, as I have often had the occasion to declare, religious freedom is at the heart itself of humanrights. In professing one’s religion, the person expresses his deepest aspirations and develops the mostintimate part of himself: his interiority, the sanctuary of the being that nobody can break. This makes it

necessary to allow each person to follow his conscience in every circumstance and nobody can makethat person act against this. On the other hand, the right to religious freedom, recognized by most

Nations today, «also includes the right to manifest one’s beliefs, alone or with others, in public or inprivate»”.

John Paul IISpeech in occasion of the presentation of Credential Letters of the new ambassador of Kuwait

25 May 2000

The large number of Twentieth Century martyrs, so well described by Cardinal Angelo Sodano atFatima on May 13th 2000 as the “unending Via Crucis guided by the Popes of the Twentieth Century”,shook not only the consciences of the believers, but also of the “men of good will”.

The title and the content of the editorial that appeared in the Corriere della Sera on May 14th 2000written by Professor Ernesto Galli Della Loggia, “Un secolo contro Dio” (A century against God),expresses and synthesizes well the overall judgement on the century which has just come to an end.

Respect for the right of religious freedom, also thanks to the Magisterium on the theme by John Paul II,is beginning to acquire, in the conscience of public opinion, the value of the main parameter ofjudgement regarding the respect for human rights guaranteed by the numerous declarations agreed toby governments or emanated by international organizations.

The Report the “Aid for the Church in Need” makes available to the public wants to furnish a generalframework of the problem, taking into account practically all the world’s Nations.

The criterion followed is not a “confessional” type. In fact, the natural right that precedes religiousprofession is at stake. That is to say, the right to the search for truth, which in its actuality, is fulfilledby three conditions: the freedom of conversion, that is the free choice of truth which in conscience oneadheres to, the freedom of public practice of the cult, the freedom of international relations with thosesharing the same faith.

Ant attempt to separate these elements, coercing some, creates a wound in the religious freedom on awhole.

An aspect also regarding Nations that have had democratic institutions should be pointed out. Thetendency that endangers religious freedom through the creation of types of “lay inquisition”. That is tosay the improper attribution of the function of defining what are the admissible forms of religion topolice or governmental organizations.

Thereby, the danger of an attitude that defines any “strong” religious experience as “sectarian”. Thedanger of an “obligatory relativism” which can be perceived in some Nations through worrisomesymptoms.

“Aid to the Church in Need”, which for 53 years has committed itself to supporting the persecutedChurch or the Church with difficulties, believes that with this annual report it fulfills one of itsinstitutional duties. In fact, the public denunciation of the situations impeding the practice of religiousfreedom gives courage to the victims and frightens the torturers.

Rome, May 2000Attilio Tamburrini

Director of the Italian Secretariat ACS

AFGHANISTAN

Population 21.354.000

Surface Area 652.225 sq. Km.

Religion Sunni Muslims: 75%Shi’ite Muslims: 24%

Despite the fact that no Constitution exists (announced for the middle of 1999 but not emanated yet)the Koran is used as law, according to which no other profession of faith apart from Islam is allowed.The Christians are very few and only permitted to commit to social work and no religious work.According to the World Evangelization Research Center, they are 2.675 and there are 33 missions.

The Sunni Taleban regime, which controls most of the Nation, persecutes the Shi’ite Muslim who areconsidered as supporters of the Northern Alliance among which the Mujahiddin in the NorthernProvinces, along with the Sikhs and the Hindu. The Shi’ite opposition to the government (as referredby Ahmed Rashid in Les talibans au coeur de la déstabilisation régionale, in “Le Mondediplomatique”, November 1999) contests the concept of Jihad that the Taleban have, inasmuch asIslamic Law does not allow assassination of other Muslims.

In an article dedicated to the Nation and published in «Asia News» in February 1999, the journalistCamille Eid asserts, «in July ‘98, the state-run radio informed “all the autochthonous citizens andforeigners” that conversion to Islam is “strictly prohibited”. Whoever would be caught in violation tothis would have to undergo “Islamic chastisement”». Furthermore, even the international activities areseriously conditioned: «the Ong, accused of “anti-Taleban propaganda during the courses”, mustensure two hours per day of “Islamic lessons”». «A particular role — Eid continues — is played by the“Department for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice”, the religious police, lead byMullah Qalamuddin, perhaps the most powerful man in Kabul, and by his assistant Mullah MohammedSharif Haqqani; "Our department, Qalamuddin admits, has thousands of informants in the army, in theministries and in the hospitals, many of which are boys. We are an autonomous organization and we donot ask for advice from the Ministry of Justice or from the Supreme Court, to know what we mustimplement"».

Human Rights Watch World Report 2000 informs about the emanation of new decrees during themonth of September 1999. The content, in part, is what was already anticipated by the national radioand those involved are the non-Muslim, who are prohibited from building new places for the cult, butare allowed to practice in the existing ones. Also, the infidels must make their houses recognizable byusing a yellow cloth, they cannot live with any Muslims, while the infidel women must wear a yellowdress allowing Muslims to stay away from them.

There are also many training camps for Muslims coming from the ex Soviet Republics of Uzbekistan,Tajikistan and Kyrghyzstan. Also, this is where Osama Bin Laden lives, the sheik accused of being theleader of a terrorist organization that has made many attempts, among which the one dated August 7th

1998 against the American Embassies in Tanzania and in Kenya. In the daily «La Repubblica» datedDecember 31st 1999, there is an interview by Magdi Allah with the Egyptian Sheik Abu Hamza (“Howwe train Allah’s terrorists”), in which the Muslim leader asserts that the terrorists who kept more thanone hundred and fifty passengers of an Indian Airlines plane as hostages between December 24th and31st 1999 «are real professionals trained in highjacking airplanes by American and British specialistswho have converted to Islam and operate in Afghanistan». Also, according to the interview, «thecommando action that highjacked the Indian plane was achieved scrupulously following the preceptsand the religious and military traditions of Islam».

According to Alberto Negri (cf. Filari di papaveri rossi finanziano gli integralisti , in «Il Sole-24ore»dated December 29th 1999), «drug-trafficking is the main source of funding for the Taleban, but alsofor Osama Bin Laden and for the Pakistani Integralists in Kashmir. [...] The Taleban and Bin Laden’snetwork support, without any reservations, all the anti-Western Muslim groups and the Kashmirfighters. Therefore, the drug-trafficking finances three fronts: the internal front, where the Taleban stillhave not conquered the resistance group of the Tagiki Massud, the Lion of Panshir, the last warlord; theterrorist network of Bin Laden that has spread throughout the Middle East, Europe, the United States;and the guerilla warfare in Kashmir where thousands of Pakistanis who had participated in the marchon Kabul are fighting».

ALBANIA



Religion Muslims: 70%Orthodox: 20%Catholics: 10%

Number of Catholics 634.000

In the new Constitution dated 1998, article 24 guarantees freedom of religion, differing from thefundamental Charter going back to the Communist period that, in article 55, forbade any type ofreligious organization.

Even if no religion has been declared “official”, but are all considered “equal”, in reality, theauthorities recognize three predominant religious communities (Muslim, Orthodox, and RomanCatholic), which all have status as juridical beings and have the right to own property and buildings.The other religions, to obtain recognition as juridical beings, must register according to the law onassociations, acquiring, in this way, the status as non-profit organizations, conceded to culturalorganizations as well as religious and humanitarian ones.

De facto, the State recognizes the Muslim confraternity of the Bektashi, but they cannot have arepresentative in the Secretariat of State for Religions; all of their activities are placed under thesupervision of the Sunni community.Missionaries can operate freely in the Nation.

Society, after decades of forced atheism, is heavily secularized. Financial aid, to build mosques and forthe diffusion of Islam, is sent here from Saudi Arabia.

The government still hasn’t returned all of the buildings that were confiscated from the Islamic,Orthodox and Catholic churches during the Communist regime; according to the Annual Report onInternational Religious Freedom 1999 by the United States State Department 1999, even if in somecases these are returned, often the areas next to these buildings have not been returned to the legitimateowners.

During the past two years, many Orthodox churches and monasteries have been damaged or profanedby unidentified persons: this is the denouncement made by the Helsinki Committee, in the reportpresented on August 26th, and picked up by the «Human Rights Without Frontiers» dated August 30th

1999. In the report, the following can be read: «these acts of vandalism make up a dangerous assaultagainst the tradition of religious tolerance in Albania». The Metropolite Anastasios from the AlbanianOrthodox Church, while having pointed out the acts of vandalism against the Orthodox churches andbuildings, calling for greater religious tolerance, also pointed out that all of this was mainly due to theinsecure atmosphere present in the Nation, which is a type of religious persecution. The «Keston NewsService» dated September 1st 1999 affirms that on the occasion of the destruction of buildings for thecult, unanimous condemnation was registered on the part of the Orthodox, Catholic and Muslimreligions.

In the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 1999 by the United States State Department,the complaints by the Albanian Evangelical Alliance, about the administrative difficulties encounteredin building and access to the media, has been registered. For a while now, the Evangelical communityhas been trying to obtain official recognition and participation in the religious affairs section of theCouncil of Ministers.

From the same source we have learned that the Sunni and Orthodox Churches greatly pressure theauthorities to hold back the activities of the Baha’i considered a menace to Albanian society by them.Hazhi Hafiz Savri Koci, the leader of the Sunni Muslim community, asserted, «the virus of pseudo-religions, like the Baha’i, are infiltrating our weak body. We are at war with them because they aretrying to corrupt our souls through the power of money, spreading beliefs and superstitions that arecompletely extraneous to the Albanian character and tradition».

ALGERIA


Surface Area 2.381.741 sq. Km.

Religion Sunni Muslims: 99,5%Catholics: 0,1%


As declared in the Constitution, the State religion is Islam, the only religion that can be practicedwithout juridical limitations. Yet, the 1996 Constitution and the 1997 Law on political parties prohibitthe formation of parties based on religion, language, race or region.

The Christian and Hebrew communities, for security reasons concentrated in the cities of Algiers,Constantine and Oran, apart from Cabilia, while their numbers continue to diminish (the Catholics havegone from 68.500 in 1970 to today’s 400, according to Don Gianni Mondino, interviewed by the«Avvenire» on September 2nd 1999; the Hebrews from 3.000 to 100 in the same period of time) maypractice their faith without any interference from the government. However, according to the AnnualReport on International Religious Freedom 1999 by the United States State Department, publicassemblies for the spreading of non-Islamic religions are prohibited, even if Catholic churches functionregularly. Any non-Islamic religious type of importation undergoes government restrictions.

Even the educational system heavily feels the preference given to the Muslim religion and privateschools are not allowed.

Because of the possible legal implications, conversions from Islam and other religions do not occur,only clandestinely. Also, because of the effects of family law based on the Koranic Law, women arenot allowed to marry non-Muslim men.

Approximately 80000 civilians died in 1993, as referred by the «Fides» news agency on July 31st

(while the American Report mentions 77000 killed in seven years), because of the offense begun in1993 by Islamic terrorists against Hebrews, Christians and polytheists, but also included manymoderate Muslims. According to the «Ansa» news agency on February 9th 2000, at least 10000 personshave been kidnapped and never found in Algeria by the Islamic terrorists during the period from 1992to April 1999. This number was calculated thanks to the police papers and the families’denouncements.

To put an end to the war that was shedding blood in the Nation, the President of the Republic,Abdelaziz Bouteflika, proposed and had the Parliament approve a law promulgated on July 13th 1999, aplan for national peace that foresaw the pardon for all the Islamic militants had they deposed theirweapons by January 13th. Ratified by a referendum in September however not accepted by the ArmedIslamic Group, this accord still has not been applied in some regions of the West and in Cabilia. By thedate of December 8th 1999, the «L’Osservatore Romano» asserts, 3000 victims fell after thepromulgation of the law. And according to the «Il Sole-24ore» dated January 4th 2000, the militarywing of the Islamic Front for Salvation announced the suspension of the accord, motivating this with a“turnabout” by the government that didn’t respect the terms.

ANDORRA

Population 72.000

Surface Area 453 sq. Km.

Religion Catholics: 92%Protestants: 0,5%

Hebrews: 0,4%Number of Catholics 59.000

The Constitution, which guarantees religious freedom, recognizes a particular relation with the RomanCatholic Church, «in conforming to the tradition of Andorra»: one of the two principles constitutionallydesigned to practice sovereignty in the Nation is, along with the President of France, the bishop of theSpanish city of La Seu D'urgell, Joan Marti Alanis. Ninety percent of the population belongs to theRoman Catholic religion.

The seven Catholic parishes, while not receiving any direct financing from the State, have a monthlywage, in compensation for their work in registering events such as births and weddings.

Today, no law exists that requires legal registration by the various religious movements (the 1993 law,which provides that various associations must be registered, this has yet to be applied to religiousassociations): however, the government is examining a project for a law that, if approved, could bringgreater control to the State, in particular with regards to new religious movements and other groups.

Religious education is foreseen in the public schools, based on the Catholic doctrine, but is notobligatory: the students can choose between one course and another, such as ethics or civic education.In 1998, the government tried to eliminate religious education in public schools, but this raisedreactions and objections on the part of parent associations and by Bishop Marti.

ANGOLA



Religion Catholics: 65%Protestants: 20%

Animists: 10%Number of Catholics 6.818.000

The State proclaimed freedom of religion and complete separation between the State and the Church.Activities by all religions are allowed when compatible with public order and national interests, even ifa decree from 1995, still in place, prohibits any cult demonstrations outside of authorized locations.

After the fall of the Socialist-Communist regime, the State returned most of the confiscated ecclesialproperty, but according to the 1999 dossier by the Aide à l’Eglise en détresse, the fights between theauthorities and the Catholic Church still occur. The Catholic Church is committed to an effort of peaceto resolve the armed conflict that opposes the government party, the Mpla, to the military wing of theNUTIA by Jonas Savimbi (National Union for Total Independence of Angola), especially in theNorthern territories of the Nation. Also, because of the war, missions and churches are often subject toransacking and assaults that endanger the priests, the religious persons, seminarians and catechists.During the night between January 4th and 5th 1999 – as referred by «Eglise dans le monde» in thesecond publication of 1999 – an armed group attacked a mission at Katchiungo, approximately 50 kms.from Huambo. During the military action, Don Albino Saluhaku and his lay collaborators AgostinoSamalina and Bastiao Kakundongo were killed, while two Angolan sisters from the order of SaintTheresa of the Child Jesus, Natalia Viti and Domingas Galsina, were kidnapped. The two religioussisters managed to evade. The next day in the same diocese of Huambo, other two catechists and apriest were killed.

Msgr. Francisco da Mata Mourisco, the Capuchin Bishop of Uije, stated, to the same source, that hewas unable to communicate anymore with approximately half of his own diocese and in particular withthe missions in the areas occupied by the NUTIA.

The 1999 June-July edition of «Mondo e Missione» informs that the government called to arms all theyouths born between 1978 and 1980, without any exception for the seminarians, applying the law to theletter for the first time and thus prejudicing the development of priests' ordinations.

On October 25th 1999, the news agency «Misna» made known that the Portuguese Spiritan missionaryAlfonso Moreira, the Bailundo parish priest, was safe and sound, who had remained isolated along withsome of the sisters in the city during an occupation by the NUTIA.

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Population 67.000

Surface Area 442 sq. Km.

Religion Protestants: 74%Catholics: 11%


The Constitution establishes freedom of religion and the government does not limit the freedom ofreligious minorities. Generally, the relations between the various religions are friendly.

ARGENTINA



Religion Catholics: 91%Number of Catholics 32.088.000

The Constitution guarantees all residents the right to «freely profess one’s faith» and also declares thateven the foreigners have same civil rights as the citizens, including the right to freely practice one’sfaith. The Constitution establishes that the Federal Government supports the Catholic religion. Thegovernment helps the Catholic Church with an annual contribution of 15 million dollars, administeredby the Secretariat for Worship in the Office of the Presidency. The Secretariat is responsible for thegubernatorial relations with the Catholic Church and with other religious organizations in the Nation.The pre-requisite that the President of the Republic had to be a Catholic was abolished in 1994, withconstitutional modifications. The Secretariat for Worship keeps a national register of approximately2.800 religious organizations.

The religious organizations that wish to publicly practice their faith and to obtain tax exemptions mustregister with the Secretariat and present periodic reports, to maintain this status. Owning a place ofworship, a statute and an ordained clergy make up the determining criteria for the Secretariat forregistration.Since 1995, there is a law that recognizes the Hebrew celebrations of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

The registered religious organizations may invite foreign missionaries to the Nation by presenting arequest to the Secretariat for Worship, who, in turn, notifies the immigration authorities, so that thecorrect documents may be prepared.

Public schooling is lay-oriented, but the students may request religious education; religious teaching isentrusted to the same school or to a religious institution, according to what the circumstances permit.Many Churches manage private schools, including seminaries and universities. The relations betweenthe various religions are friendly.

ARMENIA



Religion Christians: 90%Number of Catholics 147.000

Ninety percent of the population nominally belongs to the Armenian Apostolic Church, and even ifreligious observance has strongly diminished after the years of Soviet domination, the Christianreligion still is a characteristic trait of the national identity for many citizens. This feeling of belonginghas been reinforced during the past years, also because of the war for control of the self-proclaimedRepublic of Nagorno-Karabachskaja, when Armenia and Azerbaijan extradited the Azer Muslimminorities and the Armenian Christian minorities present in each country.

The 1991 law on freedom of conscience, then amended in 1997, while establishing the separationbetween State and Church, recognizes the Armenian Apostolic Church as the State Church. With apresidential decree in 1993, the Council for religious affairs was constituted, to control the activities ofthe registered religious organizations and to prohibit missionary activities.

The Armenian Apostolic Church has no restrictions on its activities, as opposed to the other religions,which are prohibited from proselytism (even if this term is not clearly defined in the law).

The Human Rights Watch World Report 2000 mentions an atmosphere of terror, lived by the religiousminorities in the Nation. Something that blocked certain groups from formally requesting registrationfor fear of violent retaliation, like what happened in 1995 to the members of twelve confessions notlinked to the Armenian Apostolic Church.

All the other religions must obtain permission from the Council to practice religious activities in publicplaces, as well for trips abroad for their followers and to invite foreign visitors to the Nation. Also,professions originating from other countries are prohibited from receiving financing from abroad. The1997 law has made the necessary requisites for registration much more stringent (needed for thepublication of newspapers or magazines, for leasing meeting places, for transmitting television or radioprograms), since the minimum number of adult members required went from 50 to 200. There are 48registered groups, but not all of the groups recognized before the 1997 law have re-obtainedregistration, like the Hare Krishna – who, because of the lack of members required, didn’t even requestit – and Jehovah’s Witnesses, who once again have been refused registration. Before 1997, the reasonfor denial referred to their refusal to the military service and now, the Council motivated the denial bysaying that the activity of illegal proselytism is an integrating part of the group’s activities.

According to the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 1999 by the United States StateDepartment, some social discriminations have been registered regarding the workplaces, on the part offollowers of foreign religious movements and various difficulties have been verified concerningJehovah’s Witnesses, some being imprisoned or in probate because accused of refusing the draft: evenif an alternative to the military service is acknowledged, that is teaching in forgotten villages in theterritories, this right was not conceded to Jehovah’s Witnesses. The «Keston News Service» relates, onAugust 10th 1999, that nine Jehovah’s Witnesses are in prison now for having refused to undergo themilitary service. Not having a law with regards to conscientious objectors in Armenia, the objectors arejudged according to the laws foreseen in the penal code, in particular according to articles 75, 255 and275, which punish desertion.

The Islamic minorities are discriminated: there are no places for prayer in the Nation, except for theancient mosque in Yerevan, open to worship, recently restored by Iranian financing.

AUSTRALIA



Religion Protestants: 43,9%Catholics: 27,3%

Orthodox: 2,8%Muslims: 0,9%

Buddhists: 0,8%Hebrews: 0,4%

Number of Catholics 5.323.000

The Constitution guarantees religious freedom and this principle seems to be respected; a declaration inthe Constitution prohibits adopting a State religion. Equal rights are recognized to the religiousminorities. The recent increase of immigration coming from Southwest Asia and from the Middle Easthas sensibly increased the number of citizens of the Buddhist and Islamic religions (respectively 200thousand and 68 thousand according to the 1996 census). According to the Annual Report onInternational Religious Freedom 1999 by the United States State Department, there aren’t anytestimonies regarding discriminations inherent to the religious sphere.

AUSTRIA




Muslims: 2%Hebrews: 0,1%


Religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution. The Law on the recognition of the Churches dated1884 established the status of the religious organizations, and the Law dated January 1998 establishedthe status on the “confessional communities”.

From the legal point of view, there are three types of religious organizations: the officially recognizedreligious societies, the religious confessional communities and the clubs. The first ones have the statusof “public law corporations” and have a series of privileges that are not allowed to the others: they cantake part in various public activities, they receive state funding for the salaries of the clergy andreligion teachers (in the public as well as in the private schools) and the clergy have the possibility towork in hospitals, in prisons and in army barracks. In January 1998, the new law confirmed the statusof the twelve recognized the existing religious societies. The other Churches that wish to obtain suchrecognition have new requisites, among which a waiting period of ten years between the time of therequest and the concession. Also, the religious organizations must be made up of at least 300 membersand must present their statute to the government, describing the rights and duties of the members. Theirdoctrine must differ from that of the other already recognized religions and must not violate publicorder and security, the health, the morals or the citizens’ rights to freedom.

According to the new law, those groups that are not recognized can receive the status of “confessionalcommunities”, without the privileges however, in the fiscal or educational field that the religioussocieties have. Having a juridical status they can however take up various activities such as buyingproperty or contracting for goods and services. They must undergo an observation period of six monthsbefore being able to receive this status. According to the data made public by the Ministry of Cultureand Education and reported in the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom by the UnitedStates Department in 1999. Only 11 organizations, up to April 1999, have presented requests forrecognition as confessional communities. And of these, 9 have already received recognition; amongwhich the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who after various requests, received this opportunity and are nowundergoing the necessary ten years of observation to become officially recognized religious societies.

The other religious organizations that do not come under either of the preceding categories are “clubs”:this status is given rather easily, but this does not allow having juridical existence, and thereby beingable to undertake all the necessary activities.

Those who promoted the new law believe that this creates an opportunity for some groups to obtainofficial registration as religious organizations; according to what the Annual Report on InternationalReligious Freedom 1999 by the United States State Department says, many non-recognized religiousgroups and certain lawyers experts in religious legislation have criticized the law, because it hasincreased the number of pre-requisites necessary in obtaining registration and formalizing a secondclass status for non-recognized groups. Some experts have even placed certain doubts as to theconstitutionality of the law.

The Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 1999 by the United States State Departmentinforms that the campaign, which began in 1996, against the new religious movements believed to bepotentially dangerous to the individuals and to society is continuing. As a part of this campaign, theMinistry for the Family, the youth, the environment, created a new federal Office that gathersinformation on those movements active in the Nation. The same source also informs that in April 1999,the convention of the Popular Austrian Party formally accepted the decision taken by the executivebranch in 1997, by which belonging to the party is formally incompatible with belonging to a sect.Shortly afterwards, a Parliamentary member from the Northern Province of Austria proposed that thoserequesting civil service must also sign a declaration saying that they are not members of Scientologyand that they do not share the same goals.

In a speech held on October 27th 1998 in Warsaw, Doctor Laila Al-Marayati, the United States delegateto the Encounter for the Revision of the Application of the OCSE Accord (the European Organizationfor Security and Cooperation), noted that «during the observation period the statute of the juridicalbeing is denied and that religious observance can be “liquidated” if the government ascertains that thegroup violates, among other criteria, the democratic interests, public security, public order, the healthand morals, or the protection of the rights and freedom of others. The groups placed in this categorycannot obtain visas for missionaries or for foreign visitors and do not have any of the other privilegesheld by the twelve legally recognized communities. The norms that state that the statutes of a religiousbody must include the description of a religious doctrine differing from the doctrines of other Churchesor communities also worries the United States delegation, because this makes the government the finaljudge on theological disputes.

Certain religious groups, among which a certain number of independent Protestant Churches, havestatutes as “associations”, with rudimentary juridical existence that allows them to open bank accountsand to own property. However, these associations do not have the right to visit prisoners in the jails orthe sick in the hospitals, they cannot obtain visas for foreign missionaries or visitors and they do nothave any of the other privileges that the other twelve legally recognized communities have. Certaingroups have even been denied the statute as “associations”, among these the Church of Unification,who in this way cannot act in a juridical way with regards to the potentially defamatory articles in theAustrian press since they do not have juridical existence according to the Austrian law and therebycannot act in court. This intrinsic inequality tied to this juridical being concerns the United StatesDelegation, particularly in view of the fact that Austria proposed the formulation of Paragraph 16 of theconclusive Act of Vienna in 1989 which asks the member Nations to “promote a climate of toleranceand mutual respect” for all religious groups. «Another reason for concern is the foundation ofgovernment information centers to warn the public about certain groups considered “dangerous” by thegovernment. The French and the Austrian governments have promoted telephone help-lines and –through various information centers sponsored and financed by the government – spread informationon religious groups. […] The spreading of information that may be defined propaganda bygovernments through these centers place a specific amount of doubts on the commitment that Austria,France, Belgium and Germany have agreed to “to promote a climate of tolerance and mutual respect”.Also, these activities involve the government in an excessive way in the public debates on religiousbeliefs and place the government in the role as religious referee. The statute of the Muslim minoritiesand majorities, immigrants or nationals, in the OSCE member Nations is often precarious. Variouscountries – such as Spain, Austria and Belgium – are adopting different means to make room for theirMuslim populations and to integrate them».

The daily «Avvenire» dated December 16th 1999, informs that towards the end of November the firstIslamic college recognized by the state was opened in Vienna, which was the first institute of its kind tobe present in a Teutonic Nation. The lessons are held in German and 29 students of Turkish origins areregistered there. Also, two hours per week are dedicated to religion classes.

AZERBAIJAN


Surface Area 86.600 sq. km.

Religion Shi’ite Muslim: 62%Sunni Muslim: 26%

Orthodox: 12%;

Having emanated an accord dated October 12th 1997 on the nine-year long war against Armenia for thecontrol of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabach, the Azer State has been accused of notrespecting human rights because of this.

Religious freedom suffers for these restrictions created by the laws on religion in a very special way:among other things, this requires all religious organizations to be registered, and, to do this, first theymust obtain approval by the Department of Religious Affairs for the Council of Ministers and thentheir formal registration by the Justice Ministry. This procedure, according to the Annual Report onInternational Religious Freedom 1999 by the United States Department of State, is characterized by alack of transparency, in particular during the first stage, the Departmental one, which creates a real andtrue impediment to registration. The lack of registration blocks associations from having a legal status,and therefore to have bank accounts, to rent property, etc. According to the data published by thegovernment, among the movements registered, there are 190m Muslim organizations and 50 «other»groups. The law on religion subordinates all the Islamic religious organizations to the SpiritualDirectory of the Caucasian Muslims. Idayat Orujev, the State Councilor for politics on nationality,asserted that according to what was reported by the «Keston News Service» on July 1st 1999,approximately one hundred religious associations, among which three Muslim communities, haveobtained registration by the Direction of Religious Affairs, a necessary step to conclude the relativepapers with the Ministry of Justice.

The Catholic parish of Baku, after having waited for nine months, obtained registration on April 2nd,and Father Pilus, a Polish man, was nominated the parish priest. The same source refers that thisnomination created a lot of accusations regarding illegal practices, especially on the press level and bythe local Orthodox Christians, because the Azer law blocks any missionary activity by foreigners.Quite a few years have gone by since a Christian group has been registered as a religious association;till now, many Protestant denominations had to act in conditions of ambiguity, disguising theirreligious nature with stratagems and generic names. Eldar Zeynalov, the President of the Human RightsCenter of Azerbaijan, referred to «Keston» that «many Protestant organizations in Azerbaijan areusually registered as charitable associations: for example the Adra, the Umcor, Greater Grace, etc. TheAzerbaijan Bible Society was registered as an association of book lovers». In December 1999,«Compass Direct» dated January 21st 2000 reports that even the Cathedral of Praise and the Church ofNehemiah have obtained registration after more than a one-year wait.

The Law on religious freedom also foresees other restrictions on foreign activities or for Azers who donot belong to the traditional groups. For example, foreigners are prohibited from any religiouspropaganda or religious proselytism. According to what is reported by the Annual Report onInternational Religious Freedom 1999, prejudice and hostility towards Azers having converted toreligions considered extraneous to the National traditions is growing in a great way among thepopulation. In 1998 and in 1999, various articles appearing in newspapers have described Christianmissionary groups as a danger to the National identity. According to the «Keston News Service» datedOctober 1st 1999, the most frequent accusations against Christian Azers are those of being paid by theUnited States or of being Armenian spies working against Azerbaijan. On September 5th, the policeraided the Baptist Church in Baku during a Sunday function and arrested 60 persons – among whichchildren and youths – who were repeatedly asked to sign a paper declaring that they had participated inan illegal meeting and promising never to do this again in the future. The Pastor of the Church, SaryMirzoyev, and his assistant, Yahya Mamedov, were arrested and freed after having spent 15 days injail. The 8 foreigners present at the function were condemned to expatriation, with the accusation ofhaving made religious propaganda. The raid occurred despite the fact that the Church was regularlyregistered. The Baku Christians declared that this episode can be inserted in a more vast framework ofillegal operations done against the Christian Azers during the last few months; various other religiousmeetings had been interrupted by the police, many of the faithful were taken to the police stations and

obliged to declare believing in the Prophet Mohammed rather then in Jesus Christ, just because theywere Azers.

According to information published on November 16th 1999 by «Human Rights Without Frontiers», thePresident Heider Aliev (who – as referred by «Compass Direct» dated January 21st 2000 –, at thebeginning of November, had publicly promised to reinforce the constitutional guarantees in defense ofreligious freedom to the United States Ambassador Escudero), after a great deal of pressure by foreignNations, in particular the United States and Norway – who accused the Nation of violating humanrights -, revoked the procedures against the Baptists in Baku.

Even the German Lutheran community was raided during a Sunday celebration, according to a newsitem from the «Compass Direct» dated October 1st 1999: the preceding September 26th, the police andcertain secret service agents interrupted the rite and wrote down the names of all those attending the“illegal encounter”. According to the German Pastor, Gunther Oborski, this police action had beenrequested of the Commission for religious affairs by the President of the Council of the Church,Tamara Gumbatoba, who had been opposed to Oborski’s ministry ever since his arrival, asserting thatthe 1996 Law, that prohibits religious propaganda by foreigners, does not allow a foreign pastor to leada community.

Jehovah’s Witnesses still continue to be persecuted: their reunions are often interrupted by the police,who then confiscate the religious materials and the passports of the participants. «Keston NewsService» dated September 1st 1999 reports the arrest of Ibrahim Yuzbeyov, A Jehovah’s Witness,condemned to 15 days detention for having practiced his faith: books and videocassettes were takenaway from his apartment, which was searched without the mandatory search warrant. There was notrial, nor could Yuzbeyov ask for a lawyer, despite the sentence of the Constitutional Court that saysthat, from July 13th, all persons placed under administrative arrest have the right to be legallyrepresented. The Human Rights Watch World Report 2000 also tells about the violence endured byRovshan Mursalov in August 1999, beaten in a police station after having presented his request forcivil service.

All the Armenian churches, many destroyed by fighting during the preceding years, have remainedclosed. As a consequence if this, the 10-30 thousand Armenians remaining in Azerbaijan do not haveplaces for worship.

BAHRAIN

Population 595.000

Surface Area 678 sq. km.

Religion Shi’ite Muslims: 57,3%Sunni Muslims: 24,5%

Christians: 8,5%Number of Catholics 30.000

The Constitution establishes that the national religion is Islam. The State exerts a very strong controlover the Shi’ite and Sunni communities in the Nation. While there is a Sunni majority, the politicalpower is firmly in the hands of a Sunni family and there is tension between the faithful of the twogroups. Since almost half of the residents do not belong to Islam, there is a certain tolerance towardsother confessions. Therefore, according to the 1999 Annual Report by the United States Department ofState, different temples, synagogues and churches do exist and bibles and books on religious mattersare freely sold.

The same source also refers to the state of detention of approximately 700 Shi’ites for reasons of publicorder, after the liberation of another 350 in June 1999.

The Human Rights Watch World Report 2000 refers about the end of the Shi’ite Sheik ’Abd al-Amiral-Jamri incarceration, who was jailed in 1992 and condemned to ten years of imprisonment after thecourt processes which only began in February of 1999. Graced by the Emir on July 8th, the Muslimleader however had to sign a confession and he is forbidden from any public activities, includingreligious sermons. According to the same source, another seven persons arrested with al-Jamri still areimprisoned without accusations and without having been to court since January 1996.

To protect the Muslim faith, anti-Islamic writings are prohibited and, even if there are no formalprohibitions for conversion from the Muslim to other religious faiths, these are discouraged, becausethey are seen as religious propaganda.

The official news agency of the emirate, «Gulf News», repeated in the «Ansa» dated January 12th 2000,refers to the will to open up diplomatic relations between Bahrain and the Vatican.

BANGLADESH



Religion Muslims: 88,3%Hindus: 10,5%

Buddhists: 0,6%Christians: 0,3%


The national religion is Islam, but other confessions are permitted and the State is the guarantor of thisfreedom. However, conversions from Islam are discouraged, as is religious propaganda, by refusingentry visas to missionaries. Teaching religion in the schools is given according to the religion of thestudent.

According to the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 1999 by the United States StateDepartment, the public authorities are not doing enough to avoid the persecutions against the followersof the Ahmdiya religion. In January 1999, this communities’ ‘temple’ in Koldiar was attacked andransacked by hundreds of Muslims who also beat the Ahmidya up. Supposedly, those responsible forthis belonging to the local police have been removed from their offices, for not having stopped theviolence.

Christians encounter many difficulties in being accepted by the followers of the other religions of theNation. «Asia news», in April 1999, relates this analysis, made by the Bengalese President of theYoung Men’s Christian Association on February 21st 1999 during the commemoration of the Father ofthe Land, Bengalis. Shahriahr Kabir, a Muslim writer and journalist, on the very same occasion,defended the Christians by relating their contribution to the promotion of the Bangla language andculture.A Christian radio station, «Radio Veritas Asia», freely diffuses its programs in the Bengali language.

BARBADOS

Population 268.000


Religion Protestants: 62,8 %Catholics: 4,4 %


The Constitution establishes religious freedom and this right is also applied to the minorities. Therelations between the various religious communities are generally friendly.

BELARUS



Religion Orthodox: 32%Catholics: 18%


Located between Poland and Russia, Belarus was an area of interaction as well as of competition andconflict between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

Article 16 of the Constitution amended in 1996, while reasserting the equality of religions by the law;in a rather ambiguous way it states that the cooperation between the State and the religiousorganizations «is regulated according to the influence on the formation by the spiritual, cultural andnational traditions of the Belarus people». Since his election, President Lukashenko, with his pro-Russian politics, widely favored the Orthodox Church – even towards reinforcing the Slav unity in theregion -, and conceded many advantages and economic aid to it. The 1999 Annual Report onInternational Religious Freedom by the United States State Department refers that Lukashenko hasdefined the conservation and the development of Orthodox Christianity as a «moral necessity».

The State Commission on Religious and National Affairs declared that there are 26 officiallyrecognized religious denominations, but not all of them are registered as religions, this being anecessary requisite to open churches and freely practice worship. Without registering, it is impossibleto rent or buy locations that can be used for group prayer. With regards to what the 1999 AnnualReport on International Religious Freedom by the United States State Department refers, certainreligious encounters, held peacefully in private homes, have been interrupted by police intervention.Registration has been denied to certain religions considered “non-traditional” and to all thoseconsidered as “sects”. In a conference organized by the Orthodox Church with President Lukashenko’sNational Assembly, the need to introduce appropriate legislation to fight the “destructive sects” thatoperate illegally in the Nation was discussed. To be a member of a “non-traditional” religion,especially if not recognized, can be an obstacle to a state employee’s career.

In 1989, Belarus was declared an Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, and therefore the BelarusOrthodox Church was born: its Patriarch, Philetus, in a conference held in Minsk last April, declaredthat he was willing to cooperate only with those religious confessions historically rooted in the Nation,and being contrary to the «invasion of those foreign religions that corrupt the souls» - as referred by the1999 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom by the United States State Department.

The second group in the Nation, the Catholics, is historically tied to the Polish community. In fact,many reside in the Western part of the Nation, next to the Polish boundary. Cardinal Swiatek,knowledgeable of the risk of being considered a “foreign” Church and thereby a political danger,forbade the use of Polish national symbols in the churches and encouraged using Belarus symbolsinstead. The 1999 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom by the United States StateDepartment refers that the Catholic Church had some difficulties in obtaining permission from thegovernment for a certain number of priests to reside, to face the scarcity of the local clergy.Lukashenko’s government gave permission to open a seminary, however stating that following thisevent; no foreign priest would ever be allowed to operate in the Nation.

It would seem that the leaders of the Orthodox Church as well as the State authorities vigorouslyoppose the constitution of an autonomous Belarus Orthodox Church. One of its exponents, Father YanSpasyuk, accused the Exarchate of Belarus of having put pressure on so that his parish in the village ofPogranichny, which he has been waiting for since 1998, would not be registered: this is referred by the«Keston News Service» dated November 24th 1999. The same agency on the following December 10th

refers the assertions of certain officials of the State Commission for ethic and religious affairs ofMinsk, according to which the “destructive” nature of the group was the reason for the denial forregistration. On November 7th, the police raided the private home in which the priest and his followerswere praying, asking that the rite be stopped because the Church wasn’t registered with the localauthorities. Father Spasyuk – who left the Russian Orthodox Church after some conflicts arose with hisleaders and who was accused of financial corruption - denounced the following: «Illegitimacy,

impunity and irresponsibility, growing vigorously in Belarus at this time, make people believe that theConstitution guarantees rights only to the dominating elite». Up until today, no autonomous BelarusOrthodox Church has been recognized, but we do not even know how many requests have been made.Apart from the one by Father Spasyuk, the community lead by Petro Hushcha, in the village ofSiomkav Haradok, tried to register itself in 1998, but was blocked by the authorities. MonsignorHushcha was then arrested in March of that same year, accused of “destructive behavior” andcondemned to three years of forced labor in jail. To avoid incarceration, he hid after judgment waspassed and now is being looked for by the secret services. However there is a diffuse conviction thatthe accusations were a fabrication to impede his work within the autonomous Orthodox Church.

According to the 1999 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom by the United States StateDepartment, last year there was a deterioration regarding respect for religious freedom. Apart from amore severe application of the laws in this matter, in February 1999 the Council of Ministers approvedcertain restrictive norms on the activities of foreign priests and religious workers, to protect theOrthodox Church and to prevent the growth of Evangelical religions. Based on this new decree, foreignmissionaries can only be religious persons (not laypersons or women) and cannot practice outside ofthe institutions that have invited them, or they will be expelled. The visas for “spiritual activities”,lasting one year, are often difficult to obtain, even for members of registered religions.

The government seems to maintain good relations with the leaders of the Jewish communities. Afterthe fire that struck the main synagogue in Minsk on April 11th 1999, the State Commission forReligious and National Affairs reached an agreement with the head of the Union of the Belarus JewishOrganizations to fight anti-Semitism. Last June, the State Commission for the Press sent an officialwarning to the local newspaper «Lichnost», because of its articles against the Jews. The 1999 AnnualReport on International Religious Freedom by the United States State Department refers that manyJews fear Lukashenko’s government becoming close to Russia, because this could be followed by anincrease in anti-Semitism, even more so because of the President’s appeal for a “Slav solidarity” waspicked up by the Russian anti-Semite organizations, for example Russian National Unity, whosepublications are distributed in various public places in the city of Minsk.

Giving back the properties confiscated during the Nazi and the Communist regimes to the variousChurches still is very slow and problematic, especially because of the lack of legal references. TheOrthodox Church seems to be the one that has achieved the greatest success in the restitution process.

BELGIUM



Religion Catholics: 88%Muslims: 1,1%

Protestants: 0,4%Number of Catholics 8.274.000

The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. There are six officially recognize religions: Catholics,Protestants, Jews, Anglicans, Muslims and Greek and Russian Orthodox. The State offers subsidies toeach of these for the maintenance of religious persons and for the construction or restoration of thechurches. The Government allows religious instruction in the in the public schools, where a teacher foreach of the six recognized religions is present; there are also Catholic schools that benefit by state aid.

To obtain recognition, this must be requested from the Government, who decides with reference to fiveparameters: 1) the religion must have a structure or a hierarchy; 2) it must have an adequate number ofmembers; 3) it must have been in Belgium for a longish period of time; 4) it must offer social values tothe public; 5) it must follow the State Laws and respect public order.

On December 13th 1998, the Muslim community elected its representatives for the first time, which willhave the duty to dialogue with the public powers. The State did not preventively check out the namesof the candidates and this – according to Macine Beyens, President of the provisional executive -«came about to allow truly democratic and popular elections», as reported by «Le Soir» datedFebruary 26th 1999. Of the seventeen members elected however, the Government only approvedsixteen, believing that the seventeenth – who may however by substituted – is a representative of anExtremist Islamic Branch.

Accusations of discrimination have reached the Government of the Evangelical Association, which wasrefused recognition as a religion separate from Protestantism. According to the 1999 Annual Report onInternational Religious Freedom by the United States State Department, the Government is mediatingthe possibility for this group to obtain an important position within the already recognized ProtestantChurch.

The main complaints as to religious discrimination however are coming from the new religiousmovements. In 1997, the Government instituted a Parliamentary Commission to examine the potentialdangers for society represented by “sects”. The final report by this Commission points out a distinctionbetween respectable groups, which reflect the normal practice of freedom of religion, and dangerousorganizations, which constitute a danger to the individual and to society. A list of 189 sectarianmovements was also attached to this report.

This report gave rise to great discussion, especially concerning the aforementioned list, which wasjudged as a kind of “black list” by the adepts of the various religious movements. Various religiousgroups have complained about discrimination since their names are on this list. This is confirmed bywhat has been reported by «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on November 1st 1999, which is to saythat the rigid surveillance undergone by certain groups is due to the presence of their names on this list:also, «the use of anti-terrorism brigades in all interventions by the police force on these “sects” givesthe impression to the media that the incriminated movements, their leaders and their members aredangerous. Behind these operations, one can see is a very clear strategy consisting in intimidating thereligious minorities, paralyzing their activities and isolating them».

A group of Seventh Day Adventists from Nivelles was denied the possibility of renting a building forreligious readings by the municipal authorities, according to the 1999 Annual Report on InternationalReligious Freedom by the United States State Department. According to the same source, certainFlemish courts have established – with regards to entrusting children to separated couples – that theparent not having custody of the minor, if a Jehovah’s Witness, is not allowed to expose his/her child toteachings or lifestyles of this religion during visitation hours, since this has been judged as harmful tothe children.

In another divorce case – reported by the «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on November 15th 1999 -,a mother belonging to the Pentecostal Protestant denomination the «Church of God and Prophecy» was

denied custody of her children during the first instance at the Zaventem court. She was later allowed tovisit them but only if she committed to not having them go to her Church. The father who has custodyover the children was condemned to three years of jail for armed robbery.

In May 1998, the Belgium Parliament instituted the “Center for Information and Council on DangerousSectarian Organizations”, with the job of studying the phenomenon of new religious movements,organizing a documentation center and to inform the public at large. The Center is also authorized togather personal data on all adepts of the so-called potentially dangerous sects. During the June 13th

elections, the anti-sect campaign was one of the main points for the French community – as reported by«Le Soir» on March 6th 1999 – which launched an informational campaign in March entitled "GurouGare à toi", particularly concerning that range of the population making up ideal targets for the newreligious movements. The Anthroposophist Society sued the French Community for two passages itdeemed defamatory. On April 23rd 1999, they obtained a suspension of the campaign by the BrusselsTribunal, until references were removed indicating a doctor as anthroposophist for having cared for acancer patient in a dubious way, who died shortly after; even if at the time, the Society rectified thefalse information and distanced itself from the doctor himself (who – as reported by the Society – wasnot part of the movement). Following this sentence, the «Droits de l’homme sans frontières» datedNovember 1st 1999 asserts that the Belgium Anthroposophist community in the French Territories hadundergone administrative harassment, as opposed to what was going on in the Flemish Territories. Thesame source on February 16th 2000 informs that the Court of Appeals annulled the decision by theBrussels Tribunal, officially to respect the freedom of expression of the French-speaking community.However, this latter accepted the discontinuation of its campaign.

Anthroposophy also declared itself, for various reasons, contrary to the creation of a Center forInformation on Sects; first of all because the parameter of “danger” is very vague and may be appliedto all groups – even to those who operate legally – in an indiscriminate way; in the second place,because they believe that this violates certain constitutional principles, inasmuch as not only isreligious freedom at stake here, but also the freedom of association and the respect for privacy. TheAnthroposophist Society, as reported by «De Morgen» on May 18th 1999, believes that this policy isthe manifestation of skepticism the Belgium have towards anything unusual or unknown, thereforeanybody thinking differently from the majority becomes suspect.

«Droits de l’homme sans frontières» dated November 1st 1999 reports several cases in which a strategyof intimidation towards new religious movements can be seen. Accelerating this process might also bethe anti-sect position taken up by the Minister for Internal Affairs, Antoine Duquesnes, and once thePresident of the Commission for Research into Cults.

The same source also informs of the arrest for being accused of duping that occurred the precedingJanuary of “Master” Dang, the world leader of the Spiritual Human Yoga Group, detained for 65 daysand released only after the payment of a 1,3 million dollar bail. Along with him, the Belgium secretaryof the movement, Mrs. Vo, was arrested for 22 days and then released. All the archives of theassociation were taken and all those appearing in the lists received visits from the heads of the anti-terrorism office of the police.

The same agency also furnishes news about Scientology, which underwent searches by the samesection of the police force, in collaboration with the French Authorities on September 30th 1999, in theassociation see as well as in the private homes of the members, with the requisitioning of computersand the lists of adherents.

Once again, the anti-terrorism functionaries visited the home of a Flemish family in Mechelen whopractices Sahaja Yoga to ascertain what happened to a minor who in reality had gone to visit agrandmother in Rome with her mother. Another participant of this group, Lieve Van Roy, was arrestedfor a month and lost all rights to his children for having lived in one of their buildings in Rome with hisson. The court granted him the possibility of seeing his son seven hours once a month, on October 13th

1999.

The same source, on February 16th 2000, reports the news of the archiving of the disbanding of theSukyo Mahikari Association, decided on May 1997 by the Royal Procurator of Belgium.

Condemnation of the Belgian Government for anti-religious persecution also came from the 1999Annual Report detailed by the Office for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the StateDepartment of the United States and published on February 25th 2000.

BELIZE

Population 230.000


Religion Catholics: 57,8%Protestants: 34%


The Constitution establishes religious freedom and the preamble asserts that the Nation of Belize isfounded on principles that recognize the supremacy of God. On the other hand, there is no Statereligion, and nobody can be made to act contrarily to his or her own personal religion or beliefs. Therearen’t any specific prerequisites for registration or for taxation for the religious organizations, and thesteps to follow for legal recognition of a religious group are very simple.

In the national educational system, in the private as well as the public schools, 220 minutes of religiousteaching have been inserted for each week, which are not made the object of exams or obligatory.

To maintain religious harmony, the Constitution gives the Governor the right to intervene on religiousmatters so as to protect the rights and the liberty of other persons. Foreign religious persons are allowedto enter the national territory and practice the activity of proselytism, just so long as they are registeredand have a permit.Cordial relations are maintained between the various faiths.

BENIN



Religion Animists: 61%Catholics: 21%

Muslims: 12%Protestants: 2,3%


Respect for religious freedom is foreseen in the Constitution. Whoever wishes to form a religiousgroup must register with the Ministry for Internal Affairs and, according to a report by the UnitedStates government in 1999, nobody has ever been denied this right.

BHUTAN



Religion Mahayana Buddhists: 70%Hindus: 25%Muslims: 5%

The situation in Bhutan on religious freedom seems to be slightly contradictory under various aspects:the law safeguards religious freedom and today’s government seems to want to respect this principle.At the same time, according to what the 1999 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom bythe United States Government refers, a particular school of Mahayana Buddhism, called Drukpa, is theState religion. Also, the law prohibits all religious conversions and the citizens belonging to other faithsare prohibited from making proselytes. According to the same source, the religious communities mustobtain a permit from the governing authorities before building new worship sites, even if there is noproof as to any impartiality regarding this aspect. The authorities publicly finance the construction ofplaces of worship for the Drukpa School and contribute and help one third of the approximately 12thousand monks in the realm. By statute, 10 of the 150 seats of the National Assembly and 2 of the 11members of the Royal Council are reserved to Drukpa monks. In Bhutan, only one Christian church ispresent in the Southern part of the country, even while small Christian, Catholic and Protestantcommunities are present elsewhere. Episodes of discrimination have been claimed against thepopulation of Nepalese ethnic background, mainly in the southern part of Bhutan, which practicesHinduism. Between the end of the 80’s and the beginning of the 90’s, many of them were forcefullyexiled from the Nation. According to the government authorities, these exiles only concern theclandestine immigrants and have nothing to do with religion. True, the inhabitants of Nepaleseextraction remaining in Bhutan can practice their own religion, whose main festivities have beendeclared national holidays, but there is consistent proof that underlying the discrimination towardsthem, there are very strong religious factors. It should also be noted that foreign missionaries are notallowed to make proselytes, even if Christian humanitarian organizations and the priests from theSociety of Jesus are very active in the educational and humanitarian fields.

BOLIVIA


Surface Area 1.098.581 sq. km.



The Constitution establishes religious freedom. Catholicism is the predominant religion and theConstitution recognizes it as the official religion. The Catholic Church receives aid from the State inthe form of salaries for the clergy.

The missionary groups must register with the Ministry of Foreign and Religious Affairs as non-government organizations; until now there are no indications as to any sort of discrimination regardingthis.

The religion classes are given in the schools. And relations between the different religious communitiesin the country are friendly. In June 1999, the Catholic Church announced that it would no longer definethe Pentecostal and Evangelical Churches as «sects», since the term could be perceived in a negativeway, as asserted by a document of the Bolivian Episcopal Conference.

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA



Religion Muslims: 40%Orthodox: 31%Catholics: 15%Protestants: 4%


The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but in reality, this is only respected where theprofessed religion is the majority; otherwise, religious freedom is very limited, also because of aviolent social background. Since there is a direct correlation between the ethnic background andreligion professed, it is difficult to establish the boundary between ethnic discrimination and religiousdiscrimination. The three major ethnic groups in the Nation can be identified with three differentreligions: the «Bosnians» are Muslims; the Croats are Catholics and the Serbs are Orthodox. Thepolitical parties very powerful in the country that refer to a specific ethnic group can identifythemselves tightly to their own group’s religion.

The teaching of religion in public schools is optional. Usually, there are no religion classes for thereligious minorities.

The three main religious groups and the Jewish community have requested that the territoriesconfiscated during the Communist period be returned, but the State still has not made any norms thatgives the religious organizations the right to re-appropriate their properties. As of now, the municipalor regional authorities are entrusted with the discretionary restitution of any property.

Many buildings belonging to the Islamic, Serb Orthodox and Catholic communities have beendestroyed or damaged during the 1992-95 War. Often, reconstruction has encountered manyadministrative and financial obstacles. As can be seen in the 1999 Annual Report on InternationalReligious Freedom by the United States Department of State, the Srpska Republic – one of the twoentities in which the State is divided – blocked the reconstruction of all mosques and of any otherIslamic building in the Banja Luka area. In June 1999, the Committee for Human Rights – a legalinstitution established by the Dayton accords -, the Islamic community appealed to, decided in favor ofthe Muslims. After this, the Serbian mayor of Banja Luka, Dordje Umicevic, according to the «KestonNews Service» dated December 14th 1999, was declared overthrown by the High CommissionerWolfgang Petritsch the preceding November 29th. Umicevic is also deemed responsible for the largenumber of Catholics and Muslims who did not return to their country. In various parts of the Nation, upuntil April 2000, another 22 municipal authorities were destituted of their responsibilities: nine Serbs,seven Muslims and six Croatians.

At Sarajevo, the 1999 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom by the United States StateDepartment refers that the cantonal authorities have found the funds necessary to repair the residenceof the Orthodox Metropolite; in the Bosnian Canton of Una Sana, the authorities would give a houseand financial support to priests returning to the area to reconstruct the monastery damaged during thewar. The Bosnian municipal leaders of Bosanka Krupa are still looking for funds to reconstruct thedamaged Catholic church.

In the entire country, the majorities have subjected the religious minorities to pressure and intimidation,but this pressure is much stronger in the Srpska Republic than in the remainder of the Federation, asreported by the United States 1999 Report.

The Muslim, Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Jewish leaders have publicly declared to committhemselves to build a durable peace. The heads of the four communities are members of the Council forInterreligious Affairs for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which operates with the help of the WorldConference for Religion and Peace.

Brother Petar Andjelovich, the Superior of the Franciscan Province in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in aninterview in the November-December 1999 issue of «Cristianità», asserts: «the Muslims in Bosniahave become more rigid because of the war, but, if they detach themselves from Muslimfundamentalism, they can become European, based on the centuries-old tradition of coexistence.

Naturally, we expect Europe to block any prevarication by any majority. There must be equality amongall the peoples and all the men in Bosnia. The problem must be resolved at the Constitutional level andnot by a shotgun».

BOTSWANA



Religion Animists: 49%Protestants: 29%

Catholics: 9%Number of Catholics 53.000

The Constitution foresees the possibility of suspending religious freedom only in the case of reasonsfor national defense, security, public health, civil order, public morality. However, this denial must bemotivated democratically.

The religious associations must be registered with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, pending penal andadministrative fines. From 1984 to today, registration of the Church of Unification has been denied,despite several attempts, according to the 1999 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom bythe United States Department of State.

BRAZIL





Article 5, comma 6 of the Constitution defines the freedom of conscience and conviction «inviolable»,«being guaranteed the freedom of practicing religious worship and guaranteed, in the form of a law, theprotection of places of worship and its liturgies». Comma 8 of the same article says that «no one can bedenied his rights because of reasons of religious belief or philosophical or political conviction,exception made for the pretext of avoiding legal obligations all are subjected to and to refuse to makealternative actions prescribed by the law».

There are no requisites for registration for religions or by religious groups, nor is there a State religionor one preferred over others. All credences are free to establish places of worship, to instruct men to theclergy and to propagate their own faith, even if the government controls entry to the territories wherethe indigenous populations live, asking the religious groups to obtain a permit from the National IndianFoundation to officially enter the indigenous areas.

BRUNEI

Population 315.000


Religion Muslims: 67,2%Buddhists: 12,8%

Christians: 10%Number of Catholics 4.000

According to the Constitution, Islam is the State religion, but other religions may be professed «inpeace and harmony». This principle, along with other analogous official declarations, is however onlyrespected partially, since usually the practice of other religions is limited by various forms ofdiscrimination: the prohibition of propaganda, occasional denials for entry into the Nation by foreignreligious persons, the prohibition of importing material for religious education and the Bible, therefusal of concessions to broaden, repair or build new churches. A major step forward towards theassertion of religious freedom was made in 1998 when the Government allowed the Catholic Church toestablish the first apostolic prefecture. Government control is also present with regards to groups ofIslamic radicals, today not very many. The 1999 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom bythe United States State Department refers that the teaching of the history of religion or other courses onreligion have been re-dimensioned, in particular in the non-Islamic schools. At the same time, theMinistry of Education prescribes that all students, including the ones that are not Muslims, must followcourses on Islamic studies and learn Arabic. The private schools managed by the missions may not giveany Christian education, but are obliged to teach Islam.

BULGARIA



Religion Orthodox: 85,7%Muslims: 13,1%


After the religious persecution by the Socialist/Communist period, democratic Bulgaria adopted aConstitution that provides for religious freedom. In reality however, the government has restricted thisright to only some religious groups, even if according to Article 6 of the Constitution all citizens areequal in front of the law and there are no restrictions on rights, nor any privileges of race, nationality,ethnic group, sex, ascendancy, religion, teachings, ideas or affiliations.

The Constitution indicates the Eastern Orthodox Christian religion as the traditional one. Also, thegovernment finances the Orthodox Church and gives subsidies to all those religious communities that,for historical reasons, maintain an important position in society: the Muslim, the Catholic and theIsraelite ones.

The majority of registered religious groups do not encounter any limitations in practicing their rites orin the private religious teaching. There are no indications of discriminations by the governmentconcerning the restitution of the properties belonging to the various Churches, nationalized during theCommunist regime.

The groups that do not obtain legal recognition often encounter a great deal of difficulties in practicingtheir activities: this is the case for Jehovah’s Witnesses, at least until they obtained recognition inOctober 1998. According to the 1999 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom by the UnitedStates Department of State, in many cases the local authorities used the lack of registration as a pretextto interfere in the activities of some groups and to arbitrarily use vexatious tactics against others. Thesame source reports that some municipalities emanate regulations that could be used to limit religiousfreedom. For example, in the city of Sofia a norm was approved that prohibited any reference tomiracles or healings during religious ceremonies: the fear is that this type of regulation could be used toprohibit or interrupt celebrations by the charismatic Evangelical groups. A law approved in 1949,during the Socialist-Communist regime, is still in vigor that forbids foreigners from proselytism andfrom celebrating religious services on the national territory. This law has been subject to criticism,because it constitutes a potential obstacle to religious freedom; however, usually the foreignmissionaries receive permission to publicize in the Nation.

«Human Rights Without Frontiers» dated July 15th 1999 takes note of the presentation of aparliamentary law on religious matters presented by the Union of Democratic Forces (Udf). In this text,datelines are introduced within which the authorities must give an answer to the organizationsrequesting public registration. However, a stringent state control on religious associations is stillpresent in the draft, which goes to the point of allowing the authorities to verify even doctrinal matters.Also, creating more than one religious institution based on a same system of beliefs is not allowed. Theconstruction of new locations for worship must receive a special license from the government. Finally,any activities by new religious movements are strictly prohibited without a particular permit.

The Tolerance Foundation, in a communication dated November 16th 1999, informs that a newproposal on this matter was presented by four representatives of the Union for National Salvation, theopposition party. Prepared by non-government organizations for human rights, the initiative intends tomodify the existing legislation and avoid any abuses that had lead to anti-sect campaigns between 1993and 1997, which occurred even after the democratic changes. The new project intends to minimize theState’s intervention on the internal management of religious associations and provides for increasingthe number of rights and freedom on religious matters for the citizens.

Ignoring this last proposal – strongly supported by almost all the religious minorities in the Nation – onFebruary 2nd 2000, the Bulgarian Parliament unified three texts: one by the Udf, one by the SocialistParty and one by the Revolutionary Organization of Central Macedonia (Vmro), which is ultra-nationalistic and a member of the government coalition.

During a conference promoted by the Tolerance Foundation on July 8th 1999, over 40 religiousorganizations defined the three legislative projects by the majority and in a special way the one by theUdf as heavily restrictive of the citizens’ religious rights and damaging to the Constitution as well as toBulgaria’s international obligations regarding human rights. In an eight-point document, theparticipants of the conference underlined, in a particular way, the following as negative aspects: theprocedural impediments in acquiring legal status for the religious organizations, the control on theinternal affairs of groups such as opening places for worship or religious schools, the introduction ofheavy administrative sanctions for operating without permission, the excessive discretionality of thecriteria used in recognizing religious associations based on «internal security», the privileges given tothe Bulgarian Orthodox Church in contradiction with the Constitution, the extreme difficulty inconducting educational and social works and finally the use of ambiguous terminology allowing abusesthrough arbitrary interpretations.

In January 1999, a law was passed that allowed conscientious objections as an alternative to themilitary service. In April 1998, Krassimir Nikolov Savov, a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, wasarrested because as a conscientious objector he had refused to do his military service. He was thenfreed in March of 1999, following a provision of grace emanated by the President of the Republic.

According to the 1999 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom by the United States StateDepartment, last March a teacher belonging to a Pentecostal Church was urged to resign because of herreligious beliefs; the teacher sued the school.

According to the same source, many religious minorities in the Nation have encountered a climate ofgreater religious freedom in the Country. However, discrimination and the persons’ intolerance towards“non-traditional” groups (in particular towards the Christian Protestant Evangelical religions) stillcreate a problem. Often, intolerance is disguised as calls to “patriotism”. Non-orthodox religiousgroups, like Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of God and the Emmanuel Biblical Center, have felt theadverse feelings of society with regards to them: many press articles and television stories have givenan inaccurate and sinister description of the activities of the non-orthodox religious groups, attributingthe breakup of families and drug abuse by young persons to these movements’ practices.

BURKINA FASO



Religion Animists: 45%Muslims: 43%

Catholics: 10%Number of Catholics 1.145.000

The State claims to be a lay state. The separation between the civic and religious institutions organizesthings in such a way that the Muslim majority in the Country does not occupy a predominant positionand the legislation concerning religious matters does not discriminate between one faith and another.

According to «Asia news» dated December 1999, during the preceding year the Ahl al-Birr Islamicassociation planned an «anti-evangelization» campaign, asking for 40 thousand dollars worth offinancing to support a radio station entirely dedicated to the da’wa (the propagation of the Muslimfaith), with the aim of counterbalancing the four radio stations of the Christian missionaries that coverthe entire national territory. The Muslims in charge asserted «this African Nation, once dominated bythe Muslims, found itself undergoing a massive missionary effort during the French colonial period».

BURMA / MYANMAR



Religion Buddhists: 87%Christians: 5,6%

Muslims: 3,6%Animists: 1,1%

Hindu: 1%Number of Catholics 559.000

The State of Burma/Myanmar has been held by the military, which has imposed a very strongauthoritarian regime since 1962. In this socio-political context, the religious freedom of some of theminorities undergoes relevant restrictions by the military. Despite the fact that certain formaldeclarations in the Constitution allow for the principle of religious freedom «if they do not violate thelaws or public interest», in practice the governing authorities systematically contrast the efforts by theBuddhist clergy in favor of promoting human rights and political freedom. The Government officiallypromotes interreligious dialogue, but in practice is also responsible for the violence and discriminationthe religious minorities are submitted to, especially the Christians and the Muslims. The authorities' actin confronting Buddhism seems to be ambivalent. In fact, on one hand the Government prohibits anyform of Buddhist religious organization other than those recognized and protected by the State andforcefully and even ferociously represses the clergy that tries to oppose the government control onreligious matters. On the other hand, to legitimize its power, the Government proposes itself to thepopulation as the defender of Buddhism, promoting its development, financially helping the«recognized» monastic orders, by creating a policy of obstacles and discrimination towards thereligious minorities.

The use of military units in the repression of the dissident Buddhist clergy has been ascertained, withserious episodes of indiscriminate arrests, torture and summary executions. To understand thegoverning politics with regards to the religious minorities one must however take into considerationthat, in certain cases, these religious minorities are concentrated in an ethnic minority fighting againstthe central government.

Both the Christians and the Muslims refer to having great difficulties in obtaining permits to buildbuildings for worship or to print or import translations in the indigenous languages of the sacred texts:the translation of the Bible and of the Koran in the indigenous languages can neither be imported orprinted legally. Some of the organizations belonging to the Karen and Karenni ethnic groups havecomplained of kidnapping women, some Christians, then made to become Buddhist nuns. In the ruralareas, the members of the religious minorities are forced to make donations or to freely work for theBuddhist monasteries. More serious are the episodes of ransacking or destruction of churches andmosques, which have occurred in various locations of the Nation and where members of thegovernment security forces have participated. These forces are also active in the attempts to force theChristian members of the ethnic Chin minority to abandon their own religion. To battle proselytismamong the Chin, the security forces have often used violent means such as arrest, detention andphysical violence against the Christian clergy. The Christian Chin population undergoes all types ofdiscrimination: forced conversions, separation of the children of the Christians from their originalfamilies, the obligation to listen to Buddhist preaching, etc. The activities of the foreign missionaries isallowed only minimally from the middle of the 60’s, when the Government threw out almost all theforeign missionaries and nationalized schools and hospitals (until then managed above all by Christianreligious organizations).

As for the situation of discrimination suffered by the Christians, this was mentioned in the pastoralletter – taken up by the «Église en détresse» n. 100 dated 1998 – by the Burma Episcopal Conference,which called attention upon «discrimination based on race, nationality, sex, social condition, faith andthe color of one’s skin». The 1999 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom by the United

States State Department refers that the government security forces operating in the ethnic minorityareas could have participated in the fires and in the destruction of mosques and Islamic schools. Thepolicy of terror and discrimination lead by the Karen has also recently been denounced by varioushumanitarian associations, such as Christian Solidarity Worldwide, which in June 1999 reported thewitnessing of the destruction of villages, the burnings of fields and indiscriminate killings occurringduring the last year.

BURUNDI




Muslims: 1,6%Animists: 0,3


A temporary constitutional Act allows religious freedom. According to the «Église en détresse dans lemonde» published for the first quarter of 1999, the main preoccupations are generated by the conditionof latent civil war the Nation is undergoing. The clash sees the ethnic majority of the Hutu inopposition to the Tutsi, which have the power even if a minority. The «Avvenire» published onSeptember 30th 1999 reports that approximately 200 thousand individuals have been killed since 1993.

At Nyambuye, in the Bujumbura Province, a group of men in military uniforms opened fire against thefaithful gathered in prayer in a church, as reported by the «Misna» Agency on September 29th 1999.More than thirty persons died, all civilians.

On the following December 30th, the «Avvenire» reports that during the last three months the forceddeportation of 350 thousand citizens of the Hutu majority to camps around Bujumbura was achieved.According to the same newspaper, in a report by Claudio Monici dated February 27th 2000, perhapsmore than one million individuals are obliged to live in deportation camps.

CAMBODIA



Religion Buddhists: 95%Muslims: 2%


After the tragic years of Red Khmer dictatorship and the genocide that had almost totally destroyed thepresence of the Catholic Church in the Nation, today, religious freedom is guaranteed by theConstitution and substantially appears to be respected even in practice. However, serious problems stillexist in the areas controlled by the Red Khmer.

The different religious groups that practice in the Country have declared that they do not encounterdifficulties by the government in the daily practice of their activities. There are no obstacles to thedistribution of religious periodicals and the foreign missionaries generally operate freely in the Nation.According to the 1999 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom by the United StatesDepartment of State, some acts blocking the evangelizing work by some Christians has been noted on alocal level, but the government authorities seemed to have acted efficiently to contrast this.Government agents organize encounters between the representatives of all the religious groups and therelations between the different religious communities are generally friendly.

CAMEROON



Religion Animists: 40%Muslims: 22%

Catholics: 21%Protestants: 15%


The State proclaims itself as a lay state and in the Constitution it asserts the separation between publicinstitutions and the Church. Despite the real existence of religious freedom, there is an obligation,sanctioned by the law, for religious Congregations to register with the Ministry of TerritorialAdministration. Today, according to the 1999 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom bythe United States Government, Christian, Islamic and Baha’i groups are all publicly listed.

The same source and the dossier on the Internet site of the «Aide à l’Eglise en détresse» mentionprevarications perpetrated in the Northern regions by the Muslims towards those belonging to ethniccults or towards Christians. The reason could be attributed to the Muslims’ attempt to make those whodo not profess the Islamic faith pay the tax for the Islamic cult.

CANADA



Religion Catholics 45,7%Protestants 36,2%

Orthodox 1,5%Jews 1,4%

Muslims 0,9%Buddhists 0,6%

Hindu: 0,6%Number of Catholics 13.189.000

The Constitution guarantees religious freedom.

«Human Rights Without Frontiers» on February 1st 2000, refers on a judicial case in which a judge iscalled to answer for expelling a Muslim from the court because he was wearing an Islamic headcovering.

CAPE VERDE

Population 408.000


Religion Catholics: 93%Number of Catholics 420.000

The Constitution provides for the separation between State and Church and does not allow theimposition of the State on religious beliefs and practices.

The religious associations must register with the Ministry of Justice and there are no known cases ofviolations to the right to religious freedom.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC




Protestants: 15%Muslims: 8%


In the Constitution, alongside the guarantees on religious freedom, there are norms to preventfundamentalism and intolerance.

There is no news of violations to the right to practice one’s faith, or to any missionary activity orreligious propaganda, except for the case of the Church of Unification. Its registration continues to bedenied by the Ministry of Internal Affairs after the authorities prohibited this denomination during theeighties, according to the 1999 Report on International Religious Freedom by the United StatesGovernment. The obligation to register, for the religious associations, does not foresee any sanctionsagainst any of its violators.

The penal code contemplates the crime of witchcraft and punishes it particularly when this practice isdone to other persons’ detriment.

CHAD



Religion Muslims: 54%Catholics: 20%

Protestants: 14%Animists: 7%


In the Constitution there are explicit guarantees regarding religious freedom and the legislation doesnot make any difference between the citizens belonging to the different confessions. All religiousnational and missionary groups must register with the Ministry for Internal Affairs.

During 1999, many reports were given about the supposed conversions to Islam by the members oflocal tribes. As reported by «Mondo e Missione» in December 1999, spread by the magazine «Manaral-Islam» for the month of October, this information was accompanied by comments by the local sultanAli Ramadhan Nagil, who denounced a Christian attempt to convert him in exchange for «money,women, a home and a job» and accuses the missionaries of inciting the Animists against the Muslimsin the Southern part of Chad. According to the same source, the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs,presided by Hussein Akbar, deals with contrasting «the intense Christian missionary activity in Chad».

According to the Report on International Religious Freedom by the USA State Department, non-Islamic leaders accuse the government of greatly favoring the Muslims. Among the provisions taken bythe authorities in 1999, however, according to the same report, the following have occurred: thearbitrary detention during the month of January of the Imam Sheikh Mahamat Marouf and theprohibition of his followers to gather in prayer in their mosque. Another Muslim personality, SheikhFaki Suzuki also was forbidden from preaching from October 1998 to March 1999. According to thegovernment both were responsible for having incited their faithful to violence.

CHILE



Religion Catholics: 76,7%Protestants: 13,2%


The Constitution establishes freedom of religion and that the Church and State are officially separated,even if the Catholic Church has a privileged position among the other religions.

Religious confessions and the relative organizations must be registered with the Ministry of Justice asaffiliated foundations, corporations or sports clubs to be able to become tax exempt and to be able toraise funds. The legal status may be revoked at any time by an administrative decision by the Ministryof Justice, but there is the possibility of making an appeal. Approximately 800 religious confessionsand related organizations are registered with the Ministry of Justice. The Catholic Church and theOrthodox Church of Antiochia have a special status.

Rarely does the government refuse to register a religious group or revoke the legal status; this generallyhappens in relation to the illegal use of funding by a part of the group or after accusations of spreadingcriminal activities.

Recently, the government has revoked the foundation status from a group named Colonia Dignidad, asecret German language group located 240 miles south of Santiago. This group was checked because ofaccusations of child-abuse, tax evasions and violating human rights. Colonia Dignidad appealed thisdecision. During the recent past, even the Church of Unification underwent a procedure foradministrative revision following an accusation of badly using funds, even if no initiatives were takenregarding this.

The Catholic Church does not have the same regulations as the other religions: it does not have toregister with the Ministry of Justice and has the status of public law. The only other Church with thislegal status is the Orthodox Church of Antiochia. This condition provides that a Church cannot loose itsjuridical state based on an administrative act; in the case of the Catholic Church this also means that itsstatus cannot be threatened for any reason.

A law guaranteeing the status as an “entity of public law” to all the Churches, without diminishing theprivileges of the Catholic Church, is waiting to be approved by the Congress since 1993. In September1997, the House of Representatives approved the legislation that is being examined by the Senate eversince the end of June 1999. The text of this proposal is supported by the Protestants and contrasted bythe Catholic Church. In answer to the Catholic Church’s preoccupations, the draft for the law declaresthat its acquired rights will not be altered.

The Nation’s Protestants assert that the government is discriminating against them. They bring theexample of the absence of Protestant chaplains in the Armed Forces (where Catholic priests are found),the pastors’ difficulties in visiting military hospitals and the predominance of Catholic education in thepublic schools. The draftees, no matter what religion they belong to, must participate in the Catholicceremonies that concern their units.

The foreign missionaries may act freely, and many foreign religions exist here. The schools arerequested to offer religious teaching (on an optional basis) twice a week in the middle schools.There is no news about detainees or prisoners for religious reasons.

Generally, the citizens are tolerant towards the different religions, even if some discrimination mayoccur. In some of society’s spheres and religious groups, the proselytism of the Church of Unificationraises some preoccupations. The Minister for Internal Affairs, according to the 1999 Report by theUnited States government regarding international religious freedom, has declared that the Church ofUnification has launched a global financial offensive and proselytism in Chile. Government sourceshave confirmed watching the religious movement, even if impeded from acting against the missionariesthat do not violate the law.

CHINA

Population 1.236.260.000


Religion Buddhists: n.a.Catholics: n.a.

Lamaists (Tibetans): n.a.Muslims: n.a.

Protestants: n.a.Taoists: n.a.

Confucianists: n.a.

The Constitution of the Popular Chinese Republic acknowledges the principle of religious freedom, butthe government tries to limit the religious activities of the recognized organizations, and studies andcontrols all religious groups. During 1998 and for the first half of 1999, some unregistered religiousgroups saw the restrictions to their activities get harsher, even if the number of these varies from regionto region, and the number of adepts continues to grow rapidly in the registered as well as in theunregistered Churches. On a whole, according to the 1999 Report on International Religious Freedomby the United States government, since the years of the Cultural Revolution when religion wasbanished, there seems to be s slowdown in the repressions, related to a strong development of religiousactivities. There are over 180 million followers of various religious organizations with a vast variety ofbeliefs and practices; most of them are followers of Oriental religions, but there are also millions ofpersons faithful to Christianity. According to the «Human Rights Without Frontiers» January 26th 2000Report, the intensifying of religious repression in China was criticized by the American RepresentativeMatt Salmon during his visit to Peking. The United States intends to continue their work checking onthe respect for human rights in China through the UN. Regarding this, «Fides» dated March 10th 2000informs that Mary Robinson, the Director of the UN Commission on Human Rights, during a meetingheld in Peking from March 1st to the 3rd 2000 on human rights in the Asian-Pacific Area, declared that«respect for human rights in China has “deteriorated” during the past two years […] There has beengreater suppression of religious expressions».

The Penal Code prescribes that government workers who deprive the citizens of their religious freedommay, in certain serious cases, be condemned to up to two years of imprisonment. Despite this, thedocument by the United States State Department on religious freedom in 1999 takes note that there areno known cases of persons being punished according to this law. The Office for Religious Affairs ofthe State Council (Rab) is responsible for controlling and judging the legitimacy of religious activities;the Rab and the Department for the Labor Front of the Chinese Communist Party (Ccp), supported byworkers rarely belonging to a religion, define the policy relative to the guidance and the supervision ofthe practice of the government rules relative to religious activities, such as the role of foreigners in thematters on hand.

During 1999, according to the Report on International Religious Freedom by the United Statesgovernment, the government has continued and intensified in some areas a national campaign toreinforce the various regulations required to register the places of worship with the government officefor Religious Affairs and the supervision of official patriotic religious organizations. The governmentofficially allows only the Christian Churches affiliated to the Patriotic Catholic Association or to ananalogous Protestant one to operate freely. Five religions are officially recognized: Catholics,Protestants, Buddhists, Muslims and Taoists. Towards the end of 1997, the government referred thatover 85 thousand places were approved for religious activities. Foreigners are not allowed to practiceany missionary activities. Some groups registered voluntarily, others were pressured by the authorities,which, on their part, refused to register others. The unrecognized religious organizations havedenounced the fact that the government often refuses any registration without giving any explanation.The authorities retort that these denials essentially depend on the inadequate structures for the reunions.Many religious groups have been reluctant to follow the rules of state control on religion for fear of theadverse consequences should they reveal, as required, the name and the address of the Leaders of the

Churches. In some areas, there have been attempts to register unauthorized groups by the religiousleaders and by the public officials. In other regions, registration is done by the police and by the Rabofficials. The police closed many clandestine mosques, temples, seminaries, Catholic churches andProtestant «domestic churches». Many of these places of worship were visited by a consistent numberof followers and had possessions, financial resources and communication networks. Leaders ofunauthorized groups are often subjected to molestation, interrogations, detention and psychologicalabuse.

In the past, tolerance for the religions traditionally considered as Chinese, such as Buddhism andTaoism, has been greater than tolerance shown towards Christianity. Since the non-Oriental religionshave grown rapidly in the recent years, there are signs of greater government preoccupation andstronger limitations especially towards the syncretistic religious movements.

The official data published in the latter part of 1997 affirm the existence of over 180 million followersto religions and 3 thousand religious organizations. According to some analyses, a large percentage ofthe population practices some form of popular traditional religion (worship places dedicated to localdivinities, heroes and ancestors). Approximately 8% of the population is Buddhist, 1,4% is Muslim anda number estimated to be between 0,4% and 0,8% belong to the Catholic Church, unofficial, tied to theVatican; a number estimated to be between 0,08% and 1,2% belong to the officially registeredProtestant organization, while the percentage of followers in the independent Protestant churchescontrolled by the government varies between 2,4 and 6,5. There are no available estimates regardingthe Taoists. However, according to the government publications, up until 1997 there were over 10thousand Taoist monks and sisters and over 1000 Taoist temples. Popular traditional religion has risenduring the recent years and is unofficially tolerated, despite the government campaign to eliminate«feudalism and superstition» and to destroy thousands of temples.

The Chinese government believes that there are approximately 2,1 million followers of the Falun Gong(or Wheel of the Law); according to the internal estimates by the followers of Falun Gong the numberis around 100 million instead. According to certain experts, finally, a reasonable estimate on thenumber of followers of the Falun Gong could be in the tens of millions. The Falun Gong mix aspects ofTaoism, Buddhism and the meditation techniques of Qigong (a traditional Chinese martial art) withteachings by Li Hongzhi, the leader of Falun Gong (born in China but residing in the United Statesusually). Despite the mystic nature of some of Li’s teachings, the Falun Gong does not consider itself areligion and does not have any clergy or places of worship.

The Chinese government estimates that there are about 100 million Buddhists, many belonging to thedominant Han ethnic group. However, it is difficult to be precise as to the number of Buddhists sincethey often practice their faith without participating in public ceremonies. The government refers thatthere are 13 thousand Buddhist temples and monasteries and more than 200 thousand sisters andmonks. In some areas, the local government has firmly reinforced the rules on places of worship,particularly towards illegally built Buddhist temples.

According to government data, there are 18 million Muslims, 30 thousand places for Islamic worshipand more than 40 thousand imams. In some areas, where there have been ethnic problems, especiallybetween the Muslims of Central Asia in Xinjiang, the government workers continue to block thebuilding of mosques and religious teaching under the age of 18. After a series of violent incidents in1997, the police has tightened its watch on Muslim religious activities and places of worship; the localauthorities have emanated a series of rules to further restrict religious activities and teaching.According to government statistics, more than 45 thousand Muslims have achieved their pilgrimage toMecca during the recent years – 5 thousand in 1998. Government sensitivity towards the Muslims isdeclared limited by the United States government’s 1999 Report on International Religious Freedom.

The unofficial Catholic Church faithful to the Holy See claims a following much greater than the 4million persons registered with the official Catholic Church. The Vatican estimates that there are about10 million faithful persons. According to the official data, the Catholic Church approved by thegovernment has 5 thousand religious persons and over 4 thousand churches and meeting places. Untilnow, China has refused to establish diplomatic relations with the Holy See and there are norepresentatives from the Vatican to China. The Bishops of the official Catholic Church are notconsecrated in Rome, which tends to unofficially recognize them.

The government states that there are between 10 and 15 million Protestants, 18 thousand religiouspersons, over 12 thousand churches and about 25 thousand meeting places. According to some foreignexperts, approximately 30 million persons practice in «domestic churches» independent fromgovernment control. During the past few years, some of the local authorities have increased thesurveillance and the various limitations to some religious functions by resident foreigners. During thebeginning of 1999 – according to the Report on International Religious Freedom by the United States

government 1999 – the government has authorized greater control on foreign missionary activities inthe Nation. Worship by the foreign community of Israeli background is substantially respected and theobservance of the Sabbath has been allowed for over 15 years.

After the forced suppression of all religions and the closing of all seminaries during the CulturalRevolution (1966-1976), during the late 70’s the government began to restore some churches, temples,mosques and monasteries damaged or confiscated and allowed the seminaries to open again. Thispolicy had mixed results depending on the localities. According to the government data published inlate 1997, 300 thousand religious persons and 74 religious schools are present in the Nation. Thegovernment allows the official religious organizations to manage some structures for teaching andseminaries. The students that go to these schools must usually demonstrate their «politicaltrustworthiness». The government also allows some Catholic, Protestant, Muslim and Buddhistseminarians to go abroad to deepen their religious studies. The official and unofficial ChristianChurches encounter great problems in teaching new religious personnel to face the growing needs ofthe followers.

Today, the state of religious freedom in China continues being based on the violation of the recognizedinternational principles. Even the Catholic press agency «Fides» expressed its worries about theintensification of religious persecution in January 1999. The decision by the Chinese government todeny the possibility of a Papal visit to Hong Kong should be taken into consideration according to theprogressive worsening of the government policies towards religious activities. The constant growth inChina, registered or not, continues to provoke mistrust and hostility in the local authorities that see thisphenomenon as a menace to the constituted order. The communities of the five official religions –Buddhism, Islam, Taoism, Catholicism and Protestantism – coexist without any noticeable friction.However, in some parts of the Country, taught relations can be found between the registered andunregistered Christian Churches. In general, the majority of the population shows very little interest forthe events occurring to the religious minorities.

Religious groups and ethnic minorities such as the Tibetans and the Uighur are socially discriminatedagainst, based not only on their religious beliefs. Restrictions to the religious practices in Xinjiang havebeen imposed and the government repression has hit the followers of religious organizations accused ofbeing secessionists (there have been attempts in Xinjiang, Wuhan and Peking that the foreign presshave suggested being organized by the Uighur). Amnesty International referred that, in January 1999,Ibrahim Ismael was put to death in the Prefecture of Ili. Ismael was a religion student known for givingreligion lessons to young Muslims in his home in the village of Memyuzi. The young man was arrestedin 1997. According to «Actualité des religions» for the month of January 1999, more than one thousandarrests and one dozen cases of torture occurred during the preceding months.

In some areas, the security forces menace, practice unregistered acts of destroying, practice corruption,arrests and at times physical abuses to molest religious or faithful individuals. Various local andgovernment initiatives continue to exhort the workers to vigorously reinforce the policy of theauthorities concerning the unregistered Churches. Repression is particularly strong against the religiousmovements and organizations that do not come under the doctrines of the traditional religions.Members of the Evangelical group «The shouters», according to the 1999 Report on religious freedomby the United States government, have been denounced, fined and arrested ever since 1980. On May13th 1999, the Chinese daily newspaper «Zhongguo Sanxia Gongcheng Bao» reported that in April ofthe same year 71 members of the Men Tu Hui movement were imprisoned by the police and bymembers of the office for public security.

The Falun Gong Case

From this aspect, the violent campaign of repression launched against the Falun Gong Movement inJuly of 1999 is an example of this. In April 1999, more than 10 thousand followers of Falun Gong metto protest against the detention of some of their members and to ask for government recognition of theirmovement. The government allowed the peaceful protest to last over twelve hours. During thefollowing months, a violent campaign was launched by the mass media against the Falun Gong. In themonth of June 1999, the government warned the movement from disturbing the social stability byprohibiting any further demonstrations. However, the Falun Gong members continued to havedemonstrations. As an answer to this, on July 20th 1999, the authorities arrested the leaders of themovement on the entire national territory. The government banned the Falun Gong, its books weretaken away all over the territory and sent to be burnt, as reported by «Il Giornale» dated July 29 1999.During the following days, tens of thousands of followers were arrested and imprisoned in stadiums allover the Nation. Even the «New York Times», along with many other international press organizations,

mentioned the repression of this spiritual movement on November 9th 1999, when it referred on thearrest of 111 members of this group. With regards to the 111 members arrested, the Italian daily«Avvenire» said on November 9th that these persons would be judged for very serious crimes, such asthe theft of State secrets (a crime that can go as far as the death sentence). In an article in the «Il Sole-24ore» dated November 2nd 1999, the beginning of the persecution campaign is attributed to the badeconomy of the country, based on the analyses by «foreign diplomats». The members of theorganization, among which numerous government workers and Communist party members could becounted, were required to write a declaration that reneged Falun Gong. The party members and thegovernment workers had to go to courses against the movement. According to «Asia news» fromDecember 1999, four journalists, who had been present at a press conference called by the Falun Gong,had their credentials and their visas taken away. On January 18th 2000, the «Avvenire» reported thenews that in Northern China six members of the Falun Gong had been condemned, they would havebeen shown in public with a white placard around their necks, the sign of infamy. According to thesame source, from the moment the movement was outlawed, almost 5 thousand of its followers wereinterned without a trial and sent to the labor camps, while another 300 must appear in front of a judge.Another 50, according to the «New York Times» dated January 21st 2000, can be found in a psychiatricward somewhere in the outskirts of Peking.

The «Reuters» Agency dated January 14th 2000, revealed that a retired Air Force general, YuChangxin, was condemned by a martial court to 17 years of imprisonment for having had contacts withthe Falun Gong. According to the Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement inChina, quoted by the same news agency, at the moment of the elderly general’s judgmentapproximately 300 white-collar workers of the movement were awaiting judgment, while 5 thousand ofthem were sent to labor camps or to «re-education», an administrative punishment that can be doled outwithout a trial. Even a major of the Police Paramilitary Force, Yu Fenglai, was arrested on January 2nd

2000 for having practiced Falun Gong in public. The preceding month, four leaders of the movement,all registered with the Communist Party and among which an officer of the Ministry for PublicSecurity, were condemned to 18 years, as reported by the «Corriere della Sera» dated December 27th

1999.

The «Human Rights Without Frontiers» Agency reported on January 15th 2000 that in a recent issue ofthe «Review of the Popular Army», the use of the military in the repression of illegal religiousactivities was mentioned. The same agency also noted, on March 2nd 2000, the death of a member ofthe movement that occurred during detention and after mistreatment and beatings. The daily«Avvenire» published a lengthy article on the situation of religious freedom in China on March 2nd

2000, and mentioned this occurrence. Since the government banned this spiritual group – as stated inthe same article – repression has never stopped. Despite all of this, every day the members of the FalunGong go to Tienanmen Square to practice their meditation gymnastic exercises, which the Chinesegovernment believes to be so dangerous for the stability of the Nation. The response to thesedemonstrations is always the same: as soon as an individual begins to practice these exercises, thepolice arrive, the transgressor is taken away by the police and follows the steps of the other thousandsof followers who have undergone the same thing. On December 3rd 1999, «Fides» estimated that therewere 36 thousand members of the Falun Gong in prison. For having published four of the movement’sbooks, the People’s Publishing Company in the Province of Qinghai was closed and its administratorswere fired or degraded.

On January 27th 2000, «Human Rights Without Frontiers» reports that repression is starting also againstthe Zhong Gong association for meditation, whose leader was arrested. «Fides», on December 10th

1999, referred the news of the imprisonment of another 100 of his followers.

DETENTION, ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND VIOLENCE AGAINST RELIGIOUS PERSONS

Many religious persons are in prison because of their personal faith. In some cases, the public securitypeople have emitted sentences of imprisonment and forced re-education. In November 1998 in theProvince of Henan, according to «Human Rights Without Frontiers» dated November 27th 1998, theChinese authorities had arrested 70 Protestant leaders of the «domestic churches», and some weretortured and mistreated during their detention. Xu Yongze, an important Protestant leader, is stillimprisoned following a sentencing of three years of correction, followed by re-educational measures inthe prison of Pingyuan in Henan. The government’s 1997 white book on religious freedom declaresthat Xu violated the law by promoting a cult that foresaw the nearing of the Apocalypse and asking his

followers to cry in public places. In the Province of Hebei, where almost half of the Nation’s Catholicsreside, friction between unofficial Catholics and the local authorities continues. The authorities inHebei make the priests and believers choose between adhering to the Patriotic Church and varioustypes of punishment, such as fines, being fired from their jobs and in some occasions their children’sexclusion from schools.

No one knows anything more about the many religious persons that were arrested. Where the CatholicBishop Su Zhimin is, his followers say that he was arrested in October 1997, remains unknown.Clandestine Catholic sources in Hebei believe that he is still being detained, while the governmentdenies ever having used coercive methods on him. Sources in the United States Department of Statereport that the priests Dong Zhenlu, Chun Yunpen e Zhang Ruowang were imprisoned in February1998 during a visit in China of the three religious leaders. According to reliable witnesses, Bishop AnShuxin, Bishop Zhang Weizhu, Father Cui Xing and Father Wang Quanjun are still being detained inHebei. Father Wei Jingkung and Sister Zhang Yanzhi were imprisoned in August 1998 for havingcelebrated the feast day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Also, the «Kung Foundation», namedfor the person of Cardinal Kung, referred that Bishop Jia Zhiguo was arrested on August 15th 1999during President Clinton's visit in June 1998. After many imprisonments – for a total of twenty years -,according to «Asia news” dated December 1999, he is still being detained and will most likely not beliberated soon.

«Human Rights Without Frontiers» dated January 28th 2000 reports that in the Province of Hebei fivemembers of the clandestine Catholic Church were arrested, among which the Bishop of Yongnian, whohas already spent twenty years in prison, Han Dingxiang, 63 years old.

Father Lu Genyou and Father Shi Wende were imprisoned in Spring 1998. The clandestine CatholicBishop Joseph Fan Zhongliang of Shanghai remained under surveillance and his movements were oftenlimited. A delegation of American religious leaders could not meet him when they visited Shanghai inFebruary 1998. In November 1998, the Catholic priest Li Quinghua was arrested and, according to thepress, tortured after his arrest.

In January 1999, Father Hu Duo was arrested in Hebei: the priest was beaten so violently that he hadfractures in both legs and was then sent to a re-education camp. The Human Rights Watch reportdenounces that in January 1999 the authorities detained, beat and fined an unknown number ofclandestine Catholics in Baoding, in the Hebei Province. The missionary «Fides» agency reported thata priest belonging to the «clandestine Church» had been arrested and was physically andpsychologically tortured. The priest’s name is Li Qinghua and he is 31 years old and worked in thediocese of Yixiam, in Hebei. According to what «Fides» discovered, prostitutes working for the policeforce subjected the priest to “sexual abuses”; these women tried to have intimate relations with him inevery way to compromise him in the eyes of his followers and make them abandon the Church.«Fides» recalls that the use of similar methods is not something new for the Chinese authorities, whichhad already used them during the «Cultural Revolution». The news was published on January 5th 1999by the most important Italian newspapers, among which «La Stampa» and «Il Messaggero».

As reported by the «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on February 18th 1999, the Kung Foundationspread the news of the arrest, on January 25th 1999, of two ‘clandestine’ priests from Hebei, fathers PeiJunchaon and Chen Hekun. In February 1999, 45 Protestant Christians belonging to a “domesticchurch” were arrested in the village of Beiyangzhuang, in the Fangcheng District, and this wasdenounced by «Human Rights Without Frontiers» and by «Église d’Asie». The information reached theCenter for Human Rights and Democracy in Hong Kong. In May 1999, according to what the samesource reported on July 15th 1999, the auxiliary Bishop Yan Weiping was found dead shortly afterhaving been released from prison. The circumstances surrounding his death are still not clear: thebishop was arrested the preceding May 13th while celebrating mass. During the same period, aseminarian, Wan Qinq, was arrested and tortured; four laypersons were arrested and sentenced to re-education. The daily «Avvenire» dated September 16th 1999, informed that seven Catholics from theclandestine Church had been sentenced to prison up to a maximum of two years for «disturbing thepublic order». The agents had stopped the seven of them, condemned in August in Jiangxi, afterconflicts with the local police, caused by the interruption of a mass. From the beginning of September,according to the statement by the Catholic «Misna» Agency and other human rights organizations, inthe area of the diocese of Wenzhou, government control and prevaricating acts damaging the prelatesand the lay persons of the clandestine Church have increased: «Human Rights Without Frontiers» onOctober 5th 1999 mentions the case of the Bishop of the clandestine Church Giacomo Lin Xili ofWenzhou, who was arrested in September 1999 in Shanghai by officials of the Public Security Office.His collaborators, priests and religious persons were arrested at the same time as the Bishop. On

February 4th 2000, «Fides» informs about the abduction of the 72 year old Catholic priest Gao Kexian,which occurred in October 1999. In that same month, the clandestine Bishop of Mindong age 85, XieShiguang, was sent to “chat” with government representatives and then taken to an unknown location.Later, he was freed but remains under surveillance. The Kung Foundation informed about the arrestshortly before Christmas 1999 of the layperson Wang Chengqun. In February 2000, according to«Fides», he is in the lager of Gaoyangxian, in the Hebei Province for “re-education through labor”.This is the seventh arrest that Chengqun has been through in twenty years; he was in prison for tenyears. The same source reports the arrest during 1999 of three Catholic priests: Fr. Guo Ybao, Fr.Wang Zhenghe and Fr. Xie Guolin. The Italian daily «Avvenire», on February 1st 2000, denounced thefact that these disappearances aim to make the religious persons adhere to the official church controlledby the regime. The same pressure was exerted on laypersons: the children of «underground» Catholicswere excluded from schools, while tens of churches were destroyed or burnt. The news published onFebruary 15th 2000 by the same newspaper reports that an Archbishop of the Chinese clandestineCatholic Church, Yang Shuadao 81 years old, had been arrested the preceding week. The news wasspread by the dissident “Cardinal Kung” Foundation in a communication.

The «Fides» Agency dated May 28th 1999, 500 Protestant Christians occupied the largest church inXian, one of the oldest and greatest cities, to block its sale. During the protest, disputes with the policeoccurred. This case is not an isolated case, since in many parts of China the same thing happens; theHong Kong press referred that the provincial government of Guangdong sent a note to all theauthorities telling them to increase control over Christian and Muslim activities. In April 1999, thepublic security forces interrupted the religious function in a “domestic church” in Henan and 25Christians were imprisoned. The arrests in this Province are also remembered in the news published onApril 21st 1999 by the press agency «Christian Solidarity Worldwide», according to which fourChinese Christians were arrested during the night of April 17th 1999 at Wuda Xinqu. The day beforethe four Christians’ arrest, in the Henan Province, the Office for Public Security had forcefullyinterrupted a religious meeting, proceeding to arrest 20 Christians. According to the same bulletin,analogous cases had occurred at the beginning of the month in the same Province. It was reported that amember of the public security imprisoned the Pastor Li Dexian in December 1998 during an assault onthe meeting place he managed. Bibles and other objects of his personal belongings were confiscatedduring the attack. Li Dexian has been arrested and released many times during 1999. The Report onReligious Freedom by the United States government asserts that foreign missionaries have beenimprisoned in the Province of Fujian in March 1999, for having practiced their missionary activities forunregistered Churches.

The law does not forbid believers in covering public offices; however, many influential positions in thegovernment are reserved to Party members. The government sent a note out at the beginning of 1999reminding the sections that religion is incompatible with being a member of the Party.

With the growing number of Christians there is a growing number of requests for Bibles. In 1998, thegovernment approved the printing of over 3 million Bibles, and today there are more than 18 millionbeing printed. While Bibles may be bought in certain bookstores, individuals cannot order themdirectly from the publishers, but they are available in many officially recognized Churches and manymembers buy them freely. Despite this, some clandestine Christians hesitate in buying the Biblesthrough the churches for fear of being identified by the receipt. Government censorship seems to bevery active in controlling religious publications.

A priest from the clandestine Church in Shanghai, Father Chu Guangyao was arrested twice by thesecurity forces. This was revealed by the «Eglises d’Asie» Agency on October 1st 1999. The priest wasarrested for only two days the first time, but after his second arrest there has been no more news aboutthe priest or where he is being detained.

The Canadian «Voice of the Martyrs» press agency published, on October 20th 1999, the newsaccording to which a Christian woman, Mrs. Kong, was brutally beaten by the public security forcesbefore being arrested. The woman was arrested at the same time as Pastor Li Dexian, his wife Zhao Xiaand two other Christian women. All five were released the following day. The news was referred onOctober 14th also by the «Misna» Agency, which also stated that the police forces, during the assaultthat then lead to the five Christians’ arrest, demolished a secondary building of a constructiondesignated to religious functions.

According to «Human Rights Without Frontiers» dated November 4th 1999, in the recent Statepublication in the Chinese language of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a passage in article 2425was suppressed, which declared: «The Church has rejected the totalitarian and atheistic ideologiesassociated in modem times with 'communism' or 'socialism’». On November 6th 1999, the newspaper«Avvenire» published the news of restrictions imposed by the Chinese government on bishops

belonging to the clandestine Church, who are not allowed to participate in the Synod of Bishops forAsia or in the Pope’s visit to India. On November 9th, the «Misna» Agency mentioned that thecontinued detention of bishops and priests from the clandestine Church in Eastern China caused thedeath of a 60-year-old layperson by a heart attack. In fact the man, who resided in Wenzhou, had diedon October 21st after having learned that officials from the public security had taken away the localPastor Father Kong Guocun. According to the same bulletin, on the 28th of October four of the eightmembers of the clergy from the diocese of Wenzhou, including the bishop Msg. Giacomo Lin Xili,were detained. On January 2nd 2000, the «Avvenire» reported the news of the arrest of 5 Christians whowanted to unite to pray on the night of New Year.

On November 11th 1999, the daily «Avvenire» revealed the existence of a document by the secretariatof the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, thought to be secret, aiming at reinforcingcontrol over the clandestine Church. The news, coming from the «Fides» agency, refers to a documentdated August 16th 1999 and titled «Proposal to reinforce the work on the Catholic Church in view ofthe new currents of change». In it, the ways China intends to increase its control over the CatholicChurch can be seen, in view of the possibility of renewed diplomatic relations with the Holy See. Theclandestine Catholics are left with only two alternatives: become part of the official Church ordisappear.

On October 30th 1999, the Chinese government – as referred by Cesnur – introduced a resolution to ban«heretical cult organizations». In the text, one finds the following passage: «all their criminal activitiesmust be dealt with severely» and «resolute punishment» associated with methods if education areforeseen. The «Avvenire» dated January 12th 2000 refers that the Prime Minister Zhu Rongji, in areunion in Peking, with the officials responsible for all the religious and local offices, asserted that: «allthe levels, especially the higher ones, must study the Marxist concept of religion and, based on the law,must reinforce administration concerning religious affairs». For the State Councilor, the Muslim IsmailAmat, this year, the «work» on religion will be «even heavier».

In trying to compete with the Holy See, the patriotic Catholic Church ordained five bishops in theCathedral of Nantang on January 6th 2000. As reported by «Fides» on January 14th 2000, a group ofpatriotic priests criticized the choice of making this gesture without the consent of the Vatican with theOffice for Religious Affairs. All the ordained bishops, according to the same source, had been intenselypressured to consent to this. The seminarians of the National Seminary in Peking who deserted theceremony in a sign of protest now fear pressure and persecution by the government as well as by thepatriotic Association.

The official daily of Zhejiang, quoted by «Actualité des religions» in October 1999 refers that theauthorities destroyed 179 «illegally built» Buddhist temples, in a campaign to fight superstition in thecountryside. The demolitions, which occurred during the month of June 1999, were done «for thepurpose of reinforcing the Socialist spiritual civilization in the countryside and to better the ideology ofthe peasants, as well as for the scientific and cultural value».

Religious persecution has not stopped during the first months of 2000. The Agency «Adnkronos», onJanuary 25th 2000, reported that a Chinese court sentenced five persons to death because they belongedto an Islamic secessionist group. The news comes from the Chinese newspaper «Xinjiang Daily»detailing that the Court of Urumqi, the main city of the Western Province of Xinjiang, emitted a verdictagainst 13 persons on January 18th 2000 accused of secessionism, killing, larceny and illegal armstraffic. Five of them were sentenced to death, two to life imprisonment and six to imprisonment from16 months to 13 years. The condemned individuals belong to the Uiguri, the largest Chinese Muslimethnic group.

HONG KONG


Surface Area 1.095 sq. km.Religion Buddhists: n.a.

Catholics: n.a.Muslims: n.a.

Protestants: n.a.Taoists: n.a.

Confucianists: n.a.

The State laws sanction religious freedom and forbid discrimination for religious reasons. Thegovernment authorities, according to the 1999 Report on International Religious Freedom by theUnited States government, respect these principles. The religious groups do not have to register withthe authorities and cooperate with the government in programs for social development. In June 1999,the Government of the Chinese Popular Republic (responsible for the foreign affairs of Hong Kong)blocked the proposal a Papal visit to the Country.

The Government does not recognize a State religion, but it has allowed celebrating Buddha’s birthdayin 1998 as a national holiday. However, some Christian festivities have been celebrated in the samemanner. The Protestant Churches manage three upper level institutes and over 700 schools.

Some religious leaders maintain active contacts with their centers on the continent. The Catholic andProtestant clergy has been invited to organize seminaries on the continent, to teach and to developmutual exchange of students (even if some of the students from the continent have encountered somedifficulties in obtaining the necessary approval by the authorities to leave China). A wide spectrum ofreligions is represented in the Government, in the justice organs and in the social services.

MACAO

Population 459.000

Surface Area 21 sq. km.Religion Buddhists: 96%

Catholics: 4%


On December 20th 1999, Macao, the first European colony on the Chinese coast and governed for morethan four centuries by the Portuguese, returned to China. Macao has the highest percentage of Catholicson Chinese land (6,5%) and the Church manages half of the schools. About religious freedom in theterritory of the ex-colony, Monsignor Domingos Lam Ka-Tseung, the Bishop of Macao, declared thathe was worried, like many others, for the future of the Church, in an interview to the «Fides» pressagency, published on December 17th 1999. «The Church in Macao – Bishop Lam underlined – is partof the Universal Church». During the days preceding the ceremony for the passage to China, somefollowers of the Falun Gong sect, banned in China, were expulsed by force, perhaps for fear that theymight have anti-Chinese demonstrations.

TIBET

The Chinese government strictly controls access to information about Tibet, thereby making theevaluation of the breadth of the violations of religious freedom very difficult to calculate. Theconstitution of the Chinese Popular Republic guarantees, in theory, religious freedom, but thegovernment maintains a rigid control on religious practices and on places of worship in Tibet. Whilethe government allows traditional religious practices and public demonstrations of faith, the activitiesthat may represent a vehicle for political dissidence, such as the demonstrations that call for Tibet’sindependence or other forms of secessionism are not tolerated and are promptly repressed. When the

Dalai Lama visited Italy, Amnesty International pointed out the serious violations of human rights inTibet: according to this organization, the political prisoners in Tibet run in the thousands, most almostsolely detained for crimes of opinion. Amnesty International called attention to the case of two veryyoung monks, one 16 and one 21 years old, arrested and beaten by the police for having cried outindependence slogans on March 10th 1999 (the Anniversary of the Lhasa Revolt in 1959). The novicemonks were respectively sentences to three and to four years of prison. On that same occasion,Amnesty International called attention also to the case of Ngawang Sangdrol, a Tibetan nun who hasbeen detained for crimes of opinion since 1992; during these years of harsh imprisonment, Ngawangwas tortured many times, to the point of having to have two fingers amputated and permanent damageon both hands and has collected other sentences. In 1993, for example, she was sentenced to six yearsfor having taped along with other imprisoned nuns a cassette with independence songs and poems. TheTibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy made known that the Tibetan nun was sentenced tofour years imprisonment in October 1998 for having participated in the prisoners’ protest in Drapchi.Therefore, Ngawang Sangdrol sentences rises to a total of twenty-one years of prison; the prison timewill be up in 2013. The Report by the Human Rights Watch in 1999 denounces the death of at least ten,perhaps twelve, political prisoners after the protest in the prison in Lhasa.

Great traditional Buddhism was attacked by the Government, which promoted a campaign criticizingthe Dalai Lama, the most important figure of Tibetan Buddhism and the guide for its government inexile. Towards the end of 1998, the Government increased its campaign to discredit the Dalai Lamaand to limit the power of religious persons and secular leaders close to him. In late 1998, the Tibetangovernment press intensified its discussions against the Dalai Lama in articles that defined him acriminal, criticizing his separatist activities. The central as well as the local government often insistupon the fact that any dialogue with the Dalai Lama is impossible.

Many citizens practice Tibetan Buddhism in some form. Chinese government workers say that Tibethas more than 46.300 monks and Buddhist nuns and 1.780 monasteries, temples and religious sites.This number only represents the data for the autonomous region of Tibet. Proportionately there aremonks and nuns in other Tibetan areas of China. Many government officials of Tibetan origins andmembers of the Communist Party practice Buddhism. Approximately 1000 religious figures coverrelevant positions in committees of the local peoples and in committees of the political consultingConference of the people. However, the government continues to insist that party members andgovernment workers must follow the code of atheism of the party.

Buddhist monasteries and activism favoring independence are strictly associated to Tibet. Therefore,the government moved towards reining in the proliferation of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, accusingthem of taking away local resources and being the mediators for infiltration by the Tibetan communityin exile. Generally, the government imposes strict limitations on the number of monks in the mainmonasteries; however, these restrictions are not always so strict. Because of the molestations in theGanden monastery, near Lhasa, the number of monks has decreased from 700 to 500.

The Government, which generally contributes with a small percentage of operational funding for themonasteries, controls the management of the monasteries by a government committee for democraticmanagement and by the local offices for religious affairs. In April 1999, certain regulations restrictedthe guidance by the management committees of the monasteries by patriots and by the devote monksand nuns. Despite these efforts to control the monasteries by the government, the anti-governmentfeelings still are very strong.

The Government has increased its campaign of patriotic education begun in 1996 in three monasteriesnear Lhasa (Ganden, Sera and Drepung), including monasteries in the entire autonomous Region ofTibet and widening the campaign to Tibetan areas in other provinces. «Human Rights WithoutFrontiers», on February 11th 1999, spread the news of another propaganda campaign to eradicatereligion in Tibet. The information comes from the «Tibet Information Network». The main objective ofthis new campaign seems to be the promotion of atheism as «the only available way to ensureeconomic development and stability in the region».

Patriotic education has upset religious activities in many monasteries. The propaganda campaigns,which have failed in changing the Tibetan attitudes, aim at controlling the monasteries and exiling theDalai Lama’s followers. The action promoted by the Government requires monks to be patriotic and tosign a declaration stating that they refuse the independence of Tibet and Gendum Choekyi Nyima, theboy recognized by the Dalai Lama as the 11th reincarnation of Panchen Lama; to denounce the DalaiLama; to recognize the unity of China and Tibet and also, to commit themselves to not listen to the«Voice of America». The monks that refused to sign were exiled from their monasteries and they werenot allowed to return home to work. Resistance towards the campaign in question was intense and thegovernment’s efforts affected the Buddhist monks and laity, some of them fleeing from Tibet.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, approximately 3 thousand Tibetansenter Nepal each year to flee repression.

Respect for religious freedom in Tibet has worsened in 1999. During this period, the Government hasadopted further initiatives to increase control over religion. In January, it launched a three-yearcampaign to spread atheism as much as possible throughout the region. On January 10th 1999, the headof the Propaganda Department of the region declared on a television show that «the intensification ofatheistic propaganda plays a significant role in the promotion of the construction of the economy,social progress and spiritual Socialist civilization in the region. It represents an important measure toreinforce the battle against separatism and resolutely resist the reactionary infiltration of the Dalai’sgroup».

A large number of monks and nuns have been imprisoned for more or less lengthy periods of time. Thesuperintendent of the Drapchi prison in Lhasa said to a delegation of foreign religious leaders that therewere 100 monks and nuns among the prisoners, 90% of which were imprisoned for crimes againstnational security. There are referrals to arbitrary arrests, abuse and the torturing of monks and nunsaccused of political activism, and there is also news of deaths of prisoners and the closing of manymonasteries. According to the Report by the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, up untilDecember 1998 there have been 1083 political prisoners in Tibet, of which 246 were women.

In January 1999, two of the main places for religious worship were closed down as a result of thecampaign for patriotic education in 1997 and 1998. Monks from the monastery of Shingatse and nunsfrom Rakhor have referred being dispersed after having refused to accept the conditions of the team ofeducators.

The Government continues to detain the Gendun chosen by the Dalai Lama in an unknown locationtogether with his family, and states that they are keeping him in custody to protect him and giving hima good education, however refusing any control by international observers. According to the Report2000 by the «Human Rights Watch», no one has seen the boy or the members of his family since 1995,which is when the Government recognized another boy, Gyaltsen Norbu, as the reincarnation of thePanchen Lama. The Government’s attempt reaches the point of imposing portraits of this boy in themonasteries. The Government continues to assert that the boy chosen in 1995 is the 11th reincarnationof the Panchen Lama, the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama. Theboy chosen rarely appears in public and when he does, with the massive presence of security forces.The media have referred that the boy loves the Chinese Communist Party, Socialism of the Motherlandand religion.

Chadrel Rinpoche, who was accused by the Government of having sold State secrets while helping theDalai Lama in the choice of the incarnation of the 11th Panchen Lama, was held in a secret prison ofSichuan, where he was separated from other prisoners after a sentencing closed to the public.

The fourteen-year-old Ugyen Trinley Dorje, according to what the «Avvenire» referred on January 9th

2000, the Karmapa Lama of the «white sect» Kagyu escaped on December 31st 1999 from Tibet to jointhe Dalai Lama in India. Catholic sources consider the flight a demonstration of dissent by the Tibetanstowards the Chinese Communist authorities. The same source, on the following January 13th, referredthat the Government has already found another reincarnation of the «living Buddha».

Some prisoners referred on the imposition by a program for political re-education by the prisonauthorities, in particular to denounce the Dalai Lama and to accept the Panchen Lama designated by theGovernment. An international Ong lamented that Ywshe Samten, a twenty-two year old monk that hadbeen imprisoned in 1996 for two years for having participated in a protest in favor of the Dalai Lama,died on May 12th 1998, six days after his release as a result of the tortures suffered in the prison.

The Government contributed with significant sums to the restoration of tens of thousands of Buddhistworship locations destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, in part to promote the development oftourism in Tibet. The monasteries continue to welcome and train young monks, despite the fact that thelaw forbids this before the age of 16. Many persons practice Tibetan Buddhism, but there are tensionsbetween the Buddhist sects and other religious groups. While the Christian population in Tibet is stillsmall, there is a strong social pressure against those that have converted, some having been disinheritedby their families.

COLOMBIA




The Constitution establishes religious freedom and affirms that there is no official or State Church, butit also adds that the institutions should not proclaim atheism, agnosticism or indifference to theColombian religious feeling. Some observers interpreted this as an unofficial declaration in favor of aprivileged position of the Catholic Church, the official religion of the Nation since its adoption of theconstitution in 1991. A decision by the Constitutional Court of 1994 declared any official governmentreference to the religious characteristics of the Nation as unconstitutional.

The law on religious freedom establishes a mechanism to obtain the status as a legally recognizedreligious organization. The government applies two different types of recognition for religions:recognition of the juridical person and special recognition as a public entity. The Ministry of InternalAffairs regularly concedes the first type of recognition. The only pre-requisite is the presentation of aformal request and information on the organization. Also, any foreign religion that wishes to establishitself in the Nation must present a document saying that the authorities of its original country haverecognized it. The Ministry of Internal Affairs can deny every request that does not fully satisfy theserequisites or that violates the fundamental constitutional rights. The religions recognized by thegovernment are the following: the Catholic Church, the Anglican, the Mennonite, the Calvinist, theLutheran, the Baptist, the Presbyterian, the Methodist, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,Islam and Judaism.

Special recognition is required by the government for religions that wish to administer worship for itsfollowers through a public institution; for example, this permit is required to officiate worship forsoldiers, for patients in public hospitals and prisoners; or to furnish religious instruction in publicschools. When it takes the authorization for this special public recognition into consideration, thegovernment keeps in mind the number of followers of the religion, of the degree of popular acceptancethe religion has in society and other factors believed to be relevant. The dialogue to reach thisrecognition is lead by the Episcopal Conference of the Colombian Catholic Church, which is alsoauthorized to revoke the decision. Up until today, 14 non-Catholic confessions – all of Christiandenominations – have received this special public recognition. Another 40 groups have requested it andthe decisions on these cases are still in mid air. Some important religious communities have not evenrequested this special recognition, such as the Israelite one.

All the legally recognized Churches, seminaries, monasteries and convents are exempted from localand government taxation. The local governments can give tax exemptions to organizations affiliated toreligions such as schools and libraries. However, in practice, the local governments often only give taxexemptions to organizations affiliated to the Roman Catholic Church.

Foreign missionaries must get a special visa, valid for a maximum of two years. The Ministry ofForeign Relations can give visas to foreign missionaries of foreign confessions or denominations.

The government allows propaganda among the indigenous population, on the condition that it is wellreceived and does not induce the members of the indigenous communities to adopt changes that wouldcompromise their survival in their traditional lands.

The Constitution from 1991 establishes that parents have the right to choose the type of religion theirchildren should receive and no one is obligated to receive religious instruction in the public schools.The Catholic Church’s only agreement with the government is to furnish schools in the rural areas thatdo not have State schools. These schools are exempted from taxation.

Both the Constitutional Court and the Council of State have ascertained that the Jehovah’s Witnessesand the Mennonite seminarians were systematically forced into doing military service, in violation ofthe Constitutional norms and other dispositions regarding conscientious objectors. Because of thesesentences, two Mennonite seminarians were exempted from military service just as the Catholics.There is no news about prisoners or detainees for religious reasons.

Religious groups have been the objects of attacks by paramilitary and guerilla groups during today’scivil conflict, even if these attacks often can be linked to political reasons more than religious reasonsof the victims.

On May 30th 1999, members of the National Liberation Army (Nla), a Marxist guerilla group,kidnapped 140 persons, including 3 American citizens and a Catholic priest that was celebrating massin the Catholic church La Maria in Cali. Some of the victims, who included children and elderlypersons, were released immediately. There are no indications that the victims were attacked because oftheir religious beliefs. After discussion with the government, 48 persons were released, while another20 to 35 hostages are being held by the guerrilla group. Even «The Voice of the Martyrs» datedOctober 5th 1999 confirmed that the Nla released some of the hostages.

The armed groups of Marxist narco-terrorists of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (Farc)have imposed limitations on religious freedom in the areas they control. In April 1999, they tried toexpel a Catholic priest, Miguel Angel Serna, from one of these areas because he had criticized publiclythe management of the area by the Farc. Despite the increase of government pressure on the Farc inreceiving news about the three American missionaries kidnapped in January 1993, the location they arebeing held at is still unknown as well as their conditions.

Relations between the various religions are generally friendly. According to a report by the «LamNews Service» dated August 10th 1999, more than 25 Protestant ministers were killed and around 300churches were closed during the last six months due to the increase in violence in Colombia. Theescalation of violence is the result of many decades of war between the Marxist guerrilla forces and thegovernment. The majority of the ministers belonged to the Church of the Assembly of God.

Some ministers were being aimed at just because they were Christians, like Father Hector Pardo, apastor from Bogotà, in a telephone interview. The last two religious persons killed had been accused ofbeing allies of the paramilitary. The pastor expressed sincere worry about the systematic closing of theEvangelical churches in Colombia, especially in the area in the hands of the Social-Communists.

Pope John Paul II, during the Angelus on August 1st 1999, denounced the destruction of the locationsfor worship in Colombia. The daily newspaper «Avvenire» dated September 21st 1999 refers that after35 days of being held a hostage by the guerillas, Monsignor Josè de Jesùs Quintero Diaz, the Bishop ofTibù, was liberated. The guerilla warfare group of the Farc had imposed a special condition: that theBishop leave the diocese, but the local head of the Church said that only the Holy Father could decidehow long he was to continue his pastoral work in Tibù. The guerilla fighters accused the Bishop ofbeing on the side of the military, but he explained that in today’s situation all those that criticize theguerrillas automatically become assimilated to the paramilitary. The diocese of Tibù lies right in themiddle of the civil war. According to «Aed-France» dated September 29th 1999, the Colombian people,and especially the peasants, are the victims of the battle that opposes the police, the army, the drug-traffickers and the guerilla and the voice of the Catholic Church rises over all this for respect for thepoor and for peace.

COMOROS ISLANDS

Population 658.000


Religion Muslims: 99%Catholics: 1%


While forbidding any kind of religious discrimination, the legislation is based on Islamic law. In fact,only demonstrations of the Islamic faith are allowed on the national territory and any proselytism isstrictly forbidden. After the coup d’état on April 30th 1999, the Constitution going back to 1996 wassuspended, but in the new constitutional Charter there is no reference to religious freedom.

According to the 1999 Report by the Department of State of the USA on International ReligiousFreedom, the three governments that followed each other until June 30th 1999 discouraged the practiceof religions differing from Islam.

According to the same source, three local Christians had been arrested without any accusations in April1999 and detained for three days. Among the aims of the detention of the non-Muslims was the plainattempt to urge them towards Islam. Just from the period going from the beginning of September 1999,it is estimated that the number of persons arrested for reasons tied to religion is about 50.

On October 9th 1999, the «Misna» Agency quoted the «Ansa» news bulletin according to which TakiIslam, arrested the preceding week for having been found with a videocassette on the life of JesusChrist, was condemned to ten months in prison plus another eight months with conditions. The videohad been on the air on two local television stations and was then sequestered by the authorities.Recently, the same source reports, another Comoran citizen was sentenced to eight months in prisonbecause he was found in possession of publications on Christianity.

COSTA RICA





The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. Catholicism is the State religion and must be supportedby it. However, the free practice of other religions cannot be blocked «as long as they are not incontrast with universal morality or correct behavior». The government does not interfere in thedifferent worships. Religious organizations must have legal recognition.

The law guarantees tax exemption to the Catholic Church and allows the government to donate landsfor the Catholic Church’s needs.The Constitution prohibits the involvement of the Church in political campaigns.

While not obligatory, religion classes may be given in the public schools. The Catholic EpiscopalConference must name the religion teachers. The private schools, including those affiliated to theProtestant denomination, are free to teach religion. Foreign missionaries operate freely on the nationalterritory. There do not seem to be any prisoners for religious reasons. Relations between the membersof the different confessions in the Nation are cordial, this includes the religious minorities.

CROATIA



Religion Catholics: 85%Orthodox: 11,1%

Muslims: 1,2%Protestants: 0,4%


Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution.

The Roman Catholics make up about 85% of the population. Often the differences in religioncorrespond to ethnic differences: the Serbs are prevalently Orthodox Christians and the Bosnians areMuslims. Religion and ethnic appurtenance are strongly related.

According to the 1999 Report on International Religious Freedom by the government of the UnitedStates, the Muslims continue to be discriminated against in obtaining the necessary documents forcitizenship. However, they are allowed to celebrate their festivities.

The government has hired 19 Catholic priests to work in the army and care for the Catholic soldiers.This opportunity was not given to the Muslim imams, and, different food – conforming to Islamic law– has not been taken into consideration for the Muslim soldiers.

Religion is taught in the schools, but attending these classes is not obligatory. If the necessary numberof students is present, classes for the minority religions can also be held; this opportunity often remainsunused because of the lack of resources, of students and of qualified teachers.

There is a Catholic radio station, heard nationwide. There is also a Serb radio station, Radio Dunav,which only operates locally (the Commission for Telecommunications denied its request for a nationalnetwork). The Muslim community has 4,5 minutes available per month to transmit religious programsmade by the Croatian radio and television, and another 4,5 minutes per month on «Radio Zagabria».However, the Muslim community does not believe that this is sufficient time to inform the public abouttheir religious activities.

As for the restitution of goods confiscated by the Communist regime, in October 1998, the governmentsigned an agreement with the Vatican that provides the return of all properties to the Catholic Church.

CUBA





The 1976 Constitution, while recognizing the right to practice and profess any religious creed to thecitizens – as long as this is done respecting the laws – underlines the atheist and materialistic objectivesof the Cuban government. In practice, the government controls and strongly limits religious freedom.And, even if, with the revision of the Constitution in 1992, “scientific Socialism” is no longer anobjective of the Cuban regime and the State is no longer defined as «atheist», but «lay», persecutionhas not stopped.

The law provides that to officially recognize the various religious confessions, they must be registeredin the Register of Associations. However, in the majority of cases, the government refuses to registernew religious movements. In the same way, it prohibits, except for rare occasions, the construction ofnew churches, making many of the rising congregations meet in private homes and act contrary to thelaw.

The Office for Religious Affairs of the Cuban Communist Party has the duty to control and watch thereligious institutes present in the Nation.

The Pope’s visit to Cuba, between January 21st and 25th 1998, while not sufficient to obtain the changeshoped for by many, achieved the liberation of 300 prisoners, the Pope had invoked clemency for. Aconsistent but indefinite number of persons still remain in prison, accused of crimes defined as«perilous», even for religious reasons.

In the last few years, religious repression by the Government seems to have lost part of its more violentaspects, even if discrimination and marginalization of those professing their faith still is present. Whilehaving eased up on the restrictions that weighed upon some of the officially recognized religions, twoyears after the historical visit, the Pontiff expressed his hope for ever greater religious freedom when hereceived the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Felipe Pérez Roque, in the Vatican.

According to «Droits de l’homme sans frontières», on December 8th 1998, the Government agreed tothe arrival of 40 new religious persons and priests into the Country (today, 300 priests are present inCuba, less than half the number there before 1960). Also, the regime took the decision to considerChristmas as a holiday. However, there is still a 1995 decree in vigor that forbids representing theNativity scene in public offices, unless they are tied to the sector for tourism and foreign commerce, asreferred by the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the Government of the United States. Despite this,the Government continues to strongly limit access to the Church by the media and refuses to allow thepossibility of having independent press organizations. Also, religious schools cannot be created. Attimes, for important festivities, processions are allowed in open areas, according to what is reported inthe Report on religious freedom by the government of the United States in 1999.

In January 1999, according to the Report 2000 by the Human Rights Watch, the police in Havanaarrested for variable periods of time, going from four to six days, six activists of the Lawton HumanRights and their leader, Oscar Elias Biscet González, who wanted to participate in a meeting tocommemorate the visit of Pope John Paul II. González was arrested and tortured by the police in themonth of August 1999 as well.

In an interview released to the daily «Avvenire» last November 12th, Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino,the Archbishop of Havana, asserted that there are some slow changes, for example in the greaterpresence of the means of communication, at one time hostile: of significance regarding this – asmentioned by the same daily on December 21st – was the authorization given by the government totransmit the opening of the Holy Door in the Basilica of Saint Peter. But there are other goals that stillseem very far from being achieved, like in the field of education. The Cardinal says, “The Church hasno schools, cannot have them, just as it does not have the possibility to teach religion in the public

schools. Or the right to entry of priests and religious persons. During the Pope’s visit and immediatelyafter, there was some opening up: now, instead, a large number of priests and religious persons arewaiting for entry, and we hope that they may be authorized to do this by the end of the year. I must saythat we must register a regression on this point. On the other hand however, demonstrations such as thecelebration of worship in the homes, in the families, where the people do not have access to churchesand this is the only way for catechesis or celebrating the Sacraments, today, these are allowed. They areno longer seen as a clandestine way of doing things. We also hope that the government will facilitatethe construction of those new churches we were not allowed to build for so many years».

Even Jehovah’s Witnesses, once considered “the enemies of the revolution”, were allowed certainconcessions, as stated by the 1999 Report on International Religious Freedom by the United StatesGovernment, among which the possibility of going door to door for propaganda, of meeting in smallassemblies and having a main office in Havana.In January 1999, a new synagogue was opened in Camaguey (the third in the country).

«Compass» reports that President Castro took part in the final demonstration of the Cuban Evangelicalcelebration on June 20th 1999. This consisted in 18 public events, four of which were transmitted inalmost the whole Nation via television.

There is no news regarding government pressure against the various Afro-Caribbean Syncretic rites,which are often used as anti-Catholic functions by the authorities.

However, arrests and trials continue against Cuban dissidents, also among the Catholics. The «Fides»Agency reports on March 12th 1999 that among the activists arrested, there was also Osvaldo PayaSardinas, the leader of the Christian Liberation Movement, then freed. The «Ansa» Agency on January25th 2000 informs that, he was arrested again by the secret police along with Hector Palacios, a liberaldissident, founder of the Democratic Solidarity Party. According to the Cuban Commission for HumanRights, an organization tolerated but not recognized by the government, at least twenty opposingpersons are in prison after a wave of arrests that occurred between November and today.

CYPRUS

Population 771.000


Religion Greek Orthodox: 80%Muslims: 18,6%


Two different populations live on the Island of Cyprus: the Greek Cypriotes and the Turkish Cypriotes.They are diverse in language, religion and cultural traditions, organized into two distinct states, theRepublic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, born in 1983 and only recognized bythe Turks.In both Republics, the Constitution guarantees religious freedom.

In particular, the 1960 fundamental chart of the Republic of Cyprus provides that the Greek OrthodoxChurch has the right to regulate and administrate its own affairs and its own properties, according to itsown rules. At the same time, it also provides that the Vakf (the Muslim institution that regulates thereligious activities for the Turkish Cypriotes) has the same rights. No legislative, administrative or anyother act can interfere with the activities of the Orthodox Church or with the Vakf. The other religiousgroups recognized by the Constitution are the Orthodox Armenians, the Catholic Maronites and theRoman Catholics. All other religions, diverse from these five, are not obligated to register; however, ifthey wish to take up financial transactions they must register as non-profit organizations. Manyreligious groups decide to be registered.

Missionary works and proselytism are allowed, but are looked upon with suspicion and held constantlyunder control by the Greek Orthodox Church, by the Cypriote authorities, both Greek and Turkish.

The Greek Orthodox religion is taught in the primary and secondary schools, but parents may ask foran exemption from these classes for their children.

In the Northern part of Cyprus, the fundamental charter defines the Turkish Cypriote Republic as a“secular republic”, and does not recognize any religion in a particular way. 99 percent of the populationis Muslim. The Vakf – which maintains all the costs for the Muslim religious activities and supportsthe Muslim leaders – is exempt from taxes and subsidies, unlike the other religious organizations. TheGreek Cypriotes and the Maronites that live in the North are free to practice their religion, even if,according to the 1999 Report on International Religious Freedom by the United States Department ofState, they mention acts of vandalism against the unused Orthodox churches. The religiousorganizations do not have to be registered unless they wish to take up commercial activities. Even inthe Turkish Cypriote Republic there are no particular limitations to missionary activities, but these arequite rare and strictly controlled by the authorities. The schools do not provide any formal courses onIslamic studies (there are classes on religion, ethics and comparative religion).

The government of Cyprus as well as the Turkish Cypriote administration have constitutional or legallaws against discrimination. The Vienna Act of 1975, which regulates the dealings with the GreekCypriotes and the Maronites living in the North and the Turkish Cypriotes living in the South stilltoday, provides certain facilities concerning worship.

CZECH REPUBLIC



Religion Catholics: 39%Protestant: 4,3%

Hussites: 1,7%Orthodox: 0,2%


Religious freedom is constitutionally guaranteed.

The Ministry of Culture, through the Department of the Churches, deals with religious affairs. Therecognized religions are 21; each receives State subsidies, in proportion to the number of followers. InJanuary 1999, Reverend Moon’s Church of Unification was denied registration since the Department ofthe Churches believed that this religious group fraudulently acquired the number of followers (10thousand adult members stably resident in the Country). The unregistered religious groups cannot ownproperty, but they can freely practice their faith.Foreign missionaries may freely practice their activities for the proclamation of their faith.

The greater part of the population belongs to the Christian faith, even if after 40 years of Socialist-Communist regime many do not recognize belonging to any religious group (according to a poll donein February 1999, 64% of the population define themselves as atheists).Religion is not taught in the public schools.

As stated in the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the United States Department of State, inFebruary 1999 two commissions were instituted, a “political” one – made up of representatives of thevarious parties present in Parliament – and a technical one – composed of jurists, economists andrepresentatives from the various Churches -, with the object of dealing with relations between State andChurch and to prepare documents on the most important issues.

Not all of the property confiscated during the Nazi period and during the Communist regime have beenreturned to their legitimate owners. «Droits de l’homme sans frontières» dated February 12th 1999informs that the speaker for the Catholic Episcopal Conference accused the government of promoting aunilateral interpretation of the law. In fact, he declared on national radio «until a law will be interpretedby the “party ideologists”, one cannot speak about a state of law». This harsh reaction was provoked bya document, published by the government and produced by a group of historical-juridical” experts,which asserted that the Catholic Church had no legal rights to the property confiscated during theSocialist-Communist period.

Trials continue against Jehovah’s Witnesses who, for religious reasons, refuse to serve in the military.«Human Rights Without Frontiers» dated January 26th 1999 refers that the Supreme Court, the sameday faced with the umpteenth case, that of Marek Jirava, asserted that the problem lies in the lack ofharmony in the local regulations. The court then interrupted the trial and suggested that theConstitutional Court change the penal code and the law on the military service in such a way as toharmonize with the Charter on the fundamental rights and freedom. The Constitutional Court hasresolved nine cases concerning Jehovah’s Witnesses already in a positive way, but the case of MarekJirava seems to be of particular importance because it introduces the request by the Supreme Courtregarding changes in two fundamental laws.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO




Muslims: 1,4%Number of Catholics 24.391.000

Despite the fact that the law, in the absence of a fundamental Charter of the Nation, provides forrestrictions to religious freedom through the denial of registration of an association or being able todismantle it, in the past decades no known cases of violation of this right have been heard of. Whilethere is an absence of abuse by the authorities, there is continued violence caused by the conflictoccurring on the national territory.

After a year of persecutions of the Catholic Church in 1998, with the massacre of 32 persons, life hastaken its course again, even if under the constant danger of further assaults by armed groups.

«Fides» dated June 4th 1999 refers that a number of religious persons have disappeared from theNation: Father Mazzochi, a Saverian and Don Elia Leita, then monsignor Théophile Kaboy, the Bishopof Kasongo, taken by the government troops on March 13th 1999 with three white fathers and thenreleased after one week.

The Bishop of Kole, monsignor Stanislas Lukumwuena, had to flee on April 13th 1999 and remainedunderground for a month after the ransacking of the diocesan see, the convents, the novitiate and thepharmaceutical storage houses.

Even the Bishop of Kindu, monsignor Paul Mambe Mukanga saw the destruction of his diocese by thegovernment troops and then by the rebel army.

On September 15th and 16th 1999, the «Misna» Agency reported the news of the wounding of the parishpriest of Murhesa, Father Gustave Amuri, by armed men in uniforms belonging to the «Interhamwe»formation. The same day, a bulletin by the same agency informed on new contrasts between theMuslim faithful and the Church of the Army of Victory because of the presumed burning of a copy ofthe Koran by Fernando Kutino, the leader of the latter, and one of his followers during a televisiontransmission on the «Message of life» station, owned by Kutino himself. Despite the prohibition by theGovernment, the Muslims have demonstrated in the capital's streets, provoking incidents that obligatedthe law enforcement people to intervene. «Droits de l’homme sans frontières» on November 9th 1999asserts that the preceding September 18th, pastor Kutino and his follower were arrested. However, theclimate of tension still remains, caused by the aggressive attitude of certain neo-religious groupstowards Islam and even towards the Catholic Church.

Father Giuseppe Galli, in a testimonial for «Missionari saveriani», quoted by «Misna» on September29th 1999, informs about the kidnapping of two missionaries and the ransacking of their mission.

«Fides», on December 3rd 1999. Reports the violent death, going back to November 23rd 1999, ofFather Georges Kakuja Mulemangabo, the parish priest of Kalonge, who had disappeared the previousday. It is believed that the authors of this killing were rebels from the Congolese Democratic Coalition(Rcd) – the faction opposing the President of the Republic, Laurent Desiré Kabila — which controlsthe eastern part of the Nation with the support of the troops from Rwanda and Uganda. Since 1999, Fr.Kakuja is the third religious person to be killed in this region.

On February 17th 2000, «Avvenire» reported the assassination of Don Remis Pepe in the Kivu regionby tribe members. Since the Catholic Church refuses to take sides in this battle, its representatives arein the bull’s eye: monsignor Emmanuel Kataliko cannot go back to his diocese of Bukavu and is theguest of the Bishop of Butembo.

DENMARK



Religion Protestants: 87%Muslims: 1,4%

Catholics: 0,6%Number of Catholics 35.000

Article 67 of the Constitution recognizes «the right to meet in communities for the worship of Godaccording to one’s convictions, as long as nothing is taught that may be contrary to good behavior orpublic order» to its citizens. Article 70 states: «because of one’s faith or origins, one cannot bedeprived of the total use of one’s civil and political rights, nor detract oneself from the commitment toone’s ordinary civic duties».

The State religion is Lutheranism and is economically supported by the Government. However, article68 of the Constitution says «no one is obligated to make personal contributions to a religion that is notone’s own». The Lutheran religion is taught in the public schools, but the students can be exoneratedfrom the classes by the parents. All schools, even the religious ones, receive state subsidies.

There are no restrictions to religious propaganda, within the limitations of morals and public order andthe law.

With a disposition in 1969, the Minister for Ecclesial Affairs gave the priests of the 60 unrecognizedreligious groups the possibility of celebrating marriages. In March 1999, the Council published theguidelines so that these movements may obtain approval: they must present a written text that indicatesthe fundamental traditions of the group, with a description of its most important rites and must elect itsown representatives, who will become responsible for it with regards to the law.

As learned by the 1999 Report on International Religious Freedom by the United States government,the Church of Scientology presented the request to obtain official approval as a religious organizationfor the third time without any outcome.

DJIBOUTI

Population 623.000


Religion Sunni Muslims: 96%Catholics: 2%Orthodox: 1%

Protestants: 1%Number of Catholics 7.000

Islam is the State religion and despite the fact that religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution,proselytism is discouraged. According to the Report by the State Department of the USA on religiousfreedom in 1999, a climate of tolerance exists in the Nation, favored by the traditional presence ofFrench Catholics and Orthodox Ethiopians. There is no difference in treatment between the Muslimfaithful and those of other religions.

According to the same source, President Ismail Omar Guelleh declared that Islam is the main preceptof his government, in May 1999.

Religion is not taught in the public schools and Islamic law is applied only relative to family problems,administered by the Qadi, the highest juridical authority in the Nation. In this context, a Muslimwoman cannot marry a man belonging to another religion.

DOMINICAPopulation 71.000




The Constitution protects religious freedom and the Government respects this law, in practice. There isno State religion, even if the Catholic Church, who stipulated an agreement with the government in1954, has special privileges not extended towards other religions. These include the use of publicfunding for the needs of the Church, for example the restoration of places of worship or renouncing theduty taxes when importing goods into the Nation. While the Government does not interfere withreligious practices, according to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the Department of State ofthe USA, the members of the national Police must participate in the Catholic mass.Foreign missionaries are not subjected to restrictions.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC




The Constitution recognizes the right to religious freedom and even the minorities are respected.

ECUADOR




The Constitution establishes the principle of religious freedom and the government respects this rightin practice. The government does not require a license from religious groups or that they be registered,unless they belong to non-government organizations involved in commercial activities. Approximately1000 different religious groups, Churches, cults, societies, Christian brotherhoods and foundations co-exist in this Nation. The government allows missionary work even by the minority faiths. Many non-Catholic groups have been active in the national territory for many years.

The government does not allow religion classes in public schools while the private schools can freelydo what they wish.

In April 1999, a crowd that held 100 members of the Church as hostages surrounded an Evangelicalindigenous church. During 1998, there were a series of non-violent confrontations between Protestantand Catholic groups in the city of Peguche, in the Province of Imbabura. According to the 1999 Reporton religious freedom by the USA State Department, the tension was due to commercial rivalry, asstated by certain citizens.

In April 1999, certain Southern Baptists informed about a growing opposition by the local populationto the construction of a church and a medical clinic in the city of Chachas.

EGYPT



Religion Muslims: 94%Christian Copts: 5,9%


The Constitution promulgated in 1980, which considers the shari’a as the main source of law, favorsMuslims and relegates Christians – despite the fact that the Christian Copts are the most numerousChristian community in the Middle East and say they represent 10% of the population – to the ranks ofsecond class citizens, who cannot be represented politically and are discriminated against in variousfields such as administrative jobs and public security. The admission of Christian students in theschools for Arabic teachers is blocked because it entails studying the Koran.

The Muslims that convert to other religions are subject to article 98f of the Penal Code, which prohibitsridiculizing and insulting the religions and may be applied extensively towards those doingproselytism. Adhering to the Masonry has been prohibited since 1964.

The State reserves the right to authorize and control mosques, giving them the license to operate,nominating the Imams, paying their salaries and proposing themes to be discussed. Even if reformed onJanuary 29th 1996, there is a law that regards the practice of hisba (cf. Christiaan van Nispen totSevenaer, La nouvelle loi sur l’hisba en Égypte: son sens, son contexte, ses ambiguités, in John J.Donohue S.J., Christian W. Troll S.J. [in], Faith, Power and Violence. Muslim and Christians in aPlural Society, Past and Present, Pontificio Istituto Orientale, Rome 1998, p. 141-146), that is IslamicOrthodoxy in customs and doctrines, by the occasional religious tribunals with limited jurisdictionupon Muslim citizens and subordinated to the civil magistrates. However, even those who abandonIslam are involved in this, with considerable limitations.

As reported by the «Corriere della Sera» on July 29th 1999, there is greater censure on religious themes:the Egyptian edition of the novel «The Prophet» - a work by the writer Kahlil Gibran, a LebaneseMaronite – was sequestered from the American University in Cairo Library, on the pretext that thecover showed the Prophet Mohammed, contrary to what Islamic law allows.

The government uses a law, in vigor since 1865 during the Ottoman Empire, which in fact impedes theconstruction, restoration and even the painting of churches without permission by the president of theRepublic. As the 1999 Report on International Religious Freedom by the United States governmentinforms, thanks to the decisive intervention by President Mubarak there seem to be signs of easing upon the permits to restore churches, there still are insurmountable bureaucratic difficulties by theMinistry of Internal Affairs and the local authorities towards getting the plans approved.

In January 1999, the government formed a committee of experts for the revision of scholastic books,with the objective, among others, of re-introducing notions of history from the Copt and Byzantineperiods. The Christian students are allowed to not take exams during the festivities of their faith.Recently, television and radio programs, just like the government press, have given space to Easter andChristmas celebrations, dealing with Christian themes and authors.

The 1999 Report by the Human Rights Watch informs that criticism towards the government alsocomes from the Islamic community, for the management deemed too lax, of the trial against thoseaccused of the Luxor Massacre on November 18th 1997, as well as for the detention of some of themembers of the Muslim Brotherhood, in prison for having pamphlets critical towards the regime.

There are frequent attacks against the Christians by the Muslims, even if the 1999 Report on religiousfreedom by the USA Department of State mentions the absence of killings for religious reasons duringthe first six months of 1999. «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on November 9th 1999 informs thatsome attempts were made against Orthodox Coptic priests. The first occurred on August 1st againstFather Istaphanous Sobhi, beaten by an unknown person while celebrating mass. The second, on thefollowing September 2nd, saw the 35 year old monk Aghnatios Al-Mohariky’s death, killed by twoMuslim Brothers who then confessed and were condemned to the unusually mild sentence of sevenyears of prison and forced labor. During the third attack, Father Issada Iskarous was wounded by manygunshots.

There have also been cases of forced conversions of Christians to Islam, as reported by «The Voice ofMartyrs» on March 16th 1999 and concerning the sixteen-year-old Suhir Shihata Gouda, kidnapped forwedding reasons. The parents and the other Christians of the village they live in were mistreated bypolice agents and menaced of death for having attempted to look into what happened to the girl.

The Office of the Procurer of Sohag has re-opened the files concerning the tortures committed bypolice officials especially towards the Copt population of the village of El-Kosheh, in August 1998.While «The Voice of the Martyrs» dated May 14th informs that the preceding day, the 9th, theaccusations against the four police officials involved in this case were dropped. «Compass Direct» onSeptember 24th 1999 reports that Shaiboub William Arsal, a Christian of that village accused ofhomicide, remains in prison in Sohag and the trial only began on December 4th 1999.

«The Voice of the Martyrs», on December 6th 1999, quotes correspondence by Charles M. Sennott inthe «Boston Globe» dated December 4th 1999, refers on the confessions extorted from the policethrough torture of two Christians of the village – who then retracted – in order to accuse Arsal. Eventhe Copt Bishop Wissa was accused of “obstruction of justice”, “incitement”, “false witness” and“declarations dangerous to national unity”. Also Arsal’s lawyer, Seda, a Muslim lawyer, was arrestedand incarcerated after the publication of his report on the case.

Despite the attempts at silencing what was happening, peace did not return to the village of El-Kosheh.The «Corriere della Sera», on January 3rd 2000, reported conflicts between Copts and Muslims, whichbegan on December 31st 1999 and continued for two days, during which sixteen persons lost their lives.Aggressions and fires extended towards another two villages in the region, Dar el-Salaam and AwladToq and the security forces to stop the violence isolated the three centers. According to Bishop Wissa,during the disorders one church and fifty stores, homes and storages were put to flames.

During the visit of John Paul II to Cairo on February 24th 2000, the Grand Mufti of the Al-AzharMosque, Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, the spiritual leader of the Sunni Muslims, declared – as referred bythe Agi Agency on that same day - «we believe that the Pope’s presence will contribute to reinforcingmoderate Islam». He explained: «We receive him with joy, as a friend of the Arabs. And we thank himfor his support to the Palestinian cause». Tantawi was at the airport to welcome Pope Wojtyla onarrival and, in the afternoon, received him in his official residence, at the University of Al-Azhar, thehighest theological authority and instruction of the Sunni Islamic world, which maintains relations withthe Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

President Mubarak expressed the same concepts in his welcome speech, which preceded a brief privateencounter in a small room at the airport. «Together we must fight fanaticism, prejudice and hate. Wemust be opposed to all forms of discrimination, injustice and falsehood». For Mubarak, «the Popebelieves and fights for the establishment of a world of universal tolerance and welcome. His voice – hesaid – is of great value if we wish to establish a new livable world order».

The other important appointment during the first day of John Paul II in Cairo was the meeting withPope Shenouda III, who had already met Paul VI in the Vatican in 1973 (this was the first encounterbetween the highest authorities of the two religions of the 451 schism). «This visit – Bishop HannaColta, the auxiliary of the Copt Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, explained and quoted by the AgiAgency – represents a turning point in Arabic mentality which associates the Catholics to the Crusades,but now this elderly and ailing Pope comes as a weak man, a messenger of peace, to offer himself tothe Muslims, and he comes from a Third World country like ours».

EL SALVADOR





The Constitution guarantees religious freedom and at the same time gives particular recognition to theCatholic Church, also establishing that the other churches may register to obtain the same statusaccording to the law. The Civil Code specifies that a religious association must undergo formalrecognition by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In 1997, the government applied a law, promulgated the preceding year, which enabled the Ministry ofInternal Affairs to register, regulate and control the finances of non-government organizations and non-Catholic faiths in the Nation. The law gives tax exemptions to religious groups and provides thatdonations to recognized associations are tax-exempt. The smaller religions have no problemsregistering.

Predominance by the Catholic Church does not have any negative influence on other denominations’religious activities. The foreigners must obtain a special visa to have religious activities.

Public education is lay. Religious private schools operate on the national territory. All the privateschools, lay or religious, must follow the same standards to be approved by the Ministry for Education.There is no news concerning detainees for religious reasons.

There are friendly relations between the various religious communities. Between February and March1999, there were eight break-ins and thefts in the office of the Lutheran Church (four of these in theoffice for human rights). The police authorities have opened an inquiry on the incident.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA

Population 431.000


Religion Catholics: 90%Animists: 5%

Muslims: 0,5%Number of Catholics 374.000

The fundamental Charter of the State theoretically recognizes the right to religious freedom, but inpractice there are numerous restrictions for the registration of religious groups as well as for activitiesoutside the worship locations, which must be authorized by the Government.

ERITREA



Religion Copts: 50%Muslims: 50%


The right to religious freedom sanctioned by the Constitution is respected by the Christians and theMuslims, but not by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

According to Monsignor Luca Milesi, the Bishop of Barentu interviewed by «L’Apostolo di Maria» inJanuary 2000, the relations between the two main Orthodox communities, the Islamic and the Catholicones, are cordial and they collaborate together.

There was no follow up given to the news given in 1998 by the institutions according to which all theCatholic schools were to be put under State control. However, since January 1998 the religiousorganizations are not allowed to have kindergartens.

In the war-like climate with nearby Ethiopia, there is a rigid control by the political authorities on thereligions: Muslims and Jehovah’s Witnesses that refused to do their military service – according to the1999 Report on religious freedom by the USA State Department – were put to trial, condemned andimprisoned.

ESTONIA



Religion Lutherans: 13,7%Orthodox: 1,9%


The 1993 Law on Churches and religious associations requires each association registered to have atleast 12 members and be registered with the Ministry for Internal Affairs and with the Council forReligion. The Parliament is about to examine a new law project on Churches and religiouscongregations, according to Ilmo Au, the President of the Religious Council of the Ministry for InternalAffairs, whose declarations are quoted in the «Keston News Service» on January 18th 2000. This wasmade necessary to harmonize the old law with other ones that followed. The final text for the new lawhas not been made known yet, but it has incited preoccupation in many representatives of the minoritygroups, who fear that a privileged place will be given to certain religions (in particular the Lutheranreligion, the Estonian Orthodox, the Catholic), and that this way there will be two classes of religions.However, Au assures that the same treatment will be reserved for all, without any reference to size ofthe movement or its existence in the Country.

The majority of citizens belong to the Lutheran religion, but there is also a consistent Orthodoxcommunity. The Apostolic Orthodox Church of Estonia, subordinated to Constantinople since 1923,obtained re-registration in 1993, after the exile following the Soviet occupation. The dispute relative tobelonging to the Orthodox Church of Moscow or the one in Constantinople lasted for various years,even taking on political overtones, but the representatives of the two Patriarchies reached an agreementlast May.

ETHIOPIA



Religion Ethiopia Orthodox: 52,5%Muslims: 31,4%Animists: 11,4%

Protestants: 3,5%Catholics: 1%


The Constitution sanctions religious freedom, after centuries of only accepting the Orthodox Christianreligion. The limitations imposed on religious organizations consist in the obligation to registerannually.

In the relations between the Orthodox and the Catholic community there are many obstacles to beovercome like the one regarding mixed marriages, since – asserts the Capuchin Fr. Hailé Gabriel,interviewed by «Mondo e Missione» in October 1999 – there are no specific agreements between thetwo religions. However for monsignor Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, Metropolite Archbishop ofAddis Abeba and the President of the Episcopal Conference of Ethiopia and Eritrea, interviewed by thesame agency, coexistence with the Orthodox Patriarch is peaceful.

Jehovah’s Witnesses, according to the 1999 Report by the USA Department of State on religiousfreedom, received the authorities’ apologies on March 1999, for the arrest of 50 of their members tostop the activity of proselytism, which occurred the year before.

Relations with the Muslims are more difficult: a school in Woldea, according to the same source, wasclosed for three weeks in February 1999 after a Muslim student continued to wear the Islamic veildespite the veto by the scholastic authorities. Also, three Islamic students were expelled from theUniversity of Addis Ababa in April 1999 for having protested against the choice of the university in notserving appropriate food on Muslim festivities.

FIJI ISLANDS

Population 796.000


Religion Christians: 52,9%Hindu: 38,1%


The Constitution (newly amended in 1998) guarantees religious freedom and the government respectsthis right. The article of the constitution on State and Religion declares that religion and the State areseparate, but that «the people recognize that worship and reverence for God are the source for thegovernment and its leadership». This article reflects a compromise that was reached in negotiations onthe new constitution that tried to reconcile the strong prevalence of the Christian religion in the Fijiethnic community with the large non-Christian (Hindu and Muslim) Indo-Fiji community.

The Constitution contains a detailed article regarding the protection of religious freedom and beliefs.The article declares that individuals have the right to freedom of conscience, religion and belief; theright to manifest their religion and faith in worship, observance, practice or teachings; the right to notreceive religious teachings or forcibly participate in religious ceremonies; the principle according towhich persons are not obligated to act in contrast with their own religion or beliefs. The governmentdoes not limit religious activities or missionaries coming from abroad or other activities typical ofreligious organizations.

According to the 1999 Report by the USA State Department on religious freedom, the role of religioncontinues to be a political question. Different political parties, predominantly ethnic Fijians, in 1999wanted the return to a “Christian” State and the re-introduction of certain measures like the limitationof work on Sundays. In general, the relations between the religious communities are friendly.At times, the Muslim community has lamented some discrimination.

FINLAND



Religion Lutherans: 85,8%Orthodox: 1,1%


The Constitution protects religious freedom: article 8 implicitly recognizes the right of every Finnishcitizen «to practice a religious cult in public and in private, on the condition that neither the law orgood customs are broken; (he) therefore will have the freedom, based on special regulations that, in hiscase, uphold the matter, to abandon the religious community of appurtenance and to integrate inanother group of this type». Article 9 declares: «the fact of belonging to a certain religious communityor not belonging to any will absolutely not have any influence on the rights and duties of the Finnishcitizens».In Finland there are two State Churches, the Evangelical Lutheran and the Orthodox Churches.

The non-traditional religious groups profess and spread their faith freely; however, the percentage ofthe population that belongs to religions different from the State ones does not go above 1%.

To obtain recognition by the Ministry of Education, the religious communities must be made up of atleast twenty members, must have the public practice of their religion as their goal and their activitiesmust be guided by a regulation. The government is reviewing the procedures that allow recognition.The only case registered up until now of a denial of status as a Church by the Ministry of Education isthe case of the Church of Scientology, which occurred in December 1998. The government had askedfor further information from this movement, and this was not produced. The Church of Scientology hasthe possibility of appealing to the Administrative Supreme Court against this decision: however, it hasdeclared not wanting to use these ways, but wants to begin the process for obtaining recognition fromthe start again.

FRANCE



Religion Catholics: 76%Muslims: 6%

Protestants: 3%Number of Catholics 47.420.000

The Declaration of Human Rights and of the Citizen is in vigor, in which the National Assembly, «inthe presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being», in article 10, declares that «no one must beimportunated for their opinions, including the religious ones, until their manifestations alter the publicorder established by the law». According to two laws, one from 1901 and the second from 1905,religious groups are divided into “associations” and into “associations for worship”: these last ones, tobe recognized as such and to be able to partake in special benefits, among which the exemption fromtaxes, must present the specific request to the local prefecture. Also, the State finances private schools.

The 1905 Law that separates the State from the Church does not allow discrimination on the basis ofthe belief professed.

However, during the past few years, the religious minorities described as “sects” are subject to variousforms of persecution and discrimination from the fiscal as well as the legal points of view.

In 1995, after the group suicide in Switzerland of the “Order of the Sun Temple”, a ParliamentaryCommission arose with the duty to study the phenomenon of sects. In the final report put together, 173groups – among which Jehovah’s Witnesses and Scientology – were identified as sects (that is«associations whose structure is ideological and totalitarian, and whose behavior seriously oppressesfundamental freedom and social equilibrium»). This report was criticized from many sides: the 1999Report by the United States State Department on religious freedom believes that this is not the fruit ofadequate and complete knowledge of the movements mentioned in the list; also, while the Governmentdid not outlaw any of these groups, various complaints have come because the mere fact of being onthe list was for many at the origins of discriminatory acts against them.

The Observatory of Sects was instituted in 1996. An inter-ministerial study group substituted in 1998by the “Government Mission for the Fight against Sects”. As asserted by the «Droits de l’Homme SansFrontières» on November 25th 1998, «for the first time in a Western democracy, public powers havecreated a true force to tactically strike against the so-called sects». In a report by the Study Center forNew Religions (CESNUR), dated May 1st 1999, it was revealed that Alain Vivien, the President of theMission, renowned for his anticlerical and anti-Catholic background, asserted that the fight againstsects can be tied to the old battle for free thinking, for free beliefs and for the freedom of expression,against the Dark Ages mentality of a past that should never return.

In a report presented to President Clinton on May 17th of this year, the USA Department of Statedenounced the persecution the French state was committing against religious minorities, and invites theUnited States Government to find a diplomatic solution in defense of religious freedom. In the localsection of «Le Parisien» on June 11th 1999, this report, speaking about the Commission on sects, assertsthat «they aim to study the minorities and groups that profess religious feelings rather than looking atthe illegal activities. This kind of Commission can incite intolerance and cause stereotyping to occur».The same complaint was made of the Office of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the USA StateDepartment on February 25th 2000: «the publicity deriving from the inquiries and reports by theCommission have created an atmosphere of intolerance and violence against religious minorities. Manyof the individuals that are part of these groups continue to undergo discrimination during the year – forexample, the loss of jobs or the denial in opening a banking account -, discriminations they believeoccur because of their belonging to a “sect”».

Some Evangelical Churches, victims of the anti-sect associations, do not hesitate in speaking about“witch-hunts”. Various communities have undergone inquiries, with the accusation of mentalmanipulation and fraud. «Le Christianisme au 20ème siècle» dated July 4th-10th 1999, informs that onMarch 16th of this year, a pastor from an Evangelical Church in the southwest was questioned, frisked

and lead to the Gendarmerie with other members. The same attention has been given, for the past time,to the Mission du Plein Evangile-La Porte Ouverte Chrétienne, a victim of continuous annoyances andfiscal checks.

Various forms of fiscal persecution have been put into act also against Jehovah’s Witnesses andScientology, movements that are not recognized by the Government as religious associations andtherefore subject to the payment of 60 percent of all the funds they receive.

In 1996, the French tax offices began looking into the Jehovah’s Witnesses accounts, analyzing all thedonations received between 1992 and 1996. The total amount the movement should now pay –according to the 1999 Report by the USA State Department on religious freedom – including taxes,fines, interest is 300 million Francs. On June 23rd 1999, the President of the National Consistory forJehovah’s Witnesses, presented a white book called «The financing of the Christian Jehovah’sWitnesses», in the name of transparency. The speaker of the Consistory, Pons, as reported by the«Droits de l’homme sans frontières» on June 24th 1999, denounces the uneasy atmosphere themovement must operate in, having become the object of a constant campaign of defamation andhomologation with other truly dangerous sects.

The heavy fiscal impositions have also lead the Church of Scientology to bankruptcy: the 1999 Reportby the USA Department of State on Religious Freedom informs that the Minister of Finances hasprohibited the Church of Paris of making any payments with funds coming from abroad. However, avictory was obtained this year by this movement: on July 1st 1999, «Human Rights Without Frontiers»gave the news that the Supreme Court confirmed a decision by the Lyons Court of Appeals whichstates that Scientology has the full rights to be considered a religion and preach, without governmentrestrictions. Thereby making the practice of Scientology fully legal, in the framework of the separationbetween State and Church existing in France. But the problems for this movement have not ended: the«Los Angeles Times» on February 29th 2000, quoted by «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on thefollowing March 3rd, informs that in an official report (the one published by the Inter-ministerialMission Against Sects) the Church of Scientology was requested to be closed, since it was defined as a«vast trans-national company» with its own private police force clandestinely governed from theUnited States.

Another legal victory was obtained by The Family (the movement once called “The Children of God”):this group had been accused of sexual abuse against the members’ children. In 1993, the French policestormed into the community, which is remembered as the most terrible event of its history. The Courtof Justice of Aix en Provence, after six years, decided for the «lack of evidence to proceed» of theaccused. This judgment was confirmed on February 24th 2000 by the Court of Appeals, called to givejudgment on the appeals presented against the first sentence by the Association pour la Défense de laFamille et de l’individu (Unadfi) and by an individual without any relation to The Family. ForMassimo Introvigne, the director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), whosedeclarations were quoted on January 19th 1999 by «Human Rights Without Frontiers», this is also avictory for the judges, who claim their independence from the orders of the government, inasmuch asthe Minister of Justice sent a message to all the courts asking them to collaborate in the anti-sect battle.

The Muslim community, according to this Nation’s group, has encountered difficulties deriving aboveall from cultural and not religious differences. As related in the 1999 Report on International ReligiousFreedom by the USA State Department, after the prohibition emanated in 1994 by the Minister forEducation «to wear symbols of political or religious ostentation in the schools», the debate on whetherallowing young Muslim girls to wear the chador to school or not is a violation of the right to freelypractice one’s religion continues.

On January 13th 2000, as related by the news agency «Ansa», for the first time in the history of theFrench Republic, President Jacques Chirac received four high dignitaries of the Islamic religion, thesecond in France, who still does not have representative instances recognized by the public authorities.

«Today, Islam is part of the republican background of France», the Grand Mufti of Marseilles SoheibBencheikh underlined, who took part in the encounter with the rector of the mosque of Paris DalilBoubakeur, the President of the mosque of Lyons Rabah Khelif and the Imam of the mosque inMantes-la-Jolie, Mustafa Sgiri. All agreed formally to participate in the consultations begun, toorganize the Muslim cult, by the Minister for Internal Affairs, Jean-Pierre Chévenement, who on thesame day received Boubakeur. On January 28th, the minister united thirty representatives of the FrenchMuslim Federation to discuss the creation of a representative Council for the Muslim religion, that willaccept the framework of the 1905 law that regulates the relations between State and religions – asreferred by the daily «Avvenire» on January 14th. On February 1st 2000, the «Cip» asserts that theMuslim communities reacted, on a whole, rather positively to the initiative launched by Chevenemént,even if they are fairly reticent about the methods used by the minister and deemed to be authoritarian.

The minister should also meet with the representatives of the more radical Islamic organizations thatmust also take part in the consultations.

On June 10th 1999, the framework in which to insert each single action against religious freedombecame more serious and clearer, with a Parliamentary Report of 322 pages centered on the financialquestions of “cults”. The authors are the Representative Jacques Guyard, already in on the 1996Report, and Jean-Pierre Brard, one of the “hawks” within the Inter-ministerial Mission for the Fightagainst sects (MILS). Divided into three parts, the Report confronts first of all the situation of the so-called “sects” in France and their organization, asserting that the 1996 list is still valid, even if otherrealities have come about, already excluding the first calculation. Among these Anthroposophy and theOrder of the Rosenkreutz Amorc. Among the major preoccupations of the writers is the fact that somenew religious movements have been organized into political parties, such as Transcendental Meditationand the Humanistic Party. Also, the possibility has been raised for community financing for non-government organizations tied to new religions, thereby proposing making it more difficult torecognize this kind of associations, limiting access of parties without Parliamentary representation ontelevision shows and denying public funding to associations believed to be contrary to public order.Even the idea of a «plotted» hypotheses as been raised, according to which all the neo-religiousrealities are based on one occult management, to be found among the defenders of religious freedom.

The Second Part of the Report describes the ways in which new religious movements raise money, witha scale of the groups depending on their financial availability. Among the proposals, the authorssuggest sixty percent taxation on donations, like what happened with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Violatingthe privacy of strictly confidential data, names of societies and each individual benefactor of the“sects” are named. Much of the information gathered, according to Massimo Introvigne, The Mousewho Roared, available on a CESNUR website, through fiscal inquiries, investigations by the secretservice, obligatory answers to a questionnaire sent to sixty groups and by «third degree» interrogations,menacing administrative and penal sanctions to those refusing to collaborate or to whoever would tellabout the content of these conversations.

The third part is reserved to research on the possible crimes (fraud, fraud against the publicadministration, national and international fiscal fraud). The authors admit the inexistence of relevantfacts regarding many realities placed under inquest during recent times, but they advance thehypothesis that whoever is not discovered doing something illegal has become sly enough to get aroundthe law and therefore is even more dangerous. While declaring that it only deals with financialquestions, the Report also gets into other fields, defining “brainwashing” as one of the criteria toidentify “sects”. In conclusion, greater activity by the government Mission for Fighting Against Sectshas been asked for, in cooperating with movements such as the ADFI and they advise a more specificcommitment by each government department.

All the Parliamentary groups unanimously voted the Report in, even if with some reserves by the centerright who wanted to add a declaration in which the battle against “sects” should be continued in fullrespect for religious freedom.

By unanimously approving the draft of a law on December 16th 1999 whose first signer is therepresentative About, the French Senate meant to emend the Law dated January 10th 1936 and others,inserting “sects” and “cults” among the subjects to be banned, on the same level as private and anti-government military armies. Using a legislative instrument created against extreme left-wingorganizations during the Vichy regime, groups and organizations judged guilty in at least two cases ofcriminal acts can thus be closed down and are considered as a problem for public order or a seriousdanger for the human personality. The parameters for reference are the list attached to the 1996 Reportand the concept, central to that Report, of “mental control”. Even the alternative medical practices byassociations are at risk here.

In an article by the researcher on new religiosity Massimo Introvigne, France - "Final Solution"Against "Cults" and "Sects"? Senate Approves Draconian Law (December 16, 1999), which appearedon December 21st 1999 on the Internet site of the CESNUR, one can see the manifest interest inapproving the law – which must pass through the other branch of the Parliament – by anti-sect groupssuch as ADFI and CCMM, present during the discussions in the hall and saluted by Parliamentarianssuch as Senator Derycke.

Among the dangers mentioned by Introvigne is that France uses towards this liberticide end even theturn of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the European Union, in accord with certainEastern countries.

In any case, the director of CESNUR notes, the possibility of closing down associations based only ontwo sentences, even if only regarding their leader, always full choice to the State, inasmuch as one can

assert that all religious groups (but the same goes for political parties) have within them some memberwho has been marked by a crime. Therefore the menace of closing down, in theory, also is valid forany group contrary to the government, overcoming de facto the religious field and passing theboundary of freedom of association.

According to the international secretariat of Human Rights Without Frontiers, which stated in a note onDecember 23rd 1999, «knowing the climate of hysteria today in France against the religious minoritiesmakes the real intentions of the proposers of the law too easily construed. Personal responsibility isequaled to group responsibility and used as an instrument to overcome freedom of association andbeliefs. This is a further example of the attempt to build, piece by piece, an arsenal of legislative andadministrative measures to be added to the repression of minorities».

On February 7th 2000, the Inter-ministerial Mission for the Battle Against Sects presented its firstreport to the French Premier. The United States is vehemently criticized here, where sects, in the nameof religious freedom, benefit from exaggerated protection. The “totalitarian” sects are also banned inthis report, the first among these being Scientology and the Order of the Sun Temple, which have beenasked to close down. The great hidden risk in all of this is, as noted by Massimo Introvigne in an articlethat appeared on February 8th 2000 on the CESNUR website, that once this principle has beenestablished, it will be applied to the Church of Scientology and to other organizations. Even more sobecause certain elements that are considered as peculiarities of totalitarian movements are also properto the Catholic religion and many others: for example, the fact that the leader has «the power to definea doctrine that cannot be contested» and that he «cannot be removed by a democratic process», becausehe is not elected by a majority of members, which also describes the hierarchical organizational modelof the Catholic Church. In the same way, defining as totalitarian a movement where sexual equality isnot guaranteed makes it difficult to distinguish sects from the two largest religious groups in France,the Catholic and the Muslim groups.

Even two members of MILS – as referred by «Avvenire» on February 9th 2000, Jean-Marie Abgrall, apsychiatrist and expert for the courts, and Daniel Groscolas, the person responsible for the preventionin schools, have contested the writing of this document, which seems to have been done by thepresident, the ex-minister Alain Vivien, without «any concertation»: according to them, «if sects areoutlawed then soon other things will be banned. This is an inefficient and libertarian artifice». TheAssociation of Magistrates APM denounced the «anti-sectarian hysteria» of the Report, warningagainst the adoption of special laws «in the terms proposed, from the moment that justice has all theweapons necessary for s State of Law».

GABON




Animists: 15%Muslims: 0,8%


The right to religious freedom, guaranteed by article 1 of the Constitution, is respected. But accordingto the United States Government’s 1999 Report on religious freedom, at least ten worship organizationshave not been allowed to register, even if there is no obligation in this sense. Jehovah’s Witnesses wasamong the groups refused.

GAMBIA



Religion Muslims: 95,4%Christians: 3,7%

Animists: 0,9%Number of Catholics 33.000

The State proclaims its laity and recognizes the right to religious freedom in the Constitution. Withinthe Islamic community, which represents almost the entire population, there have been some contraststhat have also involved the authorities. The main problems however seem to be tied to politicalquestions. According to the USA Department of States 1999 Report on religious freedom, theGovernment supposedly still prohibits the imam of the most important mosque in Birkama, despitebeing absolved of the accusations of damaging private property in February 1999, preaching inside themosque.

Islamic and Christian religion classes are given freely in the private as well as the public school system,even if they do not receive any State subsidies.

GEORGIA



Religion Orthodox:65%Muslims: 11%


The Republic of Georgia became independent on April 9th 1991, after a few years of conflict with thecentral powers in Moscow, it was subject to since the beginning of the last century. >From the religiouspoint of view, there is an Orthodox majority (about 70 percent), next to a Catholic minority – that PopeJohn Paul II visited last November 1999 while returning from his travels to India – and a Muslimcommunity (in the southern area of Bitumi). After the fall of the Soviet empire, the Protestantdenominations have increased greatly.

Article 19 of the Constitution recognizes that «each individual has the right to freedom of speech,thought, religion and creed»; article 9 declares «the State recognizes the particular importance of theGeorgian Orthodox Church in Georgia’s history, but at the same time, declares complete independencefrom religious convictions and independence of the Church from the State». The Georgian OrthodoxChurch pressured the government to create laws that would guarantee it special status and restrict themissionary activities of “non-traditional” religions. Many projects for laws, modeled on the Law onliberty of Russian conscience, have been presented, but none have received approval by Parliament.Meanwhile, the government and the Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church are preparing aconcordat to regulate their relations.

The 1999 Report on International Religious Freedom by the USA State Department refers that certainProtestant groups, in particular the Evangelists, have been defined as “subversive” by exponents of theGeorgian Orthodox Church and by nationalistic politicians. The same source asserts that there has beena slight decline in the respect for religious freedom, due to the increase in persecutions against theProtestant Evangelical groups, in areas influenced by the Georgian Orthodox Church. The problems forthe foreign missionaries are more evident in the countries and in the small villages than in the cities,where they come up against the hostility of the Orthodox priests and from the local police. Jehovah’sWitnesses have been particularly struck by these persecutory activities. On April 27th, six tons oflibrary materials were confiscated by customs agents, and given back only two months later. Based onthis, Gurum Sharadze, a nationalistic politician, asked that all the religious convictions of Jehovah’sWitnesses be thoroughly examined and that their activities be stopped, by revoking their registrationbecause they represent a menace to the State and to the Georgian Orthodox Church. The defendinglawyers of the religious group have declared that this request is contrary to the Constitution and haveappealed to a higher court to deny the case. The European Court for Human Rights has made knownthat a judgment on religious convictions, by a lay court, violates the European Constitution, signed lastMay 20th by Georgia. During a hearing of the trial held in June, Basil Mkalavishvili, a priestexcommunicated by the Georgian Orthodox Patriarch and known for his violence against religiousminorities, burned this movement’s books on the stairway of the courthouse. He also lead a crowd of200 persons who, on October 17th, beat certain Jehovah’s Witnesses who were participating in acelebration in Tbilisi, beating them with sticks and iron bars. According to «Human Right WithoutFrontiers» dated October 20th 1999, two persons who escaped the assault went to the police whoquickly refused to give Jehovah’s Witnesses any protection. Twenty participants were wounded, thevictims filed reports and 8 persons were arrested. President Shevardnadze, as referred by a «KestonNews Service» bulletin dated October 20th 1999, condemned the attack on Jehovah’s Witnesses in atelevision conference.

The same source states that on August 28th 1999 in Gldani, followers of Mkalavishvili attacked anddispersed the participants of an Evangelical movement, the World of Life, and Mkalavishvilicongratulated them for having achieved this victory over the «apostles of the anti-Christ».

The Madli Evangelical Church of Gldani, a district of Tbilisi has undergone violent and repeatedassaults by the police. The «Keston News Service» dated June 11th 1999 relates that, despite the Pastorof the Church, Zaali Tkeshelashvili, having informed the police of the place and date for the encounterand receiving authorization for it, various assemblies have been interrupted by the law forces, whichbeat and insulted the participants. Zaali Tkeshelashvili then denounced the district police of Gldani, but

the district court and the regional court both decided against the Pastor. The case, as referred by thesame agency on October 29th 1999, will be discussed after a request by the interested party in front ofthe Supreme Court of Georgia. According to what «Keston News Service» reports on September 28th

1999, because of the denunciation the police behavior has become more aggressive, not only towardsPastor Zaal but also towards the other Pentecostal Evangelical Churches.

The 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USA State Department refers that even the members ofanother Evangelical group, the Assembly of God, have been beaten and verbally offended by the policewhile celebrating in the open in a residential area of Tbilisi. The group continues being under strictsurveillance by the local police. «Compass Direct» on October 22nd 1999 asserts that the members ofanother four Evangelical congregations have been subjected to violence during their functions. None ofthese owned their own buildings, but they all had regular leases. However, in each of these cases, thecontract was revoked and today the four communities no longer have a place to meet in.

The President of the Republic of Abkhazia, internationally recognized as a part of the Georgianterritory, in 1995 signed a decree that forbids activities by Jehovah’s Witnesses: it states that theexecutive powers must «take the correct measures to implement this decree, and, if necessary, bring upformal charges against the persons committed to propagandizing Jehovistic ideas». Six members of thegroup were arrested last April for having violated the decree, but were released in May, because theprovision violated the clause on freedom of conscience provided for by the Constitution of Abkhazia.Another member of the movement was condemned to five years in prison for having deserted themilitary service, after having been beaten.

GERMANY




Muslims: 3%Number of Catholics 28.220.000

Article 4, the fundamental 1949 Law defines freedom of belief and conscience and the freedom ofreligious and ideological confessions as «inviolable». It also guarantees the free practice of one’sworship. The same charter, in article 33, forbids any discrimination based on belonging or not to acertain confession. Article 136 repeats that «having civil and political rights as well as access to publicoffice are all independent from religious beliefs». There is no State religion, but – for historical orcultural reasons – the authorities give subsidies to certain religious organizations.

A majority of religious organizations are dealt with as non-profit associations, and thus can benefitfrom tax exemptions. According to article 137 of the German Constitution, «religious associations,which by prior right were considered public law entities, remain thus. The same rights are recognizedto other associations, upon their request, if they offer guarantees of duration with relation to theirregulations and the number of members. The unions of public law religious associations are also publiclaw entities. The religious associations are authorized, if public law entities, to draw taxes based onroles and conforming to the laws of the Land. Associations that try to cultivate a common ideology areplaced on the same level as religious associations».

According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the United States government, Jehovah’sWitnesses have appealed against the decision made by the government of the State in Berlin, whodenied recognition to them as a public law corporation: this decision was confirmed in 1997 by theConstitutional Court, motivated that the movement did not offer the “necessary loyalty” to theDemocratic State because, for example, it prohibits its members from participating in elections.

The «Courier International» dated November 19th-25th 1998, quoted by «Droits de l’homme sansfrontières» dated November 24th 1998, refers that the Berlin court recognized the statute of religiouscommunity to the Islamic Federation, which gathers about ten associations. This way, they can requestthe creation of religion classes in the capital’s schools. Until now this wasn’t possible because, whileall the various religious communities – not only those of public law – could provide religious teachingin the public schools, each one had to have a person in charge and a speaker. The Muslim groups areorganized in a number of associations that do not recognize each other and often are rivals amongthemselves. Even if there are no recorded discriminatory incidents towards the Muslims, sometimes thecoexistence has created problems.

Particularly discriminatory acts have been reported against the Church of Scientology, which is notconsidered a religion but a profit making organization. Some Government officials assert that themethods and ends of Scientology are not democratic. The 1999 Report by the United Statesgovernment on religious freedom refers on an encounter in March 1999 between members of theMinistry of Internal Affairs in Hamburg and a lawyer representing Scientology, where the state officersexpressed their convictions that this group was a criminal organization with a totalitarian ideology.Since 1997, the federal authorities have placed Scientology under observation to protect theConstitution, being suspected of being a danger for democracy. In November 1998, the decided tomaintain surveillance of Scientology even in 1999, motivated by the fact that while not constituting animminent danger to the political and economic system, there were signs that could be read as directedagainst the freedom of the Nation and democratic order. These reasons made the majority of politicalparties exclude any Scientology members from becoming party members. Even the Police Forces, asreported by the «Berliner Morgenpost» on January 18th 1999, have established criteria that – with theintention of preventing infiltration by extremist or anti-constitutional forces – do not admit enrolling ifthere are reasonable doubts that the person does not follow the democratic model, or is connected toorganizations that demand absolute obedience from their members and create conflicts with the duty to

secrecy, for example Scientology. The members of these movements have often encountereddifficulties even in finding a job. The Claudia Engel case is emblematic of this: her permit to manage aplacement company for au-pairs was revoked by the Labor Minister Bluem, just because she belongedto Scientology. However, with the sentence dated January 28th 1999, the Court of Appeals of Renaniajudged the act illegal and obligated the German Government to pay damages. According to «HumanRights Without Frontiers» dated February 5th 1999, even some artists belonging to Scientology havebeen subjected to various forms of discrimination. Among them, for example, the jazz musician ChickCorea, the object of government “attention” since 1993 when the government of Baden Württemberg,learning that he was a member of the Scientology movement, cancelled his exhibition in a concertsponsored by the State.

The same agency bulletin on February 23rd 1999 denounces the hostile and suspect attitude towardsnew religious movements. For example the case of Sry Chinmoy, a master of meditation and yogaoperating in the entire world but treated with hostility in Germany. His initiatives – marathons andconcerts for peace – were often boycotted by the various local German authorities, motivated by thefact that one must keep in mind that the group behind these events could be structured like a sect.

«Droits de l’homme sans frontières» dated April 30th 1999 informs that the German Federal Courtordered the elimination of a crucifix from the wall of a school in Bavaria, after a request made by theparents of a student, who believed that the presence in a class of this symbol violated the child’s rightto receive a “neutral education”.

GHANA



Religion Christians: 52%Animists: 35%Muslims: 13%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. Religious groups must register, which seems to be amere formality, according to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USA Department of State.Religion classes of the Christian type are obligatory in the schools.

GREECE



Religion Greek-Orthodox:97,6%Muslims: 1,5%

Catholics: 0,4%Protestants:0,1%


Article 3 of the 1975 Constitution recognizes the religion of the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church aspredominant, but also states in article 13 that «freedom of conscience is inviolable. Individual andpolitical rights never depend upon the religious convictions of each person. All religions are recognizedas free; the practice of one’s religion can be exercised without obstacle protected by law. The practiceof one’s belief cannot lead to prejudice to public order or moral ethics. Proselytism is forbidden. Theministers of all the recognized religions are placed under the same surveillance by the State and haveobligations towards the State that are equal to those of the predominant religion. No one is exemptfrom doing their duties towards the State or refusing the application of laws because of their religiousconvictions».

Despite these assertions mainly due to principles, the Orthodox Church has many privileges, from thepolitical as well as the economical point of view. Also, it is the only religion considered as «a legalentity of public law» by the law. The laws made by General Metaxas during the dictatorial periodbetween 1936 and 1937 are still, in fact, in vigor and forbid the non-Orthodox from publicly expressingtheir religious beliefs, teaching in private or public schools and attaining positions in public offices.

Despite the constitutional protection of religious freedom, very often, non-Orthodox groups encounteradministrative obstacles or legal restrictions to the practice of their religion. The privileges and legalprerogatives guaranteed to the Orthodox Church are not, by norm, extended to the other recognizedreligions.

The Greek-Orthodox mainly reside in Athens and on the islands of Tinos, Rhodes and Syros. Caritas aswell as the religious order of the Missionaries of Charity operate in the Nation, but both haveencountered difficulties in renewing their visas. The Catholic Archdiocese of Athens has asked forlegal recognition: at first this was denied but the question may be reconsidered more favorably.

According to two laws emanated after 1930, the various recognized religious groups must request, tobe able to open a place of worship, permission from the Minister of Education and Religion, who maybase his decision on the opinion of the Orthodox bishop. In October of this year, «Human RightsWithout Frontiers» on October 20th 1999 informs that the pastor of the Apostolic Pentecostal Churchwas cited because he was operating in a church that, even if active for over 50 years, was notauthorized as a “house of prayer” by the Greek Orthodox bishop. The Greek Evangelical Alliancedefined this accusation as false and unjust because the Church had obtained permission from thegovernment authorities (the Minister of education and Religion) already in 1938.

Nikolaos Foscolos, the Catholic Archbishop of Athens denounced, as reported by «Human RightsWithout Frontiers» on March 3rd 1999, the many “practical discriminations” existing against the non-Orthodox. He brought the examples of the armed forces, where being Orthodox is the first condition tobecoming an officer. Even if religious freedom is legally protected, the Archbishop went on to say, tobe considered truly Greek the citizens must be orthodox. The same source reports that an Orthodoxbishop, speaking to non-Orthodox citizens, defined them as “co-Hellenics” instead of as Greeks. JohnPaul II, in a meeting on February 5th with eight Greek bishops, hoped for greater religious freedom anddialogue in Greece, for the good of the entire Nation.

Already in 1994 the «Droits de l’homme sans frontières» had denounced the institutionalizedcharacteristics of the violations to the right of the religious minorities to live their faith fully. However,the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church did not seem to maintain that the situation of thereligious minorities in Greece was particularly difficult, since it criticized the assertions made in theannual Report on religious freedom by the United States government defining – as reported by «HumanRights Without Frontiers» on October 29th 1999 – the information concerning the low level of religious

freedom in Greece «unilateral and malign, that take into account anything told by representatives ofsects and marginal religious groups».

However, there is further confirmation of the violation of the fundamental right to religious freedomand freedom of expression.

The Greek Helsinki Committee and the Group for the Rights of Minorities have condemned, asreported by «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on February 14th 1999, the continuous persecutionsagainst the Muslim Mehmet Emin Aga, inasmuch as they constitute a violation of the fundamentalhuman rights of freedom of religion and expression. Mehmet Emin Aga, elected Mufti of Xanthi in1990 by the Muslims, was substituted by Emin Sinikoglu, nominated Mufti by the government, basedon a new law approved in 1991 and which substituted the previous one of 1920. Mehmet Emin Agawas then condemned to 100 months of prison – reduced to 70 in appeals – for having violated article175 of the penal code, which forbids taking on religious functions without reason. His situation wasmade even more serious by the fact that he had sent religious messages to the Muslims signing as theMufti.

The same organizations, always reported by «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on July 20th 1999,have denounced the activities of the municipal authorities of Kassandreia in Haldikiki, defining them“intolerant, provocatory, illegal and arbitrary”. In fact, the mayor supposedly organized a massmovement to block the construction of a reading room for Jehovah’s Witnesses, despite the fact that themovement had asked for and obtained regular permission. Confirming the event, The Report 2000 bythe Human Rights Watch refers that a bulldozer owned by the municipality was used to block theentrance to the building, whose building license had been suspended by the authorities.

In January 1999 Minos Kokkinakis died, a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose case was the objectof a sentence by the European Court of Human Rights concerning religious freedom in Greece.Kokkinakis was accused of proselytism; he was sentenced to exile four times because of his religiousconvictions, arrested sixty times and spent six and a half years in prison. The European Courtcondemned Greece to the payment of three and a half million drachma for having violated article 9 ofthe European Convention on Human Rights, relative to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

On January 21st 1991, the European Court for Human Rights archived the case of the Greek citizenGabriel Tsavachidis, who had appealed against the State for having been deferred in 1995 before acorrectional court of Kilkis, because he was accused of having opened an unauthorized place ofworship. Secret inquiries took place against the accused person, and their validity is dubious. Later,Tsavachidis and the State reached an agreement and therefore there no longer was any need forcontention in the European Court.

«Actualité des religions» in October 1999 refers that, for the 2004 Olympic Games, Athens will have tobuild a mosque because the regulations of the International Olympic Committee require that all theathletes are ensured a proper place of worship. The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church, afterrepeatedly refusing the hypothesis, gave its consent to the building of a mosque, but without a minaret.The places of worship for the Muslims are located in the North East and in the South East of theAegean.

As reported by «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on March 3rd 1999, the popular weekly «Bhema»,in February, excused itself with the Evangelical Christians for having published an article in which itplaced them among the sects, along with Satanists. On December 2nd 1999, an Evangelical radio stationwas closed down, after a police raid in its administrative offices. Pastor Lakis Regas, 73 years old, wasarrested and released the following day. Thanos Karbonis, the director of the radio, declared to«Compass», who reported the news the following 17th, of his conviction that the Greek OrthodoxChurch is acting as a “censor”: the accusation brought to the closing of the station for the lack of theappropriate license to transmit, something no radio station ever thought to request due to the absence ofany legislative indications on this matter. Specialists declared the other accusation, of disturbing thefrequencies of the nearby naval base with its transmissions, without foundation. A legal procedure hasbeen opened on this case, which is still under way.

GRENADA

Population 93.000


Religion Catholics:53,1%Protestants: 38,1%


The Constitution sanctions the principle of religious freedom. The religious minorities are respected.The government is secular and does not make any discriminatory acts according to religious beliefs.There is no news concerning prisoners for religious reasons. The relations between the variousreligious communities are generally friendly.

GUATEMALA





The Constitution guarantees religious freedom and explicitly recognizes the separate legalcharacteristic of the Catholic Church.

The government does not establish any requisites for the recognition of religions. The members of areligion do not have to register to worship. The government requires religious congregations (just likeother non-religious and non-government organizations) to register as legal entities to be allowed to rentor buy buildings, make contracts or receive tax exemptions.

The Catholic Church does not have to register as a legal entity. For the non-Catholic confessions, theprocess for defining their juridical characteristic is relatively simple and the required pre-requisites donot vary from one case to another. There is no record of any denied requests.

Foreign missionaries must obtain a specific visa to operate on the National territory: this is given for aperiod of up to one year and is renewable, on the condition of a guarantor able to ensure the financialresponsibility of the mission.

The government does not support the religious groups financially, except on occasions the privateschools managed by religious organizations. The Constitution allows religion classes in the publicschools and they are not obligatory.

The assassination on April 26th 1998 of the Auxiliary Bishop Juan Gerardi, the co-coordinator of theoffice for human rights of the archbishopric, occurred two days after he presented the final report thatprecisely denounced the many abuses to human rights committed during the 36 years of internalconflict. Because the assassination of the bishop happened shortly after the publication of the report(which pointed to the military and the paramilitary forces for 80 percent of these violations), this crimeis believed to be connected to a political reason. On October 1st 1998, the authorities arrested theCatholic priest Mario Orantes, accused of the assassination and then released in February 1999,however he is still a suspect. The inquiry has not been concluded and up until now there are no signsthat this murder is connected to religious reasons.

The «Misna» Agency on October 22nd 1999, with regards to the killing of monsignor Gerardi, statedthat there is a new witness, willing to testify against the killer, which could open a new door in theinquiries and confirm the suspicion that the military is implicated in the homicide. «The CatholicWorld Report», in November 1999, underlined the difficulties underlying the inquiries into thishomicide: the first judge entrusted with the case was obliged to leave his post because of internationalprotestations about his way of proceeding, which neglected the evidence of the army’s involvement. Asecond judge withdrew after one month and escaped to Canada after having received death threats.There are no reports regarding detainees or prisoners for religious reasons.

Relations between the various religious communities are generally friendly and there are no reports ofviolence or social discriminations against religious minorities.

In the case of the Jesuit Luis Eduardo Pellecer Faena, declared missing, after falling into the hands ofthe army he reappeared at a press conference and declared having organized his own disappearance andthat he belonged to the guerilla forces.

GUINEA-BISSAU



Religion Animists: 65%Muslims: 30 %Christians: 5%


Before and after the Civil War in 1998, the Government respected the Constitution, which recognizesreligious freedom. The Catholic Church, through the hierarchy and the many missionaries present, isworking towards peace with the Muslim community.

GUINEA-CONAKRY



Religion Muslims: 86,9%Animists: 4,6%


The fundamental charter of the State abstains from recognizing a constitutional statute of Islam, nordoes it establish the laity of the State, while recognizing freedom of beliefs.

Religious organizations must be registered, officially to receive tax exemptions. According to theUnited States Government’s 1999 Report on religious freedom, the missionary groups must declaretheir aims to the Ministry of Internal Affairs or to the National Islamic League. This last group,supported by the Government, represents the Sunni Muslim community in the Nation.

According to the same source, social and job privileges obtained by the Muslims are frequent asopposed to members of other religions. However, even the non-Muslims are represented in theGovernment, in the administration and in the army.

«Avvenire», on January 7th 2000, reports a conflict between Christians and Muslims of the Tomasethnic group where thirty persons were killed and approximately forty were wounded, because of aconflict about a piece of cultivable land.

GUYANA

Population 850.000


Religion Hindu: 34%Protestants: 34%Catholics:12,5%

Muslims: 9%Number of Catholics 87.000

The Constitution guarantees religious freedom and the government respects this right. The faithful ofall religions may practice their worship freely. There is no State religion or dominating religion and thegovernment does not favor one or discriminate against any. The missionaries have no limitations.There are public schools and religious schools and there is freedom of education.The relations between the different religious communities in the Nation are cordial.

HAITI



Religion Catholics:80.3%Protestants: 15,8Voodoo Rite: n.a.


The Constitution guarantees the right to practice all religions, as long as they are not an obstacle to lawand order, committing the government to respect for the right to religious freedom.

Until the publication of the 1987 Constitution, the Catholic religion was the official State religion.Since 1980, there is a concordat between the Government and the Holy See. The Constitution alsoestablishes that, to be able to operate, the religious organizations must be legally recognized. TheMinistry of Religious Affairs is responsible for the application of the relative laws and for theregistration of religious groups, priests and missionaries. Recognition provides for tax exemption forthe associations and recognition of the civil value of marriage celebrated religiously.

Foreign missionaries operate freely. Some missionary groups manage hospitals, orphanages, schoolsand clinics throughout the national territory. Various American Churches send groups to Haiti forshort-term humanitarian and evangelizing projects.

The Constitution also establishes that individuals cannot be forced to become a member of anorganization or receive religious teachings if contrary to that person’s convictions. This also includesparish schools (the catholic and the Protestant ones), which cannot draw proselytes through theChurches they are associated with. Parenys have quickly denounced and publicized the isolated caseswhere these principles have been violated. Only 15% of the schools are public.

The government does not interfere with radio transmissions or other media related to religious groups.According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the United States Government, certainProtestant or Catholic religious persons are actively committed politically, while many Catholic priestsare part of the direction of the party of the preceding Head of State, Jean-Bertrand Aristide (who was aSalesian priest before).

On August 3rd 1998 in Port-au-Prince, an unknown person shot Father Jean-Pierre Louis, an activeantagonist of the 1991-1994 military regime. Halfway through 1999, the authorities arrested threesuspects and the inquiries continue.

HONDURAS





The Constitution sanctions the principle of religious freedom. While there is no State religion, thegovernment consults with the Catholic Church on the more important problems and those of mutualinterest, such as education and the foreign debt.

The Constitution confers the power of conceding juridical entity to associations to the President of theRepublic, including religious associations. This characteristic is a necessary requisite for certain rightsand privileges such as the exemption from taxes.

Some religious schools receive no special treatment from the government, but nor do they encounterany sort of restrictions. The government asks the foreign missionaries to have a permit to enter theNation.

The Catholic Church is trying to obtain the return of property with historical interest confiscated by thegovernment at the time of the 1825 independence. There is no news about detainees or prisoners forreligious reasons. The relations between the different religious communities are friendly.

HUNGARY





The Constitution recognizes religious freedom. The State gives economic support to various religiousconfessions for their activities. The authorities also finance religious educational institutes, just like thestate ones. Seventy-nine religious confessions are officially recognized and another 300 Churches areregistered with the Government. The only requisite for constituting a Church is having at least 100followers.

Since June 1997, the Government began signing separate agreements with the four “historical” groupsof the Nation: the Catholics, the Jews, the Lutherans and the Calvinists. The agreement with the HolySee was signed on June 20th 1997, and faces the question of funding the Catholic Church and the returnof property confiscated during the years of the Communist regime or possible compensation for thedestroyed goods. Another three agreements were signed later with minority groups: the HungarianUnitarians, the Hungarian Baptists and the Orthodox Budai Serbs.

Between 1999 and 2011, the State will have to resolve more than 3000 still open cases concerningproperty to be returned to the Churches after the confiscations during the Socialist-Communist period.

The 1999 Report on International Religious Freedom by the United States Government refers that inJune 1999, some Parliament members began an inquiry into the connections between the Congregationfor the Faith and the preceding government party, the Alliance of Free Democrats, who supposedlygave political and economic benefits to the religious group.

The same report by the American Department of State informs that the Minister for the CulturalWealth, responsible for relations with the various Churches, has proposed further restrictions to thecreation of Churches, so as to exclude violent groups or other associations that are created only to looklike religious organizations in order to escape fiscal norms. «Droits de l’Homme sans Frontières» onOctober 20th 1999 refers that the Hungarian Parliament has taken up an old project for a law onreligious matters where a religious community may only obtain registration if it has 10 thousandmembers and can prove the existence of at least 100 years on Hungarian territory. This project wascriticized by «Droits de l’Homme sans Frontières», which declared its reservations in a pamphletdistributed to all the representatives and to the Hungarian media. The same source reports an article inthe newspaper «Nepszabadsag» on August 9th, which echoes the initiative of the association for thedefense of human rights. Peter Buda, the Hungarian representative of the association – the newspaperasserts – declared «the tightening provided for by the law goes against the juridical equality ofreligions. The government justifies this provision with the need to harmonize with European law, butthis argument is without foundation and is used by the government to mistake public opinion. Rather,the State should guarantee equality before the law of the small and large religious organizations thatwork within legal terms, careful only that the activities of the religious organizations do not constitute amenace for the foundations of a democratic society». «Droits de l’Homme sans Frontières» declaredthat the deformation of the State’s neutrality could open the door to other forms of yet stricterintromission. Also, if it is true that some religious movements deviant forms of observance arepracticed, this is not sufficient reason to put all new religious groups on the same level. The HungarianSocialist Party (Mspz) declared being contrary to the law. Even Balaz Schanda – according to what isreported by the same source, quoting an article from the «Nepszabadsag» on September 3rd 1999 -, therelator of the law, does not think this law is opportune, also because it does not help unmask in anyway the abuses or impede the workings of a commercial company pretending to be a religiousinstitution.

ICELAND

Population 276.000


Religion Protestants: 96%Catholics: 0,9%


Religious freedom is guaranteed.

The official religion is Lutheranism, professed by approximately 90% of the population. The nationalChurch receives an annual tax from each citizen above the age of 16. If a person belongs to anotherreligious association, if registered, he may pay that association. If a person declares that he does notbelong to any religious group, then the tax will be made payable to a lay institute, the University ofIceland.

Religious associations that wish to benefit from this pro capita tax must register with the Ministry ofJustice and Ecclesial Affairs: this last section will evaluate the bona fide of the group, to avoidregistration only to receive income and fiscal benefits. In January 1999, the registered associationswere 21, apart from the national Church.

With the 1995 Elementary School Law, the Government established the teaching of religion in thepublic elementary schools. All schools are subject to this law, but the content of the lessons may vary(for example, Catholic schools teach Catholic doctrine, not Lutheran) and the students may beexonerated from these classes.

Immigration has greatly increased in the last 2 or 3 years, and as a direct correlation of this, the numberof religious organizations has also increased. In fact, foreigners often profess quite different religionsfrom those born in the Nation.

There is no evidence of prohibitions or restrictions placed by the Government in conceding permissionto build worship places to religious groups; however – as referred by the 1999 Report on religiousfreedom by the United States Government – the Icelandic Buddhist Association was denied a permit tobuild a place for prayer for ecological reasons (the location was being used to increase the reproductionof certain protected birds).

INDIA



Religion Hindu 80,3%Sunni Muslims 8,2%

Shi’ite Muslims 2,8%Christians 2,4%

Sikh 2%Buddhists 0,7%

Jainists 0,5%Number of Catholics 17.211.000

From the point of view of the main declarations, the Indian Constitution sanctions religious freedom.However, there are many cases of inter-religious tensions and conflicts, between Muslims and Hindu,between Hindu and Christians. Regarding this, according to the same source, the governmentauthorities at a local level have only partially respected the right to religious freedom. The situation ofreligious freedom in the Nation seems to be described in different terms in the Report 2000 by the«Human Rights Watch», according to which high officials of the government parties are responsiblefor inciting hate against religious minorities. This is the case for example of the Minister for InternalAffairs, Lal Kishan Advani, a member of the Nationalist Hindu Party Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp),which is not foreign to instigating violence against Muslims. The involvement of the Bjp in campaignsof ethnic and religious intolerance has been proved, according to the «Human Rights Watch», even inthe case of the State of Maharashtra, where a violent campaign to deport Muslims of the Bengalilanguage group was launched, on the pretext of their clandestine immigration from Bangladesh. Thesame source denounces that also in the State of Gujarat, where the government is in the hands of theBjp, Hindu activists have aimed at Christian Churches as an effect of the campaign to rid the Nation ofmissionaries. On the serious situation of this State there are many witnesses. The Agency «Fides», onJuly 31st 1998, refers that in the State of Gujarat along with the destruction of churches, there have beenmany public burnings of Bibles, assaults on schools and even the profanation of a Christian cemetery.

According to the Report 2000 by the Human Rights Watch, even Islamic militants, lead by Pakistan,have been responsible for violations of human rights.

In India, there are many religious groups belonging to different faiths, but Hinduism is the predominantfaith. The caste system is tightly connected to the Hindu religion and the strong religious conflictualityof the Nation is also due to the fact that the conversions of many of those belonging to the lower castesrisk undermining this system. In fact, during the years, members of the lower castes and those outsidethe caste system (dalits) often converted to Buddhism or to Christianity, encouraged to do this even bytheir leaders. Therefore the Government promotes different activities for the development andintegration of the most disadvantaged levels of the population, simplifying access to jobs, givingbenefits from a special fund for the development and realization of projects for formation. However, itmust be said that according to the law, members of the lower castes that convert from Hinduism toChristianity lose the possibility of getting into programs for development and support. This does nothappen when converting to a religion derived from or connected to the Hindu tradition (Buddhism,Jainism, Sikh). According to the magazine «Mondo e Missione» in September 1999, the presence andthe activity of Christian missionaries among the tribal populations, held on the outskirts of the Nation’seconomic and social life, is one of the main reasons for the growing intolerance of the Hindunationalists against the Christians. Giampiero Sandionigi, in the same review, indicates in the act ofpromoting human dignity, that the Church continues the unleashing cause for anti-Christian acts amongthese populations.

There are no national laws that forbid proselytism by Indian Christians, but since the middle of thesixties, the government authorities refused to welcome foreign missionaries that wanted to reside in theNation. Those arriving today can only get tourist visas and thereby remain in the Nation for briefperiods of time. During 1998, state officials refused entry permits to foreign missionaries for theNortheastern States. Usually, missionaries obtained the renewal for their permits, but in March 1999,certain missionaries declared that the government changed this policy, further restricting these

concessions. During 1998 and 1999, there were some failed attempts by members of the governmentauthorities to introduce principles and behavior inspired by the Hindu tradition internally.

According to the 1999 Report by the United States Government on religious freedom, the situation ofreligious freedom has gotten worse during the past two years. During 1998-1999 there has been anunusual and serious expansion of social violence against Christians. The Government explicitlycriticized this form of violence, but the efforts to prevent these incidents were judged as inadequate bythe American Report. Also, in some circumstances, participation in acts of violence and abusescommitted against Christians and Muslims by government workers or members of the law and orderforces has been proved.

Conflicts between Muslims and Hindu are particularly serious in the State of Kashmir because of thepolitical implications of this battle (revendicating independence by the Muslims and the problems withneighboring Pakistan). On various occasions, violence between Muslims and the Hindu has brought toa never-ending cycle of revenge and vendettas, with serious damage on both sides. Both factions in thisbattle have used the massacre of civilians. The Report by the «Human Rights Watch» denounces atleast six cases of serious massacres of civilian Hindus perpetrated by the pro-Pakistani militant groupsfor 1999. The violation of human rights and summary executions, according to the same source, hasalso been used by the Indian government forces and by Hindu activist groups. Among the most seriousacts of violence is the massacre on January 3rd 2000 at the market in Batmaloo, in the outskirts ofSrinagar, where later a bomb exploded and killed 19 persons and left 25 wounded. Concerning theconflicts between the Muslims and the Hindu, one must also mention that perhaps the governments ofIndia and Pakistan are not extraneous to any of all of this. On January 5th 2000, «L’OsservatoreRomano» reported the mutual accusations the two governments made against each other with referenceto the return of violence in January 2000. According to the same source, the Pakistani authoritiesdenounced Indian mortars having hit a mosque in Muzzaffarab twice, killing at least three persons andwounding another seven. On their part, the Indian authorities of Srinagar have denounced the fact thatIslamic secessionists attacked three military camps with missiles and grenades, killing one soldier andwounding another. The New Delhi government expressly called Pakistan up for the explosion of abomb at Batmaloo and for the highjacking of the Indian Airlines Airbus, which concluded inAfghanistan last December 31st.

Even from the social point of view, deterioration of respect for the religious minorities seems morethan evident: apart from the endemic violence between Muslims and Hindu, during the last years manyattacks and violence have been registered against the Christian communities. Often, this violence hasbeen lead by extremist groups with the collaboration of previously incited crowds. One of the mostserious episodes – referred by the Report 2000 by the Human Rights Watch – which occurred onJanuary 23rd 1999 in Manoharpur, when an Australian Protestant missionary, Graham Staines and histwo sons were killed by a crowd yelling Hindu slogans. The three were sleeping in their car when thegroup of Hindu assailants torched it. While the car was burning, some inhabitants of the village tried tohelp Staines and his sons, but were beaten by the assailants. The accusation against them was of havingtried to convert the masses to Christianity.

On February 12th 1999, «Fides» believes that the wave of violence against Christians is growing: a fewdays after the killing of the Australian missionary and his sons, in the State of Bihar a Catholic schoolswas the object of stone throwing and two priests were beaten by a group of youths. On February 3rd

1999, a Catholic nun was assaulted and raped and a few days later, on February 7th, in the same area, ayoung 18-year-old Christian girl was killed along with her 10-year-old brother, after being raped. InSeptember 1999, a Catholic priest was killed, Arul Doss, and it is believed that the assassins are thesame as the ones who killed Graham Staines. In some of the many cases of violence against Christians,the support by the local police force has been ascertained.

On November 13th 1999, more than 30 Hindu militants attacked some Christians who had groupedtogether for a prayer meeting in the village of Khayala, west of Delhi. The assailants burnt Bibles andother religious materials and some Christians were wounded. The police identified some importantleaders of the local Nationalist Hindu Party among those involved in the attack. Even in the State ofGujarat, anti-Christian violence has not ceased: during the month of December 1999, bands of Hindufundamentalists burnt churches and other Christian institutions. According to the Forum CristianoUnito per i Diritti Umani, quoted by «Fides» on January 8th 1999, hostility against Christians was alsoactivated in the, not less hateful, social boycotting. In fact, in the District of Dangas, State of Gujarat,Christian women are not allowed to draw water from the village wells. «Compass» reported a seriousepisode of violence against Christians on December 31st 1999 at Nagod, near New Delhi. A group ofHindu militants attacked the home of the nephew of Arun Shourie, an important journalist and memberof the Indian Parliament. The victim of the aggression was Chandrakant Shourie, his wife Rebecca,

their son Ashih and some friends. During the attack some assailants, armed with sticks, screamed, “Killthis Christian!” recalling the killings of the Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons.

Physical violence against Christians in India is accompanied by violent political campaigns. «Fides»underlined the fact that the largest fundamentalist Hindu organization, the Rashtriya SwayamsewakSangh, (Rss, Association of volunteers for the Nation) launched repeated campaigns to mobilize the so-called «diabolical proselytism» by the Christian missionaries. According to the same source, the Rssinspired the main government party. This organization was born in 1925 to preserve the Hinducommunity from external influences such as Islam and Christianity. Mahatma Gandhi’s assassinsbelonged to the Rss. As reported by «Asia News» in April 1999, the involvement of the Bjp (the Rss islinked to it) in anti-Christian violence was explicitly denounced by A. J. Philip, vice-director of the«Indian Express», an English newspaper in New Delhi. The fundamentalist groups are repeatedlyasking for the expulsion of all the Christian missionaries. In May 1999, «Asia News» reported thedeclarations of Mosha Joshi, the national secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World HinduCouncil), who attributed all the responsibility for the unrest in the Northeast of the Nation to themissionaries and menaced a civil war if the government did not accept his requests. In the samedeclaration, the Hindu priests were invited to point out the names of those going to Christianencounters and ceremonies.

According to a communiqué by the “Indian Christian General Council”, quoted by the «Fides», manynon-government Christian organizations and other European or American organizations have fundedHindu fundamentalism, while only 4% of the funds that reach India go to the Christian Ongs. Thisfunding has favored cultural associations tied to organizations involved in very serious episodes ofviolence against Christians and other religious minorities in the country.

The climate of heavy intimidation towards the religious minorities and the lack of protectionby the government authorities gave rise to moments of true panic in the religious minoritycommunities. This was the case of the attempt to take a census of the Islamic organizations in the Stateof Western Bengal reported by «Asia News» in May 1999. According to the Muslim religious leaders,this monitoring of Muslims would be used to incite souls against the Islamic community and wouldreflect the hostile attitudes towards the minorities. A similar monitoring – the same source refers – hadbeen made on Christians in the State of Gujarat, but the research was then interrupted because of theprotests by various ecclesial groups.

The government of the eastern State of Orissa – reported by «Asia News» in May 1999 – referred thaton the March 16th 157 homes were seriously damaged and 13 persons were killed during episodes ofviolence against Christians. On April 23rd 1999, «Fides» reported the numbers on religious violencegathered by the United Christian Forum for Human Rights: the Forum counted over 150 cases of anti-Christian violence in March 1998, when the coalition lead by the Bjp nationalist party had taken power.The same source denounced, on October 1st 1999, the serious aggression against Father Philip PrashantLukose, a missionary to Jhadeol (Indore) and his travelling companion, Motilal. The two wereforcefully stopped by a group of Hindu, after being mistreated and sworn at for three hours, they wereforcefully lead, naked and covered in mud, to a Hindu temple. There the assailants violently applied thesign of reconversion to Hinduism upon them. The preceding September 16th, according to «HumanRights Without Frontiers» dated October 6th 1999, the American theologian from the Oblates of SaintFrancis de Sales, Fr. Anthony Raymond Ceresko, 57 years old, had to leave India without knowing thereason for his expulsion. The same source reports that the following September 20th in Chapra, SisterRuby was kidnapped by two men, beaten, abused and a rape attempt. Immediately after the Bjp’svictory in the October 1999 political elections, a group of Protestant pastors, meeting in the city ofDahod, in the State of Gujarat, were attacked by a group of Hindu militants, accompanied this time alsoby members of the police force. The news was made public on October 12th by the Christianorganization «The Voice of the Martyrs» from Canada. The two religious persons were beaten withsticks, sworn at, smacked and made to sing anti-Christian slogans. Two pastors were seriously hurt,while others were lead off to jail and underwent eight hours of detention. In November 1999, «Misna»revealed that the community of the Missionaries of the Immaculate in Kalchini (Western Bengal) hadbeen assaulted by about twenty bandits that wounded the sisters, profaned the Eucharist and stolewhatever they could carry away. On the even of the Pope’s visit to India – the same bulletin reports –the main Hindu fundamentalist organizations vehemently protested against what they believed to beCatholic infringement in the Nation. Extremist political leaders accused Pope John Paul II of going toIndia, to confirm, by his presence, the proselytizing of the Church. The leaders of the main religions ofthe Nation (Hindu, Muslim and Sikh) meeting in Delhi protested against these attacks. The Pope’s visitincited protests on the part of the Integralists and took place in a climate very different from thepreceding one in 1986, even if a minority raised the protests. During the official encounters with thosein charge of the Indian government, the Pontiff was reassured of the government’s intentions to

guarantee religious freedom, the lay characteristic of the State and the rights of the minorities. At thesame time, according to «Asia news» on December 1999 – The Pope’s visit and the post-synodalExhortation, Ecclesia in Asia, were criticized by the members of radical Hinduism and certain pressgroups, who titled many passages of the Pope’s speech in a factious manner, continuing to accuse themissionaries of using force, money and material goods to convert the tribal populations and themembers of the inferior castes.

The problem about the fight against conversions has continued being at the center of India’s politicaland social life. «Human Rights Without Frontiers», on January 28th 2000, reports that in the State ofGujarat a proposal for a law that forbids conversion from one religion to another by force, praise orfraudulent means. Since the BJP Party, the supporters of the law, have an absolute majority, there arevery good probabilities that the law will be put into practice.

INDONESIA



Religion Muslims: 87,2%Christians: 9,6%

Hindu: 1,9%Buddhists: 1%


The Constitution abstains from recognizing constitutional status to Islam, and it does not establish theState as secular, while admitting freedom of conviction. Law no. 1/1965 establishes that thegovernment «embraces» Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism,but Judaism, Zoroastrism, Shintoism and Taoism are not forbidden. Furthermore, the Sikh religion andthe mystic and traditional beliefs of Aliran Kepercayaan are also permitted. In November 1998, theConsulting Assembly adopted a new Charter for Human Rights, tending to guarantee each individualthe right to practice one’s religion without further specifications. «Asia news», in December 1999,affirms that the “guidelines” for the quinquennial 1999-2004, recently approved by the NationalAssembly, are better with respect to those of the Suharto period even in the religious field, even if theJesuit Father Joseph Drost, called upon by the same agency, while being favorable to the new ways,considers very important their concrete application through effective decrees to be able to register theoutcome in reality.

The regime’s doctrine – from what emerges from an interview with the Catholic Monsignor CarlosXimenes Belo, the Apostolic Administrator of Dili, released to «Fides» on September 17th 1999 – is intheory the Pancasila , which supports harmony between the religions in the nation. However, inpractice, the same prelate stated, «there are ferocious and repressive methods». Camille Eid, in«Avvenire» on the following September 26th, defines the Pancasila as a doctrine founded on five“pilasters”: the belief in one divinity, humanism, nationalism, popular sentiment and social justice.

There are juridical limitations to the entry of foreign missionaries in the Country and laws that regulate,often obstacle, the construction of places of worship.

On April 27th 1999, reports «Asia news» in August-September 1999, the minister for Public Educationand Culture, Juwono Sudarsono, allowed Christian schools in the province of Jog Jakarta to continuethe practice of Christian religion exams even for students of other religions. This provision turnsaround the preceding norms, which ordered private schools to organize religion exams based on thestudents’ confession. At the origin of this inversion by Sudarsono lies the written protest ofrepresentatives of Christian schools: the proposed law went against the 1992 government decree,according to which the schools managed by religious orders could teach their own religion to all thestudents.

In Indonesia, 300 races coexist in a warlike manner, along with tens of different religions, even if thegreater part of the population belongs to the Islamic faith. In April, the press agency «Zenit» refers onSeptember 27th, as a countermove to the attack against the Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta, promptlycondemned by the Catholic hierarchy, a ferocious crowd attacked the church of Ujung Pandang withMolotov cocktails, in the Southern Sulawesi province, 1.400 kilometers from the capital. Inter-ethnicand inter-confessional tensions are at the order of the day and brought to the closing of some churches,between the months of March and May, after an invitation to suspend the religious functions, made onFebruary 28th 1999 to Reverend Maxie Rumagit, the pastor of the Protestant church of Minshasa, southof the Indonesian capital, by a group of Muslims accompanied by government workers from thedistrict. The government ordered the closing of the churches based on an article in the 1969 ministerialdecree that regulates the construction of places of worship – as reported by «Asia news» in June-July1999.

The 1999 Report on religious freedom by the Department of State of the United States refers on seriousincidents, based on religious questions, in western Kalimantan (Borneo), during the first months of theyear.

Alongside this climate of intolerance there are serious and repeated bloodshed occurring in East Timor,especially after the popular consultation on August 30th 1999, where the vast majority of the populationchose independence from Jakarta.

The signs of what was about to occur could already be seen in the beginning of the year. Episodes ofparticular intolerance were reported, «Asia news» June-July 1999, against Monsignor Belo, theobjective of an ambush while he was going to a memorial for the 25 victims of a massacre thathappened on April 6th 1999. Other ambushes, says the same source, were held against a group ofCarmelite nuns by paramilitary troops, the preceding March 22nd and once again a few days later. Also,many assaults upon parishes and terrorist acts can be accounted for, as reported by «Droits de l’HommeSans Frontières» on October 14th 1999.

«Avvenire» on November 27th 1999 reports that documents by the Australian Secret Service furnishedulterior proof on the link between General Wiranto, then the head of the Indonesian armed forces, andthe militia that was killing the population. Quoting the weekly «The Bulletin», the newspaper reportedthat General Wiranto orchestrated the campaign of terror in the territory to create «a politicalatmosphere that would justify a greater role by the generals and even a military coup» in Jakarta. «Forthe stability of the Nation and so that Wiranto could undergo a just inquest and defend himself in abetter way», the Indonesian President Wahid, on February 14th 2000 – as reported by the «Il Sole-24ore» the following day – removed the general from his duties, placed under inquest for the atrocitiescommitted by the pro-Jakarta militia.

Before September 20th 1999, when the UN Peace Force intervened in Dili, 5 persons lost their lives onAugust 26th, another 35 on September 5th, 30 the following day during an assault by the Aitarak militiaagainst the residence of Bishop Belo; while on day 7, in an assault on a diocesan center of Baucaumore than 100 persons died. But the total number is much higher: our sources indicate a number in thetens of thousands. Monsignor Belo, in an interview to the Spanish daily «El Pais» quoted on ourInternet site of «Aid to the Church in Need» in France, speaks about 200 thousand victims since thebeginning of the Indonesian occupation. «The Catholic World Report» from November 1999 estimatesabout 250 thousand refugees.

Among the victims, Sister Cazzaniga and Sister Celeste de Carvalho Pinto, both Canossians, twoseminarians and a group of volunteer Catholics, were assassinated by armed gangs. Added to this list:the Catholic priests Don Hilario Madeira, Don Francisco Tavares dos Reis and Father TarcisiusDewanto, the superior of the Society of Jesus, killed on September 6th and found in a common gravealong the beach of Oeluli, near East Timor, along with another 23 corpses on November 25th 1999. Thelist of the dead continues with the director of Caritas for East Timor, Fr. Francisco Barreto and theJesuit Father Karl Albrecht, the person in charge of the Jesuit Refugee Service in East Timor,respectively killed on September 9th and 11th. On September 13th even the leader of the ProtestantChurch in East Timor, Francisco de Vasconcelos Ximenes was killed, struck on the head in Manatuto.

The Indonesian Christian Churches have asked for a peace force for the Mollucan Islands to put an endto the killings which begun in January 1999 and which in one year caused the deaths, according to the«Associated Press» on January 13th 2000, of about 2 thousand persons. «Christian SolidarityWorldwide» in December 1999 speaks about over 520 wounded and 95.228 refugees, as well as aboutover 50 villages burnt down during the disorders. According to the «Associated Press»on January 13th

2000, on that same day about 200 Muslims demonstrated in the streets asking to put an end to thekillings in the Molluccas, but other manifestations, according to the same source on January 17th, askedfor the «holy war» against Christians and see the participation by members of the governing majority,such as Amien Rais, president of the Party for National Mandate and the key ally of President Wahid.

In the meantime, there have been acts of violence and burnings of churches on the Island of Lombok,where, «Avvenire» on January 20th 2000 referred, road blocks were built by the Muslims to blockChristians from fleeing the violence and going to Bali. At Makassar, the main city of the SouthernSulawesi area, according to the same source, hundreds of Muslims created roadblocks to controldocuments and verify the passage of Christians.

Despite the fact that the President of the Republic, Abdurrahman Wahid – among other things theleader of the moderate Muslim group, Nahdlatul Ulama -, in the speech given on Christmas said thatthis was a day of peace and tolerance which also concerned Muslims, the Head of State was consideredtoo weak at this time because – according to the Saverian missionary Father Silvano Laurenzi,interviewed by «Avvenire» on December 29th - «he still does not have the necessary power to contrastthe military». What is happening at Ambon, the main city of the Province of the Molluccas in the south

of the Nation, according to «Communion of Indonesian Churches» can be compared to a true genocidein which the army and the police have serious responsibilities. Among the causes for the disorders, thepolicies actuated by the past government in Jakarta can be counted, which favored Muslim immigrationin regions populated by a majority of Catholics. However, today’s Indonesian President has asserted, asreported by «Fides» on December 10th 1999, that his government promotes interreligious dialoguethrough a government agency, which organizes encounters each month in mosques, churches, templesand that this will be the policy to overcome the Malaccan conflict. On May 16th 1999, «Il Sole-24ore»reported statements by Wahid, not yet elected President of the Republic, according to which «theexperience of Libya, Sudan, Saudi Arabia should serve as a lesson. In those countries the elimination ofbarriers between the State and religion has produced anti-democratic societies. A modern nation mustbe built upon universal principles valid for all citizens and not only for one group. The Indonesian Stateis and will be for all, not only for Muslims». As soon as he was elected, reported by «Asia news» inDecember 1998, the Head of State criticized the Minister for Religious Affairs because he only servedIslam.

It has been hypothesized that violence is part of a pre-programmed plan by the military to take overcontrol of certain parts of the country. The president’s refusal to apply martial law generated generaldiscontent among the military, to the point of supposing the possibility of a coup, even after thedeclarations by Wahid that indicated the origin of the conflict between Christians and Muslims in theMalacca’s, military and political reasons still tied to ex-President Suharto. According to «Avvenire» onJanuary 21st 2000, at Matamar, the capital of the Island of Lombok, «the Islamic groups responsible forthe violence hold a list of property belonging to the Christians and the Chinese, which they aresystematically destroying».

To maintain the tensions high, there is also the request for independence by the Island of Aceh,promoted by the Islamic avant-garde who founded the Free Aceh Movement, an organization –according to «Il Sole-24ore» on November 16th 1999 – whose objective is the constitution of an IslamicState based on the shari’a. The «Associated Press» on January 13th 2000 reported that during the lastdecade in the island, after the rebellion, at least 5 thousand persons were killed.

IRAN



Religion Shi’ite Muslims: 93,4%Sunni Muslims: 5,7%

Christians: 0,1%Zoroastrians: 0,1%


Founded on the belief in God, the Only One, on divine revelation, on divine justice, on the imam andhis continuous guidance, on human dignity and the freedom of man that is parallel to his responsibilityto God, The Islamic Republic of Iran, as the 1979 fundamental Charter recites draws its origin «fromthe belief that the Iranian people governing by right and by justice as provided for by the Koran». «Alllaws, all civil, penal, financial, economic, administrative, military, political or other regulations»therefore, asserts article 4, «will be established on the basis of Islamic norms». Islam is defined as theState religion in article 12, and in particular the official rite is that of the «jaafarita ithna-acharita (duo-deciman)». The other rites, Hanephite, Chafeite, Malekite, Hambelite and Zeidite however stillmaintain «absolute respect».

The Republic and all Muslims must theoretically deal with non-Muslims with good manners, based onIslamic equity and justice, and must bear in mind their human rights to the exclusion of those plottingagainst Islam or the Republic. However, religious freedom is never mentioned. The apostasy of Islamis punishable by death, of the apostate as well as of the person inducing abandoning Islam.

The primacy of power, according to the Constitution, goes to the Wali-e faqih, the religious lawman, aposition now being held by the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who followed Ruhollah Khomeini. Hecommands the army, nominates the head of the judiciary; power, dismembers Parliament and can alsoput down the President of the Republic.

During 1999, there was a conflict within the regime which saw factions under the leadership of thesupreme guide of the revolution, Alì Khamenei, and the President of the Republic, Mohamad Khatamioppose each other. Many press organizations were the object of repression because of their support forthe last one mentioned, among which – as reported by Flora Flores in «Modus vivendi» no. 7,November 1999, supplement to «Il Salvagente», number 44, November 11th 1999 – the periodical«Neshat», accused of having published articles believed to be offensive to Islam. A work of theaterpublished in a satirical monthly, which invoked the coming of the XII imam, cause the sentencing forblasphemy of the two authors, also supported by a march in the center of Tehran, during whichthousands of persons asked for the death sentence of the two authors.

As informed by «Ansa» on January 15th 2000, followers of the most extreme wing of the Ayatollahregime assaulted a group of students who, at the University of Mashhad in Northeast Iran, had justfinished listening to one of the evermore rare conferences by Abdolkarim Soroush, a philosopher andprofessor disliked by the conservatives for his “modernistic” views on Islam and his position in favorof radical political changes. Soroush, who was unharmed, practically stopped showing himself inpublic for the past two years, after many of his interventions at the University of Tehran wereinterrupted by members of the Ansar-i-hezbollah group, or Partisans of Allah, faithful to the hard-linepolicy of the regime.

On that same January 15th, from the same source we learn that a commission excluded about 500candidates to the legislative elections because they were judged «not respectful enough» of Islam andof the Islamic system or for their support of “illegal” political groups. According to the generalelectoral headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, quoted by the local press, the refusalconcerned 785 aspirants, of which 485 were denied for religious reasons. After various appeals, thenumber of those excluded went down to 402, according to «Adnkronos» on January 24th 2000, which,according to the same source, partially conditioned the outcome of the elections on the followingFebruary 18th.

Persecution against the Baha’i religion also continues and, in March, according to «Human RightsWithout Frontiers», sixteen members belonging to it, of which six condemned to death, were detained

for reasons linked to their faith. The same agency on February 17th 2000, quoting the «AssociatedPress», affirms that the sentence was annulled for three of them, while «Ansa» on February 12th, refersthat another two Baha’i were condemned to death by the Mashhada court for attempts against Statesecurity.

«The Voice of the Martyrs» reports that government spies are present in the Christian communities tocontrol non-Muslim religious activities. Missionary activities are not allowed in the Republic.

According to the «Avvenire» on May 25th 1999, the Christian Diaspora has unceasingly continued.Now reduced to a mere 10 thousand, they cannot open restaurants or manage small stands, havebarbershops or be dentists. The life of a non-Muslim is decidedly worth less: in the case of an accident,the fines are over one hundred times less.

The total estimates on the number of Christians are not in agreement. According to those in charge ofthe various communities, summed up, they are about 300 thousand, of which two thirds at least areArmenian. The 1999 Report on religious freedom by the Department of State of the United States canaccount for 117 thousand, which conforms to the Iranian government’s data. According to the samesource, the Evangelical Protestants are in the authority’s eye in a particular way.

The arrest, founded on “pre-fabricated” proof, in the month of June of thirteen Jewish rabbis, accusedof espionage and, among other things, of having studied the Hebrew language – reported by the pressagency «Zenit» on June 9th and two days after by the «Human Rights Without Frontiers» – putrelevance on the living conditions of the most numerous religious minority in the country, whichcounts 27 thousand followers (with respect to the 100 thousand of the period preceding the Khomeinirevolution), may of which are trying to expatriate. According to «MaozNews/WEF» of July 13th and«Human Rights Without Frontiers» the next day, despite the fact that one of their representatives has aseat in the Iranian Parliament, the situation of the Jews is made more serious because of their ties ofsolidarity with their fellows in the State of Israel, presented by the propaganda of the regime as theworld’s “small Satan”. Obligated by the state laws regarding clothing, the Jews cannot manage theirown schools. Their children must attend Islamic State schools, where local rabbis or Hebrew teachersensure the courses on Judaic matters. Since 1991, the year that the Israeli daily «Tamuz» was closeddown, authorization to publish other Jewish newspapers has not been given. Three of those arrestedwere then released on bail on February 2nd 2000, as reported by the «Associated Press» on the samedate.

The German citizen, Helmut Hofer, condemned to death for having had a relationship with an Iranianstudent, was released of the accusation and then freed. The liberation, reported by «Avvenire» onDecember 24th 1999, occurred after payment of approximately 50 million lire (25 thousand US dollars).Hofer removed many of the obstacles of his trial by declaring that he had converted to Islam.

IRAQ


Surface Area 434.128 sq. km.Religion Shi’ite Muslims: 62,5%

Sunni Muslims: 34,5%Christians: 2,7%


The official religion of the Iraqi Republic is Islam. While guaranteed by the Constitution, religiousfreedom is seriously limited under several aspects.

According to the 1999 Report by the State Department of the United States, the majority of violationshave been dealt to the Shi’ite Muslims – the majority of the population with a percentage of 60-65%with respect to the Sunni, 30-35% of the population – the objectives of heavy discrimination even inthe distribution of food from the United Nations. The government policy regarding them tends towardsthe elimination of the religious hierarchy, primarily through a chain of attempts against Shi’ite religiousauthorities, which began in 1998. During 1999, the following were hit: the Ayatollah Sheikh Bashir al-Hussaini — wounded at Najaf on January 7th in an ambush where three of his pupils lost their lives —and the Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Sadiq as-Sadr, the highest member of the Iraqi Shi’ite group,killed by a machine gun along with his two sons, always in Najaf on February 19th. The policeresponded violently to the organized protests by the Shi’ite community, after the government veto tocelebrate the funeral. They killed 47 persons in Baghdad and arrested 850. On February 20th 1999,during the conflicts in Nasiriyah, 39 individuals were killed and a consistent number of demonstratorswere supposedly arrested. In Najaf in April 1999, during other incidents for the fourth anniversary ofthe death of as-Sadr, 15 persons were wounded and another hundred were arrested.

The United States Report also refers on many attacks against Shi’ite villages as well as about the armedreactions of these. Along with the military actions, there are also persecutions more religiouslyrelevant, as what happened on January 14th 1999 with the arrest of Sheikh Awas, the imam of themosque in Nasiriyah. After this, there were conflicts in the streets with five dead, 11 wounded and 300arrested persons on the Shi’ite side. Shootings with dozens of victims supposedly occurred on April16th in Baghdad in front of two mosques.

At Bassora, there have been mass arrests that involved thousands of Shi’ites in April 1999 and another1093 during the following month of May. Indefinite numbers of Shi’ites regularly are put to capitalpunishment

According to the United States Report (but there are different estimates, cf. Paolo Girola, Le comunità,Paese per Paese in Il dialogo-Al hiwâr, no. 4-1999, p. 19, which speaks about 616 thousand Christians,3,2% of the population), there are 350 thousand Syrian and Chaldean Christians in the country who aremandatory sent to the regions in the North. The Syriach organizations deplore the application of thelaw on apostasy, which blocks the conversion of Muslims to other religions, but allow non-Muslims toconvert to Islam.

On the Churches’ side, there is the fear of a Shi’ite assertion, which could damage in even a greaterway the religious rights of non-Muslims. Girola writes that the freedom of worship today «is assured,without restrictions, even concerning the building of churches which have many structures for theirpastoral mission and aid. Emigration, which is a recent phenomenon for the Chaldean Church, hasgrown due to the ever-worsening economic conditions after the Gulf War and the embargo. From 1991to today, one sixth of the Christians have emigrated». For years, about 20-30 thousand Chaldeans havemigrated towards Jordan. The majority of the Nestorian community already lives in exile.

In Girola’s report, certain important data is given about the presence of Christians: while representing20% of the teachers, their political marginality is evident, since they only have 4 representatives out of250 in the National Assembly.Even with regards to the syncretistic minority of Yazidi, repressive measures are taken.

In an interview to «Fides» on June 4th 1999, the Patriarch of Babylonia of the Chaldeans, Raphael IBidawid, recalls the continuous bombing by the Americans and the Catholic Church’s pleas to makethem stop.

A visit by the Pontiff, during the year 2000 at Ur of the Chaldeans in the footsteps of the PatriarchAbraham, was turned down by the Iraqi government, as referred by the Director of the Holy See PressOffice, Joaquin Navarro, on December 10th 1999, who mentioned among the official reasons furnishedby the authorities in Baghdad, the abnormal conditions of the country because of the embargo and theno-fly zones, as well as the situation existing in the region.

However, the Pope wished to be there spiritually on February 23rd 2000, before beginning his travels intwo phases that would take him to the Sinai and to the Holy Land. According to the «Agi» agency onthe same date, following the ceremony presided by the Pope in the Vatican and connected via satellite,there were about one thousand faithful who met in the Cathedral of Baghdad for a penitential prayer«according to the intentions of John Paul II». The Patriarch Bidawid, interviewed the same day by«Fides», explained «the news of the Holy Father’s decision reached us just at the end of our three daysof fasting our Church did from Monday February 13th to Wednesday the 15th. Our fasting was crownedby the good news: now we will go to Rome to demonstrate our feelings to the Pope who I hope willreceive us to listen to our gratitude». The Patriarch said he was «very happy» about the Pope’sinitiative to still make a pilgrimage, even if only spiritually, to Southern Iraq. According to Bidawidwith his initiative, «the Pope also wished to clearly define that his wish was to make a spiritual voyage,purely religious, without any political intentions as others instead feared».

IRELAND



Religion Catholics: 85,1%Anglicans:2,3%

Presbyterians: 0,4 %


The data refers to the territories of Eire and NorthernIreland (UK)

Article 44 of the Constitution asserts that: «the State recognizes the homage of public worship due tothe Almighty God. It will worship His name and respect and honor religion». The second paragraphasserts, «freedom of conscience and the free profession and practice of religion, subordinated to moralsand public order, are guaranteed to each citizen». Even if Irish society is Roman Catholic for themajority, there is no State religion: article 44 continues to state that «the State will not promote any onereligion […] nor will it discriminate on the basis of religious profession».

Religious education is provided for in the scholastic curriculum, but parents may have their childrenexonerated from these classes. The state department for Education must finance, in an equal way, theschools belonging to the various confessions. Comma 4 of article 44 of the Constitution says,«legislation provides that, regarding State subsidies, schools managed by different religiousdenominations cannot be discriminated against».

In June 1998, a law for equal opportunity for jobs was approved, which forbids discrimination in thework place: among the nine levels of equal opportunities in jobs, there are also those enacted on thebasis of religious profession. In April 1999, the Government presented a law project that forbids thesame discriminations but outside of the working context (for example, in the educational field): thisproposition provides for the creation of an authority that will ensure the elimination of discriminationand the promotion of equal opportunities.

ISRAEL



Religion Jews: 81%Muslims: 14,3%

Christians: 2,9%Druze: 1,7%


The legislation guarantees religious freedom and forbids any discrimination regarding religion. Privatelaw is regulated by the religious authorities of each religion and limited to its members. There is a lawagainst proselytism from 1977, which forbids offering goods to induce into changing to anotherreligion as well as the conversions for reasons of material interest. The Government recognizes fivereligions, among which 10 Christian groups, but, according to the 1999 Report on religious freedom bythe USA Government, the funds destined to them are significantly lower with respect to the financinggiven to the Judaic religion.

In reality, «Église en Détresse dans le monde» in the January 1999 number, refers that the Governmentintervenes in questions internal to the confessions. Also, marriage between an Israeli and non-Israeli is«de facto» forbidden.

Even the Messianic Jews are the objects of persecution and there are proposals to take their Israelicitizenship away from them, as witnessed by Paul Lieberman, the President of the Committee forMessianic Action in Israel, in an interview to Mark Albrecht in the “World Evangelical Fellowship’sReligious Liberty E-mail Conference”, and repeated in «The Voice of the Martyrs» on June 10th 1999.

There are many attacks by the Orthodox Jews against Christians. The same source refers that the Israelicitizen Aharon Kornblit was sentenced to a few days in prison for having made acts of vandalism in thehomes of two Christian Swiss ladies accused of having converted Israelis. «If these acts had been madein the homes of Jews in Christian countries – judge Ruth Or wrote in the sentence – the entire Hebrewworld would have rightly asked for the punishment of the vandals». The «National Daily» on October21st 1999 reported the news of the liberation of Komblit after six months of prison and also mentionedthe crowd of over 4 thousand men that carried him in triumph. The authors of this attack – for whichonly Komblit was declared guilty – were purportedly several hundreds of unidentified persons.

Following the apprehension registered in the Nation for the nearing of the Third Millennium and alsobecause of a press campaign emphasizing the influx of Christians onto Israeli territory, the authoritiesinstituted a special committee formed by police officers and secret servicemen to confront the possibledangers tied to “extremist Christian groups”. The Agency «Compass» on December 17th 1999 refersthat some groups were denied permission to entry in the Nation. Fourteen American citizens (eightadults and six children) from the Concerned Christians Group from Denver were arrested on January3rd 1999, on orders by the Israeli authorities because they were suspected of projecting acts of violencefor the beginning of the year 2000. «Human Rights Without Frontiers» refers on January 20th 1999,reporting the words by monsignor Lufti Laham, the Greek Catholic Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem, hedenounced a «mediatic hysteria» the Nation was in about the arrival of seven apocalyptic sects on thenational territory. According to the prelate, the objective was to make the Christians look like fanaticsand make their relations with the Muslims very difficult.

The sane agency, quoting «France Presse» and the «Washington Times» on October 27th 1999, refersof the arrest of another 20 American citizens and one Australian, members of the group the Sons ofPrayer and Solomon’s Temple, suspected of wanting to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.Two weeks earlier, some Irish tourists were expulsed who were believed to want to commit masssuicide. The USA FBI – famous for the Waco massacre<-, according to the same source, consultedwith the Israeli Government to identify these millenarian groups, as reported by Nitzan Horomwitz in«Ha’aretzt» on October 26th 1999, immediately picked up from the Internet site of the Center forStudies for New Religions (CESNUR).

Because of the disturbances created by Orthodox Jews, even the freedom of movement of theChristians was prejudiced. On October 10th 1999, those belonging to the Christian Protestant

Congregation of Grace and Truth – as informed by «Human Rights Without Frontiers» the following14th – were stopped in Northern Galilee by the protest by the militant orthodox while they were goingto celebrate a Baptism of 12 converted from Judaism. A second attempt to reach the location chosen forthe ceremony went through thanks to police intervention, after the wounding of a Christian woman.

The Vatican nuncio in Israel and apostolic delegate to Jerusalem, monsignor Pietro Sambi – as reportedby «Droits de l’homme sans frontières» on March 2nd 2000 – speaking on Israeli television, assertedthat «it jumps to the eyes of the first pilgrim traveling between Bethlehem and Jerusalem that it isextremely difficult for a Christian from Ramallah, Bethlehem, Beit Sahour or from Beit Jalla to go tothe Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, even for the major Christian festivities. Obtained with greatdifficulty, permits are distributed with an eyedropper and most of the younger generations of localChristians have never gained access to the most holy places for Christianity. Even access for theMuslims living outside of Jerusalem is greatly limited. Israel constantly states “reasons of security”. Doyou know that not all the Gaza Muslims can go to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and that the Christians fromBethlehem do not have access to the Holy Sepulcher when they wish to go there».

On September 14th 1999, the Catholic Patriarch for the Latin Rite in Jerusalem, monsignor MichelSabbah, addressed a letter to the Prime Minister Ehud Barak, to protest against the occupation by theIsraeli armed forces of 200 hectares of land belonging to the Catholic church at Tayasir. Partiallyconfiscated in 1985 for military purposes, the entire piece of property is designated for agriculturalresources, but it cannot be cultivated, also because of the denial of access the army maintains towardsthe local inhabitants.

Peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims has been put to test by a decision taken by theIsraeli Government to give to a group of Islamites, who had been occupying it for almost three years,after the raising of a gigantic tent-mosque – the state-owned land near the Basilica of the Annunciation,authorization to build a mosque right on the contested land, as informed by the «Corriere della Sera»on October 14th 1999. «Avvenire» on October 12th 1999, reports the decision was taken despite the factthat the same court had sentenced that the Muslims were wrong for having abusively occupied aterritory belonging to the State. The solution, which the Minister for Internal Security Ben Ami definedas a “compromise”, made both sides very unhappy, and risks becoming a serious menace to thatsecurity the Christians were required to give, especially during the Jubilee Year. On the other hand, theMuslims do not accept the conditions dictated by Israel, first among which that of having the buildingof the mosque begin after the Jubilee. The «Corriere della Sera» on October 14th 1999 also reports thatthe leader of the local Islamic movement, Aziz Shadeh, menaced a “bloodbath”. Christian indignationgrew recalling the wrongdoings and the violence perpetrated against them by the Muslims. Accordingto «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on May 6th 1999, during last Easter, about fifty inhabitants werewounded and tens of cars and stores owned by Christians were destroyed. Already then, the patriarchsinvoked measures guaranteeing the security of Christians and pilgrims, but the decision taken by theGovernment in October does not seem to go in that direction. In an official communication, the Vaticanspokesman Joaquin Navarro Valls, quoted by the «Corriere della Sera» on October 15th 1999, declaredthat the decision permitting construction of the mosque in the center of Nazareth would prejudice thePope’s visit to the city. According to the apostolic nuncio in Israel, monsignor Sambi, «the project fora mosque right next to the Basilica of the Annunciation came from the will to create tension betweenChristians and Muslims, who have had a centuries-long tradition of brotherly coexistence. Religiousfeelings have been dangerously instrumentalized to create political divisions», the diplomat declared tothe «Avvenire» on December 28th 1999.

According to «Compass» on December 17th 1999, orthodox members of the Knesset, the IsraeliParliament, are refining a law project to limit missionary activities. In the draft of the provision, finesof up to five years of detention are provided for whomsoever converts to a confession other thanJudaism, but also for whomsoever persuades others to change religion. The Commission for InternalAffaire and Society of the Knesset are purported to having decided to discuss the proposal in a specialsession on November 10th 1999, without giving formal approval of the text presented.

Discussions arose during the signing of the basic agreement between the Holy See and the PalestinianLiberation Organization, on February 15th 2000 in the Vatican. Israeli diplomacy protested above allbecause of the orientations on the status of Jerusalem in the protocol, where it is held that – as reportedby «Il Sole-24 Ore» on February 16th 2000 – «an equitable solution for the Jerusalem problem, basedon international resolutions, is fundamental for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East» and that«unilateral acts and decisions that alter the specific characteristic and the statute of Jerusalem aremorally and legally unacceptable». Also, the pact calls for, according to «Ansa» on February 15th2000, «a special statute for Jerusalem, guaranteed internationally», which should safeguard «freedomof religion and conscience for all; equality before the law of the three monotheistic religions, their

institutions and the faithful in the City; the identity and the sacredness of the role of the City and theuniversal characteristic of its cultural and religious heritage; the Holy Places and freedom of access andworship in them; the regime of “status quo” in those Holy Places where it is applied». For years, theHebrew State has proclaimed that Jerusalem, all of it, is the Israeli “eternal capital” – as recalled byEmilio Cavaterra in an editorial in «Aga» on February 14th 2000 – but the Vatican has alwaysmaintained that the “status” of the Jerusalem must be defined by a negotiation that keeps into accountthe importance of the city to Christians, Jews and Muslims and is in line with the resolution of the UN,who does not recognize the Israeli sovereignty of the Holy City.

Expressing «profound dissatisfaction» and «sorrow», the Israeli Minister for Foreign Affaire declaredthat the agreement between the Holy See and the PLO «interferes with the Israeli-Palestiniannegotiations», as reported by «Avvenire» on February 16th 2000, and above all «for that declarationthat faces the question of Jerusalem and other questions related to the negotiations about the definitiveaspects of the territories». In answering the Israeli note, the Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro Vallsunderlined that «regarding the city of Jerusalem, the agreement does not consider territorial questionsor sovereignty concerning the two interested parties, the Israelis and the Palestinians. The text refers tothe universal religious and cultural dimensions of the holiest part of the City, also recognized as suchby the international community».

In the dialogue between the apostolic nuncio in Israel, monsignor Sambi, and the general secretary ofthe Ministry of Israeli Foreign Affairs, Eytan Bentsur on February 16th 2000 – as reported by«Avvenire» on the following day – each one’s position emerged in a clearer way. A note by theMinistry denies «the criticism emerging from the document about the freedom of conscience andworship in Jerusalem, and the freedom of access to Holy Sites» and, in the conclusion, asserts that«Israel sees the Pope’s visit as an historically important mission and expects a message of peace andpeacemaking that is not a position that may prejudice the negotiations being made».

Towards the end of the preparations for the travels of John Paul II in the Holy Land, as referred by«Adnkronos» on February 23rd 2000, complications arose because of the attempt made by an Israelihead rabbi to minimize the Pontiff’s movements for Saturday March 25th, to avoid «mass profanation»of the Hebrew Sabbath. This was made known by the Israeli daily «Yediot Aharanot», underlining thatthe Minister for Defense, welcoming a request by the rabbis, had already given orders to the Air Forceto avoid organizing any flights for the Pope, who would have to use alternate means of transportationthat did not involve the Israeli Armed Forces.

Previously, the Rabbi David Rosen, the representative in Israel for the Anti Defamation League ofB’nai B’rith declared to «Avvenire» on January 13th 2000, that the papal trip «without a doubt marksthe culmination of the path of reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people».

Territories administered by the ANP (Palestine)


Surface Area 5.878 sq. km.Number of Catholics 6.257

For the first time between the Catholic Church and a National Arabic Authority of Muslim majority,there is a protocol that ensures among its common principles the status of religious freedom. GiancarloZizola in «Sole-24ore» on February 16th 2000 writes that the Holy See intends to pursue diplomaticrelations with the Arab States, for a while yet, despite the persistent difficulties». An historicalagreement between the Holy See and the Palestinian National Authorities was in fact reached with thesigning on February 15th 2000 in Vatican City, by the undersecretary for relations with the States,monsignor Celestino Migliore and Emile Jarjoui, from the Executive Committee for the Liberation ofPalestine, in a declaration of principles, also called «basic agreement», which regulates in a preambleand 12 articles, the legal, economic and fiscal status of ecclesial institutions in the areas subjected tothe Palestinian Authorities and establishes the main principles for mutual relations on the status ofJerusalem, religious freedom and human rights.

Paolo Girola in «Il Dialogo - Al Hiwâr» no. 4-1999, gives and idea of the situation in the territoriesgoverned by the Palestinian National Authorities where Christians are an important part of thepopulation and helped in the fight for national autonomy. «Even at the top of the PLO there are variousChristians. Some worried have arisen recently because of the spreading of integralist movements suchas Hamas. -Girola continues – The Christians have some seats in the “Parliament” of the PalestinianAutonomy reserved for them. The Constitutional tendencies of the emerging Nation give hope that allmay receive equal rights». «Avvenire» on February 17th 2000 refers that the political representation ofChristians is ensured in the Palestinian representative council by six representatives, four elected in thedistrict of Bethlehem and two in the district of Ramallah, but the calculations do not take into account,according to the newspaper, of the city of Jerusalem, which would make the number of faithful go upto at least 10 thousand, the population of about 120 thousand and political representation by tworepresentatives. On the other hand, according to the same source, the Christian population feels thecondition of being a minority in a Muslim context, which, on a political level, demands solidarity andtotal commitment from them and, tends to emarginated them (this is one of the reasons for emigration).In general, the social relations are good and a precious job towards coexistence and understanding isbeing done by the Christian schools that welcome Muslim students.

ITALY



Religion Majority is Catholic, withOrthodox, Protestant, Jehovah’s

Witnesses, Valdese, Mormon, Jewand Muslim minorities


Religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution.

There is both a Treaty and a Concordat between the State and the Holy See, going back to 1929 andmodified in the concordat in 1984, with relation to the definition of the Catholic Church as the Statereligion, now abolished.

As for the minority religions, the State applies a system of financing that allows the repartition of 8 perthousand of the taxes for physical persons to the religions with which it has reached an agreement.Apart from the Catholic Church, the Valdese and the Methodists, the Seventh Day Adventist, theAssemblies of God, the Jewish communities, the Baptists and the Lutherans all are part of this system.The signed concordats include, usually, the right to give assistance to the army, in hospitals, in schools,and in prisons and the civil recognition of marriages officiated by a minister or a priest of one’s owncult.

On March 19th 2000, the Government signed an agreement with the Italian Buddhist Union (howevernot with the Soka Gakkai, the largest Buddhist group in Italy) and with Jehovah’s Witnesses, meant tobroaden financing of the 8 per thousand to these groups as well as well as the rights recognized to otherreligions. The Ministers of the Popular Party and the Democratic Union of the Republic contested theagreement with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Also, there is a text, still under examination by the Governmentand by the Islamic communities, almost ready to be signed.

The Corte di Cassazione, with a sentence on December 16th 1999, established that Scientology has a“religious characteristic”, but the profits of Narconon (activities for the recuperation of drug addicts bythe Church of Scientology) are taxable, since «this is a religious activity that is “paid for”, and since itproduces an income for the managing organization is not exempt from fiscal obligations».

Among the main problems felt by Catholics is the one concerning scholastic equality, since there is anabsolute prevalence of the state education system, which tends to deny the freedom of choice forfamilies and religious communities, which are not recognized as a public function, if only formally.

The “Giordano case” is especially noteworthy, the judicial cause whose main protagonist is CardinalMichele Giordano, the Archbishop of Naples, the third Italian Catholic diocese. Under inquiry by themagistrates for usury, monsignor Giordano had the offices of the Curia searched by the Guardia diFinanza and received a stop order by the Prosecutor of Lagonegro. During the inquiry, the Cardinal’sphone lines were tapped, plainly violating the norms of the Concordat. Among the reactions of theCardinal, a declaration, printed by «La Repubblica» on January 5th 2000, stating, «these things haveonly happened under Communist regimes, never under democracy and not even during the Fascistperiod». The political interpretation of the facts was confirmed in mid September, at the same time asan encounter between the President of the Council of Ministers, Massimo D’Alema and CardinalAngelo Sodano, the Vatican Secretary of State, at the Pontifical Nunciatura in Rome. On that occasion,the two statesmen agreed «to uphold “freedom of worship” it might be opportune to modify the laws onphone interceptions and on the searches in the diocese. However, to avoid further incidents – writesGiovanni Valentini in «La Repubblica» on January 5th 2000 -, it was decided to institute aparenthetical commission to be entrusted with the discipline of questions concerning these matters».However none of this stopped what happened on November 18th 1999 during the Social Week of theItalian Catholics meeting in Naples. The prosecutor of Lagonegro deposited the acts in the chancelleryand asked to remand monsignor Giordano to trial as well as another twenty-four persons fordelinquency finalized towards usury, continued usury and stealing.

IVORY COAST



Religion Muslims: 38,7%Catholics: 20,8%


Religious freedom is sanctioned by the Constitution and there are no reports of violations to this right.According to the 1999 Report by the United States Government on religious freedom, there is astronger tie between the institutions and the Catholic Church than with the other confessions.Father Siméon Atsain, a member of the commission for relations with non-Christians, quoted by «Asianews» in December 1999, asserts, «Islam is the main religion in the Ivory Coast, even if some,including bishops, do not want to admit this. A relative majority estimated between 30 and 40 percentof the population as opposed to 15-20 percent of Catholics». The Muslim religion is gaining groundthrough the demographic growth, migration towards the Atlantic coast of Sahelian Islamiccommunities and also by conversions. The data from the 1999 Report by the United States Governmenton religious freedom registers slightly different percentages (over 25% of Muslims and 22,7% ofCatholics, 6,6% Protestants and 22,8% belonging to other ethnic groups).According to «Asia news» in December 1999, the Islamic associations appealed to the government toallow them to found a Muslim radio station, believing that the actual time on Friday was insufficient.The 1999 Report by the United States Government on religious freedom asserts that authorization wasgiven on April 21st 1999.

JAMAICA





The Constitution sanctions the principle of religious freedom and the government does not place anypre-requisites for recognition on a religion.

Religious schools operate freely on the national territory. Foreign missionaries are not subjected tolimitations other than those foreseen for visitors coming from abroad. The Country has a well-consolidated tradition of religious tolerance and more in general towards different cultures. Relationsbetween the various religious communities are cordial.

JAPAN



Religion Shintoists: 51,3%Buddhists: 38,3%Christians: 1,2%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. There are no obstacles for activities by religiousgroups, which can have tax exemptions if registered with the authorities. There are no limitations toactivities of religious propaganda.

After the terrorist attempts made by the Aum Shinri Kyo religious movement in 1995 and in 1996, theGovernment authorities have developed greater surveillance on activities by religious groups presenton the national territory. Aum Shinri Kyo lost its status as a religious organization in 1996 because ofthe accusations made by some of its members. In 1998, two of its leaders were sentenced one to lifeimprisonment and the other to death for serious crimes connected to the activities of the movementitself. Today, Aum Shinri Kyo is the only organization the authorities are trying to repress.

While the relations between the different religious realities in the Nation are substantially positive,certain Christian organizations have underlined the fact that the recent law, by which in variouscircumstances and mainly in scholastic activities it is obligatory to make an act of reverence to thenational flag and participate in the national anthem, represents a discrimination towards Christians,because of the strong implications of these acts with the Shinto religion. In particular, it is noted thatthis law requires teachers to instruct and guide the students during these ceremonies, prescribingsanctions for those who refuse.

«Human Rights Without Frontiers» refers, on March 3rd 2000, that some doctors mislead a womanbelonging to Jehovah’s Witnesses, Misae Takeda, promising not to give her blood transfusions (whichthey did) during a surgical operation the woman underwent.

On December 7th 1999 – as referred the same day by «Human Rights Without Frontiers» - the JapaneseParliament approved a law tending to watch and limit the activities of the Aum Shinri Kyo religiousmovement. The new law allows the authorities to control and search buildings belonging to religiousorganizations suspected of mass killings and forbids them from buying property. Today’s leader of theAum, Tatsuko Muraoka a few days earlier had admitted the involvement of certain members of thegroup in the underground attempt. The new law arrives at a time when the Government authorities havebegun investigations on other two religious organizations, Honohana Sanpogyo movement (accused offraud) and the «Life Space» movement (accused of having violated the law on education for minors).The introduction of the new law incited ample debate in the Nation. Kanako Takahara in hisintervention, which appeared in «Japan Times On Line» on December 3rd 1999, recalled the greatpopular<support for this law. At the same time, he mentions the preoccupation of certain jurists andresearchers regarding the unconstitutionality of the law. The creation of a specific anti-Aum legislationwas judged in the same article as «inevitable» in relation to the vast difficulties due to the hostility ofthe people towards the followers of the religious group. The same theme was mentioned on February25th 2000 in the «Mainichi Shimbun», which reported the opinion of a sociology professor from theUniversity of Tokyo, Osamu Watanabe, according to whom the examination of the facts that emergedfrom the trials of the Aum members demonstrated that while the leaders of the religious group hadecertainly planned massacres, the mass of followers had become part of the sect because they wereinterested in religion or yoga. Based on these considerations, Watanabe expresses negative evaluationstowards certain episodes of intolerance against members of the religious group in the Nation. Amongwhich, he mentions the case of six year old twins, the sons of a member of the sect, who were refusedentry into the local elementary school.

On January 21st 2000, «Reuters» refers that the Aum religious group, which recently changed its nameto «Aleph», asked the authorities to exclude them from the law made in December 1999. This requestwas motivated by the fact that the group asserts that it does not constitute a peril for society and that itsfounder, Shoko Asahara (the person responsible for the already mentioned nerve gas attempt) no longer

influences the group. The agency «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on January 25th 2000 reports thatover 100 Japanese policemen searched a location of the «Aleph» group. During the search, the bodiesof some children mummified in the hope of their reawakening were found.

JORDAN



Religion Sunni Muslims: 92%Christians: 8%

Number of Catholics 71.000* * of the Latin and Melkite Rites

The fundamental Charter of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan asserts that Muslim law is one of themain sources of legislation or the source of legislation. Paolo Girola, in his Le Comunità, paese perpaese, in “Il Dialogo-Al Hiwâr” (no. 4-1999), maintains that Muslim law is limited to the family leveland to the management of religious property. Also, the Jordanian Constitution guarantees equal rightsand duties to all, independently from their religious beliefs. A minimal representation is guaranteed tothe Christians in Parliament, on the order of nine representatives in 80 in the Lower Chamber and fourin the Senate.

Initiatives by the reigning family to better Christian-Muslim relations have multiplied to battle againstthe spreading of aggressive ideas against Christians to assert Islamic superiority. For example, onJanuary 6th 1999 in an article by Sana Abdallah, «United Press International» informs that Christianreligion classes are being held for about 1100 students in the public schools. Now, following a 1998agreement between the Ministry for Education and the Council of Christian Bishops, Christian studentsmust attend lessons in their own religion in six centers of the Kingdom, excluding the capital.

Certain Muslim factions lead by the Front for Islamic Action (FAI), «Ansa» on February 3rd 2000informs, have spread a «fatwa» (a religious edict with legal value for the faithful) which refusesSaturday as the second weekly holiday «to avoid imitating the Jews». This is the most recent step of aserious discussion after the decision adopted by the Government – in vigor since January 18th 2000 – tomodify the weekend, moving it from Thursdays and Fridays to Fridays and Saturdays. The FAI is thestrongest Jordanian political party and one of its members is Sheikh Ibrahim Zaid al-Keilani, the ex-Minister for Islamic Affairs.

In particular, the authorities are very careful of blocking the spreading of Islamic terrorist activities.«Avvenire» on December 16th 1999 quotes the news, from an American source, according to whichduring the preceding days in Jordan thirteen followers of the Saudi Sheikh Ossama Benladen werearrested. One of them, according to the daily «Usa Today» confessed of being the organizer of anattempt «against Christian locations in the Vatican City», coinciding with Christmas and New Year.«Avvenire» on December 21st 1999 informs that the day before the Government of Amman askedGreat Britain to extradite Abu Omar, Ossama Benladen’s right-hand man, who lives in London, tocomplete investigations. The press agency «Ansa» on February 4th 2000 refers that the thirteen personsarrested, trained in Afghanistan will be judged in a trial for terrorism.

KAZAKHSTAN



Religion Sunni Muslims: 47%Orthodox: 8%

Protestants: 2%Number of Catholics 300.000

The Constitution defines Kazakhstan a “secular state” and theoretically guarantees freedom of religion.To obtain legal status, religious organizations must register with the Ministry of Justice.

In Kazakhstan, there is a conflicting situation between the various ethnic-religious communities of thenation, with a prevalently Sunni Muslim population (47 percent), 8 percent Orthodox and 2 percentProtestants.

Relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Holy See are good: in 1998, an agreement wassigned that regulates the legal position of the Catholic Church and guarantees it with complete religiousfreedom. After the signature, the Kazakh President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, went to visit the HolyFather.

Government officials have often expressed their fears regarding the danger of an explosion of extremistreligions. The 1999 Report on religious freedom by the United States Government refers that the secretservice KNB (today’s KGB) has begun a campaign to identify religious extremists: this campaign leadto the arrest in May 1999 of Askar Sekerbayev. Sekerbayev belonged to the Muslim organization"Zhamagat", which, according to the Government, induced violence. In June 1999, according to theReport 2000 by the Human Rights Watch, a court in Western Kazakhstan sentenced a Muslim activistto six months in prison, then suspended and amended this to a fine, for having given birth to an illegalorganization. In July, according to the same source, the authorities arrested sixty participants of anIslamic summer camp. Seven of them were detained for one month and then released.

«Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty» on July 9th 1999 reports that the preceding July 5th the President ofthe Republic did not participate in the inaugural ceremony of the new mosque with 10 thousand placesin the ex-capital of Almaty, financed by Islamic, Saudi, Pakistan, Turkish and other organizations InApril 1999, the authorities stopped the members of the members of the Cossack Union of Semirechiebecause they were entering the Orthodox Cathedral of Almaty in their uniforms to celebrate Easter,going against the laws that forbids the creation of military organizations.

In March 1999, some justice officers and the KNB raided six meeting places of Jehovah’s Witnesses,regularly registered, asking for information about the aims of the organization, the religious practices,medical treatments and the military service. In some cases they wanted to examine the group’scorrespondence and other documents. According to «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on March 18th

1999, Jehovah’s Witnesses underlined how these raids were accomplished in violation of theconstitutional guarantees, which protect social organizations from illegal interferences by the State.Also, the same source adds, a 1995 presidential decree asserts, «The prosecution cannot intervene inthe activities of the organizations».

Fears for a possible worsening of the climate on religious freedom have been registered with thepresentation by the Government of a proposal for a law on the matter. Kazakhstan – the last of the ex-Soviet Republics in revising the law on freedom of conscience in 1992 – at first, made a draft, judgedby the «Keston News Service» on February 16th 1999 as dangerous to the rights of minorities,inasmuch as it was worse than the preceding text. What the press agency reports must be looked for inthe December 1998 draft, written by Serik Amirgazin, an officer of the Ministry of Culture,Information and Social Accord. In the premises, «the activation of numerous non-traditional religiousassociations are significantly aggravating the religious situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan andincreasing the friction and the conflict between the various confessions and making a legislativesolution urgent». It also states «the general aims of the amendments is to reinforce the controllingfunctions of the State and the regulation of the activities of the non-traditional religious associations».The procedures required for registration by religious groups would become, if approved, very complex,whereas now only the presentation of a statute is necessary to obtain registration. Also, documentationattesting at least a decade of presence on the territory would be requested and there would be

limitations to the public practice of worship, publications, imports, exports and distribution of printedmaterial of a religious type. After the protests and worries expressed by various parties, the draft wasofficially annulled, according to an announcement made on March 13th 1999 at Almaty during aconference, where exponents of organizations committed to the defense of human rights, religiousrepresentatives and journalists as well as Government officials participated, among others. The text,according to what was asserted by the Department Head of the Ministry for Culture, Information andSocial Accord, Gaziz Telabayev and reported by the «Keston News Service» on March 17th 1999, willtherefore be reviewed in many parts – particularly regarding the equality between state and religiouscolleges – and the problem will be postponed seeing as the matter is too delicate for this time. Thesame source reports also that Telabayev asserted that the Minister invited the various religious groupsto create a “League of Religions”, to discuss these laws and other matters of interest to them. He alsocommitted himself to avoid preparing, in the future, drafts of laws on religion without first havingdiscussed them with the League. According to what the 1999 Report on religious freedom by theUnited States Government refers, a person in charge of the Ministry of Culture, Information and SocialAccord declared, in March 1999, that the Minister had prepared the draft for a law as requested byMuslim and Russian Orthodox leaders in the Nation. The members of other religious groups consideredthis assertion as a confirmation of their fears concerning the will of the Muslim and Russian Orthodoxleadership to use the help of the Government to limit the development of other religions.

KENYA



Religion Animists: 60%Catholics: 26%Protestants:7%


The right to religious freedom and propaganda of one’s faith is guaranteed by the Constitution. Thenew religious associations must register and, after this administrative step, may have tax exemptions.After the attempt against the United States Embassy in Nairobi in August 1998, the KenyanGovernment forbade six Islamic organizations, accusing them of involvement in subversive activities.Christian religion classes are given in the public schools.

According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the United States Government, on March 6th ofthe same year Islamic groups demonstrated at Machakos against what they defined as persecution bythe citizens’ authorities. The Muslims feel discriminated against also in what concerns the right tocitizenship and advance the hypothesis that the practices necessary to obtain it are evermore difficultfor them with respect to members of other religions. According to «Asia News» in December 1999,Mohsin al-Amoudi, the director of the Islamic Center in Nakuru, denounced that same year thegovernment attempt to block the opening of two institutes for the formation of Islamic religion teachersin the public schools. The same Islamic person laments that the spaces for the Muslim religion, withrespect to the Christian programs, are deplorably less.

However, there is no lack of intimidation even towards the Christian missionaries present in the Nation,according to the press agency «Misna» on November 2nd 1999, which reports the denial of renewal fora permit to Fr. John Anthony Kaiser, from the missionary institute of Mill Hill, whose commitment tohuman rights is very well known. This religious person, a United States citizen, previously hadfurnished the proof of the involvement of two Kenyan ministers to an inquiry commission about thedisorders that had bloodied the Rift Valley during the middle of the 90’s.

KIRIBATI

Population 81.000




The Constitution sanctions the principle of religious freedom and in general, the government respectsthis right, even in practice. There is no State religion.Missionaries are free to proselytize.

KOSOVO

Kosovo is an autonomous province within the Serb Republic, populated by Albanians of the Muslimreligion, but with a small but culturally significant minority of Catholics, altogether making up 87,8%of the population in 1993. The remaining inhabitants are made up of Serbs of the Orthodox religion,who consider it to be the birthplace of their ancient civilization, as testified still today by the manymonasteries present in the region. This data refers to before the “ethnic cleansing” which began in 1998against the Albanian population by the army of the Serb Republic and the following war promoted byNATO against the Serb army occupying the region of Kosovo, from March 25th 1999 to the 21st of Juneof the preceding year. From the viewpoint of the construction of a civilization that respects religiousfreedom, perhaps the only attempt begun in Kosovo is the one by the movement for reconciliationpromoted by the Albanian community by the Catholic priest Don Jush Gjergji, described in the book«Kosovo. Non violence for reconciliation», EMI 1999, and in the review «Cristianità» in August-September 1999.

According to a protest made by the Serbian Orthodox Church to «Droits de l’homme sans frontières»,and reported by the same agency on July 29th 1999, Albanian militants multiplied the attacks againstthe religious Orthodox buildings, also carrying forward a systematic campaign of vendettas, made upof assassinations, kidnappings and the expulsion of Serbs. Bishop Artemije, in an encounter with the“Governor” Bernard Koucher in July 1999, the head of the civil administration for the UN in Kosovo,in the territory after the war between NATO and the Serb Republic, asked for more efficient protectionof the Serb minority by the KFOR troops. According to what the «Keston News Service» reports onDecember 3rd 1999, 76 churches and monasteries in the dioceses of Raska and Prizren of the SerbOrthodox Church in Kosovo, during the last six months, were destroyed or deeply damaged. Thehieromonk Sava, the secretary to the bishop of the diocese, declared to the agency that «the Serbchurches and monasteries in Kosovo had been systematically destroyed in an organized way: 21 werein the American area, 21 in the Italian area, 17 in the German area, 10 in the British area and 7 in theFrench area. An example of the systematics of this destruction is the Monastery of the Holy Trinityfrom the IVth Century: first it was ransacked, then burnt down and finally blown up with dynamite.Like this many other churches, some with inestimable historical and artistic value. Even some mosqueswere damaged and destroyed, but this happened during the conflict, and however not in a systematicway. Today, instead, the destruction of churches and monasteries is coming about in a time of peace,without any military operations going on, in a territory the Serbs abandoned. Behind all this, there isthe will to destroy everything that belongs to the Serb cultural and spiritual heritage, to thus prevent thereturn of the Serb population».

The Catholic situation has become worse. The Jesuit Mato Jakovic, the coordinator for the service ofrefugee Jesuits, declared to the Vatican press agency «Fides», then reported by «Droits de l’hommesans frontières» on January 18th 2000 that, after the policy of “ethnic cleansing” lead by groups of theUCK against the Serbs, now the Catholic minorities in Kosovo have become the newest target for themilitant Islamites. The families of priests have been attacked often. Last December, the homes of theparents of two Franciscan religious persons were burnt down. The Catholic Cemeteries of Prizren andPec were ransacked and the tombs of the Bishop Nikola Prela and Monsignor Nikola Mini wereprofaned.

KUWAIT



Religion Muslims: 85%Number of Catholics 156.000

The Constitution of the State of Kuwait asserts that the Muslim law is the main source for legislation.Fr. Samir Khalil Samir, in Le débat autour de l’apostasie, cites a project to reform the Penal Code,where the death penalty is foreseen in articles 96 and 167-172 for apostasy, and which incited greatdiscussion in the various Arabic language presses, inasmuch as several citizens proclaimed beingChristian.

According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USA State Department, seven ChristianChurches are recognized informally, of these three – the Catholic, the Anglican and the KuwaitNational Evangelical Churches – receive greater respect than the other four, which still havepermission to operate on the territory. As for other cases, there is a certain tolerance even towardsminor denominations. However, the prohibition to do missionary activities among Muslims is valid forall, just as teaching religions different from Islam. It is forbidden to form the clergy and religiouspersons within the Nation and also the diffusion of religious material, even if an exception is made fora company that imports books, which can commerce in religious literature.Non-Muslim men must convert to Islam if they wish to marry a Muslim woman.

On January 22nd 2000, «Ansa» informs that in October 1999 the university professor Ahmad al-Baghdadi was sentenced to one month of reclusion for blasphemy, not entirely fulfilled thanks to theintervention by the Emir Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who graced him.

The same source, on the same day, reports a dispatch by the Kuwaiti agency «Kuna», referring thesentencing to two months imprisonment on the same day for two Kuwaiti writers, Alia Shuaib andLalia Othman, and their editor for having written and published books blasphemous towards Islam. Thejudge also disposed the confiscation of the incriminated book. According to Western diplomaticsources, the sentences will come into the climate of a renewed conflict between the morefundamentalist and the more liberal factions in the Nation.

KYRGHYZSTAN



Religion Sunni Muslims: 70%Orthodox: 6%


The Constitution states that Kyrghyzstan is a lay State, in which State and Church are separated.Religious freedom and every citizen’s right to choose and practice one’s religion are guaranteed.

The Government recognizes three Muslim festivities and one Russian Orthodox one as nationalholidays. Religion classes are forbidden in the public schools.

According to a 1997 presidential decree, all religious organizations must register with the Commissionfor Religious Affairs (and then with the Ministry of Justice, to obtain legal recognition). If initiallysome religious communities had some problems obtaining registration, among which the Mormons andthe Baptists, today, there is no mention of communities having requested and not received recognition.According to the lists received by the «Keston News Service» in January 1999, and compiled by theCommission for Religious Affairs, of the 217 officially existing groups, 188 are Christian, 17 Muslim,10 Baha’i, one Israeli and one including some Buddhist centers. The low number of Muslimorganizations registered can be explained by the fact that the mosques in the Nation are registeredtogether under the Muslim Spiritual Table.

In a situation where, at least with regards to ethnic appurtenance, the majority of the population isMuslim (officially 70 percent of the population is Sunni) while 21 percent is made up of Russians and5 percent by Ukrainians and Germans (even if the official statistics state 6 percent Orthodox), thevarious confessions coexist in a peaceful way.

According to the «Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe Digest» in May 1999, Islamicextremists going by the name of «wahabiti» are the objects of «a methodical and deliberate campaign»because they are considered a danger to the Nation’s stability.

The same source reports that the possibility of introducing new legislation in religious matters has beenseen; the anticipations however do not concord with the respect for the rights of the minorities andgroups not present traditionally on the Republic’s lands.

The «Keston News Service» on May 28th 1999 refers that the authorities have interrupted a reunion ofBaptists on the preceding May 20th in the small town of Kyzyl Kiya, in the region of Osh inSoutheastern Kyrghyzstan, arresting and fining the participants, whose participants were then deprivedof their passports and taken to the boundaries with Uzbekistan. According to the 1999 Report by theUnited States Department of State on religious freedom, the Government believes that the group wascomposed of foreigners and had refused for four times the request to effect the registration necessaryby law. The Government authorities asserted that the group was not affiliated to the Union of ChristianEvangelical Baptists, which is a registered association.

«Misna», picking up a bulletin by «Asia News», reported on October 9th 1999, the assertions by theHead of the Indoctrination Section and Analysis for the Committee for Religious Affaire, SalamatDrosonbev, who declared being worried about «the increase of missionary activities in his Country. -He said that - the Christian missionaries took advantage of the ignorance of the people with regards totheir own religion and the economic difficulties to solicit new conversions, and this is confirmed by thefact that 3 thousand persons have already converted to Christianity». Drosonbev also pointed out thatsome missionaries «who went beyond the limits» were taken to court and this provoked protestationsby three American senators.

LAOS



Religion Buddhists: 58%Animists: 34%Christians: 2%

Muslims: 1%Number of Catholics 36.000

The Constitution guarantees religious freedom, even if, in practice, this right is only protected in part.In fact, «all acts that may create divisions in the people» are prohibited. The Government authoritiesseem to interpret the article if the Constitution in a limited way, in fact discouraging the practice ofreligion by the entire population, including the Buddhist majority and the many followers of thetraditional beliefs.

The review «Mondo e missione» for April 1999 underlines that the actual law forbids the CatholicChurch (the State still does not recognize the juridical personality of it) from owning and managingsocial or assistance structures. No common rite or moment of prayer may be made outside of thechurches. The press agency «Compass» denounced that in November 1999 there were still 46Christians detained for the crime of «believing in the religion of Jesus» or for having demonstrated«religious beliefs». The agency also gathered an appeal made by the major Christian leaders, prisonersand their families, who underlined the worsening of the situation concerning religious freedom, asituation that could worsen even further after the proposal to make Buddhism the State religion.

On February 5th 1999, the press agency «Fides» confirmed the news of the new wave of arrests andpersecution by the authorities of Laos against Christian Protestants. According to a report arriving fromThailand, the same source refers, during the first months of 1999 the religious leader Pa Tood, 45 yearsold, was arrested. Pa Tood refused to renege the Christian faith in exchange for freedom. Since then,the report states, he is in isolation, with one leg tied 24 hours a day to a wooden stump. He does notreceive food every day and his health conditions are serious. According to the document, theapproximately 60000 Christians in the Country, Protestants and Catholics, have not informed theoutside world about their living conditions, for fear of even harder measures being taken against them.The parents that visited them described the inhuman conditions of life. A spokesman for AmnestyInternational states that in Laos «the treatment received in prison is extremely hard».

The Government institutions give particular attention to the Theravada Buddhism, which is followedby more than 60% of the population. The control and support given to this religion by the Government(which includes instruction in the Marxist-Leninist doctrine for monks) is in fact an efficacious way tolimit the autonomy of the religious persons. «Fides» on May 7th 1999 refers that the LaotianGovernment has given permission to build places of worship in Bokeo, a province in the north of theCountry. Sources in «Fides» confirm that the local Church has obtained the license and is about tobegin construction of a place of worship.

LATVIA




Orthodox: 8%Jews: 0,5%


The law on Education recognizes six religions (Lutheran, Catholic, Orthodox, the traditional beliefs,Baptists and Judaism) as “traditional religions”. Even if registration is not mandatory, the 1995 law onreligious Organizations encourages the various movements to request it, because this allows them tohave certain rights and privileges, such as legal status to own property and fiscal benefits for donations.This law was amended before 1996 (and reduced the number of members necessary for a group to beregistered from 25 to 10) and then in 1998. In April 1998, 1000 congregations are registered with theMinistry of Justice.

The Constitution guarantees religious freedom, but the religious minorities (in particular the newmovements that are seen with suspicion) encounter various difficulties, especially on the bureaucraticlevel, for example in obtaining visas. The 1999 Report on Religious Freedom by the United StatesGovernment asserts that the functionaries in the Department of immigration and citizenship for theMinistry of Internal Affairs are the ones to demonstrate a hostile attitude towards the religiousminorities. In March, a functionary in this Department, apparently acting upon his own initiative, askedcriminologists and psychologists to evaluate the Mormons, the Church of the Good News and theChurch of the Mission of Grace as constituting a danger for the social order.

Foreign missionaries and evangelizers can propagandize their own beliefs only if invited to do so byLatvian religious associations.

Confidential negotiations are in act between the Government and the Holy See for a new concordat (theformer one, dating back to 1922, is no longer valid), which would guarantee privileged status to theCatholic Church: according to what the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the American Departmentof State refers, possible benefits would include some government funding for religious instruction inpublic schools and the institution of a Catholic Theology Major at the Latvian University.

In March 1999, the Department for religious affaire of the Ministry of Justice, together with theAcademy for freedom of religion and beliefs and the International Commission for freedom ofconscience, sponsored a conference, held in Riga, on religious pluralism in Northern Europe and onemerging needs: apart from the theme of pluralism, registration of Churches, State subsidies, taxexemptions, returning confiscated property, treatment of religious minorities and conscientiousobjectors were also discussed.

Nikandrs Gills informs us, in an article on February 2nd 2000, available on the website of CESNUR,that the Latvian Parliament has approved an amendment to paragraph 21 of the law on mandatorymilitary service: this amendment provides that, in some cases the military service may be postponed,and that a person may be exonerated from it. Point 7 of paragraph 21 states that this rule may also beapplied «to priests that belong to a religious organization registered with the Ministry of Justice, and topersons who have studied in educational institutes of these organizations to become priests». Based onthis paragraph, two Jehovah’s Witnesses have already been exonerated from obligatory militaryservice, but the case of another member of this movement, Roman Nemiro still remains controversial.

The Latvian Orthodox Church under the Patriarchate of Moscow officially asked – according to the«Keston News Service» on July 20th 1999 – the Chief Prosecutor of Latria to ban the activities of theIndependent Latvian Orthodox Church (LFOC) because it caused religious friction. For five yearsregistration was denied to the 10 parishes of the LFOC, based on article 7, comma 3, of the law onreligious organizations, by which «communities of the same faith only have the right to found onereligious union (Church) in the Latvian State». The same source also reports the explanation of thelegal situation of the Church, given by Ringolds Balodis, the Director for the Department of Social and

Religious Affairs in the Ministry of Justice, during an interview to a weekly «The Baltic Times» fromJanuary 8th-14th 1999: «The law clearly says that we can register only one Church for each religion. Inthe case of the Orthodox Church, all of Latvia is under the territory of the Church of Moscow, andtherefore only one Church that is directly affiliated to Moscow can be registered with us. If they wantto create a different Orthodox Church, with its churches, they must ask permission from the LatvianOrthodox bishop».

LEBANON



Religion Maronites: 61%Muslims: 19,4%Greek-Melkites:

11%Druze: 7%

Catholics: 0,7%Armenian

Catholics: 0,4%Chaldeans: 0,3%

Source:CalendarioAtlante De

Agostini 2000, ed.Istituto

Geografico DeAgostini, Novara,

1999

Shi’ites: 26%Sunnis: 22%

Maronites: 23%Orthodox: 11%

Catholics: 5%Armenians: 4%

Druze: 5%Source: Philippe Lemarchand

(guidance by), Atlasgéopolitique du Moyen-Orient

et du monde arabe, Le croissantdes crises, 2nd ed., Editions

Complexe, s.l., 1994


Article 9 of the Constitution establishes the State’s respect for all religions and the guarantee of theirlegislative and judicial autonomy in matters of marriage and family, as well as for succession.

According to monsignor Bechara Raï, the Maronite Bishop of Jbeil (Byblos), in an interview to«Fides» on November 5th 1999, Lebanon «is a model of coexistence between different faiths. On thesocial level, coexistence is that of daily life. Muslims and Christians find themselves together at school,during religious festivities, in mixed marriages. On the cultural level, Christians and Muslimscontribute to the development of the Arab culture and opening it up to the Western cultures. On thepolitical level, an implicit “national pact” of coexistence between Christians and Muslims applies inLebanon».

There is not a State religion and there is no data available on the percentage of the populationbelonging to the various confessions present in the territory.

According to the 1999 Report by the USA State Department, a citizen may change religion, on thecondition that the leader of the group he wishes to join agrees to this.

After the long war between Syrians, Palestinians and Lebanese that bloodied Lebanon from 1975 to1990, today, the Country lives under Syrian military occupation, which has over 30 thousand soldiersin the Country, and even the Lebanese institutions are hostages of their neighbors. The highestpositions of the State are covered by pro-Syrians, even if Christians, such as the President of theRepublic, Emile Lahoud. The Sunni Selim Hoss is the Head of the Government and the Parliament,according to «Mondo e Missione» for November 1999, lead by the Shi’ite Nabih Berri, has 128 seatsequally distributed between Christians and Muslims. The judiciary administration is stronglyinfluenced by an Islamic interpretation of the law, to the point as referred by «Misna» on October 6th

1999, a singer Marcel Khalife, pointed out by the Mufti of the Lebanese Republic, Skeikh MohammedRashid Kabbani, was accused of having inserted a verse from the Sura Koran of Joseph in one of hissongs. According to the judge, the part that represents an attempt against religious values is the phrase:«I saw eleven stars, the sun and the moon prostrated before me» in the song titled «Father, I amJoseph».

Following international agreements, after 14 years of Israeli occupation in the «secure zone», the Armyof Southern Lebanon (ASL), a pro-Syrian militia, drew back on June 3rd 1999 to the city of Jezzine,entirely Christian. Caroline Donati, in «Asia news» for August-September 1999 refers that today only 4thousand inhabitants remain as opposed to the 50 thousand in 1985. However, Israel still occupies 11

percent of the Lebanese territory, according to a reportage by Caterina Diemoz published in the review«Popoli» in October 1999.

The first Congress of Patriarchs and Catholic Bishops in the East ended in Beirut, reported by «Fides»on May 28th 1999, and faced even the problem of emigration by Christians, the outcome of a series ofpreoccupations tied to the political and economic circumstances of the region as well as the lack ofrespect for the religious rights of minorities in some Countries. Among other things, the final documentstates, «a great responsibility falls upon the Muslims that make up the majority. They must reassurethe Christians considering them an integral part of the same national community, with equality of rightsand duties».

«Avvenire» on September 14th 1999 published the news of violence on a Christian journalist KozetIbrahim by the ASL, who took her from her home and brutally tortures her in the prison of Kiam, in thesecurity zone.

On October 3rd 1999, a Maronite deacon, Shafik Rajha, reported by «The Catholic World Report» forNovember 1999, was killed by the explosion of a bomb placed at the entrance of the Church of SaintGregory in Beirut. According to the magazine, this is the first terrorist attack in two years.

An offense by Islamic extremists was stopped at the cost of 11 soldiers dead and six wounded and with27 rebels killed, 20 wounded and 60 captured, according to the «L’Osservatore Romano» on January6th 2000. The group, calling itself «Penance and Migration» (or «Anathema and Exile») formedaccording to «Il Sole 24-ore» on January 4th 2000 by 200-300 persons, began acting in December 31st

1999, taking as hostages about one hundred Christian and Muslim residents of the village of Kfarhabouand making a series of attempts against Christian churches in Tripoli and Dinyeh. Most of its membersare Mujahiddin, from the Tripoli area and veterans from the wars in Afghanistan, Chechnya andAlgeria and linked to the «Al Qaeda» organization of Osama Bin Laden and to Salafite and Wahabitegroups of the «Partisan League», guided by the Palestinian terrorist Abdul Karim «Abu Mohjen» AlSaadi. According to «Avvenire» on January 4th 2000, many of them are Egyptian Muslim Brothers.The same source refers that the rebels reacted with military acts to the arrest of many young LebaneseMuslims after assaults against places of Christian worship, beginning in Aason, where the church wasthe objective for an attempt.

On February 1st 2000, reported by «Ansa», the pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, a MaroniteChristian, and Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, the Patriarch of the Maronite community in Lebanon, seemedto be opposed regarding their judgment on Israel’s being an «enemy» or not. The first exalted theIslamic Hezbollah movement for having killed, on Sunday January 30th 2000 in an attack, AkelHashem, the vice-chief of the pro-Israeli militia of the Southern Lebanese Army (SLA) in the southernLebanese territories occupied by Israel. Sfeir, a strong critic of the Syrian military presence inLebanon, instead, exalted Hashem as a martyr and asked Archbishop Maroun Sader, who celebratedthe funerals as his representative, to give his brotherly condolences and his solidarity to all those whosuffer and to the entire occupied region.

The same source refers that the exponents and sympathizers of the Lebanese right wing consider theHezbollah movement (the Party of Gid) as a Muslim-Shi’ite fundamentalist group rather than as agroup dedicated exclusively to guerilla activities against Israeli occupation of the Southern part ofLebanon, as considered by the left wing.

LESOTHO



Religion Christians: 93%Animists: 7%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom and there is no State religion. The majority of theschools are Catholic, just like the National University.There are no known cases of violations to the right to religious freedom.

LIBERIA



Religion Christians: 65%Animists: 20%Muslims: 15%


Religious freedom, while guaranteed by the Constitution, is still limited by the Government. Allreligious groups must register, just like all other associations.

According to «Asia News» for December 1999, the Saudi newspaper «Okaz» announced theconversion to Islam of the Head of State, Charles Taylor the preceding month of September, after aninvitation towards this made to him by the Libyan President Muhammar al-Gheddafi.

According to the same source, 105 Muslim representatives sit in the Liberian Parliament. Despite this,according to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USA State Department, Islamic leaderslament discrimination against Muslims.

The attitude of the Head of State towards religious groups is quite unique. According to the sourcementioned before, at the beginning of 1999, Taylor suspended a minister from his own Cabinet fromhis seat for not having participated in a church ceremony. The Report 2000 by the Human RightsWatch Reports two cases of conflicts between Catholic organizations for human rights and the regime.In February 1999, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace was criticized by the Government forhaving denounced the wrongdoings of the security forces, the mistreatment towards prisoners and forputting children into forced labor camps in the southeastern areas of the Country. The following monthof March, the Commission for Justice and Peace and the organization Fore-Runners of Children’sUniversal Development were called to court for having blocked the sending of humanitarian aid toLiberia by spreading the news contained in their reports.

On March 23rd 2000, the Government allowed «Radio Veritas», the Catholic radio station that had beenclosed down the preceding week, to reopen. To obtain the release of confiscated goods, as informed by«Misna» on March 24th 2000, those in charge of the radio station offered their availability to cooperatewith the political authorities.

LIBYA



Religion Sunni Muslims: 97%Number of Catholics 50.000

In the 1977 Proclamation, which instituted the Jamahiriya, the only law of the State is the Koran, whichtherefore substitutes the Constitution, considered a “human law” and thereby inferior in rank.

The regime of Muhammar Gheddafi, through the World Islamic Calling Society (Wics), regulatesrelations with the Muslim community. Which makes up 97-98 percent of the population. But there areother religions. «Asia news», on October 17th 1999, cited a dispatch from October 11th in which theassociation referred to the designation of an imam, a graduate from the College of da’wa in Libya, tothe city of Hanoi in Vietnam. Till now, the Wics’ sphere of action was limited to the African continent,but recently there has been news about itinerant activities even in Sri Lanka.

Relations between the government and the Christian minorities have been taken up once again and,there are particularly good ones with the Catholics, even as reported by the United States StateDepartment, which in the 1999 Report on religious freedom cited the limitation, imposed by theauthorities, of only one worship location in each city for each denomination. There are no reports ofpersecutions for religious reasons.

LIECHTENSTEIN

Population 32.000


Religion Catholics: 80%Protestants:7,4%


The Constitution provides for religious freedom.About 80 percent of the population is Catholic; 7 percent is Protestant; 3,5 percent is Muslim.

The State provides economic aid to the various denominations, and not only to the Catholic Church, inproportion to the number of members.

Foreign missionaries must receive a special visa, which is given to those who have completed theirtheological studies and are accredited by a recognized religious group. Normally, the visa is givenwithout any particular problems.

In schools, teaching either the Catholic or the Protestant religion is obligatory, even if normally theauthorities allow for exonerations from these classes if requested by the parents for their children.

LITHUANIAPopulation 3.694.000



The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. There is no State religion. Article 5 of the 1995 Law onReligious Communities defines nine religions as “traditional” (Catholics of the Latin Rite, Catholics ofthe Byzantine Rite, Evangelical Lutherans, Reformed Evangelicals, Orthodox, traditional beliefs, Jews,Sunni Muslims, Karaites), which can receive financial aid from the State.90 percent of the population is Catholic.

In May 1999, as referred by the Report on International Religious Freedom by the USA StateDepartment, the Hassidic Israeli community of Chabad Lubavich obtained registration after reiteratedpressure by the United States government towards the Lithuanian authorities.

LUXEMBOURG

Population 424.000




The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. There is no State religion, nor does the State require thevarious religious organizations to register.

Based on the 1801 Concordat, certain religions receive financial aid from the State. The clergy’s salaryis paid by the State, according to a constitutional disposition. Based on agreements signed with thegovernment on October 31st 1997, the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the Jews and the Protestantdenominations receive State subsidies.More than 90 percent of the population is Catholic.

Religious education, which foresees two weekly hours, is obligatory. Parents, as an alternative toCatholic religion classes, may choose courses on ethics. On the local level, Protestant religion coursesmay be instituted if the students so require.

On March 3rd 1999, «Droits de l’Homme sans Frontières» informs that two Adventist families turned tothe European Court for Human Rights to ask to be exonerated from classes on Saturday for theirconfession, which is their day of worship. Thanks to a ministerial decree, the movement benefited fromthis opportunity from the beginning of the 1990’s. In 1993, this decree was revoked because it wasconsidered a menace for the laity and for the good outcome of public service and for the children’steaching.

MACEDONIA



Religion Orthodox:66,6%Muslims: 30,1%


The Constitution provides for religious freedom. The Macedonian Orthodox Church, while named inthe Constitution, does not have legal status.

Based on the law on religious groups and communities, approved in 1997, the Macedonian OrthodoxChurch, the Islamic community and the Catholic Church are recognized as “religious communities”.All other religions are “religious groups”. However, this distinction does not create any differences onthe legal level.

This law was greatly criticized: the annual report by the Helsinki Committee for human rights in theRepublic of Macedonia stated that the law discriminates against religious groups, is too restrictive as tofreedom of religion and worship, and that the Government maintains an arbitrary attitude towardsreligious groups. Therefore, a petition was presented to the Constitutional Court to re-examine the law.In 1999, certain articles, believed to be unconstitutional, were abolished: for example, article 3 (whichforbade “religious rituals” by non-registered groups), article 10 (which required a minimum of 50persons to create a religious group). According to what was reported by «Human Rights WithoutFrontiers» on March 1st 1999, the Helsinki Committee in Macedonia is not satisfied with the goalsachieved until now, but believes that even more articles should be abolished: for example, article 8(which provides only one religious denomination for each religion, and which, favoring the traditionalreligions, blocks the spreading of new religions) and article 19 (where religious communities andgroups must request permission from the Office for Religious Affairs to hold a demonstration in publicplaces). The Helsinki Committee is therefore preparing another initiative to abolish these amendmentsand to review the law, to be presented to the Constitutional Court.

As referred by «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on March 1st 1999, while the law provides that«citizens may freely and publicly create religious groups according to the law», it also provides manycontrols on the functioning of the religious organizations at the same time.

The Government requires the various religious groups to register (those not registered are consideredillegal), however, since many of the required prerequisites were declared unconstitutional, theregistration process has slowed down greatly.

Based on the law for religious groups and communities, rites and religious activities must be made inchurches, mosques and other temples, or in the gardens next to them. Also, the law provides thatreligious activities “must not violate peace or public order, or religious sentiments, the freedom and therights of others”.

Foreign missionaries from various religious professions operate in the Country. The 1997 law allowsthe activity of proselytism by foreign citizens, but only by request by the registered religious groups.Some missionaries of Christian Evangelical religions have encountered difficulties when, deciding notto operate through the existing churches to thus create new groups of faithful, they have contravenedthis part of the law. According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USA State Department,the Government seems to have increased its cooperation with foreign missionaries, and has madeseveral steps towards the legalization of missionary activities, which were only recognized and notofficially authorized.

The same source reports that, on various occasions, the Government has refused permission to enter theCountry to Serb Orthodox priests, and seems to plan to continue on this path until the Serb OrthodoxChurch recognizes the Macedonian Orthodox Church.

According to «Human Rights Without Frontiers» for March 1st 1999, the Protestant groups havelamented not being able to register their Churches and obtaining work permits for their functionaries.

The various religious communities often reflect an ethnic identity: many Muslims are of Albanianorigin, while the Orthodox are of Macedonian origin. The social discriminations and tensions thatsometimes emerge most often seem to derive from ethnic rather than religious prejudice.

MADAGASCAR




Protestants:23%Muslims: 2%


After the end of the Social-Communist regime, the right to religious freedom and worship isguaranteed by the Constitution. There is no State religion and religious associations must register and,according to the 1999 Report on International Religious Freedom by the USA State Department,registration by an organization affiliated to the Church of Unification was denied the preceding year.

MALAWI



Religion Protestants: 34%Catholics: 28%Animists: 19%Muslims: 16%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom and religious associations must register with thegovernment.

In December 1999, «Asia News» writes about the malcontent expressed by Sheikh Mustafa Hassan, thePresident of the Islamic Association of Malawi, regarding the growing anti-Muslim propaganda bycertain Christians. During 1999, Hassan wrote the President Bakili Muluzi about this asking to declarethe Eid el-Fitr and the Eid el-Adha national holidays and asking for greater space for Islamic televisionprograms than the actual half hour, sustaining that the Christians have greater privileges.

However, according to the 1999 Report by the Aed-France, the Head of the State, a Muslim elected in1996, openly favors Islam, even if it is a minority. The 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USAState Department refers that the accusations moved against the government party by oppositionpolitical members and by exponents of the clergy for the attempt to make the nation Islamic.

MALAYSIA



Religion Muslims: 53%Buddhists: 17%

Hindu: 7%Christians: 6,4%


Despite the fact that in 1998 there was a substantial revision of the constitutional relevance of Islam asthe State religion, there are still restrictions to the free practice of worship. The 1999 Report onreligious freedom by the United States State Department states that there is an official policy directedtowards introducing the Islamic values in the Country’s administration. However, according to thesame source, Koran Law is imposed on Muslims only for certain civic aspects and not applied towardsnon-Muslims.

De facto, the right to change religion, abandoning Islam, is rather controversial since the tie betweenMalaysian citizenship and the Muslim faith cannot be broken. In practice, this seems to be ratherdifficult and whoever decides to do this exposes themselves to many problems. In August 1998, afterthe pressure exerted from many sides, the Government established that the «apostates» would not besubjected to punishment by the authorities unless they desecrate Islam after their conversion.

During 1999, according to the American report on religious freedom, ten persons belonging to theBaha’i religion were released, in prison since 1997. And there is no evidence of any further prisonersfor religious reasons.

The Government introduced the obligation to include information on race and religion of the citizen inthe new identity card, as referred by «Asia News» in December 1999, bringing about protestations onthis matter. According to A. Vaithilingam, the President of the Malaysian Consulting Council forBuddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikh, this may bring the nation to noting violence anddiscrimination.

Despite that in January 1999 the Government of the State of Selangor, a Malaysian region that countsabout 3 million inhabitants, announced the formation of an interreligious consulting Council to preventconflicts based on religion and to promote dialogue, there have been no further developments.

The National Movement for Justice, a new political party lead by Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the wife ofthe Malaysian ex- Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, while continuing to consider Islam as the Statereligion, she committed – as referred by «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on December 23rd 1999 –to guarantee the right to profess another religion. The position expressed, reported by «Misna» onSeptember 30th 1999, goes along with the requests made by the Malaysian Council for Buddhism,Christianity, Hinduism and Sikh. Asserting freedom of speech and association and the otherfundamental human rights, as well as the right to have one’s places for worship and burial, the personin charge of the party distances from the line adopted by today’s Minister for Internal Affairs whotends to impose restrictions on the building of places of worship and to favor the concession ofcemetery space only to Muslims. For Christians, who contrarily to the Hindu, Buddhists and Sikh, donot recur to cremation, the problem is even more serious.

«Asia News» in December 1999 reports the news of a Malaysian interreligious council that denouncedan attempt by the main Islamic opposition party concerning the introduction of a decree to control andlimit the spreading of religions other than Islam. The proposal titled «Control and restriction ofpropaganda for religions differing from Islam (federal territories) 1999», presented by Abdul HadjAwang, the vice-president of the Parti Islam Se Malaysia (Pas) raised criticism by both political andcivilian personalities. Many times Hadi answered that «the decree was only to be applied to Muslims»even if, in the review «The Star», he stated that the Pas has not stopped working on a project toinstitute an Islamic state in Malaysia. Even the president of the same party, Fadzil Noor, defended theprovision asserting that it would be in the best interests for national security and racial harmony.

MALDIVE ISLANDS

Population 271.000


Religion Sunni Muslims: 100%

Promulgated in 1997, the Constitution considers Islam as the State religion and the citizens areformally held to being Muslims and to follow the official directives sanctioned by the publicinstitutions. The fundamental Charter of the State indicates the President of the Republic as thesupreme authority entrusted to propagate Islamic principles. Since the shari’a is in vigor, it is forbiddento practice confessions different from Islam, except for the foreign residents in the Country, who areonly permitted to do this in private – also because places of worship differing from mosques cannot beauthorized – and without involving Maldivians.

A summary – given by the International Maldives Network to the World Evangelical Fellowship’sReligious Liberty E-mail Conference — refers that some Christians, already arrested in 1998 becauseof their faith and then released after four months in prison, continue to be controlled, even if discretely,by the police forces. To avoid any revenge, Christian missionary activities are limited to the radiotransmissions coming from the Seychelles Islands. According to the 1999 Report on religious freedomby the American State Department, the Government asked the authorities in the Seychelles to stop thetransmissions, but even if not heeded it didn’t take any measures to block them.

The same source reports that the movie-length cartoon «The Prince of Egypt» was forbidden in January1999 on the national territory, because it created a false image of the Prophet Moses as described in theKoran.

MALI



Religion Muslims: 90%Animists: 9%


The Constitution, of the lay type, guarantees religious freedom, allowing the practice of religions thatdo not endanger stability and peace. Article 25 of the Constitution of Mali can be summarized incapital letters by the motto of the Republic of Mali: «UN PEUPLE - UN BUT - UNE FOI».

Religious associations must register with the Government and registration has been denied to theBaha’i confession.

There are no juridical obstacles to converting from one religion to another and missionaries are free tooperate. The Muslim majority is very tolerant towards other confessions.

MALTA

Population 384.000

Surface Area 315,6 sq. km.

Religion Catholics: 98,6%Number of Catholics 368.000

Religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution.95% of the population is Catholic, which is also the official religion.

There are Protestant Churches, but they are not Maltese: in fact, many English persons live on theisland. There is also a mosque and a Jewish community.

Since 1991, all the Churches have equal rights from the legal point of view: they can own property andtheir ministers can celebrate marriages and have other functions.

The Catholic religion is taught in the public schools, but the students have the right to choose whetherto participate or not in these classes.

MARSHALL ISLANDS

Population 60.000

Surface Area 181,3 sq. km.


Others: 30%Number of Catholics 4.000

According to the 1999 Report on International Religious Freedom by the United States StateDepartment, the governing authorities respect the right to religious freedom in practice, and it issanctioned by the Constitution.

Relations between the different religions are friendly; there are no reported cases of forced conversions,discriminations based on religion, restrictive procedures for personal freedom motivated by religiousquestions.

MAURITANIA



Religion Sunni Muslims: 99,5%Catholics: 0,2%


The State is proclaimed as the Islamic Republic by the Constitution. Islam is the official religion and ofthe citizens. The Government does not respect the right to religious freedom. Any differing expressionof beliefs is forbidden and pursued by the law. Therefore, the 1984 Code in article 306 provides forcapital punishment for the crime of apostasy, if the accused person does not repent within three days.Whosoever, being a Muslim, obstinately refuses to pray is punished with the same sentence.

Article 11 of the law on the press forbids religious propaganda by forbidding the publishing of materialcontrary to the dictates of Islam. Therefore, printing or spreading Bibles or other non-Muslim literatureis not permitted.

According to the «Associated press» on February 2nd 2000, a government representative denied thearrest, referred the day before by the same press source, of four Islamic militants linked to the SaudiSheikh Osama Bin Laden. Nor has the news of the arrest of a Mauritanian citizen, Mohamedou ouldSalhi, been confirmed. He was accused of having organized the bombing attempts in 1998 against theAmerican Embassy in Kenya and in Tanzania. According to the same source, the authorities, at thebeginning of 1999, had arrested and then released, without any further accusations, another twelveMuslims suspected of being part of the Bin Laden group.

MAURITIUS



Religion Hindu: 50,6%Christians: 32,4%


The Constitution guarantees the right to religious freedom. The following religious groups arerecognized and subsidized by the State: the Catholic Church, the Church of England, the PresbyterianChurch, the Seventh Day Adventists, the Hindu and the Muslims. Any new religious associations mustinstead register to obtain fiscal exemptions.

According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the American State Department, while beingsecular, the government tends to favor, for political reasons, the Hindu majority. The same sourcereports about episodes of violence between Creoles, Catholics and Muslims, which occurred in 1999.To diminish the tensions, the Catholic Archbishop invited the religious leaders to a meeting; the Hinduleader only participated after a second invitation. The meeting between the two concluded with arequest to the President to create an interreligious council.

«Asia news», in December 1999, refers that since 1965 the Islamic organizations have been recognizedby the government, which pays the salaries to the imams and to the teachers in the Islamic schools.

MEXICO




Jews: 0,1%


The Constitution establishes the right to practice the religion of one’s choice. According to «Églisedans le Monde» no. 102, for the 2nd quarter of 1999, even if there is true tolerance on the governmentand administrative levels of the country, in many regions cases have been brought to attention where arestrictive application of legislation on religious communities exists.

In November 1998, the government and the representatives of many religious confessions signed adocument stating the right to freedom of religion. Religious groups are asked to register with the under-secretary of Religious Affairs. According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USAGovernment, between 1992 and 1998, 5263 religious associations have been registered. To buildchurches or restructure pre-existing buildings as new churches, permission from the authorities isrequired. Between 1992 and 1998, 7139 permits were given, but initial difficulties were noticed bysome religious groups in establishing themselves in rural areas because of the resistance by the localauthorities, then overcome with the help of the state authorities. Also, the law requires a permit fromthe federal government to hold a reunion outside the place of worship. The government declared thatthey had released 4884 permits of this kind between January and August of 1998.

All the Church structures that existed in 1992 were legally declared part of the national patrimony andare the property of the State. The Catholic Church and the government cooperated in restoring thecolonial era Cathedral in Mexico City.

«ACI-Prensa» on July 10th 1999 reports the news in which the head of the Grand Masonic Lodge ofValle de Mexico, Jorge G. Ambriz, strongly criticized the canonization of 25 Blessed Mexicansbelonging to the «cristeros», martyred during the anti-Catholic persecution promoted by the Mexicanauthorities during the 1920’s and 30’s of the past century. Ambriz menaced launching a campaign toblock the canonizations and stated that to do this he would look for support from the factions tied to thetheology of internal liberation of the Church.

In 1992, the government established diplomatic relations with the Holy See and abolished manylimitations imposed on the Catholic Church. However, the law continues to provide for a stringentseparation between State and Church, and does not allow the clergy to take public positions.

Religion classes are forbidden in public schools, but religious associations are free to maintain theirown private schools, which do not however receive any government funding. The Catholic Churchdenounces the limitations imposed by the government in the management of administrative andaccounting offices.

Who, while recognizing a certain progress in the relations between State and Church, explicitly speaksabout a subordinate position of the Catholic Church. Regarding the situation of religious freedom inMexico, the dossier denounces the long-lasting control of the educational system by the State, which inpractice translates into a policy of «anticlerical» and «antiecclesiastic» education. The government didnot consent to the requests by organizations asking for freedom of education. Today, in the officialprograms given to the government, religious themes must be simulated into teachings regarding«human development», «ethics» or «values».

Pope John Paul II visited Mexico between January 22nd and the 26th 1999, and millions of faithful tookpart in the events. The President Ernesto Zedillo welcomed the Pope on his arrival and the Mayor ofMexico City gave him the keys to the city. In March 1999, President Zedillo presided the inaugurationof the Catholic Cathedral of Ecatepec.

Foreign religious persons must receive permission from the government to visit the country forreligious purposes. While the government limits the number of visas per group, it emitted 4764 visassince 1992. Some religious groups say that the government policy tends to distance foreign religiouspersons from Chiapas and Oaxaca.

While religious groups are not allowed to own or manage radio or television stations, the CatholicChurch owns and manages a cable national television station. To transmit programs via radio ortelevision, a government permit is required. The government gave out 2148 between January andAugust 1998.

The federal office for religious affairs actively promotes religious tolerance and deals with about 100cases of religious intolerance each year.

According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the American Government, there are nodetainees or prisoners for religious reasons, even if on June 15th 1999, the police arrested 13 Protestantswho had built a church in Mitziton, in Chiapas. The construction of the church created problemsbetween the Mayan Indians in the area and the Protestants.

Relations between the religious communities are generally friendly. In the Oaxaca and Chiapasterritory, leaders of traditional beliefs and Protestant Evangelical groups occasionally enter intoconflict. Often the reasons for these problems can be found in ethnic differences, land disputes andcontrasts with the local political and economic powers.

In contrast with the reassuring statements on the state of the Country made by President Zedillo,Cardinal Carlos Quintero – referred by «Église dans le Monde» no. 102, 2nd quarter 1999 – declaredthat in reality Mexico is worsening and only a miracle by the Virgin could say it. One of the mostheated questions is the one on Chiapas, where the situation has not evolved and still remains tense andmarked by the Acteal massacre on December 22nd 1997. With the approval of the federal government,in fact, the civil authorities of Chiapas began to take over control of the churches in the diocese of SanCristobal de Las Casas, began taking it upon themselves to close places of worship, nominating parishpriests and allowing the army to place their men and means there. The same source reports the wordsby Felipe Toussaint, the Vicar General of the diocese, who declared that, for the government and thearmy, Christians are enemies to be overcome, since the diocese and the groups fighting against theState are to be considered as one by the authorities.

The Episcopal Commission for Peace and Reconciliation in Chiapas has met with the nuncio to presenta peace plan for 1999. During the encounter, the problem of confiscation of the churches by theauthorities was also taken into consideration.

MICRONESIA

Population 114.000




The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. According to the 1999 Report on InternationalReligious Freedom by the State Department of the United States, the government respects this right.The laws forbid the creation of a State religion and government restrictions concerning religiousfreedom.

Missionaries of different faiths are present on the national territory and operate without any obstacles.There are no reports of discrimination based on religion and the relations between the various faiths arefriendly.

MOLDOVA



Religion Orthodox prevalenceNumber of Catholics 20.000

The law on religion, published in 1992, makes certain limitations to religious freedom, which ishowever constitutionally protected. This law, while guaranteeing the free practice of religion andforbidding the government from interfering with religious activities in the various communities,requires that the various groups be registered and forbids abusive proselytism (intending as “abusive” –according to the definition contained in the amendment to the law, approved in June 1999 to makeproselytism legal - «any attempt to influence an individual’s religious faith by violence or an abuse ofauthority»).

20 Religious organizations have been recognized until now. Only the Orthodox Church of Bessarabia,which exists since 1992 and is under the Patriarchate of Bucharest for the Romanian Orthodox Church,did not obtain registration, which was denied for four times. According to what the 1999 Report onreligious freedom by the American State Department refers, the denials are due to political reasons.The Orthodox Church of Bessarabia appealed to the European Court for Human Rights in June 1998.Any decision adopted by this organization, however, as referred by a government official to the«Keston News Service» on February 7th 2000, would not influence the will of the executive.

90 percent of the population is Orthodox. The Moldavian Orthodox Church, the predominant religion,is often favored over other religious groups: this is particularly evident in the case of expropriatedproperty during the Nazi and the Communist periods, given back with great difficulty, and, if damaged,adequately compensated for by the government.

The 1999 Report on religious freedom by the State Department of the United States refers that inTransdnestria (a secessionist region not under government control) certain religious groups haveencountered difficulties: among these, Jehovah’s Witnesses whose registration was suspended in 1998,and the Baptists who were not allowed to distribute religious literature or organize public meetings.

«Compass» on June 18th 1999 reports that the preceding May 5th, approximately 700 OrthodoxChristians lead by seven priests attacked 20 Baptists in the village of Gelo Mengir, wounding severaland destroying the Baptist church under construction. The Baptists claim that the mayor of the villagewas the head of the group, but the first citizen denied this. Father Teodor Rosca, an Orthodox, askedfor forgiveness for this act of violence, but blamed what happened on the Baptists’ proselytism. No oneguilty of the assault was stopped by the law and order forces.

MONACO

Population 33.000



Religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution and respected by the Government.The Catholic religion, professed by the majority of citizens, is recognized as the State religion.

In the principality there are five Churches, and there are no mosques or synagogues. Acts ofproselytism, while not being forbidden by the law, are strongly discouraged, and no missionary,according to what has been referred by the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USA Government,is present in the Nation. The same source says that each group or association that wishes to operatethere must, based on the Civil Code, request permission by the government, who normally denies thisto new religious movements.

MONGOLIA



Religion Lamaists: 90%Number of Catholics 3.000

The Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and of religion and explicitly recognizes theseparation between religion and State. According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by theAmerican State Department, generally the government respects these dispositions; however, somegroups still waiting for registration have encountered some bureaucratic difficulties.

While there is no State religion, the traditionalists believe that Buddhism is the natural religion of theCountry. The government contributed to the restoring of many places for Buddhist worship butotherwise does not support the Buddhist religion. According to a 1993 law on relations betweenChurch and State, the government may control and limit the number of places of worship and clergyfor the organized religions, but no news of this as appeared. Religious must however register with theMinistry of Justice. The government has closed a few places of Christian and Baha’i worship becausethey did not register correctly. Some groups encountered obstacles during the registration procedure,including requests by public officials for financial contributions in exchange for security of the legalstatus. Even when the registration was completes, the same authorities menaced some groups with thewithdrawal of approval. The registration process is decentralized, with many bureaucratic levels; also,registration in the capital may not be sufficient if a group intends to work in the countryside, wherelocal registration is also required. In general, it would seem that the registration problems are dueabove all to the bureaucratic acts of the local officials who try to receive subsidies for projects notfinanced by the city.

Since the end of Socialist control over religion and over Mongolian traditions in 1990, interest in thepractice of Buddhism has grown. The Buddhist community is not homogeneous and there are manyschools in competition, including a small group that emphasizes the need to recite sutras in theMongolian language believing that even all of the clergy must be Mongolian. However, thecompetition between schools has not disturbed religious freedom so far as to become a publicpreoccupation.

The Kazakhs are the largest community among the ethnic minorities, and the population in the Westernprovince of Bayan-Olgiy is composed of approximately 85% of Kazakhs, many of which are practicingMuslims. The Kazakhs worship freely and organize Islamic schools for their children. For the timebeing, they receive financial aid from religious organizations based in Kazakhstan and Turkey. Theirstatus as a majority in the aforementioned province was established during the preceding Socialistperiod and continues in the same way.

With the openness of the Nation after the democratic changes in 1990, religious groups began to arriveto give humanitarian assistance and to open new churches. There has been some friction betweenmissionary groups and citizens, since the assistance went side by side with propaganda. Proselytism byregistered religious groups is allowed, even if a directive from the Ministry of Education forbidsjoining foreign language lessons or other subjects with religion classes. The law is particularlyrespected in the area around the capital. Even contacts with religious co-workers outside the Nationalterritory are permitted.

The foreign missions include Catholics, various Protestant Evangelical groups, the Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints, Jehovah’s witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists and the Baha’i. Some ofthese groups are waiting for registration from the Ministry of Justice. The process was lengthened forsome groups, but others were rapidly registered. During the first half of 1999, two new churches wereopened in Ulan Bator. Religious groups are guaranteed the right to officiate religious functions and tohave places for worship as well as charitable institutions. There has been no mention of detainees orprisoners for religious reasons.

MOROCCO



Religion Muslims: 98,7%Catholics: 1,1%


The king is declared the «Leader of the believers» by the Constitution, which imposes the monarch towatch over the respect for Islam, indicated as the official State religion. The right to belong to religionsother than Islam is not recognized, or eventually Christianity or Judaism. However, these two lastreligions are tolerated as non-autochthonous cultural expressions and the followers are allowed aformal freedom of worship, provided for by article 6 of the fundamental Charter of the Kingdom. Thegovernment also promotes the conservation of Morocco’s Judaic culture, economically funding theschools of the Israelite communities.The sale of Bibles in foreign languages is permitted, but editions in Arabic are forbidden.

The Kingdom’s Penal Code, in article 220 comma 2, punishes the person who induces to apostasy witha prison sentence of three to six months and a fine, and is silent about what happens to the apostate. Abuilding may be closed definitively, be it a school, a healthcare center, an asylum or an orphanage, if itwas used for the conversion of a Muslim to another religion. Therefore, who receives Baptism by thisact<alone places the ecclesial institution administering it in danger.

According to the Report on religious freedom by the State Department of the United States, in June1999 five American citizens were arrested and thrown out of the country for having distributed materialon Christian propaganda.Some surveillance is also practiced towards the various expressions of the Muslim religion.

«Il Sole-24ore» on December 2nd 1999 refers the case of Sheikh Adessalam Yassine, the leader of amovement inspired by the Sufi, who was under home arrest for ten years in Salé.

MOZAMBIQUE



Religion Animists: 48%Muslims:16,5%

Catholics:14,3%Protestants: 5%


The Constitution guarantees individuals the right to practice or not a religion and assures groups thepossibility of freely pursuing their religious goals. The religious and missionary institutions, accordingto the 1989 law on religious freedom, must declare where their funding comes from and furnish a list ofat least 500 well to do followers. Registration does not bring any benefits or privileges of any kind, butgives the juridical personality necessary to buy and hold property. According to the 1999 Report onInternational Religious Freedom by the USA State Department, 394 groups are registered with theMinistry of Justice. The formation of political parties based on religion are not allowed, even if theabbreviation of the Independent Party of Mozambique (PIMO) what is truly intended is the IslamicParty of Mozambique, a minority political movement.

Religion classes are<strictly forbidden in the schools. All the properties nationalized in 1977 during theSocialist-Communist regime have still not been reinstated. In Particular, the Catholic Church and theMuslim community lament the permanence of some scholastic and health structures still in the hands ofthe State.

In February 1999, the authorities arrested a Muslim imam, a Pakistani national, on the margins of ahomicide inquest, releasing him after eight days of detention. Until June 30th 1999, the imam stillunderwent controls and could not leave the national territory. Because of this, there was aParliamentary debate, and one in the press as well, about the anti-Islamic attitude that emerged fromthis case.

According to «Mondo e Missione» in March 1999, dialogue with Islam today is still one of thegreatest challenges for the Catholic Church, especially when facing the problem of the rapid expansionof fundamentalism, supported by some Arab countries interested in broadening their influence inMozambique. According to Antonio Maria Lopes, in an article from Maputo to the same magazine, theMinister of Justice and certain vive-ministers are Muslims. However, the President of the Republic, in1999, did not countersign a law approved by the Assembly of the Republic that instituted Ramadan andthe day of sacrifice as national holidays.

NAMIBIA



Religion Protestants:62,3%Catholics: 19,8%


The Constitution sanctions religious freedom and does not provide for a State religion nor does itformally recognize religious groups. There are no obstacles to missionary propaganda, if not those of ageneral restriction regarding the entry of foreigners on the national territory.

NAURU

Population 11.000




The Constitution sanctions the principle of religious freedom and even the authorities respect this right.

Relations between the different religions are friendly. According to the 1999 Report on religiousfreedom by the American Department of State, there are no cases of discrimination based on religion.

NEPAL



Religion Hindu: 86,2%Buddhists: 7,8%

Muslims: 3,8%Christians: 1,7%


The Constitution describes Nepal as a «Hindu Kingdom». The constitutional guarantees on religiousfreedom theoretically allow the practice of all religions, but conversion to religions other thanHinduism and proselytism are punished with fines and arrests. Members of the minority religionslament occasional mistreatment by the police.

On April 2nd 1999, the Christian community of Katmandu was forbidden from celebrating Holy Fridayin a public park of the city, contrary to what had occurred a few years before. A group of about 400persons, therefore, went to the local administrative office to protest and three individuals werewounded when the police intervened to disperse the group. A condemnation for conversion orproselytism may bear pecuniary sanctions or detention, in the case of foreigners’ expulsion from theNation. However recourse to this is apparently rather rare. Some Christian groups denounce the growthof extremism by the Hindu integralists. Members of the Hindu Nationalist Party Shiv Sena havepublicly criticized the activities of the Christian missionaries and some political leaders have madeviolent accusations in public against supposed atrocities committed by Christians. The president of theShiv Sena Party declared that the main objective of his party was to block the conversion of any personin the Country. Conversion to Christianity may bring about hostility or discrimination, in some casesviolent, by the Hindu extremists, apart from the possible penal consequences mentioned above.

According to the denouncement made on January 6th 1999 by «Droits de l’homme sans frontières», thepolice who had accused them of being “militant Maoists” killed two pastors from a Protestant Churchon November 20th 1998 in the Rukum region. Both the victims were known to be Christians and hadnever been involved in any sort of political activity. As was pointed out by other sources, this was notthe first time that the police was involved in the summary execution of Christians. Christians are oftenunjustly involved in conflicts between Maoists and the government.

According to «Human Rights Without Frontiers» dated January 15th 1999, there are signs of animminent wave of persecution by the Hindu extremists against the Christians, persuaded by well-known members of fundamentalist parties. On August 30th 1999, the «Misna» Agency reported that agroup of Hindu attacked and damaged a church in the southeast of Nepal. The fact occurred in thevillage of Janakpur, where the Christians who directed a hospital were accused of proselytism towardsthe poor Hindu. The daily newspaper «Avvenire» dated September 14th 1999 denounces the destructionof other Christian churches, occurring near the communities of Tipling, northeast of Katmandu. In thisarea, the tension between the followers of different religions seems to have been originated by the workof a local official, who may have conditioned the furnishing of medicine for the repudiation ofChristianity. Episodes of violence and the menacing climate against Christians have also been reportedin the August 1999 issue of the magazine «Mondo e Missione», which also quotes the denouncementmade by the Christian Forum of Nepal regarding a very real plan to discredit and isolate Christianswithin the Nepalese society.

NETHERLANDS



Religion Catholics: 31%Protestants:22%


Religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution, which, however, authorizes the government toplace limitations to this liberty only in the case it should create risks to persons or to public order.

Since 1798, State and Church are separated, but the Calvinist Church, since 1795, has privileged status:for example, only the members of this Church can cover official jobs. As well as funding the CalvinistChurch, the government also finances other organizations and religious schools.

There have been no registered events pertaining to religious discrimination. However, the 1999 Reporton International Religious Freedom by the USA Department of State informs that some problems havearisen when religious freedom and freedom of speech clashed, with the veto of minority discrimination:in fact, recently, two members of the Protestant Orthodox Party have disapproved homosexuality forreligious reasons on several occasions. Because of the laments by various citizens and organizations, atrial was opened which ended in June 1999 with the absolution of the two charged parties: in fact, theCourt of The Hague sentenced that the intention to offend or discriminate against homosexuals by thetwo persons was absent.

NEW ZEALAND



Religion Anglicans: 21,4%Presbyterians: 16%

Catholics: 14,8%Methodists: 4,1%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom and the government respects this right in practice.

Relations between the different confessions are friendly; there have been no signs of discriminationbased on religion.

The last act of religious intolerance goes back to August 6th 1998 – reported by the 1999 Report onreligious freedom by the USA State Department – when a mosque was burnt down, after having beenthe objective of vandalism.

NICARAGUA





The Constitution guarantees religious freedom and provides that no individual may be obligated,through coercive methods, to declare his ideology or beliefs.

The predominance of the Catholic Church does not in any way negatively influence the religiousfreedom of minorities.

The government prerequisites for the legal recognition of religious associations are similar to thoserequired for non-government organizations. They may be exempted from taxes. However, this right isthe cause of contention, especially with regards to the exemption from duty taxes for objects importedfor humanitarian purposes. About this, several Churches and other non-profit organizations, amongwhich the Lutheran Church and the Council for the Evangelical Churches, mention bureaucraticslowness in obtaining the exemption from duties on objects donated for humanitarian aid. Some non-Catholic Churches state that the Catholic Church receives special treatment and, in practice, did nothave to undergo the same bureaucratic obligations applied to the other religious or humanitarianorganizations.

Missionaries do not have to satisfy any particular requisites apart from the visa as a “religiousoperator”, which is given freely to all those requesting it.

Private religious schools operate on the national territory, and generally the government providesfinancial support by paying the salaries of the teachers.

In 1998, the National Assembly approved a law to repay Jehovah’s Witnesses for the propertiesconfiscated by the Sandinist government. There is no news about detainees or prisoners for religiousreasons.

As to the relations between the different religions, the climate is very different according to thegeographical location. On the Atlantic Coast, where the three dominating Churches are the Moravian,the Episcopal and the Catholic Churches, the ecumenical spirit prevails. On the Pacific Coast, on theother hand, a continuous and energetic competition between the members of the Catholic and theevangelical Churches still exists.

The new President, the liberal Arnoldo Aleman, created a commission for reconciliation in the Nation,where political parties, unions, various social groups and Cardinal Obando y Bravo are all present. TheSandinist leader, Daniel Ortega, violently criticized the nomination of the Cardinal to this commissionbecause he is believed to be the «servant and the advocate for the Somoza dictatorship».

NIGER



Religion Muslims: 98,7%Animists: 0,7%


The 1992 Constitution was suspended in April 1999 after the assassination of the President of theRepublic, Ibrahim Mainassara Bare. The fundamental Charter of the State, in vigor until then,guaranteed religious freedom and even today’s, approved on the following July 18th, according to whatis referred by the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USA State Department, sanctions «the rightto the free development of each individual in his own […] spiritual, cultural and religious dimensions»,adding that «this right and liberty must be exercised in respect for the laws and the norms in vigor».This is one of the few States with an Islamic majority to allow the conversion of Muslims to anotherreligion and where there truly is religious freedom.

Religious associations must register with the Ministry for Internal Affairs, just like missionary groups,who may also freely operate. The construction of places of worship is conditioned by the concession oflicenses by the authorities.

Coexistence between the 95 percent of Muslim population and the approximate 30 thousand Christiansis peaceful and the Catholic Church pursues dialogue with the Muslims through educational activities –which accounts for 6 thousand students in the primary schools -, social and charitable activities, inparticular thanks to Caritas-Niger, which is present in the fields of health, rural development and re-forestation.

On January 18th 2000, «Droits de l’Homme Sans Frontières» refers that some discussion arose from theswearing in ceremony, the preceding week, for the new President of the Republic, Mamadou Tandjan.The Head of State, with his right hand on the Koran, committed to respect the Constitution, but thisformula, which is also provided for in the new text of the fundamental charter of the State, wasopposed by those wanting to maintain the lay characteristics of the institutions. Fear was expressed bythose believing that this sign could favor Islam in a Country that shares the same values as nearbyNigeria, where many provinces have proclaimed the application of the shari’a.

NIGERIA



Religion Muslims: 50%Christians: 40%


The new Constitution — from May 1999 — establishes that «the government cannot adopt any creedas the religion of State», also because of the fragmentation of the confessional and ethnic compositionof the population. The Muslims live in the western and northern parts, 45% of all Nigerians, accordingto the «Cip», quoted by «Droits de l’homme sans frontières» on January 28th 2000. The same sourcerefers that the Christian population, which represents the other 45% (of which one fourth are Catholics)of the inhabitants of the Country, live in the South, added to this a small percentage of Animists.

About one moth after the end of the military regime, in May 1999, 71 of the 102 Muslim politicalprisoners detained were released, the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the American StateDepartment refers.

Despite the fact that today’s President of the Republic, Olusegun Obasanjo, is a Christian and assuredrespect for religious freedom, as informed by «Compass Direct» on October 22nd 1999, «theadministration — and the government of the State first — are strongly conditioned by pro-Islamicpolitical currents and movements», as Fr. Giulio Albanese writes in «Avvenire» on February 23rd 2000.

Conflicts between Christians and Muslims, with many homicides, have been registered at least sincethe month of February 1999 in the State of Borno, refers the 1999 Report on religious freedom by theDepartment of State of the United States. According to the same source, the menaces against theProtestant missions in the State of Nasarawa have strongly diminished the number of individuals goingto places of Christian worship. Disorders, which caused about 130 victims, occurred in Kafanchan inMay 1999 between Muslims and Animists for the control over the local political power.

According to «Compass Direct» on October 22nd 1999, in the State of Katsina, the government warnedthe Christians not to transform their homes into churches. The governor Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’adua,A Muslim, on September 24th 1999, communicated that «the religious beliefs of the Muslims wouldbring lead them to see the spreading of churches as an insult» to the leaders of the ChristianAssociation of Nigeria (CAN). Rev. James Kwassu, the president of CAN, speaking about the «evidentdiscrimination against Christians», recalled that those who converted from Islam to Christianity mustface continuous death threats. According to the same source, in Katsina projects for the introduction ofIslamic law are at an advanced level.

Since January 27th 2000, with the entrance of the new legal system based on Islamic law in the State ofZamfara, about 20 Christian detainees risk a deterioration of their judicial positions, referred by the«Compass» Agency. At Gusau, the capital, some Christian families have already transferred for fear ofpersecution. Even the banking institutions have decided to close their branch offices to not have toshare their profits with the State, since the shari’a does not provide for interest to the credit institutionsbut contemplates a contribution by these to the State for the spreading of Islam. Also, economicpressures to make Christians convert to the Muslim religion are feared.

There was no reaction from the central government — as referred by «Ansa» on January 27th 2000.According to the same source, the governor of Zamfara, Ahmad Sani, who introduced the shari’a intothe penal code, solemnly nominating 20 Islamic judges, declared «the Islamic courts are only forMuslims, while the others with conventional judges are for the non-Muslims».

18 Christian churches were destroyed on December 18th 1999 in the city of Ilorin, in the center of theCountry, by a crowd of over 2 thousand Muslims, refers «Compass». A conflict between the religiouscommunities is going on, since the Muslims say that the construction of new places of worship byChristians must be stopped. In September 1999, the local Christian leaders appealed to the governmentof the State of Kwara to see to the defense of their seriously menaced communities.

A Muslim judge from the Federal High Court of Nigerian Justice ordered the police to pay 3 thousanddollars worth of damages to the Mission of the Glorious Hope Gospel in the city of Jos, for having

closed the organization’s church during the first months of 1999, when also the Protestant pastorresponsible for it had been temporarily arrested.

According to «Avvenire» on February 22nd, apart from Zamfara another five northern States are readyto modify their laws in an Islamic sense: Kaduna, Niger, Kano, Sokoto and Yobe. The Internationalpress agency «Api» on February 24th 2000 refers that Niger and Sokoto have approved the introductionof the shari’a respectively on the preceding 22nd and 23rd.

As for Kaduna, however, this is a territory where Christians are 40% of the population and justanticipations about the application of the shari’a lead to conflicts between the 21st and the 23rd ofFebruary 2000, which saw the killing of over 400 Muslim and Christians, according to an «Ansa»bulletin dated the 24th. Violence was also verified during a march organized by the Christians to protestagainst the introduction of the shari’a.

On February 29th 2000, as referred by «Avvenire» the following day, the federal government obtainedthe commitment by the States of Zamfara, Niger and Sokoto to suspend the application of the shari’a.The States of Kano, Yobe and Kaduna decided to suspend the discussion on the introduction of Islamiclaw.

Meanwhile between the 28th and the 29th of February, conflicts also occurred in the State of Abia, in thesoutheast of the Country, between the Christians of the Ibo ethnic group and the Muslims of the Haussagroup. In the massacre, 450 Muslims were killed according to diplomatic sources reported by «Agi» onMarch 1st 2000.

NORTH KOREA



Religion Buddhists: n.a.Confucians: n.a.

Animists: n.a.

While the Constitution sanctions religious freedom, this right is far from being respected. In fact, inpractice the Government discourages any from of religious activity apart from those useful to theinterests of the State. During the past years, the Government agreed to the formation of some religiousorganizations under the tight control of the State, using them as go-betweens with the foreign Churchesand the international humanitarian associations. According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom bythe USA Department of State, it is not clear whether those responsible for religious organizations inNorth Korea are true believers: in fact, some representatives seemed to know very little about dogma,liturgy and religious teachings, which they stated to belong to.

There are very few Buddhist temples in the areas where religious activities are allowed. ThreeChristian Churches have been opened since 1998 in the capital of Pyongyang. However, the religiousactivities of these churches seems to be a sham: in fact, whoever tried to participate in the rites withoutpreviously getting permission from the authorities found the churches closed, even on Easter. Othersreferred that on entering the buildings, they found a state of total abandon.

The press agency «Fides» on July 2nd 1999 refers that in May of the same year, the secret service fromSeoul stated that the North Korean authorities were worried about the clandestine missionary activities.Regarding this, they invited the citizens to denounce these «astute wolves used as instruments ofimperialism». While Churches give emergency aid, which otherwise would fall upon the government –according to the same source – the authorities from North Korea are alarmed about the spreading ofChristianity. The lack of religious freedom in North Korea has been underlined by monsignor NicholasCheong Jin-suk, the Archbishop of Seoul, in an interview to «Fides» on July 31st 1998. On thisoccasion, the Archbishop, hoping for reconciliation between the two divided Countries, reiterated thatthe «North Koreans should also have the unalienable human rights that God gave to humanity, such asfreedom of conscience and religion».

NORWAY



Religion Lutherans: 88%Number of Catholics 43.000

The Constitution theoretically guarantees religious freedom. The Lutheran Evangelical Church, towhich 93 percent of the population belongs, is the State religion. There are strong ties between theChurch and the State.

A religious group must register only if it wishes to receive state subsidies, given to all the registeredreligious communities according to the number of members. The various confessions operate freely.

In 1995, the Parliament approved a law on “Religious knowledge and education in ethics”. Variousreligious and secular groups, such as the Muslims and the atheists, contested its content.

Today, the State religion and a secular humanistic philosophy are taught in schools: the students maybe exonerated from single religious acts, such as prayers or masses, but must attend ethic teachings in awhole. The 1999 Report on religious freedom by the United States government refers that the courts ofjustice are examining the two cases of persons opposing these courses. However, as reported by«Actualité des religions» in January 1999, looking back at the results of an inquiry on human ethics bythe Federation, the Nation could be the last one in Europe to know religious monopoly of a singleconfession in scholastic education, to the point of entering into conflict with the UN convention forchildhood.

OMAN


Surface Area 309.500 sq. km.Religion Sunni Muslims: 87,7%

Hindu: 7,4%Christians: 3,9%


The 1996 fundamental Charter of the State sanctions Islam as the State religion and that the shari’a isthe source of all laws. Freedom to practice religious rites is ensured if coherent with tradition and ifthey do not go against public order.Non-Muslim religious groups must be registered and their activities are limited.

Only foreigners are allowed to attend schools where Islamic religious teachings are not taught, by law.For the Omani citizens instead, this teaching is obligatory.

There are non-Islamic temples and places of worship, which at times are built on land donated by theSultan, where one can worship. However, according to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by theUSA State Department, public religious manifestations are only possible when permitted by theauthorities, which during the last few years have imposed tighter limitations.

Propaganda of religions different from Islam is not allowed, like conversions to another religion andthe publication of non-Muslim texts are prohibited. Only importing religious literature printed abroad isallowed.

PAKISTAN



Religion Muslims: 95%Christians: 2%

Hindu: 1,7%Number of Catholics 1.062.000

During the first days of January 1999, while obviating the danger of seeing the shari’a applied by theParliament to the entire national territory, discrimination against those not adhering to Islam stillremains constant. Meanwhile, as informed by «Fides» on January 29th 1999, two districts at theboundaries with Afghanistan, Malakand and Kohistan adopted the shari’a on January 16th 1999. Afterthe publication of the decree relative to this by Arif Bangash, the governor of the Northwest FrontierProvince, Islamic judges will head the courts, which will manage the trials and judge on the basis ofIslamic law.

According to Father Andrew Francis, the director of the Pontifical Missionary works for the Country,interviewed by «Fides» (October 22nd 1999), the main difficulties encountered by the Christiancommunity are four: «the first is the nationalization of Catholic schools, despite the government’spromise to give them back to the Christian communities». Another painful point is «the prohibition toteach catechism to Christian children, obliged to study Islamic doctrine. We would like to be allowedto teach Christianity and for prejudices and discrimination of Christian children to disappear». «Theseparate electoral system is a political discrimination: we would like a joint electorate allowing us tovote even for non-Christian candidates», he added. He also spoke about the law on blasphemy,«instrumentalized for reasons of lowly politics».

The religious minorities are not allowed the right to vote as the Muslims, but only – as reported by«Asia News» in their August-September 1999 issue – the possibility to elect their own representatives,and for a limited number of seats in the national and provincial assemblies. There are proposals tomodify the electoral law that aim giving even the religious minorities the full right of comprehensivevoting for representation in the Senate. The restrictions in the electoral system, introduced by GeneralZia-ul Haq in 1985, were not present in the 1947 Constitution, the first one for the new State ofPakistan.

Today, there is still a law on blasphemy — no. 295C of the penal code —, which punishes this crimewith the death penalty and does not allow bail while awaiting judgment. According to the 1999 Reporton religious freedom by the State Department of the United States, even the Shi’ite Muslims havesuffered these consequences. On December 14th 1999, «Compass» refers that many Christians had todisappear to avoid not only the punishment for blasphemy, but also the violence perpetrated towardsthem and, in some cases, even ended up in assassination.

At the beginning of 1999, according to the same source, provisional freedom was denied to theChristian brothers Rashid and Saleem Masih, arrested in May of the same year. The two had beenarrested after a fight with a vendor who refused to serve them an ice cream in the same cup whereMuslims ate. Accused by the vendor of having criticized Islam and Mohammed, the Masih brothers, ifcondemned for blasphemy, risk the death penalty. The families of the accused fled from their homesfor fear of attacks by Islamites.

Even if in June 1999 there was a revision by the government on the procedural terms necessary for theaccusation of blasphemy — as informed by «Mondo e Missione» in August-September 1999 —substantially the legislative principle that gives the right to repress blasphemy to the State has notchanged, thus disarming the hands of the individual Muslims, offended in their religious sensitivities.

The main variations introduced state that the condition for the arrest of a citizen by the police is theverification by a commission of six members of the actual existence of a reason for a judicial trial.

«Asia News» in August-September 1999 signals that the modifications are part of a proposedamendment presented by the Ministry for Religious Affairs to the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, at thattime, but that already six cases had been dealt with according to the new procedure and the accused –

four Muslims and two Christians – were retained innocent.

On the scholastic level, the government does not allow students belonging to religious minorities ofbeing examined on doctrines other than Islam and imposes the teaching of Islam to everybody, makingthe exam obligatory. As an alternative for the non-Muslims, moral classes are given (however, basedon the Islamic religion), a choice that creates serious problems of discrimination for whoever makes it.«Eglises d’Asie» on May 1st 1999 informs that in the Christian schools, Christian doctrine is taught as asubject that is not inserted in the official programs.

With the October 12th 1999 coup d’etat, General Pervez Musharraf destituted the Prime MinisterSharif. The new head of the military government, in a speech on the following October 17th, distancedhimself from Islam, stating that – as reported by «Mondo e Missione» in November 1999 - «Islamteaches tolerance and not hate, universal brotherhood and not unfriendliness, peace and not violence,progress and not fanaticism», assuring the minorities «that they will fully receive the rights and theprotection due to them as citizens equal to the others in the word and in the spirit of true Islam».Speaking with «Fides» (October 22nd 1999), Cecil Chaudry, the Catholic leader of the NationalChristian Action Forum, an organization that gathers Christians of all confessions in Pakistan, he saidthat he was happy about the fall of Nawaz Sharif, positively interpreting the signs coming from the newgovernment.

An Islamic court of justice however ordered the executive – as referred by the «Associated Press» onJanuary 26th 2000 — to establish a new banking system, because the one in existence was not in linewith Islamic precepts.

According to «The Voice of the Martyrs» on May 17th 1999, the adolescent girl Christian girl, Saleema,was freed from the accusations going back to 1997, when, beginning to read the Bible with a friend,Raheela, had urged her to convert to Christianity. This lat girl was then killed by Muslims from hercommunity, while Saleema, tortured and imprisoned, had to answer the accusation of murder forhaving been the cause of the apostasy from Islam of the friend killed by the Muslims.

However, episodes of violence against Christians in the Nation continue being registered. «The Voiceof the Martyrs» on October 22nd 1999 informs that a church was burnt down by a twenty-five year oldMuslim in Lahore.

The Report on religious freedom by the State Department of the United States reports that two children,aged 11 and 15 and ex-Christians converted to Islam, have disappeared from their original families.The Christian family was transferred and is now in hiding for fear of revenge, after having criticizedthe judicial sentence that deprived them of their two daughters.

Even relations between the Sunni and the Shi’ite Islamic community periodically go through tensionsthat first lead to the death of 40 persons in the Punjab, and then the assassination of two Shi’ite leaders,as informed by «Misna» on the 28th and the 30th of September 1999. Later, 23 deaths were registeredbetween Karachi and Lahore — as referred by «Avvenire» on October 3rd 1999 — and according to«Misna» on the following 7th, other three victims in Karachi.

According to the Report on religious freedom by the USA State Department, serious discriminationsagainst the Ahmadi religion are occurring. Its followers are forbidden from describing themselves asMuslims (against their own convictions) sanctioning this prohibition in article 298c of the penal code,which provides a sentence of three year in prison and a fine to the transgressors.

PANAMA



Religion Catholics: 80%Protestants:10%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom for all confessions and also prescribes that «Christianmorality and public order» must be respected, recognizing Roman Catholicism as «the religion of themajority of Panamanians». However it does not define the Catholic Church as the official Statereligion. The fundamental Charter of the State establishes that religious associations have juridicalcharacteristics and are free to manage and administer their property within the limitations prescribed bythe law, which are the same as for juridical entities.

The numeric predominance of Catholicism and its recognition by the Constitution does not prejudicethe other religions. The Catholic Archbishop of Panama has privileges and immunity (not given to theleaders of other religions) usually reserved only to government officials. Foreign Catholic operatorsbenefit from a rapid administrative procedure that guarantees them a working permit for five years.Other foreign religious operators must go through a more arduous procedure and must renew theirwork permits each year.

The Immigration Service has not given visas or work permits to members of the Church of Unificationbecause their conduct was considered contrary to the Constitution (mass weddings).

The Constitution provides that Catholicism is taught in the public schools, while parents have the rightto exonerate their children from religion classes. The type of public positions the religious may cover isconstitutionally limited to social aid, to education and to scientific research.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA




Anglicans: 5,4%Animists: 2,5%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom and, according to the 1999 Report on religious freedomby the State Department of the United States, the Government respects this right. Christianity is thepredominant religion; this is recognized in the preamble of the Constitution, where it refers to «ournoble traditions and to the Christian principles that are ours». This statement of principle, however,does not translate into forms of discrimination towards non-Christian religions: according to the samesource, the Constitutional dictate has constantly been interpreted as the full recognition of the freedomto practice and spread every religion, as long as it does not interfere with the freedom of others.

Some non-Christian groups operating without any restrictions are present on the national territory.Immigrants and foreigners are free to practice their own religion. The Muslim community has amosque in the capital, Port Moresby.

Relations between the different religious communities are friendly. The government did not accept theprotests about the activities of new missionary groups by the Churches already present in the Nation.There have been no signs of discrimination based on religion.

PARAGUAY




The Constitution establishes the principle of freedom of conscience for all persons and does notrecognize any religion as the official one.

Religious groups must register with the Ministry of Education and Worship, but the government doesnot control these groups and there are many informal Churches. There are no discriminations based onreligion.

The Catholic press agency «Misna» on October 14th 1999 denounced the fact that an Italian missionarywas threatened with death the preceding October 7th. In a telephone call received by the editors of theParaguayan daily newspaper «Abc color» —the agency reports — some anonymous persons threatenedthe parish priest of Capitàn Bado (in the Department of Amambay, Paraguay), Father Luigi Moretti,belonging to the community Redemptor hominis, to death, as well as other two women whose identityhas not been revealed. Father Moretti, in Paraguay since 1981, for years has fought against the drugdealers, who are very strong along the boundaries between Paraguay and the Brazilian State of MatoGrosso do Sul.

PERU





The Constitution establishes the principle of religious freedom and sanctions the separation betweenChurch and State, while recognizing the Catholic Church «as an important element in the historical,cultural and moral development of the Nation». Also, Catholicism receives preferential treatment infour sectors and tangible benefits: education, taxation of personal income, the remuneration and thetaxation of institutional properties.

Religious confessions do not need to register with the government, nor are permits necessary to operateon the national territory. Despite this, there is a small office dedicated to Religious Affairs in theMinistry of Justice, whose main objective is to receive institutional protests concerning religiousdiscrimination. This office ensures that beyond the historical preference guaranteed to the CatholicChurch, all confessions and Churches receive various financial benefits without any discrimination,like exemptions on import taxes.

While the teaching of Catholicism is not required in the public schools by the reform on educationduring the 70’s, many schools dedicate one weekly hour to it. The scholastic authorities nominate theteachers for religion classes, following a designation by the diocesan bishop. Non-Catholics who wishto give their children teachings according to the dictates of their faith are free to organize themselves inthis sense, during the hour provided.

The income of the Catholic clergy is exempt from tax, as well as lands and buildings belonging to theChurch. 52 bishops and Catholic priests operating in cities and villages along the boundary of theCountry are compensated by the State because of the help given to the populations in many remoteareas and in the actuation of government programs to help development.The conversions from one religion to another are not blocked, nor are the missionary activities.

During the internal conflict from 1980 to 1995 in the Country, the Evangelical Churches, in particular,were attacked by the Marxist terrorist group Sendero Luminoso, responsible for the killings of about750 members of the Evangelical churches, including approximately 40 pastors.

Relations between the members of the various religions see a tested collaboration between the Catholicand the Evangelical Churches in the field of human rights.

PHILIPPINESPopulation 72.944.000


Religion Catholics: 84%Independent Philippine Church: 6,2%

Muslims: 4,6%Protestants: 3,9%


The Constitution recognizes religious freedom and the Government respects the exercise of this right.About 85% of the population belongs to the Catholic Church, which also has a mediating role duringpolitical crises. Therefore, sometimes governments maintain an informal dialogue with Catholic leaderson social and political rights.

While Christians and Muslims are free to find proselytes in all parts of the national territory, religiousaffiliations usually come about within family and ethnic groups or between members of the same tribe.The attempts made by the Christian population to establish themselves in traditionally Muslim areas(the five provinces in the western area of Mindanao) created resentment by the Muslim residents wholooked upon Christian proselytism as an attempt to deprive them of their lands and their cultural andreligious identity. The assassination of the Catholic Bishop Benjamin de Jesus, in Jolo on the Island ofSulu in 1997, created great sorrow among the community with a Muslim community, whichparticipated in many at the funeral rites. The persons accused of the assassination still have not beentried and many doubts about their guiltiness persist.

The National Ecumenical Council (NEC) of the government favors dialogue between the majorreligious groups. The members of NEC periodically meet with the president to discuss social andpolitical problems. There is no news regarding detainees or prisoners for religious reasons.

Relations between the major religious groups, on a whole, seem friendly and the main reasons for thedisorders in Mindanao with the Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are due to economic and ethnictensions, rather than for religious ones. In 1996, the Government began a dialogue with the MILF,which lead to the end of 20 years of violence. In October 1999, peace talks between the PhilippineGovernment and the secessionist guerrillas were launched.

Christian and Muslim communities live side by side in the western area of Mindanao and in manyterritories their relations are harmonious. With the occurrence of periodical conflicts on economicmatters, also concerning territorial disputes, some communities maintain an unofficial armed group toprotect them. News about the terrorist activities of these groups of vigilantes is rare and this wouldseem to indicate that these armed groups limit their role to the protection of their respectivecommunities.

Historically, the Muslim population has always found itself in a condition of inferiority with respect tothe Christian majority and the Government has made efforts to integrate the Muslims on the economicand social levels, even if with limited success. However, religious discrimination concerning hiring forjobs is illegal.

On February 11th 2000, «Fides» reported the news of a campaign launched by the Philippine Churchthe preceding February 2nd against the release of the famous criminal Norberto Manero Jr., the killer ofFr. Tullio Favali, a missionary for the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), assassinated onApril 11th 1985 at Tulunan (in the diocese of on the Island of Mindanao). The Philippine EpiscopalConference, through the Secretariat for Justice and Peace, took a strong position towards “the lack ofsensitivity on the part of the Estrada administration”. Manero was released from the NationalPenitentiary just before Christmas 1999, after President Joseph Estrada signed the grace on December16th 1999. The President usually grants Graces at Christmas time.

POLAND



Religion Catholics: 90,7%Polish Orthodox: 1,4%


Religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution. Fourteen religious groups have relations with theState governed by specific legislation. There are also 140 religious communities. Today’s law placesgroups such as the Protestants, the Catholics, the Orthodox, and the Jews on the same level.Registration is not obligatory, and the various religious groups may operate freely even without it. InJune 1998, the norms regulating the registration process were changed and made more severe: afterthis, no religious group asked for recognition. According to «Human Rights Without Frontiers» ofFebruary 29th 2000, the number of signatures by Polish citizens requires for registration, which wentfrom 15 to 100, has created problems for the Anglican Church.

Citizens may freely practice the faith of their choosing, and the various religious groups can organizethemselves and freely establish places for prayer.

«Droits de l’homme sans frontières» on February 16th 1999 refers that the Seventh Day AdventistChurch were granted 12 transmissions per year on the national radio.

Religion is taught in the public schools, but as an alternative to the religion classes, courses on ethicsare provided. Even if the Catholic religion is the one taught in the majority of cases, parents may alsorequest courses for any one of the registered religions. The government has made a commitment to tryto satisfy the requests made by the various religious communities to return the property confiscatedduring World War II and then nationalized. However, there are many controversial points, for examplein the case of constructions built on top of Jewish cemeteries destroyed during the war.

As referred by the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the State Department of the United States,some tensions concerning the relations between Jews and Catholics arose following the construction ofabout 300 crosses near the Auschwitz concentration camp. Faced with the objections made by theHebrew groups, who felt that the crosses were an insult to the Jews killed during the Nazi period, theNation’s Bishops, as reported by «The Catholic World Report» in November 1998, invoked their rightto erect a commemorative sign for the tens of thousands of Polish Catholics also killed in the camp.With a law approved by the Parliament in May 1999, the Government provided for the protection of allthe places where concentration camps existed. In May, the crosses were removed and the land wasfenced to avoid the construction of new crosses. Other discussions arose because of the «Pope’sCross», placed on the land of an old Carmelite monastery, at Oswiecim, near the Auschwitz Museum.However, until today, this cross has not been removed.

The trial that begun in 1996 for the Chaitanya Mission, when the movement denounced AnnaLobaczewska, the president of the association «Movement for the Protection of the Family and theIndividual», continued until 1999. A document published by the OSCE and cited on November 23rd

1998 by «Human Rights Without Frontiers», reports accusations of discrimination and persecution bythe Chaitanya Mission against various religious fanatics, political parties and even against certainadministrative offices.

«Human Rights Without Frontiers» on February 27th 2000 refers that the French representative, AlainVivien, the president of the ministerial team for the battle against sects, was welcomed by groups ofanti-sect Catholics as an ally in their battle, during a recent trip of his to Warsaw.

PORTUGAL



Religion Catholics:92,2%Protestants:1,5%

Muslims: 0,1%


Article 41 of the Constitution defines freedom of conscience, religion and worship as «inviolable». Thesame article states, «no individual can be pursued, deprived of rights or forced to take on civic duties orobligations because of one’s religious convictions or practices. No one can be obliged to reveal theirreligious convictions or practices on request by any authority».

Religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution and also by the 1940 Concordat with the Holy Seeand by a 1971 law.

A law on religious freedom was proposed in 1999: for a few years, some minority groups – inparticular the Evangelical Christians – had been asking for a new norm to substitute the dated 1971law. In article 36, paragraphs 1 and 2, the new law states: «The registered Churches and religiouscommunities, with a guaranteed duration, are considered rooted in the Country. The Minister of Justicemust confirm this status; he will examine the number of followers and the history of the group’sexistence in Portugal, and will listen to the advice from the Commission for religious freedom. Thecertificate cannot be requested before 30 years have gone by from the beginning of the organizedpresence in the Country, if not for a Church or a religious community present abroad for more than 60years». Article 38 states that registration may only be denied for three reasons: «a) The lack of the legalprerequisites; b) Falsification of documents; c) Violation of the constitutional limitations on religiousfreedom».

Even minorities may have their own religion classes, but there must be at least 15 students willing toattend them.

No particular denunciations of types of discrimination against religious minorities or of acts that limitreligious freedom have been registered.

QATAR

Population 520.500



The Constitution of the State of Qatar states that Muslim law is the main source of legislation. Thepractice of any religion other than Wahabite Islam is formally forbidden, even if the government allowsthe Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and other Protestant denominations to meet privately for worship,with prior communication to the authorities. Apostasy is punishable with the death sentence andproselytism by non-Muslims is strictly prohibited.

On January 21st 2000, «Compass» referred that the Minister for Foreign Affairs communicated thedecision to allow the construction of a new church to the Catholic Bishop of Abu Dhabi. According tothe same source, in its issue for December 30th 1999 the newspaper «Gulf Times», from the capital ofDoha, points out that this gesture is «another sign of the opening up to religious freedom andtolerance». The lot of land for this complex designated for religious use is to be divided among thevarious Christian confessions in common agreement.

REPUBLIC OF CONGO



Religion Christians: 50%Animists: 47%


The fundamental Charter of the Republic provides for religious freedom and the total separationbetween religions and State. It is prohibited by law to use religion for political ends.

According to «Fides» on January 29th 1999, the Government agreed to progressively giving back thescholastic buildings to the religious congregations, which were nationalized in 1995 when the law onlyallowed the Catholic Church the possibility of managing «religious schools for the formation of theservants of the Church».

The politically belabored situation of the Nation is feeling the consequences of the conflict between theGovernment and the guerrilla lead by the ex Prime Minister Bernard Kolelas. In this context, theCatholic Church is a victim, as well as the population – the same bulletin reports - «of a battle aboveand beyond them».

Pope John Paul II recalled this in Mexico on January 24th when he referred to the «worrisomeinformation on episodes of great violence against the work of the Church in the Republic of CongoBrazzaville». The Bishop of Kinkala, monsignor Anatole Milandou, interviewed by «Fides» on January29th 1999, asserted that he was forced to leave his own diocese with almost all the priests, religiouspersons and sisters, finding refuge in Brazzaville «to escape the folly and the barbarity [...]. Theepiscopacy, the parishes, the religious houses were ransacked. [...] A Polish priest was killed in hisparish of Loulombo. Two priests were wounded, one seminarian killed».

Despite the fact that the local Caritas does its utmost to alleviate the suffering of the refugee populationfollowing the armed conflicts which occurred in December 1998, the government authorities, the samesource reports, on January 21st 1999 forcefully evacuated all the students of the minor seminary ofBrazzaville, as well as the Carmelite nuns and the Spiritan postulants. The reason for this was that theywere suspected of harboring the Ninjas guerrillas.

Before this, on December 16th 1998, eight Benedictine monks of Sainte Marie de la Buenza, in thediocese of Nkay, had abandoned their own monastery, attacked by Cocoyes militiamen, who demandedmoney and not receiving any stabbed Fr. Antoine Massengo.

On April 2nd 1999, «Fides» referred what the religious Superiors of the Nation denounced on thepreceding March 8th, which was the closing of 49 of the 81 communities.

ROMANIA



Religion Orthodox: 86,8Catholics: 5,1%

Protestants 3,5%Number of Catholics 2.572.000

While there is formal equality of citizens before the law, article 17 of the Constitution does not permitany limitations of rights or differences in their practice for reasons of nationality, race, sex or religion;article 30 establishes that «the modes of organizations and functioning of religious worship areregulated by the law». Also, «schools are separated from the church. Religious congregations orcommunities are not allowed to open or maintain teaching institutes, apart from special schools for theforming of religious personnel».

The Romanian Orthodox religion is the predominant one in the Country, followed by approximately86% of the population.

According the USA State Department 1999 Report on religious freedom, the Government recognizes15 religions (all registered before 1990), which are allowed to institute schools, teach religion in thepublic schools, receive state subsidies (given proportionately to the number of members of the variousreligious groups) and tax exemptions. Also, religious movements must register with the Secretariat ofState for religious affairs to be recognized as a religion. The representatives of the groups trying toregister after 1990 have denounced the arbitrary attitude with which it is granted, and the undueinfluence exerted on this organ by the Romanian Orthodox Church. The groups that have not obtainedrecognition by the government are registered as religious or charitable foundations or as culturalassociations. These movements do not receive subsidies from the State and cannot open profitableactivities. Also, they cannot build churches or other places for prayer.

Even if freedom of religion is constitutionally guaranteed, many religious movements encounterdifficulties While the right to freely speak about one’s faith is legally recognized, many religiousgroups lament the fact that their efforts in proselytism are blocked by the Orthodox clergy as well as bygovernment officials. Also, the law establishes that the secretariat of State for religious affairs mustpreviously approve the publication of any religious literature: de facto, this gives the Secretariat thepower to censor. In the same way, while contacts with members of the same faith resident abroad arenot forbidden, the secretariat must give approval for these contacts.

According to the Association for the Defense of Human Rights in Romania (Helsinki Committee), theSecretariat of State for religious affairs controls all the religious activities of groups that are not part ofthe 15 recognized religions. In 1999, the Secretariat asked religious foundations and associations tofurnish a full description of their activities, menacing them of revoking their license in case of missedanswers.

To obtain authorization for the Pope’s visit between May 7th and 9th 1999, the Vatican had to accept aseries of conditions made by the Romanian Orthodox Church, among which avoiding to visit thoseareas with a high concentration of Catholics (Transylvania, Cluj, Moldavia), causing various protests,also from some members of the Greek Catholic Church and the Senator Ioam Moisin.

Some of the properties confiscated by the Communist regime have been returned to the various groups,but very few of the minorities have received their properties. Special problems were encountered by theGreek Catholic Church suppressed during the Communist regime, and its properties confiscated. Of the2 thousand places of worship and buildings it owned, up until now it has only been able to recuperateabout one hundred. Even if on October 30th 1998 in Bucharest, a peaceful agreement was signed by theOrthodox Church and the Greek Catholic Church, this last one continues to assist impotently to eventssuch as the one – reported by «Droits de l’Homme sans Frontières» on October 20th 1999 – in VaduIzei, in the Marmora’s: the Orthodox began building a church very close to a Greek Catholic churchthat had been there for about 115 years, with the intention of demolishing it, despite the repeatedrequests for its return made by the Greek Catholic community.

The government presented Parliament, towards the middle of September 1999, a new law on religiousfreedom, which should substitute the 1948 law. According to the new text, every religious activityorganized by groups that have not received recognition from the Secretary of State for cults are illegaland punishable with fines of up to 9 thousand dollars. In the new law there is a difference between“cults” and “associations”: the first ones have many privileges denied to the others, but State control isstill in effect over them as well. In practice, it is practically impossible for religious associations that donot come under the “cult” definition to obtain this status. Even the Orthodox Church, according to the«Keston News Service» on November 22nd 1999, protested because it was not designated as a nationalChurch. Other religious groups, among these the Baptists, lament the secret behind which the text ofthis law was written.

The same source, on the 9th and the 17th of February 2000, informs that the initiative was taken back thepreceding day, even after pressures by foreign governments. The reactions by the representatives ofminority religious groups were positive, like Adrian Bocaneanu, the president of the Romanian AdventChurch who considered the proposal as «deleterious». According to Gabriel Andreescu, the Center forHuman Rights from the Romanian Helsinki Committee, this was a «very significant» decision.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION



Religion Orthodox: 16,3%Muslims: 10%

Protestants: 0,9%Jews: 0,4%

Catholics: 0,3%Number of Catholics 1.350.000

The 1997 law on freedom of conscience and on religious associations puts an end to the brief period ofreligious freedom inaugurated in Russia by the preceding law in 1990. Ceding under the pressure of theMuscovite Patriarchate and the international anti-sect movement, President Boris Eltsin signed the lawon September 26th 1997, which was substantially the same as the previous one he vetoed in July. 90. In«Cristianità» for January-February 1998, Massimo Introvigne asserts that the international activity ofthe anti-sect movements in fact encountered, in Russia, the knowledgeable and tenacious policy of themajority of the Russian Orthodox Church, lead by the Patriarch Alexis II himself. The Patriarchate ofMoscow does not claim only a somewhat privileged role and the recognition of a unique role in theformation and in the history of the Russian nation; it asks for laws that block any other religiousmissionary activities from what the Patriarchate defines as «the canonical territory of the RussianOrthodox Church».

The new law distinguishes between «religious associations», in principle legal, and «religiousorganizations», that may be «liquidated» as illicit.

The first ones are then divided into «religious groups», which are only allowed to meet and pray inprivate, and into «religious organizations», the only ones to truly have some sort of religious freedom.

To become a «religious organization», registration from the local administrative organs or from theRussian Federation is required, if the national organization includes at least three local religiousorganizations present in different regional realities. Registration is complex – and thereby, very long –from the bureaucratic point of view, and may be denied if the authority believes that the organizationmay violate Russian laws. One of the key dispositions of the law is the article that states each religiousgroup must attest to «its existence in a certain territory for a period not less than 15 years» to obtainregistration. Organizations not having this prerequisite must renew their registration annually, untilthey reach the fifteen years, and are subject to particular limitations (for example, they cannot distributereligious literature or celebrate rites in public places, such as schools or hospitals).

With its sentence on November 23rd 1999, the Constitutional Court mitigated some of thediscriminatory dispositions of the law, establishing – as referred by the daily «Avvenire» on November24th 1999 – that «the religious organizations existing before the present law or being part of thestructure of a centralized organization, have the full rights as juridical entities, without the need toconfirm the minimum period of 15 years of existence on Russian territory». These confessions do nothave the annual obligation of registering and are forbidden from propagandizing. Practically noreligious movement, before this sentence, could fulfill this fifteen-year clause, because the SovietUnion did not allow the legal existence of religious organizations, apart from those tamed by theregime. This clause damaged the Catholic Church in a particular way. The appeal to the ConstitutionalCourt was promoted by Jehovah’s Witnesses of Jaroslavl' and by the Christian Church of Glorificationof Abakan, in the Republic of Khakassia, in Siberia.

The Orthodox Patriarch Alexis II – as referred by «Reuters» on February 18th 1999- during aninterview to the press agency «Itar-Tass», defended the law on religions. Asserting that it helped thenation «protect itself from attempts by extraneous wills to impose themselves upon it», thus avoiding«that perilous sects should try to fill the spiritual vacuum left after the fall of Communism» - states thesame source on February 15th. On the other hand, the same Patriarch states – Celestine Bohlne states inan article which appeared in the February 11th 1999 issue of «The New York Times» – those religionstrying to proselytize should be eliminated, especially those trying to distance the people «from the

religion of their fathers». Even Valeri Lazarev, a permanent member of the Duma of the ConstitutionalCourt, defended the law, which he believes to be perfectly coherent with the Constitution. He statedthat, according to what was reported by the «Keston News Service» on November 2nd 1999, the rightsof religious organizations should and must be restricted. He even believes that «the legislator wasguided by the directives of the European Community in not granting the status of religious organizationautomatically and in imposing restrictions. The right to constitute an organization must be restricted in“the interest of public order” […] The new religious organizations fog the minds of individuals, withvery serious consequences. The fifteen year period allows us to choose the appropriate instruments tofight against anything hidden in them». According to Viktor Uliyanichev, the representative of theCouncil for the Federation, «only a citizen may believe in God, not an organization», and his colleagueNikolai Vorobyev added: «The faithful know that all power comes from God, and since laws comefrom God, they must tolerate».

Despite Lazarevc’s assurances, the international community criticized this law many times, contrary tothe constitutional definition of Russia as a secular state where all religions are equal. The EuropeanParliament, with a motion presented on March 11th 1999, invited Russia to respect and apply theinternational Convention it had signed, and to fight all forms of intolerance and discrimination againstreligious minorities. On July 7th 1999, «Nezavisimaia gazeta-religii» – then repeated by «HumanRights Without Frontiers» on July 23rd –, that Oleg Mironov, a plenipotentiary for human rights for theRussian Federation and a member of the Communist Party, last March criticized – in an open letter tothe Duma and to the President – the law on freedom of conscience, stating that it is on contrast with theprinciples established by the international agreements, and recommended the changes necessary tomake it adhere to the international norms on religious freedom. Mironov also pointed out how the mostevident parts in contradiction with the international norms (like the privileged position given to certainreligions, the distinction between religious associations and religious groups, with the possibility of«liquidating» these last ones, the prerequisite of 15 years of existence on the territory), «cannot beapplied to the territory of the Russian Federation, because, based on what is established by theConstitution, the rules established by the international treaties have precedence over those in theNation».

On October 22nd 1999, «Compass Direct» refers that in Moscow of the 647 religious organizations only290 have obtained registration, by the end of September. 127 requests were denied for «formalreasons»; two – the Church of Scientology and the Salvation Army – for «ideological reasons». Eventhe Jesuit Order was denied registration on April 1st 1999: they were classified, according to the«Keston» Agency on April 20th 1999, as a foreign religious body. On the preceding April 17th, the samesource referred that facing a request for further explanations by the lawyer for the order, GalinaKrylova, the Director of the Department for Affairs of the Social and Religious Organizations,Tomarovski, answered asserting that there was no proof of the legal presence of the Jesuits in thecountry during the past fifty years. In fact, during the Soviet regime, because of the violentpersecutions, many of them operated in secret. However, there is abundant proof of the presence of theorder in Tsarist Russia. On April 16th a new request for registration was made, with all thedocumentation necessary to overcome the interpretation given by the Russian authorities. Thesedocuments show how the Society of Jesus is an integral part of the Catholic Church, in particular of theApostolic Administration of European Russia, which has already obtained registration from theMinistry of Justice as a centralized association. After the denial made to the Jesuits, the Franciscansand the Salesians chose to operate by going around the bureaucratic obstacles that might forbid theiractivities. Last May 4th as referred by «Zenit», the Salesian congregation decided that its seminary,counting 17 students, be declared part of a parish on the outskirts of Moscow. In the same way in 1998,the Franciscans, not to be defined an Order and thereby avoiding many problems, registered as the«Catholic Community of Saint Francis». «From the practical point of view, there is no difference,”noted Fr. Cioroch, the Superior of the Friars Minor Conventuals in Poland.

The difficulties encountered by the various communities in registering on a local level come from thefact that of the 89 regions, 30 have laws on religion that violate the Constitution. The federalgovernment has not taken any measures against these restrictions, but the presidential administrationsent the 30 regions warnings relative to the unconstitutionality of the local norms.

The judiciary system provides for appeals for the religious communities that have been deniedregistration. This is the case of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission of Khakassia, which, after thecancellation by the Supreme Court of Khakassia for its registration in September 1998, appealed to theRussian Supreme Court, which in November revoked this cancellation. «Radiotserkov» on February13th 1999, informs that the Supreme Court of Khakassia refused the request made by the generalprosecutor to annul the registration of the Lutheran community.

However, all the effects of the new law on non-traditional religious communities should becomeclearer after December 31st 1999, the term within which the organizations registered under thepreceding norms may obtain new registration. On September 1st 1999, «Keston News Service» informsthat Viktor Zorkaltsev, the head of the Commission on Religion of the Duma, proposed a motion toextend the period for re-registration by one year. In the meantime, the «Keston News Service» datedFebruary 21st 2000 refers that in Voronezh, while waiting for the Russian Parliament’s decision, thelocal Department of Justice already opened a case to liquidate the thirteen religious organizations that,at the end of 1999, still had not been able to re-register. The first session was set for February 22nd

2000.

New preoccupations about religious freedom have arisen from less liberal proposals, among which theone presented by the Communists and by the members of the Liberal Democratic Party, a law «ontraditional religious organizations in Russia»: this is referred by Roman Lunkin, in the «Keston NewsService» of October 4th 1999. According to this proposal, only religions that have existed for over 100years may obtain the status of traditional religion, and in a separate clause, this status is reserved onlyto the Orthodox and the Muslim religions, which have the right to have representatives on thegovernment and federal levels. Those proposing this law expressed the hope that «it may help theregional governments to identify and establish clear relations with a single Orthodox diocese or with asingle Muslim group, and to exclude official relations with the State by foreign missionaries that havecreated “alternative” Churches, spiritual organizations and missions that undermine the authority of thetraditional religious institutions».

Another serious danger to religious freedom is the growth of nationalism. Paul Steeves, a historyprofessor from the Stetson University in Florida, declared to Newsroom on January 7th 2000 that «theseare hard times for the activities of certain religious groups, in particular those considered “non-Russian”. The times are even harder for the Evangelical Christians, considered the spies of the West».And Lawrence Uzzell, the director of the Keston Institute of Oxford, fears that «Putin couldconsolidate an even more repressive State than the actual one». In the decree on national security onJanuary 10th 2000, according to what the «Keston News Service» reports on February 8th 2000, theRussian President believes that «action against the negative influence of the religious organizations andforeign missionaries» is an essential duty to ensure national security.

The first real trial begun on the basis of the new law, which attracted great attention by the internationalcommunity, was held against the community of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow. After the accusationsbrought forth by the Commission for the protection of youth from totalitarian cults (a movement tied tothe Orthodox Church), the prosecution asked for the liquidation of this group, accusing it of destroyingfamilies, of spreading religious hate (because of their assertion that theirs is the only true religion), andto incite suicide (because of the prohibition of having blood transfusions). The legal arguments againstthe movement are based on the vague article 14 of the law on religion. As reported by «Human RightsWithout Frontiers» in November 19th 1998, the trial took place despite the fact that none of the fourinvestigators leading the inquiries on the activities by Jehovah’s Witnesses had found any proof ofcriminal acts committed by members of the organization. Concerning this case, V. K. Nikolskii, a,executive director of the Movement for Freedom of Conscience and for a Secular State, asserted thatany proof, not found by any of the investigators, was not at the basis of the trial against this religiousgroup demonstrates that there were strong pressures behind the scenes – as reported by «Human RightsWithout Frontiers» on November 10th 1998. Sergei Vasilyev, an administrator of the movement, andAlbert Polanski, an American sent to Moscow by the general headquarters of the American Jehovah’sWitnesses, accused the Orthodox Church of having an important role in giving rise to the trial – asreported by «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on November 19th 1998. The Orthodox Church deniedthese accusations. However, among the various witnesses called upon by the prosecution was thelawyer Alexander Dvorkin, who is the head of an anti-sect organization, affiliated to the OrthodoxChurch. Also, an Orthodox priest, Oleg Stenyayevn, presiding the Center for Rehabilitation for theVictims of Non-Traditional Religions, has archives that define Jehovah’s Witnesses as dangerous forthe health of the citizens.

This trial was of great interest and incited preoccupations, because it is feared that this could create aprecedent: as asserted by – according to what «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on February 9th 1999reports, Lyudmilla Alekseyeva, the president of the «International Helsinki Federation», an associationfor the defense of human rights, «if this trial is lost, then it will be the religious minorities’ turn, andthen perhaps the unions’ and the political organizations’ turn».

The trial is only one aspect of the persecution that Jehovah’s Witnesses have been subjected to forsome time now. On November 17th 1998, «Human Rights Without Frontiers» calculates that between

600 and 700 hostile attacks have been made by the Russian press against the movement. During thetrial, the climate of intolerance and suspicion towards them increased greatly. On March 12th 1999,«Human Rights Without Frontiers» reports that the rentals of three houses where Jehovah’s Witnesseswould meet to pray in Moscow was revoked: in all three cases, the owners stated that they had beensubmitted to pressures into doing this. The local authorities refused to register any of Jehovah’sWitnesses communities while waiting for the outcome of the trial. According to what «Human RightsWithout Frontiers» reported last May 6th, the Russian Ministry of Justice, on May 5th, allowedJehovah’s Witnesses to re-register on a federal level as a «centralized religious organization»,denominated the «Administrative Center for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia».

The European Court for Human Rights investigated many times on cases concerning Jehovah’sWitnesses, and each time the verdict was in their favor. Thus it was established that the activity ofJehovah’s Witnesses is completely protected by the European Court for Human Rights. Because Russiais a member, it has taken on the obligation to recognize this Court’s decisions.

Even other religious groups were placed under control and accused since the new law was approved; inmost cases, the accusation was for having done antisocial activities or brainwashing of the naïveRussian citizens.

These were the accusations moved against an organization affiliated to the Unified Church of Rev.Moon, the Collegiate Association for the Research of the Principle (CARP). The case began in 1995,following an initiative by the Interregional Commission for Safeguarding against Totalitarian Sects,with the goal of liquidating the organization and obtaining compensation for the damages caused by thesupposed destruction of cerebral functions. On December 3rd 1995, «Human Rights Without Frontiers»refers that from the beginning, this Commission received financial support directly from the treasury ofthe city of Saint Petersburg. On July 24th 1999, «Human Rights Without Frontiers» quotes KonstantinKrylov who claimed that even if the accusations were substantially unfounded, just the support fromthe State organs protracted the trial for four years. Expert psychiatrists examined the children that hadfollowed the movement, and found them perfectly healthy. The trial ended on a positive note for thestudents of CARP on November 5th 1999.

Six members of a non-traditional religious organization in Saint Petersburg, called Sentuar, wereobliged by the prosecutor Larionov to remain in a psychiatric ward for thorough checkups. They werethe witnesses in the trial against the founder of the group, Vladimir Tretyak, accused of having createda religious organization dangerous for the citizens.

Moscow’s Prosecutor, followed by about 70 members of the secret service of the federal fiscal policeand the local police, raided three consecutive days two locations of the Church of Scientology inFebruary 1999, confiscating many documents – as referred by the 1999 Report on religious freedom bythe United States Government. Unconfirmed bulletins report that the members of the group weresubmitted to violent acts. The same source reports the declaration by the Patriarchate of Moscow,according to which Scientology is a dangerous sect that could have a negative impact on individualsand on families.

On August 24th 1999, the «Keston» agency refers many oppressive acts made against the Baptistcommunities by the local authorities, registered or not. Several public encounters organized by thismovement were interrupted by police intervention. In two of the cases, one in Yacuzia and the other inKalmykia, the communities were not registered and therefore were not permitted to organize publicdemonstrations. According to information to the same source by an anonymous person, the situation ofthe unregistered Baptist communities – while differing from place to place – are getting worse, sincethe authorities try to prevent their activities even more. On the other hand, it is impossible for thesecommunities to register due to the conditions imposed by the existing law.

Protests by the Baptist communities in Kirov have fomented some articles – published between Marchand May 1999 in the local newspapers – with provoking titles: «the invasion of the EvangelicalChurches», «the sects are attacking». According to «Keston» dated June 22nd 1999, these newspapers,and thereby the articles, were inspired by Aleksandr Balyberdin, the plenipotentiary for relations withreligious organizations, but he denied his own personal involvement.

Moscow’s local administration, after pressure by the Orthodox Church, prevented certain encountersorganized by the Adventist group – according to accusations made by the «Adventist News Network»and then reported by «Christian Daily News» on June 2nd 1999. Initially, the authorities changed thelocations for the encounters, but later they definitively prohibited them.

The Jews, who had suffered persecutions during the Tsarist era first and then the Socialist-Communistdictatorship, continue to be the objects of various violent acts and discriminatory declarations. Forexample, the governor of Krasnodar, Kondratenko, asserts that the essence of the Russian people’shistory is the battle against the Jews – according to what the 1999 Report on religious freedom by theUnited States Government reports. Always according to this source, he supposedly also activated thefiring of all the Jewish civil servants in the region. Even the Communist representative Makashov, wellknown for his anti-Semitic statements, stated that the Jews are at the basis of all of the country’sproblems. The Duma refused to censure him. The government is preparing legislation that condemnsthe various forms of extremism. The organization called United National Russia, in the meantime, isprojecting to present itself in the next elections, at least according to what «Human Rights WithoutFrontiers» reported on July 16th 1999. Various synagogues were damaged by vandals, one inNovosibirsk in March, the other in Birobidzhan, and another two in Moscow in May. In the cemeteryof Tomsk, in Siberia, six Jewish tombs were profaned, as reported by «Reuters» on August 2nd 1999.On July 13th, the same source reports that a man who declared that he “wanted to cut all the Jews inRussia to pieces” wounded the director of the Jewish Cultural Center in Moscow with a knife.According to what the «Associated Press», then repeated by «Religion Today» on March 11th 1999, thenumber of Jews that left Russia in January and February to return to Israel, looking for a better life hasdoubled with respect to the same months of the preceding year.

In many provinces, religious freedom is even more limited by the local lay and religious authorities,apart from the national and regional laws.

An ecumenical school, belonging to the Society for Open Christianity, after a long battle with the civicauthorities about the ownership of a building and on the registration of the school, was requisitionedlast March in Saint Petersburg. The partially ruined building was given to the Society in 1991. After therestructuring had been done, it went back to being in the eye of the civic authorities. On February 11th

1999, the contract with the Society was annulled. Teachers, students and parents opposed this decisionand occupied the school for more than two weeks, until the police intervened and made the occupantssurrender – as referred by «Ripnet» on March 10th 1999. The following March 11th, «Religion Today»reports that a school dependent confirmed that fact that the accusations were based on religiousintolerance. The Chief of Police, the same source refers, said to the occupants: «You may believe inGod, but you cannot transform this into fanaticism».

In the city of Magadan in July 1998, a prosecutor began a trial against the Pentecostal Church, accusedof cult practices to manipulate its members through hypnosis, on the basis of article 14 of the 1997 law.The case was closed for insufficient evidence in May 1999, on a positive note towards the Church. TheCourt, as reported by the «Slavic Center for Law and Justice» on May 21st 1999, wrote a report againstthe prosecutor, accused of having pressured the Court and of having found evidence in an illegal way,thus violating articles 23 and 24 of the Constitution for the protection of the citizens’ private lives. Thefollowing June 15th, «Keston News Service» refers that an official from the Prosecutor’s Office inMagadan, Anatoli Stepanov, promised to use all the means available to him to put an end to thePentecostal Church’s activities. The Pastor of the Church, Nikolai Stepanov stated: «our success in thiscase in an isolated victory. Once again, our situation has become difficult». On January 21st 1999,«Human Rights Without Frontiers» of the following January 26th reports that 326 members of thePentecostal Church in Magadan had asked for political refugee status in the USA, through theimmigration services of the American Embassy in Russia, after persecution by the local authorities andby nationalist groups in Magadan. The same source and the «Associated Press» of February 18th 1999report many episodes of intolerance against the Pentecostals: in December and in January, the fiscalpolice went into the building of the Church, confiscating documents that contained even personal dataof the members of the religious group. Also, some of them were told by the Magadan authorities tochoose between their religion and their job. In March 1999 however, the Church managed to obtain re-registration. The Pentecostal Church in Kazan did not have the same run of luck. It was disbanded aftera decision made by the regional Court of Kazan on August 24th 1999, according to what the «SlavicCenter for Law and Justice» reported on the following September 16th. The Church had not beennotified about the date or the time of the final hearing; nor were the documents on the decision evergiven to them, which would have allowed them to appeal the decision within 15 days, according toprocedural law.

The Justice Directorate of Chelyabinsk, in June 1999, denied registration to the Church of Jesus Christof Latter Day Saints, Baptists, Adventists and Pentecostals, on the basis of the supposedincompatibility of their activities with federal laws – according to what was reported by the 1999Report on religious freedom by the United States Government. The first one, in particular, was thevictim of many persecutions in the region, and, even if recognized on a federal level, it unsuccessfullytried many times to obtain recognition on the local level.

The authorities in Transdnestria often blocked the activities of various minority religious groups. FelixCorley in the «Keston News Service» dated November 8th 1999 refers that a Baptist church wasaccused of illegal actions, that the Salvation Army was denied registration, that Jehovah’s Witnesses’registration was cancelled and their new registration denied. The Commissioner for Religious Affairs,Zalozhkov, also complained about the activities by the missionaries, defined by him as «charlatans,who wish only to enrich themselves, transforming humanitarian aid into a marketplace, takingadvantage of the spiritual void left at the end of the Soviet period».

Since March 1998, the Baptist Church in Vanino, in the eastern part of Khabarovsk, fought a legalbattle strenuously to obtain registration. In May 1999, its Pastor, the American Dan Pollard, was deniedan entry visa for the Country. On July 7th 1999, the «Keston News Service» refers that the Pastorsimply asked for a tourist visa, but this was also denied because he was on the secret services’ blacklistfor having violated government laws during his previous visit to Russia. In fact, the American Pastorhad not registered with the local office of the Department for Internal Affairs within three days of hisentry into the Country, but this happened only because the officials in that office refused to registerhim. According to what Pollard himself wrote in Kestin, Viktor Nikulnikov, the person in charge ofreligious affairs in the office had already told him to remain calm and to leave Russia for at least oneyear during his previous stay (from February to April 1999). Nikulnikov denied any involvement in thequestion.

Even the Christian Church of Full Gospel "New Life" in Ekaterinburg complained about not onlyverbal aggressions by the Orthodox Church, the mass media and other organizations. On July 23rd

1999, the Pastor of the Church Victor Sudakov in «Human Rights Without Frontiers» refers thefollowing: «For eight months, every Sunday, a group of 5-10 Orthodox organized picketing during oursermons, even if this was illegal, defining our Church a dangerous organization. On July 4th, abouttwenty representatives of the Nationalist Russian Union, sent by an Orthodox priest, blocked theentrance to our building and yelled slogans and offensive words at us. The following Sunday, after fiveminutes that our celebration had begun, the faithful were ordered to leave the building because atelephone call warned that there was a bomb. It was a false alarm inspired by the same persons». OnSeptember 23rd 1999, the «Keston News Service» informs that T. Tokareva, a representative in theLegislative Assembly of the region of Sverdlovsk, asked that the activities «of the “New Life” sect,where hypnosis and other illegal methods are used» be investigated.

At Chernyakhovsk, the authorities refused to take into consideration the complaint made by the wife ofan Adventist pastor, assaulted in March by the two sons of the local Orthodox priest, Iosif Ilnitski: thiswas referred by the «Keston News Service» on June 8th 1999. The woman, Anna, and her husband,Mikhail Ilyash, presented their case to the Prosecutor of Kaliningrad, the main city in the Region, butthis complaint was sent back to Chernyakhovsk, and here, around the middle of April 1999, thecomplaint was archived for “insufficient proof”. The same source refers that previously, Iosif Ilnitskihad prohibited the distribution of the food the Adventists offered every week to a local school, wherethere was a high number of undernourished children. A schoolteacher, underlining the tight bondbetween the priest and the local authorities, even stated that the priest had warned her and hercolleagues of the “destructive influence of sects”.

In Altay in May 1999, the leaders of some local organizations signed a petition to protest against theconstruction of a Catholic church on lake Teletskoye, accusing the Catholic missionaries ofbrainwashing – according to what the 1999 Report by the United States State Department on religiousfreedom refers. The head of the Republican Government of Altay promised to block the construction ofthis building.

At Anapa, 750 miles south of Moscow, the Cossacks attempted to violently block the construction of aCatholic church: but according to what the «Keston News Service» reports on July 9th 1999, after thedenunciation by the Catholics, the Cossacks stopped their opposition. The local Orthodox bishop actedas the mediator between the two groups. According to the Cossacks Father Yanyak, the Catholic priestwas an agent for the CIA.

Returning property

Many religious buildings have not been returned to their legitimate owners.

According to the «Keston News Service» on June 8th 1999, don Vadim Shaikevich, the secretary forArchbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, the Apostolic Administrator for the Catholics of Latin Rite inEuropean Russia, stated: «We do not own any buildings. All our churches belong to the RussianFederation, including the land they are on. For this reason, only a limited number of churches – such asthe Church of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow – have been returned to us, better yet, theauthorities have allowed us to use them». The prospects for the future of the ancient Catholic Cathedralin Moscow, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, would seem to be better, considering the promises byMoscow’s mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, during his visit to the Vatican. But the parish priest Antoni Gei hasanother opinion: «There haven’t been many changes in the situation. Recently, we were promised thatthe church would be available for worship, but shortly after we were told that this would beimpossible»; in fact, only 38% of the building belongs to the State, the remainder belongs to privateshareholders. In other areas, the situation is even worse: for example, the Catholic church ofVologdahas now been privatized and has become a restaurant. After many useless attempts to get itback, the local community gave up and decided to begin building a new church.

But the Catholic Church was not the only one to face these difficulties. On June 1st 1999, the Moscowauthorities confiscated a monastery belonging to the Church of the Old Believers, to give it to a secularinstitute. The “Keston News Service” reported this on September 13th 1999. The community legallycame into possession of the building with decree no.722 in 1993. These kinds of events are frequent:Aleksei Ryabtsev, the assistant to the Metropolite Alimpi for the Russian Orthodox Church of OldBelievers, mentions other two cases: in the first case, the building was transformed into a sports center;and in the other case, into a Spanish restaurant. In Russia, all the property that has been returned to theChurches belongs, de facto, to the Russian Federation. This is one of the reasons that, declared FatherVadim Shaikevich to the same source on June 8th 1999, makes it difficult to find funding forrestructuring: «when we ask the West for funds to repair the churches, they ask us who they belong to.And when we say: “to the Russian Federation”, the potential donors normally refuse to help us».

Chechnya

Proclaiming its independence from Moscow on February 3rd 1999, the Chechen President AslanMaskhadov declared the effectiveness of the shari’a, Islamic law, in the Republic, by signing decreesdemanding that all the local legislations become coherent to what is provided in the Koran and by theshari’a. He also gave himself unlimited powers. A Shura of 34 members substituted the legislativebody. On July 12th 1999, «Reuters» refers that, after the introduction of the shari’a, already elevenpersons were condemned to death, and the death sentences were done during the first half of 1999.

Until 1989, there were no mosques in Chechnya; since then more than 800 have been opened, most ofthem embracing the Saudi version of Islam.

The heads of the various clans – as referred by «Avvenire» on October 3rd 1999 - swore to take part inthe holy war against the Russians in a mosque.

According to what was reported by «Religion Today» on November 11th 1999, the rebels intend to joinforces with the Daghestan fundamentalists, to create an Islamic state on the Caspian Sea. The attack byRussia incited the rebels in making acts of terrorism.

From Grozny, the capital of Chechnya - «Reuters» reports on July 12th 1999 – menaces were made tothe governor of the Siberian mineral region of Kemerovo, Aman Tuleyev, for having converted fromIslam to Christianity. The news of his baptism (which took place in an Orthodox church) has not beenconfirmed, as well as his previous adhesion to Islam, but the sentence has been proclaimed – asreported by the Russian agency «Interfax» – during a reunion of Muslim theologists from Chechnyaand Daghestan, who invited all the faithful Muslims to adhere as soon as possible.

The situation of Christians in Chechnya is particularly difficult: they are the frequent victims of torture,kidnapping and killing.

Now, Chechnya is an enemy country and impracticable even for the Russian Baptists, whose Church –as informed by «Compass Direct» on March 31st 1999 – decided to withdraw from the territory afterthe finding of the headless corpse of their leader in Grozny, Aleksandr Kulakov. His head was placedin a local marketplace. Kulakov had become the head of the Baptist community after the kidnapping ofPastor Alexey Sitnikov, and no news has been received about him: according to some sources, he waskilled during the first week of detention. Violence against Christians continued even during the

following months, and, on June 8th 1999, «Compass Direct» refers that in June even the lastEvangelical Protestants remaining were obliged to abandon the country to find refuge in the region ofKrasnodar. The young deacon Vitaly Korotun, the last male leader of the Grozny Baptist Church, waskidnapped towards the middle of August: on October 5th 1999, «Compass Direct» reports that onSeptember 16th the kidnappers asked that the Grozny church be sold to pay for the ransom. AnotherChristian from the Church of Korotun, Alexandra Zaradniskaya, was kidnapped at the beginning ofAugust, and other two elderly parishioners were killed. On November 12th 1999, «Compass Direct»reports that some guerillas from Chechnya, towards the beginning of October, in a raid during aSunday function, sole everything of value from a Baptist church in Grozny. They menaced theparticipants with death, should they continue their liturgical function. The same source informs thatduring an incursion in a church, the Chechen guerillas took a 13-year-old girl away, Anja Hrykin. OnJanuary 21st 2000, «Compass Direct» refers that now the girl is no longer in danger and has been takenout of the war zone to the North of Ossetia by some Russian soldiers, who had found her abandoned ina village in Chechnya. However, her physical and mental conditions were very serious, since she hadbeen raped many times, beaten and almost died from hunger. The victim accepted to give herkidnappers the names and addresses of the Christians habitually going to the Church; she was alsoobliged to recite the Muslim Creed and to convert to Islam.

On July 28th 1999, «The Voice of Martyrs» refers that the preceding July 17th even the last remainingOrthodox priest in Chechnya was kidnapped with other two companions in Grozny. ZakharyYampolsky, the person in charge of the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel, had taken his positionin Grozny only three months earlier. Other three Orthodox priests were kidnapped in April. Accordingto «Religion Today» on November 11th 1999, during the last months 8 leaders from the OrthodoxChurch of Grozny Saint Michael the Archangel have been kidnapped.

During the night between April 28th and 29th 1999, Abuzar Sumbulatov, a Muslim and the Minister forForeign Affairs and Confessions for the Chechen Republic, was kidnapped from his apartment inGrozny, according to what was reported by the «Keston News Service» on May 11th 1999.Sumbulatov’s activities were turned to the search for harmony between the different confessions eventhrough charitable works of solidarity. On June 8th 1999, «Compass Direct» informs that, according tounconfirmed sources, Sumbulatov supposedly was killed.

Daghestan

Since the 80’s, in Daghestan, the so-called “Wahabite” Muslims have been present, today making upabout 6-7% of the population. >From the beginning of August 1999, they have declared a holy war forthe liberation of Daghestan from the infidels, and positioned themselves along the boundaries ofChechnya. Meanwhile the Russian Prime Minister then, Vladimir Putin, had declared to «Itar-Tass»,according to what the «L'Osservatore Romano» reports on August 14th, that he had begun a militaryoperation on a vast scale to throw out the Islamic rebels from Daghestan. The night of August 28th

1999, a fierce battle between the troops of the Russian Defense Ministry and the Islamicfundamentalists began: the first, refers Mikhail Roshchin, in the «Keston News Service» on September15th 1999, attacked four villages – Karamakhi, Chabanmakhi, Kadar and Durangi – which had declaredthemselves special territories for the past year and a half, governed by the Muslim law of the Shari’a.This, according to Roshchin, «is the first event, in recent Russian history, where the army and thetroops of the Defense Ministry were used with the specific aim of annihilating the entire malepopulation of these villages». To consolidate the defeat of the Islamic extremists, the government triedto put into act more severe legislative measures also because – as reported by the «Keston NewsService» on September 1st 1999 – as asserted by Radzhab Bagirov, the head of the Department for theAffairs of Social and Religious Organizations «today’s law has no power over unregisteredassociations». On September 16th 1999 – as referred by the daily newspaper «Avvenire» the followingday – the Wahabite movement was outlawed. At the same meeting, referred by Nabi Abdullayev, onthe «Keston News Service» on November 1st, a law was proposed «On the prohibition of Wahabismand other extremist activities in Daghestan»: this law potentially outlaws about 80 thousand persons(this is the number of Wahabite according to the data from the Ministry of Justice for Daghestan). Also,since there is no precise definition of “Wahabite”, anybody professing Islam in a manner differing fromthe way provided for by the Muslim Spiritual Directory for Daghestan could be accused of extremismand thereby persecuted. Already on September 1st 1999 the «Keston News Service» reported the newsof searches in the houses of religious leaders not in line with the Spiritual Directory, with the goal offinding extremist publications.

In Daghestan, Christians are treated with suspicion and sometimes even with hostility. The tenOrthodox parishes are visibly weak, if compared to the three thousand mosques. Also, according towhat Roman Lunkin reports in the «Keston News Service» dated September 13th 1999, the number offaithful is constantly diminishing (in the main parish of Makhachkala, it went from three thousand inthe 80’s and the beginning of the 90’s to today’s three hundred): in fact, for many reasons manyindividuals converted to Islam or expatriated. In Makhachkala, there have been cases of conversions toChristianity by Muslims, but this has been kept secret because of the fear of family vendettas. Theweakness when facing the terrorists is well pointed out by the kidnapping of Herbert Gregg, anAmerican missionary from the World Team, a teacher at the University of Daghestan who had foundeda Church and was its Pastor: kidnapped on the 11th of November 1998 and released in July 1999, hewas transferred by the World Team and the community still does not have a leader.

On July 12th 1999, the «Keston News Service» reports that the Catholic parish of Saint Stanislaw inMakhachkala was ordered to limit its activities after the decision made by the Regional Court: in fact,the registration procedure was declared invalid, since the annual accounting of the activities and leadershad not been presented. Radzhab Bagirov, the head of the Department for Social and ReligiousOrganizations, expressed his suspicions to «Keston», that the parish had been registered only with theintent of receiving aid from foreign Catholic charitable organizations.

RWANDA



Religion Catholics: 56%Animists: 17%

Protestants: 13%Muslims: 9%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom and the existing laws are not discriminatory. However,according to «Église dans le monde» no. 101, for the first quarter of 1999, while not directly attackingthe Catholic Church, the government tries to limit its influence and encourages hostile acts against it,especially in involving it in the genocide that in 1994 lead to the death of 800 thousand persons and theflight of almost two million.

According to «Mondo e Missione» the June-July 1999 issue, «what hit the secretary general of theRwandan Episcopal Conference, the Abbot Modeste Mungwarareba, who died on May 3rd in thehospital of Butare, was a mysterious death». The same source quotes the Archbishop of Bukavu, inBurundi, monsignor Emmanuel Kataliko, according to whom there is «a strategy aiming at destroyingall that the population considers sacred. Once having destroyed the core around which the cohesion andthe common identity of the people is constructed, it will be easier to submit the people, without anydefense and without any reference points, to the arbitrary ideology of a totalitarian system, to beimposed at all costs».

Two priests, Edouard Nturiye, the ex-rector of the Nyundo seminary, and Jean Emmanuel FrançoisKayiranga, the vicar for the same diocese, were accused of having contributed to the massacre by usingtheir positions. In April 1994, they supposedly alerted the Hutu militia about the presence of 8thousand refugees in the church of Nyange and, after the massacre of the refugees, had the place ofworship destroyed. At first, the two priests had been accused of the massacre of 60 Tutsis in the minorseminary of Nyundo. The court of Kibuye sentenced both to death, along with another 116 persons, asreported by «Mondo e Missione» in May 1999, which also refers that nine Hutu priests, two sisters andone seminarian of the Hutu clan are being detained.

Monsignor Augustin Misago, the Bishop of Gikongoro, has been imprisoned for having taken part inthe genocide, since April 14th 1999. He is accused of massacres and crimes against humanity, the deathof three priests and of refusing to help persons in danger. In «Fides» on April 23rd 1999, MonsignorMisago’s self-defense appears, altogether ignored by the judges. Even the President of the Republic,Pasteur Bizimungu, took up a position against him, stating that the prelate did nothing to block thegenocide and declaring to the Bishops of Rwanda that even if he should be found innocent, he shouldnot take his place in the diocese again. Therefore, in an interview to «Avvenire» published onNovember 28th 1999, from the prison, monsignor Misago states, «the judges continue to have theirhands tied and be under pressure. Nor does the attitude of the government towards the Penal Court forRwanda in Arusha, denied collaboration, favors my position. Because without a doubt, this is apolitical trial and the judges will have to find an honorable and uncompromising way to resolve it».

The Holy See defined the trial against the Bishop – according to «Zenit» on August 20th - «anextremely serious act that wounds not only the Church in Rwanda but the entire Catholic Church».

«Fides» on November 26th 1999 refers the accusations of having participated in the genocide againstanother Rwandan priest, don Athanase Sumba Bura, from the humanitarian organization «AfricanRights», quoted by the English daily newspaper «Sunday Times». According to «Fides» «the “hunt forthe Rwandan priest” is noteworthy for the fact that it is taken up again on the eve of the last hearing (onNovember 23rd), when the witnesses for the prosecution will be heard during the trial in Kigali againstmonsignor Augustin Misago […]. Even in this case, African Rights – together with the French review«Golias» – was among the main actors in the campaign against Misago, and compiled a specificdossier, while the defense statements by the bishop were not taken into consideration». Along with donSumba Bura, even don Deogratias Niyibizi and don Wenceslaus Karuta are accused. «Avvenire» on thesame day reports the news, published by the Shalom group, according to which these last two were in

Rome at the time of the events. Other Rwandan religious persons are in the list by African Rights,already indicated as a means of disinformation by Reporters sans Frontières in a report in 1995.However, none of the accused has been looked into by the UN Tribunal for Rwanda.

In a document sent to the UN Commission charged with the inquest on the responsibilities of theUnited Nations in the Rwandan genocide – the same source asserts - Hakizabera Christophe, one of thefirst members of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (FPR), stated that at the beginning of 1991, the higherlevels of the FPR decided to attack the Hutu regime then in power in Kigali «on all fronts: military,political and mass media». As for the behavior towards the religious, it was decided to «to lie about theCatholic Church because it preached equality among men and contributed to the people’s education; toeliminate many Hutu priests and replace them with Tutsi priests; to terrorize Catholic missionaries intoleaving the country, because they are bothersome witnesses and create obstacles to the FPR plans; tokill the elderly missionaries that know the history of Rwanda, because they are responsible for whathappened in 1959 when the Tutsis lost power to the Hutu elite, formed by the missionaries from theminor seminaries». «Fides» on February 5th 1999 reports the news of a propaganda film, financed bythe Rwanda authorities, where the responsibilities of France and of the ecclesial personnel are placedtogether in the genocide.

The 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USA Department of State barely dedicates three lines tothe persecution striking the Catholic Church, asserting that the detention of religious persons accusedof genocide «is not related to belonging or practicing religion».

SAMOA

Population 56.000


Religion Congregationalists: 43%Catholics: 21 %

Methodists: 17%Number of Catholics 37.000

The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, together with freedom of thought and conscience.According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the United States State Department, thisprinciple appears to be respected in practice, even if at times local officials have committed violationsin this field. The Introduction of the Constitution defines the State of Samoa as «an independent Statefounded on Christian principles and Samoan customs and traditions». The United States Report hasregistered some problems regarding religious freedom in 1999, especially concerning the traditionalcustom that gives the village chiefs the duty to decide the religious faith of the clan-families. Accordingto the same source, at times the village councils punish or exile the families that do not follow thevillage religion. Sometimes, as in 1998 in the village of Salamumu, on the Island of Upolu, religioustensions brought even more serious episodes of violence. In June 1999, 32 persons were accused ofviolent acts, among which assaults on homes and arson for religious reasons.

SAN MARINO

Population 26.000



The government respects religious freedom, which is guaranteed by the Constitution.

The law forbids discrimination based on religious grounds. The Catholic Church receives financialsubsidies from the State. The citizens may request that 0,3 percent of the taxes paid are given to theCatholic Church or to other charitable institutions, among which two religious groups, the ValdeseChurch and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

There are no private schools. In the public schools, the Catholic religion is taught, but the students maychoose not to attend these classes.

SAO TOMÉ AND PRINCIPE

Population 141.000



The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. There are no limitations to missionary activities.

SAUDI ARABIA



Religion Sunni Muslims: 95,5%Shi’ite Muslims: 3,3%


«Islamic State whose religion is Islam and the constitution is the Holy Book of God and the Sunnah ofits Prophet», the Kingdom draws its authority, as stated in article 7 of the fundamental statute of power,from the Book of God and from the Sunnah of its Prophet, to which all the laws of the State aresubordinated. The State is entrusted with protecting the Muslim faith, to apply the shari'a to commandGood and prohibit Evil, besides spreading Islam and ensuring the da’wa, that is the practice of Islamicproselytism. Article 26, which regulates human rights, intends to limit them within the shari’a. It isobligatory for Saudi citizens to be Muslims.

Saudi law forbids all non-Muslims to meet for meetings tied to one’s religious faith. In the territory ofthe Kingdom, according to the new agency «Compass» on January 17th 2000, there are at least sixmillion non-Muslim immigrants who are denied any right to practice their faith, even if there areexceptions made for the groups with insignificant numbers. During the last two years, at least 130Christian immigrants have been put in jail, deprived of their work and thrown out of the Nation on thebasis of accusations of “Christian activities”. Last July 6th in Riyadh, notes the «Droits de l’hommesans frontières» on November 16th 1999, a twenty-four year old Filipino, Arsenio Enriquez Jr. a waiterin one of the capital’s restaurants since 1993, was arrested after a house search, where a Bible wasfound. In prison, he was only allowed to receive one visit from a friend and to send one letter to hisfamily.

Barbara G. Baker, for the news agency «Compass Direct» on December 22nd 1999, tells about thearrest of a Filipino engineer, Edmar Romero, detained from December 1st because he was suspected ofChristian activities. During the search that occurred in the home of the arrested person, a Bible wasconfiscated. The inquiries were begun when the muttawa (the Saudi religious police), two monthsearlier, confiscated a list of names during an incursion in a clandestine cult location. On that occasion,October 8th, 267 faithful were questioned and 13 of them were arrested and extradited, after havingordered their employers to fire them. Romero, free on January 13th 2000, at the same time, lost his joband was told to leave Saudi Arabia within three weeks of his liberation. In the meantime, from January7th 2000, after another raid in a private home where hundreds of Christians had met, ten Filipino adultsand five children were detained: the couple Art and Sabalista Abreu and their children Kristel, twelveyears old, Aaron ten years old and Keilah, two years old. Dick Mira Velez, Disdado Cadoy, Jun andEvelyn Vinegas and their children, Paul, six years old and John, four, along with Rubino Sulit, Georgeand Elen Rivera, and Eminesio Rabea were arrested along with the others. Their liberation came aboutat two different moments on the 19th and on the 23rd, as confirmed by the news agency «Ansa» onJanuary 28th 2000.

Philippine sources in Riyadh have revealed, to the news agency «Compass» (17.1.2000), that thereligious police to obtain information about the network of emigrated Christian Filipinos and theiractivities in the faith use minors as means of ransom.

The Baha’i religion is also strictly forbidden, defined by the Academy of Islamic Law in Saudi Arabiaas a «schism from Islam and a war against it». Whoever adheres to this is considered a Kafir, that issomeone with no rights whatsoever.

SENEGAL



Religion Muslims: 92%Animists: 6%


The Constitution defines the State as a secular one and ensures the right to freely practice religiousbeliefs, as long as they do not contrast public order.

The religious organizations may register and come into the non-profit category, which gives them theright to tax exemptions.

Because of the separation between religion and State, religion classes are not allowed in the stateschools. The non-state schools, whether they receive public funding or not, may hold religion classes.

Missionaries may operate freely. The dialogue between the Christian and the Muslim leaders has a longtradition of tolerance.

SERBIA - MONTENEGRO

The new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, constituted on April 27th 1992, after the dissolution of theYugoslav Federation, includes the Republics of Serbia (with the regions of Volvodina and Kosovo) andMontenegro, both having their own legislative and executive organs.

Religious freedom, while guaranteed by the Constitution, is not well protected by the government or bythe legal system. The fundamental Charter asserts the separation between Church and State and doesnot recognize any confessions as the State religion. President Slobodan Milosevic’s regime has,however, granted preferential treatment to the Serb Orthodox Church.

Police repression has hurt many ethnic and religious minorities, and the police forces have committedtheir greatest and worst abuses against the population in Kosovo (90% of which belong to the Albanianethnic group). Persecution occurs, for the most part, for ethnic reasons, but, since the population doesnot belong to different religions, there has been a correlation between the ethnic and the religiouspersecutions. Many Kosovars were Muslim and because of this many mosques were destroyed andmany Muslims were killed. The same occurred in the Sandzak region.

The war that broke out between March 24th 1999 and June 10th 1999 in Kosovo, formally stillbelonging to the Republic of Yugoslavia, further compromised the practice of religious freedom inSerbia as well as in Kosovo. In this last region, the violent conflict between Orthodox Serbs andMuslim Albanians became more acute during the war and still continues, to the point of despairing ofever being able to build a peaceful region, even for a short period of time.

The Serb government has not accomplished any progress in the restitution of property confiscatedduring the Communist regime.

SEYCHELLE ISLANDS

Population 76.000



Hindu: 0,7%Number of Catholics 70.000

The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. The religious associations that wish to receive fiscalexemptions must register. The authorities are absolutely impartial with regards to the differentconfessions, as reported by the Report on religious freedom by the United States Government.

SIERRA LEONE


Surface Area 71.740 sq. km.Religion Muslims: 60%

Animists: 30%Christians: 10%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. The civil conflict going on now however does notconsent the security of the populations and the religious personnel.

There are many attacks against Catholic missionaries, but also against Muslims, by the UnitedRevolutionary Front. In January 1999, the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the United StatesGovernment reports that during Ramadan, the population of Freetown was terrorized and the Muslimsfound praying were made to drink alcoholic beverages. Others were killed. During the attack, threeChristian churches and two mosques were burnt down. Often, Catholic missionaries are kidnapped toobtain ransom money from the Church of Rome.

«Misna», then cited by «Human Rights Without Frontiers» on January 21st 1999, reports the sequesterof six nuns from the Order of the Missionaries of Charity and five Saverians in Freetown. «Église dansle monde» in the 3rd quarter 1999 refers that while the Saverians managed to flee, Sister Aloysius Mariewas killed along with two other sisters, Sister Carmelina, from India, and Sister Sweva, fromBangladesh. The Saverian Girolamo Pistoni was wounded, even if not mortally, and was freed togetherwith the other three religious women kidnapped.

On October 15th 1999, monsignor Biguzzi, the bishop of Makeni — reported by «Misna» on October19th 1999 — disappeared and then reappeared on the 19th safe and sound, after having been blocked bya conflict between opposing armed factions.

SINGAPORE



Religion Buddhists: 32%Taoists: 22%

Muslims: 15%Christians: 13%


The right to religious freedom is sanctioned by the Constitution. However, some religious groupscannot operate. According to «Aed-France», Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and Hinduism areprivileged and the State administration practices a policy of discrimination against other religions andabove all against religious movements. State and religion are clearly separate, in fact there is no Statereligion, however, all religious groups are subject to examination by the authority and must registeraccording to specific regulations. In 1990, a law was published to limit the involvement of religiousgroups in political affairs. The government has an active if limited role in religious affairs: speeches arenot tolerated or actions that may damage racial or religious harmony. The government maintains semi-official relations with the Islamic community through the Islamic Religious Council, which, amongother things, also informs the government about affairs regarding the Muslim community. Thegovernment contributes financially to the construction and maintenance of mosques.

The Constitution recognizes that the Malaysian ethnic group (of the Muslim religion) represents theindigenous population of Singapore and commits the Government to favor those interests.

The Government, based on today’s laws, banned some religious groups like Jehovah’s Witnesses andthe Church of Unification (in 1982). Jehovah’s Witnesses were banned in 1972 because the membersof the group refused to do their military service (obligatory in Singapore) and to hold attitudes (salutingthe flag, swearing loyalty to the nation) believed incompatible with their faith. While the Governmentdid not outlaw the mere belonging to this organization, Jehovah’s Witnesses’ public meetings becameillegal after the ban. The government also forbade all publications by Jehovah’s Witnesses, includingthe Bible edition published by this association.

In 1998, two members of Jehovah’s Witnesses were found guilty of owning illegal publications. One ofthe two was sentenced to one week in prison, since he had already been found guilty previously for thesame reason. The other was fined a sum equivalent to more than two and one half million lire.

Missionaries (apart from those belonging to illegal religious groups) may operate in the Nation, publishand distribute religious materials but, while not being explicitly forbidden, the activities of proselytismmust be made without creating any prejudices to the harmony between the various ethnic groups.

SLOVAK REPUBLIC




Orthodox: 1%Number of Catholics 3.571.000

The Constitution guarantees religious freedom, as well as the freedom to change religion or to abstainfrom any religious affiliation.

Registration is not obligatory, but only religious organizations and churches having this, according tothe law, may have public ceremonies and other activities (even if in practice, no religion is discouragedor banned by the authorities), and may receive State subsidies, including salaries for the clergy.According to the law approved in 1991, to register a new religion a minimum of 20 thousand followersis required, residing in the Country. The officially registered confessions are 15. There are no cases ofreligious orders that have ever been denied registration, and those existing before 1991 have all beenexonerated by the prerequisite of 20 thousand members. The same law does not forbid the existence ofnon-traditional religions (there are at least thirty in the Slovak Republic), and allows all Churches andall communities to send their representatives abroad, as well as receiving foreign missionaries, withoutany limitations. Missionaries do not need particular permits to reside and operate in the Country.

Relations between State and Church are administered by the ecclesiastic Department of the Ministryfor Culture, which also distributes subsidies to the religious associations. However, this office cannotintervene in the internal affairs or direct the activities of the various groups. The Ministry manages acultural fund, “Pro Slovakia” that, among other things, finances the reparations of religiousmonuments.

The United States 1999 Report on religious freedom informs that, in February 1999, the police arrestedtwo upper echelon officials of the Secret Service. One of the accusations against them was that ofhaving discredited monsignor Balaz, the President of the Slovak Episcopal Conference, who they hadaccused and inquired into for the trafficking of religious art works.

Restitution of the properties confiscated by the Communist regime continues. Some have already beengiven back, but often without the compensation due for the damages they underwent. Six of the sevenproperties have been returned to the Orthodox Church, which it had requested. The Catholic Churchand the Federation for the Jewish communities had less luck. The main obstacles to the conclusion ofthese cases are the lack of financial resources of the government and the bureaucratic resistance bythose actually using the properties to be returned.

SLOVENIA




Guaranteed by the Constitution, religious freedom is practiced in Slovenia. There are very few formalrequisites, mainly of a technical sort, to satisfy the needs to obtain official recognition. Thirty-fivereligious groups are recognized and there has been no news about denied recognition. 71% of thepopulation is Catholic.

Foreign missionaries and the various religious groups (including Hare Krishna and Scientology) freelyoperate.

In 1991, Parliament approved a law concerning the restitution and/or compensation, within a certainperiod, of property confiscated and nationalized by the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia.However, with today’s government, which strongly opposes the restitution of forests and properties tothe Catholic Church, there has been a paralysis in the de-nationalization. In June 1999, only one thirdof the cases had been resolved.

According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USA Government, the restitution of theChurch’s properties would be politically unpopular, and the Catholic Church, despite its numericpredominance, does not have the necessary political support to make the de-nationalization processmore rapid.

SOLOMON ISLANDS

Population 400.000


Religion Protestants: 77%Catholics: 19%Animists: 0,2%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom and the government in general respects this right. Allreligious institutions must register with the Government, but this obligation does not seem to create anyform of discrimination.

SOMALIA



Religion Sunni Muslims: 99%Number of Catholics 200

Divided into various spheres of influence, there has been no central government in the country since1991, when the President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown during the month of January.

According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USA State Department, Islamic law wasintroduced into Somaliland and in other local administrations where the Muslim religion is consideredthe official one. The same source reports that in March 1999, the Minister for Religion in Somalilandemanated a directive according to which the places of worship and the religious schools must ask forpermission for their activities.

Already in the past, law prohibited proselytism in favor of religions other than Islam, and even today,the Christian organizations must limit their commitment to be able to operate.

SOUTH AFRICA


Surface Area 1.219.090 sq. km.Religion Christians: 77%

Animists: 10,5%Hindu: 1,7%


The Constitution sanctions religious freedom and allows religion to be taught in the public schools,only if voluntary and impartial.Religious associations do not have to register and missionaries may act freely.

The Report on religious freedom by the American Department of State refers the Muslim protestagainst the authorities for not being able to hold a demonstration, and then dispersed by the police.During the disorders, one demonstrator was killed.

SOUTH KOREA



Religion Buddhists: 23%Protestants: 18%

Catholics: 6%Confucians: 1%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. There is no State religion and the government does notbuildings like the Buddhist temples, a law was made for the preservation of the places of worship.According to this law, the Buddhist temples receive some subsidies from the government for theirmaintenance.

There is an Office for Religious Affairs in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which has the job ofguiding organized groups like the Religious Council for Korea and the Council for Peaceful Religionsto promote interreligious dialogue.

The modifications to the law on the control of immigration in March 1999, allow missionary groups tooperate without having to register with the authorities.

According to the Report on religious freedom by the USA State Department, relations between thereligious groups are generally cordial and a climate of religious tolerance exists.

SPAIN



Religion Catholics: 95%Muslims:1,2%


The 1978 Constitution guarantees religious freedom and the government respects this right.

The Constitution says that while there is no State religion, «the public authorities will bear in mind thereligious convictions of Spanish society and will maintain the consequent relations of cooperation withthe Catholic Church and the other confessions». The Jews, Muslims and Protestants are also officiallyrecognized and are tied to the government by bilateral agreements. Other recognized religious groupsare Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons, while not having any particular agreements with thegovernment, are still protected by the Constitution. Secret societies and paramilitary groups areforbidden. The fundamental charter states that «the public authorities guarantee parents’ right to givetheir children the religious and moral formation in agreement with their personal convictions».

The 1980 law on religious freedom provides a legal status and some benefits to religious organizationspresent in the Register for Religious Entities, held by the general directorate for Religious Affairs ofthe Ministry of Justice. To appear in this register, the various groups must come forward with thenecessary documentation to demonstrate that they are religious entities. If they should be deniedregistration in this list, they may appeal, and – if even if this has a negative outcome – they may stillregister in the Register of associations, held by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The presence on thislist gives them a legal status, as foreseen by the laws that regulate the right of association. Religionsthat are not recognized officially, like the Church of Scientology, are considered cultural associations.

The Federation for Human Rights of Helsinki, in April 1999, presented a document to the OCSE whereit criticized the discriminating attitude of Spain towards new religions, which are considered dangerousand destructive.

The Protestant Churches ask for the same fiscal benefits, the same right to create foundations, the samepresence in social communications, as the Catholics. However, the government has not objected to therequests by the Muslims and the Protestants to benefit from the same opportunities granted to theCatholic Church – whose faithful may give it 0,5% of the taxes on their salaries – and opened, in Aprilof this year, dialogue with the Protestant community.

The Spanish government tried to establish a relation based on dialogue and collaboration with thereligious minorities as well: for example, through dialogue with the Evangelical, Pentecostal,Adventist, Baptist and Charismatic Churches. In the same way, even movements considered dangerousby other European countries are considered religious entities, such as the Sukyo Mahikari, theRosenkreutz, the Soka Gakkai, and the Hare Krishna. For the 50th anniversary of the Declaration ofHuman Rights, a guide on religious entities was published in Spain: as reported by «Droits de l’hommesans frontières» on February 26th 1999, the various religious groups sent information that turned outbeing very useful for the drafting of this document.

In May 1999, however, the House of Representatives invited the government to intensify the measuresagainst the dangerous sects (about 200 in the Country, according to data coming from the Ministry ofInternal Affairs), and to create a permanent observatory to keep these organizations under constantcontrol.

In March 1999, the Civil Guard arrested four members of the Universal White Brotherhood, after themysterious disappearance of a Hispanic-Belgian woman, who – according to what is reported by theBelgian daily «Le Soir», on March 23rd 1999 – died by asphyxiation during a ritual to purify the bodyand the spirit. The religious movement – particularly vast in the region of Valencia – was not numberedamong the Satanic or potentially dangerous movements by the authorities.

As the American 1999 Report on religious freedom reports, in April 1999, the police arrested a womanaccused of having cheated and ruined at least twenty persons belonging to the movement known as The

Orientation. The woman, of Norwegian origin, declaring that she was a psychic teacher, is accused ofhaving progressively isolated its followers from their families and their friends and of havingconvinced them to donate their money to the movement, holding those trying to escape it with«psychic violence». Also this year, the government of the Canary Islands denied the Salvation Armypermission to open a center for needy children, because they considered this movement a “destructivesect”.

SRI LANKA



Religion Buddhists:69,8%Hindu: 15,2%

Christians: 7,6%Muslims: 7,4%


The Constitution gives Buddhism a prominent position, but also guarantees the right of members ofother confessions to practice their own religion freely. The government, according to what is referredby the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the United States Department of State, respects theserights. Despite the preference granted by the Constitution to Buddhism, the main religious celebrationsof all the confessions are celebrated as national festivities. The 1999 dossier by Aed-France, however,points out that the cases of social pressures and violence against Christians coming from the Buddhistclergy or members of this religion are «very frequent». There is a Ministry for Cultural and ReligiousAffairs and a Ministry for Buddhist Affairs. Normally the same person heads both ministries. Withinthe Ministry for Cultural and Religious Affairs there is a department for Hindu cultural and religiousaffairs and a department for Muslim cultural and religious affairs. An official of the Ministry forCultural and Religious Affairs directs the government relations with the Christian organizations, thoseregistering a greater government involvement in their affairs.

The foreign clergy may work on the national territory, but for over 30 years the government blockedthe Jesuits from coming in. In 1962, the government reached an agreement with the Catholic Church,where religious persons coming from abroad would not be allowed to enter the Country in a permanentway. When a foreign religious person retires, a local person must replace that individual. The State ofSri Lanka allows those in the Country to remain. The Jesuits continue to ask that foreigners replace themembers of their Order, but the local Catholic hierarchy does not want Jesuits in their disputes andthere are no agreements with the government to change this agreement Many religious persons work inthe Country, including many Christian religious persons of Singhalese origin. On May 28th 1999, thepress agency «Fides» referred that the government authorities of the Country instituted the Departmentfor Christian Affairs, within the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The same source believes that the newDepartment has among its main objectives, the promotion of the rights of Christians, favoring theenculturation of Christianity and to gather documentation on the Christian faith. In the steps forwardmade on the public recognition of the work done by Christians in the Country, «Fides» also mentionsthe nomination of 300 religion teachers (indicated to the Government by the Episcopal Conference) inthe State schools.

Some Evangelical Christians (which represent less than 1% of the population) have expressed worriesabout the hostility and the molestation by the Buddhist clergy and by other persons contrary to theiractivities of proselytism. According to these denunciations, the Government seems to have maintaineda condescending attitude on these molestations. Religion is an obligatory class in the scholasticcurriculum. Parents and children can choose the religion they want to study: Buddhism, Islam,Hinduism or Christianity.

During the last 16 years, the Government (controlled by the Singhalese Buddhist majority) fought the“Tigers of Tamil” (LTTE), an insurrectional organization that is fighting for a separate State for theTamil minority, which are predominantly Hindu. Religion does not play an important role in theconflict, which is essentially caused by linguistic, ethnic and political differences. Buddhists, Christiansand Hindu have been involved in the conflict, which has made 60 thousand victims. In the northernarea of the conflict, the Government occasionally was accused of bombarding Hindu temples andChristian churches. In March 1999, government forces re-conquered the city of Madhu in the northwestof the country, the site of a famous Catholic sanctuary. Because Madhu was controlled by the LTTE,for many years the Catholics in the south could not make the pilgrimage to Madhu. After the city wasre-conquered by government forces, Catholics were able to make pilgrimages there again. In November1999, the Sanctuary of Our lady of Madhu was hit by violent bombing, which made many victims

among the civilians seeking refuge there. After these events – reports «L’Osservatore Romano» onDecember 17th 1999 – the Prelates of the Episcopal Conference of Sri Lanka asked the Government inColombo to forbid access to armed persons in the area of the sanctuary and that it continue being a landof asylum and an objective for pilgrims.

The LTTE repeatedly attacked Buddhist places of worship and discriminated against the Muslims bysending away 46 thousand inhabitants (practically the entire Islamic population) from the area itcontrolled. This separatist movement was accused in the past of using churches and temples as placesto store ammunition.

Discrimination based on religious differences is less common than discrimination between castes orethnic groups. In general, the members of the various faiths have a tendency of being tolerant of otherreligious beliefs. In April 1999, two bombs were placed in a prayer house of the Assembly of God,being built in the main Buddhist city of Tissamaharama (in the south). One of the bombs exploded thatnight causing severe structural damage to the building. The other bomb was found the next day anddisarmed. The founder of the congregation, Lionel Jayasinghe, according to his widow, was killed inMarch 1988 because of his aspirations to convert Buddhists to Christianity. After investigations by theauthorities, no arrests were made regarding this homicide.

According to what «Église dans le monde» reported in the second quarter of 1999, SinghaleseBuddhism developed a myth according to which the entire island had to be Buddhist. More than 3thousand Singhalese Catholics, Religious and lay persons, participated in January 1999 in a protestmarch against the discrimination of Catholic students and professors in the government schools (sixtyCatholic students were refused by the main Buddhist state school in Kandy). Even «Fides» dated June25th 1999 denounced that the Catholic parents in the diocese of Kandy find difficulty in giving aCatholic education to their children. In fact, the legislation discriminates and penalizes Catholicstudents. Some problems connected to the system of scholastic instruction have also involved theMuslim community: «Asia News» in September 1999 refers the case of a Buddhist headmaster, whoimposed sanctions on two Muslim teachers because they wore the veil during classes. The SupremeCourt – says the same source – already emitted an ad interim sentence in favor of the two Muslimwomen.

According to Emilio Asti, mentioning it in the magazine «Popoli» in the June-July 1999 issue, theconflict between the Tamil and the Singhalese heavily involved Christians. Differing from the Buddhistclergy that almost always sided with the Singhalese majority, since the beginning of the conflict thebishops of the Tamil diocese openly denounced the continued violations to human rights. Often, thechurches gave refuge to the fleeing Tamil. Catholic religious persons are also the victims of thisclimate of tension. Some were accused by the security forces of supporting the guerillas and werearrested. The security forces were responsible for serious violations to human rights.

ST. KITTS AND NEVIS

Population 39.000




The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and the minorities fully enjoy this right.

ST. LUCIA

Population 150.000




The Constitution establishes the principle of religious freedom and the minorities enjoy this right.

ST.VINCENT AND GRENADINE ISLANDS

Population 112.000




The Constitution establishes the principle of freedom of religion and the minorities enjoy this right.

SUDAN



Religion Muslims: 73%Animists: 16,7%Christians: 8,2%


In the Constitution, the Shari’a and traditions are the sources of legislation. Despite the formal respectfor religious freedom, severe restrictions are enforced. The 1991 Penal Code of the Republic of Sudan,in article 126 comma 2, states, «those committing the crime of apostasy is invited to repent within aspecific timeframe from the court. If the person persists in the apostasy and has not converted to Islamrecently, that individual will be sentenced to death».

In an interview given to «Avvenire» and published on May 26th 1999, monsignor Gabriel Zubeir Wako,the Catholic archbishop of Khartoum, states that among other things «The Catholic Church is not likedby the governing persons, because it has always been at the forefront during protests. Also, theCatholics are the most numerous among the Christians, despite the fact that they are only about 10% ofthe Country’s inhabitants. Perhaps, for the government, we block the outcome of the program ofIslamization, or we at least slow it down. Probably because of this we are not liked».

With the approval of the new Constitution in 1991, the institutional equilibrium has theoreticallychanged with the introduction of a multi-party system, which has still not been realized apart from theauthorization for sixteen parties that refused registration.

For the past sixteen years at least, a war opposing the Islamic north to the Sudan Popular LiberationArmy (SPLA), in the southern regions populated by a majority of animists and a minority of Christians.Supposedly, the conflict made about two million dead and four million refugees, according to what«Avvenire» reports on December 14th 1999. The specter of a famine, provoked directly by the war andthe impossibility of giving food and humanitarian aid to the population, hangs over the two millionthree thousand southern Sudanese. To exacerbate the situation of the situation of the Africanpopulations, in the southern areas of the Country, the finding of oil and the construction of an oleo ductand a project for the extraction of oil, lead by the Canadian company Talisman, have also added to thisproblem. «An Italian-Argentine joint venture, made up of Saipem, the ENI group and by TechintInternational Construction Corporation is involved in this», according to what Anna Pozzi reports in anarticle on «Popoli» in October 1999, «in the construction of the naval terminal and the six stations forthe oleo duct, while Dalmine sold the turbines to the government in Khartoum. Different associationsdefending human rights have accuse Talisman and its partners of “sponsoring the genocide in Sudan”.And in the last few months, the American House of Representatives has spoken about genocide,accusing the government in Khartoum of leading a genocidal war against southern Sudan». Therefore,dual objectives can be hypothesized for the massive transfer of the southern populations to the northernpart of the Country: the need to liberate the origins of the non-Islamic tribes must be added to theactivities of Arabization and Islamization of the populations, to more easily proceed with the extractionof the underground resources to the exclusive advantage of the Muslims. The suppression of the«infidels» also moves in this direction. They are even deprived of any right to humanitarian aid. In thearticle, Anna Pozzi reports the declarations made by Katia Napolitano, from the UN World FoodProgram, according to whom «it is absolutely inconceivable that the majority of aid we bring tosouthern Sudan goes through the hands of the local authorities, which draw a large slice of it. Duringchecks on the people’s houses, we only found a small percent of what we had distributed. But nobodyhas the courage to speak up. The people are menaced and are afraid; they do not dare to denounce thesystematic raiding they are victims of. We also have no other choice: when we dared to try torecuperate what the military and civilian authorities in southern Sudan had taken away from thepopulation, they came and took it back with weapons». Our sources indicate, however, that the Onusianinstitutions are heavily infiltrated by Islamic elements that refuse to have food given to non-Muslims,

under the pretext that these persons do not pay the zakat (the tax for the Islamic worship), which isperfectly valid according to Koranic law.

The Head of State, Omar al Bashir, with the signature of the primary agreements for peace with theopposition leader last November 25th, made another attempt to divide the resistance front, dealing withthe different guerilla factions separately. According to «Avvenire» on September 17th 1999, whichreports news from the Sudanese newspaper «Al Shafer», Cherubino Kwanyin Bol, one of the guerillaleaders who had reached an agreement with the government that then was overthrown, was killed in anambush.

The Catholic Church refuses to support the so-called «peace initiatives» made by the regime, becausethey continue to persecute priests, religious persons, systematically demolish places of worship,schools for refugees, other ecclesial institutions and force conversions to the Muslim religion.Recently, as reported by «Avvenire» on October 19th 1999, the government launched a programaiming at making all education Islamic. Those not taught with this new criterion will not be allowed togo to higher-level schools, as denounced by the White Fathers, who have worked for over 15 years in aparish formed by refugees arriving from 1983 in various waves.

On February 6th 1999, there were fights at the University of Khartoum, after the attempt by Muslims toblock an exposition of Christian publications. The destruction and firing of tapes, of numerous volumeson religious themes and Bibles followed the attacks on the Christian students. «Inter Press Service»reports this on February 10th 1999, stating that the makers of this act were two readers of that sameUniversity. Then, menaces and justification of the occurrence appeared, made by the IslamicUniversity of Omdurman. The text of the last declaration, structured on eight fundamental points,contains the appeal to the government for the application of the 1962 law on missions, which providesfor rigid controls by the State on the buying and selling of buildings by religious organizations, thesurveillance of trips made by Sudanese Christians in Europe and in the United States and refusing togive them the necessary documents for expatriation. Finally, the document requires the expulsion of allthe non-Sudanese Christians in the country.

According to «The Voice of the Martyrs» on May 18th 1999, which quotes sources from the SudaneseHuman Rights Group, the Minister for Sudanese Public Works, Sharif Eldin Bannaga, ordered thedestruction of four Catholic schools, depriving over three thousand students of their right to aneducation, and their families from the right of owning property.

On August 8th 1999, as reported by «Misna» on the 10th, a group of Islamists belonging to Ansar As-Sunna (the Defenders of Tradition) assaulted a Catholic community, violently interrupting the Sundayliturgy. The police agents that intervened stopped some of the young persons from the parish, accusingone of them of provoking the disorders. As referred by «Zenit» on August 13th, based on a denunciationby Father Ciro Benedettini, the Assistant Director of the Holy See Press Office, without reason theauthorities threw out the missionary Gilles Poirier, a Canadian priest from the Foreign Missions inQuebec who was practicing his activities among the refugees around Khartoum for the past sevenyears. Barbara G. Baker, in «Compass Direct» on September 20th 1999, reports the expulsion and theimpossibility of ecclesial authorities of obtaining any dialogue with the civic authorities for anexplanation of the occurrence.

Even other Christian confessions are constantly having problems. According to information from«Compass Direct» on October 22nd 1999, an act by the Ministry for Agriculture to re-obtain land usedby the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Sudan for thirty-five years has been launched. The requestfor the land is due to the construction of a school and ecclesial buildings on it. Similarly, theconfiscation of the lands of the Episcopalian Church in Omdurman was ordered and then suspended, asreported by «The Voice of the Martyrs» on October 18th 1999.

«Christian Solidarity International», in a report based on «Human Rights Without Frontiers» datedMarch 16th 1999, denounces slavery still going on in the country. The humanitarian organization, fromOctober 1995 until the date of the report, supposedly freed 5.066 slaves, allowing them to reunite withtheir families. The authors write: «Today, Sudan is the region of the world most involved in theviolation of human rights. This concerns the number as well as the type of violations. Slavery is onlyone aspect of the “jihad” by the NIF and most of the Sudanese suffer from this, be they – in terms ofrace or cultural identity – Christians, Muslims or Animists, Arabs or black Africans. We have spokento many people who had not been slaves but that had suffered in other ways because of the work by theregime in Khartoum».

In a declaration to «Reuters» on April 20th 1999, Christian Solidarity International claims that itliberated 1.783 slaves the previous week, most of them women and children «captured by the Sudanesearmed forces» to Islamize them. The persons in charge of the CSI believe that «The Sudanesegovernment commits these raids as tools of the “holy war”, declared against the ethnic and religious

minorities resisting Islamization and Arabization», adding that in these cases «an experimented methodof severe physical and psychological tortures, including exemplary executions, beatings, rape,infibulations, mandatory conversions and forced labor» is used.

In answer to this anti-slave activity, the Sudanese government obtained, last April 26th – as informed by«Corrispondenza romana» on December 19th 1999 – the annulment of the concession to ChristianSolidarity International of the status as a consulting member of the UN, managing to have thisapproved by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, with the support of Russia andTurkey and the abstention of Italy, Spain and France.

In the schools in the diocese of El Obeid “Avvenire” reports on January 18th 2000 the Apostles ofJesus, an African Catholic congregation, tore over 500 Dinka children from slavery.

«Avvenire», in an article from Khartoum on December 14th 1999, reports the declaration of the state ofemergency that the President of the Republic, General Omar el-Bashir, made to dissolve Parliament,because of the political and institutional conflict with the president of the legislative assembly, Hassanel-Turabi, the leader of the only government party, the National Islamic Front (NIF) and considered theeminence grise of the regime. The golpe or, as it was defined, the autogolpe, was to continue into themiddle of March and was also due to the signature of agreements for national reconciliation signed lastNovember 15th in Djibouti by Sadiq el-Mahdi, the leader of the nationalist party Ummah and by thepredecessor of Bashir until the previous coup d’état in 1989. Also, Turabi was accused of supporting asolution for the conflict with Uganda, the historical ally of the SPLA, and favored by the United States,who promoted the meeting between al-Turabi and the Ugandan president Yoweri Museven during thefirst days of December. According to the president of the Council for Coordination of the SouthernStates of Sudan, Riek Machar, also the vice president of the Republic, reported by «Avvenire» onDecember 17th 1999, the overthrowing of al-Turabi was made necessary so that the country would notbecome a second Iran, with the coincidence of political and religious power. Meeting the journalists,Machar stated that the state of emergency did not touch individual freedom. Even Egypt supported al-Bashir. According to Turabi, quoted by «Ansa» on February 7th 2000, the proclamation of the state ofemergency and the dissolution of Parliament «were tricks to change the basis of the Islamic system ofthe country».

«Ansa» on February 13th 2000 reports that Ibrahim Al Senussi, the secretary general adjunct of thePopular Arab Islamic Conference (PAIC), declared the closing of its offices in Khartoum, «asrequested by certain States», with an indirect reference to the United States, «whose hostility towardsIslam is well-known».

Contrasting signals arise with the liberation on December 6th of two Catholic priests, Father Lino Sebitand Father Hilary Boma, held prisoners for sixteen months. An article written by Barbara G. Baker, for«Compass Direct» dated December 8th 1999, states that the president signed the liberating decree. Eventhe other eighteen accused in the trial for having planned bomb attempts were freed at the same time asthey were.

According to the government «Radio Omdurman» dated December 6th, Boma accepted a «presidentialpardon», after the two religious persons, at the end of November, had refused an amnesty, stating thatthey wanted to obtain full absolution from the accusations, which foresees the death sentence.However, even this formulation, while representing a sort of concession towards the government,should not in any way be misinterpreted as a confession. And, in an interview to «Fides» datedDecember 17th-24th 1999, monsignor Gabriel Zubeir Wako says that he is «worried about theinterpretation that should be given to the liberation of Fr. Sebit and Fr. Boma» since «this means thatthe recognition of their complete innocence has not been given». Therefore, the prelate hopes for thecomplete cancellation of the accusations against the two priests. Despite his reservations, monsignorWako, during the mass for the 25th anniversary of the construction of the autochthonous hierarchy inSudan, said: «We assure our forgiveness and our will for reconciliation also to those who havepersecuted us». The offering made by one of the participants, according to what «Fides» referred, was«evidently made to the authorities».

The conditions of prisons in Sudan, according to what is mentioned in a series of conferences inBrussels by the Jesuit Henry Boulad, the director of the Egyptian, quoted by «Avvenire» on July 24th

1999, see the multiplication of «ghost houses, the houses where torture is practiced».

SURINAME

Population 414.000


Religion Hindu: 26%Catholics: 21,6%

Muslims: 18,6%Protestants: 18%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom and the government respects this right. There is no Stateor dominant religion. The members of the various confessions in the Country are authorized to practicetheir worship freely.

Suriname is a nation where various ethnic groups and religions coexist, with a tradition for religioustolerance. About one third of the population can trace its heritage from the Indian subcontinent; anotherthird come from Africa and another third claim to be descendants from Indonesia. A small percentageof the population claims heritage from the Chinese, the Amerinds, the Portuguese, the Lebanese andthe Dutch. Religious differences in the country follow the ethnic differences in a parallel way.Foreign religious operators are not restricted at all.

The government educational system gives subsidies to a small number of elementary and secondaryschools constituted and managed by the various religious organizations. If on one hand the teachers inthe schools are civil servants and the schools are considered public schools, on the other hand, religiousgroups furnish all the other funds, apart from the teachers’ salaries.

SWAZILAND

Population 952.000

Surface Area 17.364 sq. km.Religion Christians: 77%

Animists: 21%Number of Catholics 50.000

The Constitution does not make any formal provisions regarding religious freedom, which however isnot violated by the authorities. Religious associations do not have to register but are recognized in aninformal way and missionaries may operate freely.

SWEDEN





Article 1, comma 6, of the Constitution recognizes «the liberty to practice one’s religion, alone or ingroups». Article 12 states that «[…] no restrictions may be activated based on political, religious,cultural or similar ideas». The fundamental charter guarantees religious freedom in a positive way aswell as in a negative way, and article 2 states: «in relation with the community, each citizen will beprotected against any action obligating him to reveal his political, religious, cultural or similar ideas;participating in reunions or demonstrations destined to influence his opinions; to submit to other meansof expression or to be a member of political associations, religious communities or any otherassociation having the same ends».Religious freedom, guaranteed by the law, is also respected in practice.

For many centuries, the Lutheran religion was the State religion. In 1995, the government decided toformally separate the State from the Church. The reform became effective on January 1st 2000 –according to «Actualité des religions» in February 2000 – with certain provisions on becoming part ofthe Lutheran Church. Newborns no longer become automatic members at birth, the clergy will nolonger be part of the State administration and those not formally declaring separation from the Churchwill only voluntarily give ecclesial taxes.

In 1986, an Office against Ethnic Discrimination was instituted, with the end of ensuring that neitherindividuals nor groups may suffer from discriminations based on «race, color, ethnic origins orreligion».

During the past years, the growing number in immigrations coincided with the spreading of non-traditional religions, especially in the communities of the same immigrants.

In October 1998, the government published a report written by a commission of experts on «Societyand the new religious movements»: in it, a new legislation considering the “incorrect influence” as apunishable crime is requested and the institution of a center for the studies on new religious groups isproposed.

On November 23rd 1999, the tax offices in Stockholm and the Church of Scientology reached anagreement on the taxes relative to the years between 1986 and 1989. The State recognized havingerroneously pretended taxes from what it defined as an «idealistic association with religious ends,operating completely as a non-profit organization» and pointed out the absence of taxable incomebetween 1990 and 1999. The outcome of this agreement was that Scientology saw its fiscal debtreduced.

SWITZERLAND



Religion Catholics:46,2%Protestants:40%

Muslims: 2,2%Jews: 0,3%


Article 15 of the Federal Constitution from December 18th 1998 guarantees the freedom of creed andconscience, the free choice of religion and philosophical convictions, the right to profess individuallyor in community, as well as the «right to be a member of a religious community, to be a part of it and tofollow religious teachings». It also recognizes that «nobody can be forced to be a member of a religiouscommunity, or making a religious act or following religious teachings».

There is no State religion, but all the cantons economically support at least one of the three traditionalreligions: Roman Catholic, Old Catholic and Protestant. Each canton has its own legislation thatregulates the relations between State and Church.

Of the sixteen political parties existing in Switzerland, three make a direct reference to a religiousconfession: the Popular Evangelical Party, the Christian Democratic Party and the Christian SocialParty.

Religion is taught in the public schools: atheists and those belonging to other confessions are free tochoose to attend courses on their own religion or not attending religious classes at all.

According to the 1999 Report by the United States Government on religious freedom, there arebetween 300 and 800 groups and denominations that operate in the country. The various religiouscommunities, even those of foreign origin, are free to proselytize.

In November 1998, the city of Basel approved a law that punishes «whoever recruits or tries to recruitpersons using fraudulent or dishonest methods». This law, while not referring to any specific religiousorganization, was created in the attempt to block Scientology, which presented an appeal to theSupreme Court against this particular law. However, the court confirmed the legitimacy of the law,stating that while it is an intervention on religious freedom, it does not limit it – as referred by «UsaToday» on July 16th 1999.

The Muslim community has grown quickly during the last few years, especially because of the largenumber of refugees coming from Yugoslavia to a climate of general tolerance.

Switzerland, like most of the other European countries, has faced the problem on the new religiousmovements. In July 1999, the Commission for the Management published an investigation on «The“sects” or Indoctrinating Movements in Switzerland»: as pointed out by Massimo Introvigne, in anarticle appearing on the Cesnur Internet site on July 2nd 1999, this document offers a more balancedperspective with respect to those of other countries (among which the Canton of Geneva) thatcompletely adopt the anti-sect model, renouncing, for example, to the «list dangerous sects». However,in the Swiss report, there are notions such as «indoctrinating movement», «brainwashing», and “mentalmanipulation». The Commission proposes the institution of a service for information and consulting, topromote research and cooperation. It also invites the Federal Council to provide for the protection ofthe high-risk subjects, that is to say children and those being seriously ill might believe in themiraculous therapeutic practices proposed by some movements. In its conclusion, the document doesnot make any requests for new legislation against cults, but a better and more rigid use of the existinglaw (for example, it suggests the simplification of the application of the existing norms in defense ofthe consumer, so that it may be applied also in the case of «spiritual assistance in a professional way»).The proposal by the Canton of Geneva of introducing a new figure with regards to mental manipulationis deemed «premature» at the federal level. The Commission, while stating that «one of the oldestfundamental rights sanctioned by the constitution of European States, the fundamental right thatprotects the individual from State autocracy» cannot be touched, believes that the State must interveneto protect the individual when «indoctrination» reaches the point of altering or suppressing that

individual’s free will. In fact, the report states «should fraudulent or fallacious or indoctrinatingmethods be used, the partial or total “renunciation” to self-determination no longer concerns the singleperson but the State as well». As the guarantor of tolerance, the State must also guarantee freedom inthe religious sense, but must also intervene – the report continues - «when the rights of groups or singleadepts are prejudiced or repressed, answering the necessity for a critical interpretation of religiousfreedom, capable of imposing limitations». According to the Commission, the principle of thefundamental freedoms (for example, autonomy of decision) and the basic principles of democracycannot be violated even in the name of a faith.

SYRIA



Religion Muslims: 86%Of Alawites: 10%

Christians: 9%Druze: 3%

Source:CalendarioAtlante De

Agostini 2000, ed.Istituto

Geografico DeAgostini, Novara,

1999

Sunni: 70%Alawite: 12%

Druze: 3%Ishmaelites: 1%Christians: 10%

Source: Philippe Lemarchand, ,Atlas géopolitique du Moyen-Orient et du monde arabe, Le

croissant des crises, 2nd ed.,Editions Complexe, s.l., 1994


The Constitution of the Arab Syrian Republic states that Islamic law is one of the sources of legislationand the Head of State must be Muslim. But Islam is not the State religion.

According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the American State Department, each and everyorganization must register with the authorities, which control the groups’ activities apart from thosedirectly tied to worship. State subsidies and tax deductions are granted to those recognizedorganizations, even if there is a distinct separation between religion and State, the government prefersthe spreading of moderate Islam. The scholastic system, a-confessional, provides the division ofcourses between Christians and Muslims, but there are schools that are held by Christian and Israeliteminorities, even if the State reserves the right to nominate the director and often the choice falls uponpersons of the Islamic faith.

The Jews find more difficulties – the only ones that must declare their faith in identity cards – whichhowever maintain their own public school that gives lessons in the Hebrew language. Since 1964,Jehovah’s Witnesses are not allowed to operate because they are considered a Zionist organization.

As for conversions from Islam, while not being legally prohibited, the public authorities are contrary tothis, the pretext being maintaining good relations between the different confessions.

The 1980 law no. 49 declares that the Muslim Brothers may be sentenced to death. The Report 2000 bythe Human Rights Watch mentions, based on what was published in the newspaper in Bahrain «Akhbaral-Khaleej» in September 1999, the release of 300 political prisoners members of the MuslimBrotherhood, after an amnesty was declared.

The same report refers the menaces against the Lebanese Christians made by Colonel Bashar Assad —the person in charge of the Syrian occupation forces in Lebanon — in an interview to the Beirut daily«al-Kifah al-Arabi» on February 4th 1999. The military warned that Syria would not accept the returnof confessional or sectarian tendencies. The Syrian army exercises strict political control over theLebanese, widened to include electoral procedures to the point of falsifying them and has provoked thereaction by the Maronite Patriarch of Beirut, Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, who wished to recall the need forregaining national sovereignty, as reported by the Beirut daily newspaper «Daily Star» on February 7th

1999.

TAIWAN



Religion Buddhists: 43%Taoists: 34%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. Specific laws that make registration with the centralauthorities obligatory regulate activities by the religious organizations. Doing this determines tax-exemptions; at the same time organizations are required to write up a yearly report on their financialoperations. Because of some abuse in this field, the authorities at times deny registration to theorganizations whose doctrine is not clear or could be confused with these already present andaccredited. The 1999 annual Report by the American State Department on religious freedom refers thatthe Government enforces this right and that there is no news about discrimination towards religiousgroups. Even foreign missionaries operate freely in the national territory. Religious instruction is notallowed at any school level, be it public or private schools. On the other hand, universities and researchinstitutes have departments for religious studies and religious organizations hold seminaries ontheology. There is no news on detainees or prisoners for religious reasons, even if the Report by theUSA State Department refers that 30 members of Jehovah’s Witnesses were put into prison for havingrefused to do their military service.

On January 25th 2000, «Human Rights Without Frontiers» reports the news, taken from the «TaipeiTimes» the previous 16th, of the introduction of a new law for conscientious objectors. The approvedlaw allows choosing the form of alternative service to the military. The legislation resolves a problemthat is particular to Jehovah’s Witnesses. The same source refers that at the moment of the law’sapproval, there are 28 Jehovah’s Witnesses in prison or undergoing trials for having refused to do theirmilitary service. The law provides for the immediate release of those already in jail for three years,while the others may choose to finish their three-year detention period or to do an alternative service.

TAJIKISTAN




Orthodox: 1,5%Number of Catholics 200

The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. The various religious communities must register withthe Commission for Religious Affairs by the law on religion and on religious organizations. TheCommission controls the activities of the various groups – particularly the Muslim groups and theOrthodox Church – to ensure their actions conform to the law and to guarantee that they do not take onpolitical importance. On May 23rd 1998, a law was approved that forbade the creation of politicalparties with religious orientations. Because of the harsh criticism it provoked among the members ofthe Party for Islamic Rebirth and by international organizations and from foreign governments, the lawwas modified in November 1998. According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USA StateDepartment, the President Imomali Rakmanov often defended the secularism of the nation to the pointof taking on «anti-religious» rather than «non-religious» connotations. The President himselfoccasionally criticized Islam, believing it to be a political danger.

Even if the population counts a majority of Sunni Muslims (about 80 percent of the population) and aShi’ite minority (about 5 percent, and adding 1,5 percent of Orthodox), the neo-Communistgovernment headed by the Prime Minister Iakhyo Azimov has a hostile relation with Islam. This is dueto the civil war between 1992 and 1993 and because of guerilla warfare on a vast scale, whichcontinued until the end of 1996, supported by nearby Afghanistan. Even the Party for Islamic Rebirth,while being associated to the regime for a short period of time, is discriminated and does not seem tohave obtained any results regarding the application of the agreement signed in June 1997 between theTajikistan government and the Islamic opposition.

The government seems to have granted preferential treatment to the Orthodox Church. However,according to the «Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe Digest» in May 1999, cases ofintolerance towards Christians by civilians and by police agents have been registered.

On November 12th 1999, «Compass Direct» reports that an Evangelical Church risks having itsregistration revoked and has found obstacles to its normal operations by state officials, to the point thatit finds itself having to diminish its activities. This group was harassed in the various cities inTajikistan where it operated. The most serious incident occurred around the middle of October atShaartuz, a city in the south of the country: the local authorities raided them during a celebration,beating the participants and tearing away Bibles. On September 30th 1999, “Sadoi Mardum”, theTajikistan parliamentary newspaper, reported that administrative fines were approved against fourmembers of the group because of “illegal missionary propaganda”.

At times, extraneous restrictions to religious practices are imposed by local government officials: forexample, the 1999 American Report on religious freedom asserts that the mayor of Dušanbe prohibitedthe use of microphones to call to prayer used by mosques (this would occur five times a day).

Other religious organizations, such as the Baha’i and the Hare Krishna, while being registered, operatewithout any apparent formal restrictions.

Christian missionaries operate in the country. The government grants permits to Muslim missionarieswith great difficulty, fearing the spreading of Islamic terrorism.

TANZANIA


Surface Area 945.090 sq. km.Religion Animists: 35%

Muslims: 35%Christians: 30%


Guaranteed by the Constitution, religious freedom is conditioned by the measures deemed necessary bythe Government to ensure public order. Religious groups must register with the Ministry of InternalAffairs and missionaries may enter the country freely. According to the Report on religious freedom bythe United States Government, the authorities did nothing to contribute in decreasing the tensionsbetween Christians and Muslims, generated by the discontent of the first for what they considerprivileges granted to the Muslims in the working and scholastic fields, and by the complaints of the lastones because they feel that they are excluded from participation in power.

According to the 1999 Report by Aed-France, the situation of non-Muslims on the Island of Zanzibar –which with Tanganyika makes up the United Republic of Tanzania – is marred by religiousdiscrimination. In fact, in this part of Tanzania, the Islamic majority instituted a secessionistmovement. Ordinary law is in vigor for the Christians, while the Muslims have a dual system, whichprovides for Islamic law on family and hereditary matters.

THAILAND



Religion Buddhistst: 95%Muslims: 4%


Thailand is held by a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary regime. The Constitutionguarantees religious freedom and worship to all religious communities. Buddhism, in its Theravadaversion, is basically the State religion; in fact, the Constitution prescribes that the monarch must be aBuddhist, yet this does not appear as the officially nominated «State religion». Also, the constitutionalcharter imposes the Government «to favor and protect Buddhism and other religions». Freedom ofworship is respected. The 1999 annual report by the American State Department on religious freedomrefers that the principle of religious freedom seems to be respected even in practical terms.

The Government has an active role in matters through the Department for Religious Affairs (DRA),within the Ministry for Education, with the duty of registering religious organizations. The procedurefor obtaining registration provides that the organization must be, first, accepted by one of the sevenecclesial groups already recognized: Buddhists, Muslims, Catholics and four Protestant denominations.Registration with the Government brings certain benefits, such as access to state subsidies, taxexemptions, free access on the national territory. According to the American Report, even unregisteredorganizations operate freely, even if the same source refers at least one case where an unregisteredreligious organization that was the victim of extortion by local public officials. The same source reportsthe news of a legal controversy that arose concerning the Hope of Thai People Foundation, whoseactivities were investigated by a special committee, without reaching any conclusions until the middleof 1999. The number of foreign missionaries officially registered is limited by a number fixed in 1982,and since then has not changed. There are no obstacles by the local authorities upon missionaryactivities, even if Muslim teachers are more severely controlled because of the fear of a possiblerenewal of Muslim secessionist groups in the south of the country. The Government promotesprograms for development and aid to realize greater integration of the different ethnic groups and,above all, of the Muslim citizens. There has been no news on violence, mistreatment or arrests forreligious reasons.

The 1999 Report on human rights by the «Human Rights Watch» reports inter-ethnic conflicts alongthe boundaries with Myanmar (Burma), also involving an armed group called the «Democratic KarenBuddhist Army (DKBA)», responsible for terrorist acts against the refugees of the Karen ethnic groupin Thailand. The same report refers a series of attacks by the DKBA, between March and April 1999,against the camps in Huay Kaloke, Mawker and Mae La. At least four refugees were killed and therewere over fifty wounded.

TOGO


Surface Area 56.785 sq. km.Religion Animists: 50%

Catholics: 21%Muslims: 15%

Protestants: 7%Number of Catholics 1.055.000

Guaranteed by the Constitution, the right to religious freedom has not been violated by the authorities,which require registration by all religious groups except for Catholics, Protestants and Muslims.

TONGA

Population 98.000


Religion Protestants:44%Catholics: 16%


It is a constitutional monarchy and has a Constitution that sanctions the principle of religious freedomand states that Sunday must be considered holy and business cannot be done except for those providedfor by law, even if there is an exception for hotels and meeting-points that are part of the tourismindustry.

The king and many nobles are members of the Methodist Church, but the government does notdiscriminate against those belonging to other religions and propagandizing is completely free.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO




Hindu: 23,8%Muslims: 5,8%


The Constitution establishes freedom of religion and the Government respects this right. To receivetax-exempt donations or land donations, religious groups must register with the Government, whichrequires them to be non-profit organizations. Religious groups have the same rights and duties as manylegally recognized organizations, whether they are registered or not. They may own land but must payproperty taxes, and they could hire workers but had to pay government contributions.

There is no dominant religion among the population of the country, which has a multi-ethnicphysiognomy: of the 1,3 million inhabitants, 40 percent is of African origin, 40 percent belong toEastern India, the remaining percentage is from European, Syrian, Lebanese and Chinese heritage.

The Islamic organization Jamaat al Muslimeen is in the Government’s eye, some members hadattempted a coup d’état in 1990. Foreign missionaries operate freely in the country, but they must havethe standard pre-requisites for an entry visa, representing a registered religious group and not remainingin the country for more than three years. The Mormon Church has the maximum number (30) foreignmissionaries allowed in the country for each religious confession, while the others range between fiveand ten missionaries.

The government finances public and religious schools. Religion classes are also allowed in publicschools on a voluntary basis once a week.

The various religious groups present in the country coexist peacefully and respect each other.Occasionally, according to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USA State Department,complaints have been lodged against propaganda efforts made by some groups in an area whereanother religion is dominant. The most frequent complaints have been made by the Hindu against theEvangelists and the Christian Pentecostals. This also mirrors the racial tensions that sometimes arisebetween the Afro-Trinidadian and the Indo-Trinidadian communities.

TUNISIA




A State where the official religion is Islam, but whose Constitution does not mention Islamic law,despite the population being a Muslim majority; however, the President of the Republic must beIslamic.

The penal code forbids Muslim women from marrying a man from another religion. Public educationprovides the mandatory teaching of Islamic doctrine and includes, in the upper schools, the history ofJudaism and Christianity.

Permits for the construction of Christian churches are not granted, even if there is tolerance withrespect to the confessions present before national independence in 1956. According to the Report onreligious freedom by the American State Department, conversions from Muslims to other confessionsare seen as an attempt against public order. The last cases of persecution by the police authoritiesagainst Christians converted from Islam go back to 1998. Therefore, any Christian missionary activityis forbidden and whoever proselytizes is thrown out of the country without being able to ever comeback. Even spreading Christian literature in the Arabic language is not well looked upon.

The Hebrew community is financially supported by the State, which finances restoration and themaintenance of the synagogues, as well as furnishing subsidies for the Head Rabbi.Restriction on freedom of worship and reunion are imposed on the Baha’i community.

The Human Rights Watch Report 2000 reports that Islamic sympathizers are persecuted, particularly ifsuspected of being followers of the an-Nadha movement. Some of these are in prison, in exile or out onparole, and they are the majority of political prisoners.

TURKEY



Religion Sunni Muslims: 80%Shi’ite Muslims: 19,8%


The Constitution qualifies the Republic as a «Democratic, lay and social State of right that respectshuman rights», ensuring equality for all citizens without distinction of religion or worship. To protectfreedom of conscience, opinion and religious faith, the fundamental charter provides that «nobody canbe obligated to pray or participate in rites or religious ceremonies or obliged to divulgate their beliefsor religious convictions». Article 24 establishes that «nobody will be criticized or incriminated becauseof his or her beliefs or religious convictions», making the Department for Religious Affairs, in article136, absolve its duties «in conformity to the principle of laity, beyond the political ideas and opinionsand making solidarity and national integrity its objectives».

Despite the State being defined as secular, religious appurtenance is signaled on identity cards. Also,religious instruction is mandatory for Muslims in the primary and secondary schools. Childrenbelonging to religious minorities recognized by the Treaty of Lausanne, with a document testifying totheir non-Islamic faith, are exempted from attending these classes; others instead, like the ChristianSyriachs, must attend.

There are no legal prohibitions against religious conversion, but social pressures are very strong againstthis event.

According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the American State Department, some membersof religious minorities complain that because of their religious faith they have limited careerpossibilities in state or military professions.

The government controls religious activities through the Department for Religious Affairs. Religiousminorities recognized by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, with their affiliated Churches, theirmonasteries, their schools, are regulated by another government office, The Office for Foundations,which must approve all the initiatives made by these institutions.

According to the law, religious activities may only take place in places for worship. Religiousminorities not recognized by the Treaty of Lausanne cannot but properties; the recognized ones maybuy property if it is necessary for the community. To restore buildings and ancient monuments, theRegional Office for the Protection of Cultural and National Property must give authorization. Ifreligious buildings are not used because of the prolonged absence of priests and faithful, they becomepart of the State’s patrimony. Many religious minorities, the Greek Orthodox, the Jews and theArmenian Orthodox have lost many places of worship because of this law: however, if they candemonstrate the existence of a new community, they can make a request for the return of their property.On March 19th 1999, «Compass Direct» informs that an Armenian school in Istanbul was thrown outof the building they had a regular lease. The Armenian Catholic foundation Mekhitaryan had boughtthe building in 1958, but, despite this, in 1979 the General Department for Foundations denied that itwas the legitimate owner. Therefore, the building had been expropriated without any compensation tothe Armenian foundation, which continued to use paying rent. The Municipality of Ayas, which owned75 percent of the property, had renewed the contract for 1998-1999; however, the Miltas Company,owning the remaining 25 percent, asked for them to be thrown out. Reactions to this by the variousreligious personalities were inevitable: as stated by the Armenian Patriarch for Istanbul, «this decisionmeans that minorities cannot own any property beside what is already in their possession at the time ofthe signing of the Treaty of Lausanne. Whatever they received afterwards, must return to the State».

On February 18th 2000, «Compass Direct» reports that the authorities in the province of Hatayconfiscated a building for worship belonging to the Armenian Church.

Proselytism is not specifically forbidden, however, this activity is looked upon with suspicion andconsidered «socially unacceptable», according to the American Government’s Report on religiousfreedom in 1999. Arrests or exile, in the case of foreign citizens, are not isolated cases for persons

proselytizing. On August 20th 1999, «Compass Direct» reports that two Christians, with a stand forreligious books in a proud section of Istanbul, were arrested and later released by the Turkish police,accused of selling books in a public place without official authorization. The same source reports thaton July 16th some European tourists were arrested and then released a few hours later, after their hotelrooms had been searched and Bibles and other Christian material (which was immediately confiscated)had been found. In the same way, towards the end of July, 15 American students were arrested in thecity of Smyrna, accused of «Christian propaganda», for having distributed religious literature in a localpark. All the material they had, even what was found in the hotel they were staying at, was confiscatedand never returned. The students were made to leave the country immediately.

Many government officials consider the measures against religious activism as a tool to prevent Islamicprojects for creating a Muslim State, points out «Compass Direct». However, for the majority of thepopulation, the principle in which being Turkish means being Muslim is still valid and thereby thesemeasures appear to be limitations to the religious freedom of non-Muslim minorities.

The military and judicial authorities continue to fight Islamism, considered a danger to the secularrepublic.

In an act promoted in May 1999 by the Constitutional Court against the Islamic Party of Virtue(Fazilet), the successor of the Refah (the Party for Well-being), for «anti-secular activities», forbiddingwearing the veil to women Parliament members, university students, lawyers and judges was re-emphasized, as can be seen in the Report 2000 by the Human Rights Watch. According to the Report2000 by the «Human Rights Watch», the event that precipitated everything was the attempt by thenewly elected representative of the Party Merve Kavakci to swear into Parliament on May 2nd 1999wearing the Islamic veil. The Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit deemed this act disrespectful towards thesecular State and she was not allowed to swear in. This created a great deal of discussion, whichfollowed the protests against the ever increasing severity of the application by the government of theprohibition, going back 50 years, of wearing the veil in public offices or in other state institutions.However, whoever protests there is always the danger of being persecuted by the law. In March 1999 –as referred by the Report 2000 by the «Human Rights Watch» - the lawyer Sadi Carsancakli, thepresident of the Istanbul section of the Mazlum-Der, with 16 women and various journalists, wasaccused of «provocation» by the Court of State Security for having organized and participated in anational peaceful demonstration against the prohibition of the veil in October 1998. A demonstrationagainst this prohibition also took place in May at the University of Inonu, ending in a violent mannerand with over 200 arrests.

Going against the law that forbids the veil has cost 300 teaching women their jobs «in the recent past»,as pointed out by the Minister for Education Metin Bostacioglu, quoted by «Ansa» on February 10th

2000.

In June 1999, the National Council for Security invited the government to never concede in the battleagainst Islamic radicalism. Some Islamic political leaders were arrested, accused of being a danger tothe integrity of the State. Among these, even the last mayor of Istanbul, Tayyip Erdogan, wassentenced to ten months in jail in September 1998 and arrested in March 1999.

On December 9th 1998, «Human Rights Without Frontiers», basing itself on the killing of the ChristianHannah Atxti, denounces the systematic persecution of the Chaldean Christian religious community inthe southwest region of Turkey, persecution by the local authorities and by the Kurds.

According to «The Persecution & Prayer Alert» dated October 25th 1999, very often, despite theconstitutional guarantees concerning freedom of reunion to members of all religions, some laws withvague texts are used by the security forces as a pretext to attack the Turkish Christian Protestants. Thiswas the case in the two raids made by the police in two Evangelical churches, notified by «CompassDirect» on September 24th and October 4th 1999. In Smyrna, the police arrested 40 members,interrupting the Sunday assembly and accusing them of worshipping in an illegal church. However, theprosecution released all the arrested persons because the religious activities the community was doingin places of worship and prayer were protected by constitutional guarantees. Despite this, the policerefused to take off the seals on the church’s doors until they received a written order from Ankara.

Three weeks later, the police raided another church in Zeytinburnu, arresting almost all the adultmembers, including 11 foreigners. The accusation was of occupying an «illegal church» in this case aswell, because according to the police, the new church, before being able to function, must obtainwritten permission from the Turkish government. Actually, the existing laws state that it is sufficient toinform the Turkish government in a written form that a new building has been designated as a place ofprayer.

On January 21st 2000, «Compass» informs of the reopening of the Protestant church in Smyrna onDecember 19th 1999, fourteen weeks after the placing of seals by the police. Relations with the

authorities also returned, and the authorities allowed the public celebration of Christmas, and over1.300 persons took part in this, of which a representative from the governor and the local director forcultural property. The governor of Smyrna also sent a telegram to the Church.

At the same time, the President Suleyman Demirel was the first Head of the Turkish State to formallyexpress his best wishes for Christmas to the Christian communities present in the country. Thepresidential message was aired by the national television and radio and printed in almost all the dailynewspapers.

Monday January 17th 2000 – as reported by «Ansa» on the following 19th – the police and the specialservices of the Turkish Gendarmerie killed the head of the Ilim (Science) group, an extremist faction ofthe Hezbollah (the Party of God), Huseyn Velioglu. The group, an organization spreading from Iran toTurkey since 1983, is responsible for the kidnapping of many moderate Islamic businessmen, fifty-sixof which were found killed and buried in group tombs. A dispatch from «Agi» on January 19th reportsthat according to some of the experts, the government in Ankara during the 80’s supported and trainedthe Hezbollah militants in exchange for collaboration against the PKK, the Party of Kurdistan Workers,of Marxist inspiration lead by Abdullah Ocalan. The group appears to be responsible for the killing ofabout sixty PKK militants. As opposed to the Kurds, as reported by «Agi» on January 23rd 2000, theHezbollah never went against at State representatives such as the police or the military. The authoritiesdeny any involvement in the terrorist activities.

The Premier Bulent Ecevit, reports «Ansa» on January 20th 2000, stated that the battle against theHezbollah «will continue until the total extermination of these violent assassins». The same source onthe same date, reports that the strength of the Hezbollah has grown immensely during the recent past,especially after the military decline of the PKK. Actions against the Hezbollah were supposedly donein collaboration with the Mossad and the Jordanian secret services. The Iranian Minister for ForeignAffairs, Kamal Kharrazi, concluding an official visit to Turkey, repeatedly denied the ties between hiscountry and the Turkish Hezbollah. Supposedly the Turkish Hezbollah have nothing in common withthe Lebanese group going by the same name and fight for the creation of an Islamic State in southeastTurkey.

However, according to «Agi» on January 22nd 2000, an armed Islamic group infiltrated the structures ofthe Turkish State and supposedly placed many men in key places in the institutions. Ecevit confirmedthis, the day after the arrest of an Islamic militant in the Premier’s office.

TURKMENISTAN



Religion Muslims: 87%Orthodox: 6,4%


Independent since October 27th 1991, the nation has a majority of Sunni Muslim, which makes up 87percent of the population, as opposed to the 6,4 percent of Orthodox. The only political party allowedin elections is the Democratic Party, the heir to the Communist Party. Even if article 11 of theConstitution guarantees religious freedom, the law on freedom of conscience and on religiousorganizations, amended in 1996, gives the government vast control and limits religious activities. Onlythe Russian Orthodox Church and the Sunni Muslims have a recognized juridical status since the endof 1997. A presidential decree dated December 6th 1996 made worship by any religion with less than500 members practically impossible. According to the OCSE Yearly in May 1999, there are manyother obstacles that make it very difficult to register religious communities: the government deniesrecognition in various ways, for example by refusing registration because of grammatical or technicalerrors, or by intimidating members of the religious groups signing the forms, or also by interpreting theprerequisite of 500 members on a local or regional (as opposed to national) basis. Because of this, onlyreligious movements tied to the Sunni Islam or the Orthodox Church are able to obtain registration, andmany minor groups continue being victims of many persecutions. The law on freedom of consciencedoes not explicitly outlaw unregistered religious groups, who cannot teach or have companiespublishing religious material. However, the Turkmenistan authorities have interpreted the law in a veryrestrictive way, choosing to ban all unregistered religions.

In 1997, Jehovah’s Witnesses were stopped from meeting to read the Bible by a decree suspendingtheir activities until official registration. This provision, first adopted by the District prosecutor ofLebapskii, was then confirmed by the general prosecutor of Turkmenistan, by the Court of Seidy andby the District Court of Lebapskii in 1998. After repeated violence and menaces received, last May 15th

the citizens of Seidy in a letter to the President of the Republic, Saparmurad Niyazov, said that despitetheir membership in Jehovah’s Witnesses they are obligated by the authorities of their city to professthe Islamic faith.

Conversions to other religions from Islam are strongly discouraged. The authorities rigidly punishconscientious objections for religious reasons. On June 3rd 1999, «Human Rights Without Frontiers»reports that Zurban Zakirov, converted to Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1997, was arrested for his objectionsto the military service.

Government permission is necessary for any public demonstration for religious reasons. Even smallprayer groups meeting informally in private homes are subjected to persecutions. Government officialsarrived during meetings by some congregations of Baptists, Seventh Day Adventists, Pentecostals andconfiscated religious materials, warning them to stop their activities.

In an article by Barbara G. Baker, appearing in «Compass» on May 21st 1999, many cases of jailsentences or fines for common crimes of members of the local Baptist Church are reported. The faithfulbelieve that these are motivated by an intention to persecute their religion. To stop Protestantpreaching, in some cases they have even confiscated Bibles, the personal passports of somePentecostals, arbitrary arrests and even deportation for two years to forced labor camps, forced upon aTurkmenistan citizen, Shagildy Atakov, because of his conversion to the Baptist Church. Atakov’swife, Gulya – as reported by the «Keston News Service» on July 22nd 1999 – stated that since herhusband converted to the Baptist Church, he was subjected to frequent menaces from the governmentofficials. The same source refers that, on January 28th 2000, Atakov was sentenced to fifteen days ofisolation for having refused to recite, for religious reasons, the daily oath of fidelity to the President ofTurkmenistan Niyazov, and something all prisoners were made to do. During his imprisonment,Atakov was subjected to violence and mistreatments, to the point of fearing for the loss of his sight.Because of the wounds he received, the visiting family could not even embrace him.

Mistreatment of Christians by the law enforcement is rather frequent and the “Keston News Service”also mentions testimonies of this in a Report in April 1999.

Between June and August 1999, at least seven raids against Protestant churches have been reported.And many others during the following months. A spokesman for the Turkmenistan Ministry of ForeignAffairs, in answer to the request for information on the raids in the Adventist churches in Septembermade by «Keston», denied any involvement. On November 15th 1999, «Compass Direct» reports thefreeing of the Baptist Pastor Rahim Tashov, arrested the previous October 31st. While the accusationsare not official, «Compass» informs on December 8th 1999, during the past months, officials from thesecret service KNB supposedly menaced some parents, whose children attended Sunday groups, tomake them sign declarations on Tashov’s activities as an unauthorized religion teacher. Many times,the Church asked for registration, but it was always denied. On February 7th 2000, «Compass» informsthat the previous February 3rd, Tashov and a friend were lead to the police station of Turkmenabad,where KNB officials warned them to stop organizing encounters, otherwise they would be arrested.Even the Baptist church of Ashgabat, which – like all other Protestant churches – is not officiallyregistered, was subjected to vexations, to the point of the arrest of the Pastor, the Russian VladimirChernov, on November 14th 1999. Various searches were made previously in his apartment, the placefor the community’s meetings. During the police’s visits, many books and passports of members of theChurch were confiscated. On December 5th 1999, Chernov sent an open letter to the President of theRepublic Niyazov, inviting him «to stop the persecution of the Baptist faithful in Turkmenistan and togive them back their constitutional rights». During that same month, Vladimir Chernov and his wifeOlga were deported to Kiev in the Ukraine, according to what is reported by «Compass» on January21st 2000. Another Baptist couple, Aleksandr Yefremov and his wife were exiled from the country onthe same day.

In November 1999, the Adventist church in Ashgabad was destroyed, the only one present inTurkmenistan. In 1992, President Niyazov had given permission for the construction of the Church,which was completed in 1996. However, with the revisions on the law on freedom of conscience in1997, the Church was deprived of its official status. The same source informs that state officials deniedthat the destruction was due to persecution declaring that it came under a plan for the reconstruction ofthe city. According to Barbara Huff, the administrative assistant of the Euro-Asian division of theAdventist Church, in a declaration to the «Keston News Service» published on November 26th 1999,«two months ago, the Pastor was given a verbal warning stating that if he did not stop his activities, andthe building would be destroyed». The Adventists tried to send a representative, Aleksandr Shvarts, inTurkmenistan, to look into the situation, but he was not given a visa. Two months before this event, theTurkmenistan authorities had destroyed a Hare Krishna temple in a village near the city of Mary, andhad obliged the Hindu community to demolish another in the capital. The leader of the Hare Krishnacommunity in Ashgabad, Aleandr Prinkur, was exiled from the country. As referred by the «KestonNews Service» on September 8th 1999, Prinkur had denounced violence against his communities: manymembers were called to the KNB offices, where they were questioned, intimidated, menaced; manyothers lost their jobs because of their convictions. The Hare Krishna community, despite variousattempts, always found its requests for registration denied.

Today, the Armenian community is waiting for the reconstruction of its places of worship, confiscatedduring the Socialist-Communist regime: despite the estimate that 10-15 percent of the Orthodox are ofArmenian descent, the Turkmenistan authorities have not given an answer to the official requestpresented at the beginning of 1999. In January 1999, according to the United States Government’sreport on religious freedom in 1999, certain members of the Armenian Gregorian Church, awaitingrecognition, asked to use a church confiscated during the Soviet regime as a cultural center, but theystill have not received an answer.

TUVALU ISLAND

Population 11.000


Religion Protestants: 89%Catholics: 1,4%

Number of Catholics 100

The Constitution provides for the separation between religion and State and does not impose anyrestrictions on religious freedom. According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the UnitedStates Department of State, the government respects this. Missionaries from the various Christianorganizations, Protestant and Catholic, practice their activities without restrictions. Relations betweenthe confessions are friendly.

UGANDA



Religion Catholics:44,5%Protestants:39%Muslims: 10,5%


The Constitution recognizes the right to religious freedom and religious associations do not have toregister, except for the missionary groups.

According to «Aide à l’Église en détresse», the government battles against dissident political-religiousgroups.

On March 4th 2000, «Avvenire» reports the following day, two Italian missionaries, Father PonzianoVelluto and the volunteer Giorgio Vacariotto were kidnapped by the LRA militia (The Lord’sResistance Army), who then proceeded to rob them of all their belongings and released them a fewhours later.

In his treatise Tragedia in Uganda: la "Restaurazione dei Dieci Comandamenti di Dio", un movimentopost-cattolico (Tragedy in Uganda: the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, a post-Catholicmovement), which appeared on March 23rd 2000 on the Cesnur internet site, Massimo Introvignedescribes the circumstances that brought to the fire in Kanungu on March 17th 2000 and the subsequentdeath of about five hundred members of the Ugandan movement “Restorations of the TenCommandments of God” – of these about eighty were children.

«In 1994, the movement was legally recognized and until 1998 had a permit for a college, revoked bythe government that year for violations to the health regulations, possible mistreatment of students andteachers contrary to the Ugandan Constitution. The Restoration was also considered one of the lessviolent among the many Ugandan apocalyptical groups. It would seem that they foresaw the end f theworld on December 31st 1999, moving it to March 17th 2000, when the Madonna came to Kanungu tocarry its followers to Heaven. Many of the approximately 4000 members were Catholics, but themovement combined with the Catholic themes others typical of the world of the AIC (African InitiatedChurches – a term which substituted that of the African Independent Churches with the researchers)and also with local ethnic spiritism. The TRCG had branches in various parts of Uganda (the largestbeing destroyed by fire the same night as the tragedy in Kanungu) and, according to a police report (asyet unconfirmed), “contacts” with France, Italy, Austria and Germany. […] It would seem that, whilecertain followers knew about the preparations for suicide, others were simply told that a supernaturalevent might take place. As in the case of the Solar Temple (while being obviously different), thevictims (apart from the children) can be divided into three groups: those knowing about the suicide (aminority); a majority expecting “to go to Paradise” without knowing how; and the “traitors” whoplanted doubts on Kibwetere in the authorities and were probably killed before the fire. Among theleaders, Kataribabo was positively identified among the dead, while according to the declarations bythe Ugandan government on March 23rd, Kibwetere and Merinde could have fled from the fire (a boysupposedly saw them go away before the fire). According to other testimonies, both instead perished inthe fire».

Always according to Introvigne, in Uganda there are hundreds of religious movements: many of theapocalyptical and millenarian types. The successive governments committed to the repression ofmillenarian movements in a rather heavy-handed way. In 1999, between September and November, thegovernment attacked and destroyed the Church of the World Message of the Last Warning of WilsonBushara and the community of the woman prophet Nabassa Gwajwa.

According to the specialists, often in Uganda the fight between “sects” and the national army, with itsviolent characteristics, protests (and even suicide), reproduce in “new” ways the pre-existing conflictsof tribal, ethnic or political characteristics. More in general, the Ugandan tragedies confirm that theviolence linked to the new religious movements arise from a combination of internal and externalfactors. Be it the millenarian beliefs formed by the tragic recent past of Uganda, be it the severerepression by the army and police, these are all considerations to be kept in mind regarding the causes

of the tragedies. For Introvigne, in Africa as anywhere else, «generalizations stating that all themillenary and apocalyptic movements are “sects” one step from collective suicide are simply false. Onthe other hand, these accusations could increase the tension and the deviances, become prophecies thatfavor their own adversaries and contribute to causing those same evils that they declare wanting toprevent».

UKRAINE



Religion Orthodox: 60%Uniates: 7%

Protestants: 3,6%Catholics: 1,2%

Jews: 1%Number of Catholics 5.635.000

The Constitution and the 1991 law on freedom of conscience and religion establish the separationbetween State and Church and every citizen’s right to practice freely chosen religion. This freedom isfairly well respected by the government, with the exception of some religious groups of foreign origin,which have some problems regarding registration and in buying or leasing property. Their activitieshave been restricted even more by an amendment to the law approved in 1993 stating thatrepresentatives of foreign groups may only operate «within the spheres of the organizations thatinvited them to the Ukraine, and only with the official approval by the government agency thatregisters statutes and the articles of the religious organizations in question».

The State Commission for Religious Affairs deals with the interaction with religious organizations andthe practice of the State’s policies on religious matters. This agency has its main office in Kiev, withother offices in each main regional city.

The Law of freedom of conscience and religion requires that every religion, with over 10 members ofage, register its statute to obtain status as a “legal entity”. This status is necessary to own property andto undertake economic activities, such as publishing religious materials or opening a bank account. Thegroup, depending on whether it wishes to register as a national or a local organization, must registerwith the main office or with one of the local offices of the Commission for Religious Affairs.

As stated by the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the United States Government, some foreignreligious groups have met some problems especially on the local level, since the dependents of theCommission denied their registration for long periods of time, and this limited their activities. Thedifficulties in registering, apart from bureaucratic slowness and the workers’ inertia, sometimes comefrom pressure exerted by the Orthodox or the Greek Catholic Church – depending on the area ofinfluence – so that the local officials won’t register foreign religious organizations.

The Orthodox Church, followed by about 60-70 percent of the population, is divided into threedenominations (one under the Patriarchate of Moscow, one under the Patriarchate of Kiev, and asmaller autonomous one), and between them, there are continuous inter-confessional disputes. Each ofthese laments the difficulties they encounter in the other’s area of influence. On April 30th 1999 – asreferred by «Keston News Service» on the following June 1st - at Mariupol, in the region of Donec'k,about one hundred supporters of the Ukraine Orthodox Church under the Patriarchate of Moscow(UOC-MP), lead by the local bishop, Hilary, attacked the Patriarch Philarete, the head of the UkraineOrthodox Church under the Patriarchate of Kiev (UOC-KP), while he was blessing the land where anew cathedral was to be built. Tens of UOC-KP members were hit, and the secretary of the Patriarchwas taken to the hospital. A spokesman for the UOC-MP confirmed the presence of Archbishop Hilaryamong the aggressors, but explained that he was only there to calm the people and to stop theaggression from taking place. According to the same source, this incident was the last of a series ofother obstacles put into place against the work by the UOC-KP by state officials as well as by membersof the UOC-MP. At the beginning of April 1999, the regional government of Donec'k let PatriarchPhilarete know that his visit in the region was not wanted and during the trip, the following 23rd, he wasstopped by 150 persons threatening him and once again they tries intimidate him into stopping his visit.The following 25th, the same group surrounded the church of the UOC-KP of the Transfiguration andthe 29th of the same month, the local bishop of the UOC-MP, speaking on a television station ofMariupol, asked the members of the UOC-MP to use any means available to make the PatriarchPhilarete and the UOC-KP leave the city. The Mariupol episode – as referred by the same source –created reactions from Christians of various denominations, who lamented the inability of the State andthe police to adequately defend the victims of these aggressions, as well as the inability of some of the

UOC-MP members to hold true to the agreements made with the other Churches to avoid violence.The Lutheran pastor of Kiev, Vyacheslav Horpynchuk, stated, «the Russian Orthodox Church believesthat the other two Orthodox Churches, like all the other non-Orthodox Churches, have no right to existon the traditional Russian territory, as they see Ukraine being». In his Christmas message on January6th 1999, President Leonid Kuchma invited the Orthodox Churches of the country to unity.

The Ukraine Greek Catholic Church reaches about 10 percent of the population. Some local leaders toloosen up Moscow’s control introduced it in the country at the same time of an attempt, and because ofthis, it is often associated with Ukraine Nationalism. In the western part of the country, often there aredisputes between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church of Byzantine Rite, in particular aboutreligious buildings and property.

Islamic religion is practiced especially in Crimea, among the Tartar population. Worries about thespreading of Islam have emerged from the declarations made by some officials of the Ukraine securityservice and the mass media, that Chechnya is looking for new supporters in the Black Sea Peninsula.The «Associated Press» dated October 23rd 1999, reports the declarations by President Kuchma, whostated that Ukraine must face the danger of Islamic extremism, and invited the security forces toprepare adequate measures to fight it. The daily newspaper «Krimaskaya Prava», in an articlepublished on October 19th, states, «the representatives of an extremist Islamic movement seem to beattracted by Crimea as a base for the preparation of “true Muslims”, in the physical and ideologicalsense». Arab emissaries, trying to spread Islam throughout the world, supposedly found support inCrimea among the Tartar extremists. Some Arab students spread literature in the country, inviting theMuslims to the “jihad”, the war against the infidels, and the same initiation to the Islamic holy war wasrepeated in some mosques in Crimea.

According to the legislation in act, only the religious organizations – not individuals or non-religiousorganizations – may request the restitution of property nationalized during the Soviet period. But onlychurches, synagogues and religious objects directly necessary to worship are included; not otherbuildings, like schools or community centers. The decision on returning particular buildings or notdepends on the administration of the region it is in. This procedure, according to what the 1999 Reportby the United States Government on religious freedom, is rather slow, and many complaints come fromthe Jewish community and the Catholic Church. Even the two main Orthodox Churches haveencountered various difficulties. Also, the simultaneous request for the same building, at times, isadded to the problems that come from government bureaucracy. Last February, President Kuchmainstructed the government and other executive organs to close the pending cases within the year. Healso invited the Fund for State Property to take measures to avoid the privatization of propertiespreviously owned by religious communities. A proposal for the revision of the law on religion,presented to the Parliament in April, suggested the broadening of the range of buildings that may bereturned, so as to include even the secular buildings once owned by the religious communities.

On May 11th 1999, «Keston News Service» reports that three members of the Baptist Church werearrested and imprisoned for ten days in the city of Charkiv, in the Eastern region of Kharkov: “this isthe first case in the Ukraine of imprisonment for Christian activities”, states a communication by theRussian Evangelical ministers in the United States.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES





For all seven Emirates that make up the Federation and for the Federal Constitution, the officialreligion is Islam. The fundamental charter of the State, however, ensures the right to worship as long asit does not violate the laws or public morality.

According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the State Department of the United States,proselytism is forbidden – which brought to the warnings of expulsion to some missionaries – and theprohibition of distributing non-Islamic religious literature. According to monsignor Bernardo Gremoli,the Apostolic Vicar of Arabia, interviewed by Viviana Bruschi on «Quotidiano nazionale» on January30th 2000, «our relations with the sheiks and the Islamic religious representatives are positive. Ourschools are managed by sisters, we have seven with over 13 thousand students, and are attended by thechildren of rich and powerful Arabs».

The mosques are rigidly controlled by the Government, which does not nominate preachers, with theexception of Dubai. In this Emirate, in 1999, a center for promotion and dialogue was founded, withthe objectives of contact and exchange between the autochthonous and foreigners, to show the lastones, Islamic doctrine and local culture.

UNITED KINGDOM




Muslims: 2,6%Orthodox: 1%

Hindu: 0,6%Jews: 0,5%


Two religions are recognized: the Church of England (Anglican) and the Church of Scotland(Presbyterian).

The king, being the «Supreme Governor» of the Church, must obviously be a practicing Anglican andmust commit himself to ensure Protestant succession to the throne and cannot marry a person from theCatholic religion.

The Anglican Church has certain privileges that other religions do not have: among these, twenty-sixAnglican bishops sit in the House of Lords, and their influence is not limited to just ecclesial matterssince they are allowed to debate and vote on anything. There are strong ties between State and Churchand the State has control over religious matters: suffice it to mention that the Crown, as advised by thePrime Minister, nominates Anglican bishops and archbishops. The law against blasphemy refers andprotects only the Anglican Church.

The Church of Scotland, as opposed to the Anglican one, is not subject to any state authority andautonomously nominates its bishops.

No confession receives funds directly from the State, but each one finances itself with donations,investments and with fund collecting. However, since 1977, the Government has created special fundsdedicated to restoring and maintaining religious buildings with some historical value, and this is notlimited to the Church of England. Most of the religious institutions are classified as charitableinstitutions, and, this status, allows them to benefit from many tax exemptions and deductions.

The Catholic and the Anglican Churches control over 90 percent of the schools financed by the State.Religious scholastic education is part of the curriculum; the parents’ decision to exonerate theirchildren from these lessons is conditioned by the school’s approval. Also, the school must ensure thatthe students attend daily at least one collective worship practice.

The «Human Rights Act», in vigor from 2000, guarantees religious freedom, including the possibilityof changing religion, and forbids any discrimination based on the religion professed.

The conflict between the Republicans and the Unionists in Northern Ireland, even if influenced bypolitical, economic and social factors, has often taken on religious characteristics. In Northern Ireland,for example – as referred by the 1999 Report by the United States Government – the percentage ofunemployed Catholics is about twice that of the Protestants. The daily «Avvenire», on January 20th

2000, reports that the Parliament member Peter Mandelson presented a law project to reform thestructure of the Royal Ulster Police and to correct the inequities: he proposed increasing the number ofCatholic policemen to reach numerical equality between these and the Protestant ones.

The «Zenit» press agency on September 20th 1999, reports the denunciation made by the famousScottish composer James MacMiglan, who stated that in Scotland there is still a lot of prejudice againstCatholics. The same source reports the news of the petition presented by the National Party of theScottish Parliament, asking for the abolition of the anti-Catholic elements from the “Act ofSuccession”.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA




Jews: 2,1%Muslims: 1,9%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom.

«Usa Today» informs that on July 15th 1999, the House of Representatives approved, with a vastmajority, a law proposal on religious freedom, which according to some activists for human rightscould be used to justify sexual or racial discrimination. The text, which hasn’t been examined by theSenate yet, provides for the government intervention on religious practices, the State and its localofficials must give proof of unalterable interest for the State on the question. For the supporters of thisproposal, however, the measures, if definitely approved, would guarantee the protection of religiouspractices regarding the typical Israelite or Muslim way of dressing and would bring a little good senseinto the interpretation of the First Amendment.

On November 19th 1999, «Zenit» referred that a few days earlier the appeals court of the IX districtdecided that the Claremont Institute acted correctly when it forbade Edward Di Loreto to place anadvertisement for the Ten Commandments in a baseball field belonging to the school in 1996. Thecourt also believed that the advertisement could have damaged the school and provoked legal action forattempting to establish a religion, something not allowed by the First Amendment of the Constitution.

The same agency reports the news of a sentence by the appeals court of the third district, according towhich Zachary Hood, a six-year-old child, did not have the right to read a part of the Bible in class. InAmerican schools, reading the Bible has not been allowed since 1962, after a sentence by the SupremeCourt stating that this violated the principle of separation between Church and State.

Changing idea after several years, on January 26th 2000, the American Hebrew Congresscommunicated to a Federal Court that teaching religion, but not belonging to a confession, could beinserted into the scholastic curriculum, despite parental opposition, to maintain impartiality towards allreligions without denying their importance – as referred by «Human Rights Without Frontiers» onFebruary 1st 2000.

On March 25th 1999, the same source reports that the Supreme Court, the previous 22nd, rejected theappeal of an anti-sect group, the Cult Awareness Network, against the sentencing of one of itsmembers, Rick Ross, accused of having «deprogrammed» Jason Scott, a member of a PentecostalChurch. Kidnapped in 1995 by three men, tied, blindfolded and gagged, Scott had been the segregatedfor five days by the so-called «deprogrammers», engaged by the mother, to renounce his own religiousbeliefs. Then the victim fled after pretending to abjure. Ross and the CAN were sentenced in 1998 topaying damages of one million and 875 thousand dollars.

On October 2nd 1999, «Human Rights Without Frontiers» reports the news of the sentence to 27 yearsin jail given on the previous September 30th to Donald A. Puckett for having helped Jay Scott Ballingerand Angela Wood burn down the Church of Christ in Lebanon in Concorde in 1994. Wood was alsoaccused for the same crime. Ballinger was also incriminated for the firing of other 33 churches in eightFederal States in 1994.

A prayer book of the Southern Baptist Convention – the congregation President Bill Clinton belongs to– was the object of a dispute between Hindus and Baptists. The drafts for the book contained prayers«for the conversion of those immersed in the darkness of the sin of Hinduism» - as referred by«Misna» on October 23rd 1999.

On September 9th 1999, the USA State Department published a voluminous and complete report onreligious freedom regarding the situation in all the states of the world, denouncing many violations tothis right. However, the intensity of these denunciations seems to depend heavily upon the frameworkof international political alliances of the United States Government.

URUGUAY




Jews: 0,9%Number of Catholics 2.548.000

There is a distinct separation between Church and State existing from the beginning of the 20th

Century. Under the reformist influence of President Jose Battle y Ordonez, religious instruction inschools was banned in 1909. Separation between Church and State was included in the 1917constitution and reconfirmed in today’s Constitution, which goes back to 1967 and guarantees religiousfreedom.

All religions are authorized in receiving tax exemptions for their places of worship, with priorregistration every five years.

Public schools allow students from religious minorities to not attend religious holidays. Many Christiangroups work as missionaries in the country without obstacles by the State.

UZBEKISTAN



Religion Muslims: 88%Orthodox: 1%


The right to religious freedom, while guaranteed by the Constitution, received a strong blow with theapproval of the Law on freedom of conscience and on religious organizations, on May 1st 1999.Apparently written to fight Islamic extremism – denominated «Wahabism» by the State administration– the law fines “illegal” religious activities, to accuse anyone involved in religious propagandaundesired by the powers. This does not help the minorities, it makes their registration much moredifficult. According to the complaint lodged by some Uzbek Baptists and reported by Felix Corley inthe «Keston News Service» on December 8th 1999, registration is often denied in an arbitrary way, ifall the prerequisites are not fulfilled. For example, the Baptist Church of Urgench was deniedauthorization «the house the faithful would usually meet in was not considered acceptable by thejudicial authorities». Even the Adventist congregation of Nawoiy, initially, did not obtainauthorization, but the case was resolved later with the intervention by the President Karimov, asreferred by «Christian Daily News» on January 7th 1999. Not being registered means being prohibitedfrom any activities, or being incriminated and receiving stiff fines. Also, the Parliament approved someamendments to the Penal Code, where members of unregistered religious organizations may bepunished with imprisonment from 5 to 15 years, more than what was stated during the former SovietUnion. The new law does not even respect the rights of groups that have obtained registration, sinceproselytism is forbidden. Also, the organizations must present yearly reports on their activities to thegovernment, which in turn, may cancel their registration at any given time.

According to the statistics published during an encounter organized on August 11th 1999 by theCommittee for Religious Affairs and by the Ministry of Justice, until August 5th, 1702 religiouscommunities had registered, of which 1566 were Muslim groups and 136 were other religiousconfessions.In Uzbekistan, 88 percent of the population is Muslim, to the 1 percent Orthodox.

Since the end of 1997 - «Agence France Press» informs o October 25th 1999 – the police and thesecurity forces have arrested thousands of Muslims who did not follow the official and authorizedversions of Islam, or that attended prayer meetings other than those approved. The Report by the«Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe Digest» in May 1999 states that the fear ofIslamic extremism lead to serious violations of human rights, especially in the Valley of Fergana.

On February 3rd 1999, «Human Rights Without Frontiers» reports that there are approximately 120possible prisoners in Farghona, arrests based on constructed accusations such as owning weapons ordrugs (a technique that, according to the same source, is greatly used in Uzbekistan to fight againstcrime as well as the opposition). Islamic opposition denies being extremist, and they believe that thegovernment persecutes them only because of their reluctance to maintain a servile countenance topower.

In October 1999 - «Human Rights Without Frontiers» reports on the 21st of the same month – duringwork by a Commission on “The State of the Democratization Process and Human Rights inUzbekistan”, organized in Washington by the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe,Lawrence Uzzel, from the «Keston Institute», stated that this law «is the most repressive of all those ofthe former Soviet Union. Only in Uzbekistan, the State has criminalized religious dissent […], hasforbidden any form of missionary activity by law, has forbidden religion classes at the elementary andthe secondary level, has imposed censorship on any kind of imported religious material».

Cassandra Cavenough, from «Human Rights Watch/ Helsinki», always during the work by theCommission on “The State of the Democratization Process and Human Rights in Uzbekistan”, declaredthat the government was constructing concentration camps for Muslim prisoners in Jaslik, wheresupposedly already 38 persons had died. Also, since the end of 1998, over 80 percent of the existingmosques have been closed. A terrorist act in Tashkent last February gave renewed vigor to thegovernment campaign against Islam: the police arrested and held various persons, suspect because of

their intense religious devotion. Six of these were condemned to death. There are frequent cases of menand women wearing beards or Islamic veils that become the objects of violence by officials, and areimprisoned only because of their attire. According to what the «Agence France Press» reported onOctober 25th 1999, the university authorities, in collaboration with the police organs, menaced to throwout and arrest the students wearing attire with religious meaning. The 1999 Report on religiousfreedom by the United States Government reports that the University of Farghona had already thrownout 15 students for this reason last March. The same source informs us that a few dozen persons werearrested because they were distributing pamphlets by the Hezbut Tahrir group: already in April, thegovernment had begun a series of unexpected trials against the followers of this movement, in theentire country.

Recourse to violence is often made in prisons. There have been cases where individuals arrested forreligious reasons have died because of the mistreatment they were subjected to. As stated in the 1999Report by the United States Government on religious freedom, this is the case of Farkhod Usmanov,the son of the last Imam Nosir-Kori Isimanov, tortured to death after his arrest last June 14th. Thefamily was told that he had died from a heart attack. Even Akhmadhon Turahnov, an activist in themovement for the defense of human rights and accused unjustly of being a «Wahabite» and conspiringagainst the Constitution, died in prison on June 19th, after the prison authorities had refused to give himthe care necessary for his diabetes. In November 1999, the «Keston Institute» presented a textdenouncing the tortures and the physical and psychological pressures individuals arrested for religiousreasons are subjected to, to the United Nations Commission against Torture.

At times, the government annoys those Christian religious groups that openly try to convert Muslim toChristianity. According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the American Government, thosebelonging to ethnic groups traditionally associated to Islam, having converted to Christianity,encounter some hostility by the social sphere and by some lower level government officials.

Jehovah’s Witnesses were denied registration, because – according to what is reported by the 1999Report on religious freedom by the United States Government – they proselytize. The lawyer LubomirMuller refers that, in the city of Nawoiy, Jehovah’s Witnesses are forbidden from meeting for Biblestudy, even by arbitrary detractions from their salaries for fines. In the case – going back to May 1998– of the Uzbek citizen and a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mars Munasypov, the police ordered bythe Department for Internal Affairs searched his home, confiscating Bibles, letters and personalphotographs; they also found ammunition for machine guns that Munasypov says he never had in thehouse. Munasypov’s passport was annulled because of this police raid. On July 1st 1999, the «KestonNews Service» informs that another member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Sergei Brazgin, arrested theprevious February 25th, was sentenced to two years in prison, accused of “illegal missionary activities”.He had gone with his wife to a friend’s, and, while they were speaking about religious matters, the lawenforcement agents entered his apartment and confiscated books, notes and videocassettes. Afterhaving insulted those present, they lead them to the police station, questioned and beat them. Anothertwo members of Jehovah’s Witnesses, according to «Human Rights Without Frontiers» dated May 28th

1999, were sentenced to fifteen days arrest – based on article 240 of the civic code of the UzbekRepublic under the title of «Violation of the law on religious organizations» - for having been foundwith magazines of a religious nature in the city of Chirchik. The same agency, on the following May6th, informs of other arrests to members of this movement. The same article reports the declarationmade by Mr. Bobokulov, a judge in the city of Qarši, in two television programs on March 28th and 30th

1999, according to which Jehovah’s Witnesses are a dangerous sect, an instrument of Americanpropaganda, and whose objective is overthrowing the Uzbek government.

On August 10th, «Keston News Service» reports several cases of fines against members of variousChristian groups. In the region of Buhoro, at Gijduvan, a woman belonging to the movement of theSeventh Day Adventists was fined (for a sum equal to eight times the average salary), accused ofpraying without permission. What the woman was really doing was singing some songs with her sonand with the son of her neighbors. When the Church asked for clarifications from the Committee forReligious Affairs, the answer was that «the laws were written for the people to obey them». EvenAleksandr Kazakov, the Adventist Pastor of Chirchik, was fined, after being arrested, based on article240 of the Civic Code, which punishes the organization of youth encounters or religious study groupsand proselytism. The real reason for the arrest is still not known, since the Adventist community ofChirchik had obtained re-registration.

In the city of Gulistan, on June 14th 1999, as reported by the «Keston News Service» the following July1st, the police interrupted an evangelical encounter in the open, withholding and fining 12 individualsand confiscating the amplifying system they were using, some books and an automobile. The followingJune 16th, 11 Baptists were thrown out of the city, without a Court decision. On the 17th of the same

month, about fifteen policemen raided the home of Fr. Mikhaleva, while he was holding a religiousencounter with some friends. The law enforcement agents searched the apartment without a warrantand confiscated all the belongings of the Christian group (Bibles, money, books, video-cassettes). Allthose participating, lead to the Department for Internal Affairs in Gulistan, were menaced and fined,accused of having participated in an “illegal encounter”. The person who was reading the Bible at thetime of the raid was imprisoned.

On June 9th 1999, «Religion Today» reports the arrest of an officer of the Uzbek army, accused ofowning and distributing Christian religious materials, printed in the language of Karakalpak.

Often, arrests are made based on false accusations, such as owning or trafficking drugs. Barbara Baker,in an article that appeared in «Compass» on May 17th 1999, refers that four Christians from the FullGospel Church, all of them Uzbeks converted to Christianity, were arrested. On July 23rd 1999,«Compass Direct» and the «Keston News Service» report that they were condemned to three years inprison by the court of Nukus – the capital of the autonomous Republic of Caracalpachi, part ofUzbekistan – based on article 273 of the penal code, referring to crimes tied to drugs. However, one ofthem, Rashid Turibayev, was subjected to ulterior penalty of nine years in prison, also for articles 216and 217 of the law on religious freedom. He had already had problems because of his activities in thechurch of Nukus: in 1997, he was held for one month in a psychiatric hospital, where he was givendrugs provoking sharp muscular spasms and repeatedly threatened of death. In September 1997, he wasarrested and condemned to two years of labor camp for having held unauthorized reunions. In the July9th 1999 issue of «Compass», Felix Corley reports the arrest of other Uzbeks converted to Christianityand condemned by the Uzbek authorities. Among these, Na’il Asanov, arrested at the beginning ofMarch in Buhoro and condemned to five years of prison for possessing drugs and for spreadingextremist ideas, and Ibrahim Yusupov, the leader of the Pentecostal Church of Tashkent, sentenced toone year of prison for having done missionary activities. On the following August 23rd, the «KestonNews Service» refers that these six prisoners were released in August, by presidential decree, even if,as referred by the same agency on the following October 20th, intimidations and accusations by thelocal militia against Rashid Turibayev still continue. Ibrahim Yusupov is still suffering from theviolence he was subjected to in prison. Even the Baptist Nikolai Andreus, found in possession of 200Christian books, was arrested on November 28th 1999, accused of having plotted against the State.During the interrogation, he was pressured into admitting that he was involved in missionary activities(illegal in Uzbekistan) and for having distributed anti-Islamic propaganda materials. He is supposedlyfree now, but he continues being subjected to repeated interrogations.

In August and in September a small but brief increase in respect for religious freedom was registered,after the government answered the accusations of oppression coming from many sides. Added to theliberation of some prisoners and the rapid registration of 20 religious communities that had been deniedregistration for a long time, on August 11th, an encounter was organized by the Committee forReligious Affairs and by the Ministry of Justice – the same source reports – in which Muslim andvarious Christian leaders were invited to participate. As for registration, some government officialsstated that the small number of Christian groups obtaining it made up an “abnormal calculation”, andthey committed to increase the number of registered Churches. However, there have been no seriousproposals or declarations to remove the restrictive elements, which violate international agreements,from the so criticized 1998 law. The weak parenthesis of “openness” quickly concluded, and theminority religious groups went back to denouncing aggressions and persecutions.

Baptist Christians – refers «Compass Direct» on November 12th 1999 – sent an open letter to PresidentKarimov, denouncing the numerous violations and sanctions the faithful must undergo and ask that thegovernment officials be stopped from using these methods. On October 10th 1999, the «Keston NewsService» informs on the following 20th, the local police raided a Baptist church in the city of Karshi andbeat and imprisoned many of those present. Some of these came from the city of Dushanbee, inTajikistan, and were immediately expatriated back. Religious materials were confiscated. According towhat the police reports state, «the Christians were participating in a reunion against the government,under the direction of Andreichenko (the owner of the house)». The violence of the raid continued inthe police station, where the faithful were left without food until very late at night, and those refusingto sign declarations of having participated in a meeting against the government and did not promise toavoid meeting in the future were beaten. A group of «Christian mothers», whose children weremistreated during this raid, wrote to President Karimov, lamenting this demonstration of illegality bypolice officials on defenseless youths and asking him to institute an inquiry on this event. To an inquiryby «Keston» on this event, the press office of the Uzbek Embassy in London answered: «Uzbekistan isbuilding a secular democratic society. There is no religious repression, as you have written. Wecategorically deny these accusations […] Uzbekistan allows everybody – Muslims, Christians,Baptists, Baha’i, etc. – full freedom of conscience. At the same time, Uzbekistan will take the

appropriate measures, according to the dispositions of the Law on freedom of conscience and onreligious organizations, towards all those not conforming to it»: this was referred by the «Keston NewsService» on October 14th 1999.

On the 17th and the 19th of November, the United Nations Committee against Tortures discussed themistreatment of Baptists and other Christian groups, Uzbekistan also signed this convention. On thisoccasion, the «Keston Institute» presented a report on the most blatant cases of violations of humanrights on freedom of thought, conscience and religion in Uzbekistan. «Keston» pointed out that Thenation’s authorities have done very little to uproot cruel and inhuman behavior, while being illegalaccording to Uzbek laws as well as the convention against torture, also signed by Uzbekistan. On thecontrary, «the use of torture seems to be an integral part in upholding respect for the stringent law onreligion, which criminalizes peaceful religious activities and stops the faithful from exercising theirrights to freedom of conscience, to the respect that Uzbekistan committed itself to with the signing ofthe International Charter for Human Rights and as a member of the Organization for the Security andCooperation in Europe». «Keston» also asked for the revision of the law on religion, the abolition ofthe articles of the penal and civic code providing stiff punishment for the peaceful exercise of religiousrights, and for the abolition of the stringent prerequisites for registration that make it very difficult forreligious organizations to obtain a legal status. These measures would also predispose Uzbekistan toaligning itself to the international dispositions signed by the State.

According to the «Keston News Service» dated July 19th, the Hare Krishna were subjected to the sametreatment received during the period of Soviet totalitarianism. The secret police in Tashkent, forexample, keep a 24-hour surveillance on an apartment that was previously used as the community’stemple, to stop the group from any activities. The authorities had closed the temple of Tashkent lastFebruary, since the Hare Krishna had not obtained registration under the new law. However, anagreement had been reached wherein six men from the community could continue to live in theapartment. Their request for registration was denied because, according to the reasons stated by theMinistry of Justice, and reported by the same source, «the statute of the Hare Krishna, in itsspecifications of the groups’ intentions to conduct missionary activities, was in contradiction witharticle 5 of the 1998 law». Govinda Swami, the Central Director for Asia of the International Societyfor the Conscience of Krishna, stated that the statute was being revised, in such a way as to becomecompatible with the Uzbek State laws.

VANUATU

Population 182.000


Religion Presbyterians: 35,8%Catholics: 14,5%

Anglicans: 14%Number of Catholics 26.000

The preamble of the Constitution recalls a duty towards traditional values and Christian principles. TheConstitution sanctions the principle of religious freedom. In 1997, in answer to the worries expressedby some Churches about the activities by new missionary groups such as the Followers of Sanctity,Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the government introducedan act for religious registration that had been revoked in December 1995. Even if the law was neverrigidly applied and the missionary groups continued to operate, the representatives of the Churchesbelieve that it had a freezing effect on new missionary activities.

The government finances the construction of some places of worship and subsidizes the schoolsmanaged by the Churches. These benefits, however, are not extended to non-Christian religiousorganizations. Public schools also provide religious education limited to Christianity. The governmentdoes not try to control the missionary activities of the various religious organizations active on thenational territory. In general, relations between the religious communities are friendly.

VENEZUELA



Religion Catholics: 92,4%Number of Catholics 21.241.000

The Constitution establishes the principle of religious freedom, to be protected on the condition that thepractice of religion does not menace public order or violate customs rules.

There is an Office for Religions, a government organism responsible for the registration of religiousgroups and for the distribution of funds to the Catholic Church. This office also has the job offacilitating travels of the missionaries and of religious representatives and to promote the knowledgeand understanding between the various religious communities. Each local Church must register withthe Office for Religions to obtain legal status and to own property.

In 1994, the Government and the Holy See signed a concordat that underlined the historical ties of thecountry with the Catholic Church and establishes government subsidies to the Church. In 1998, thegovernment gave over 2 million dollars in subsidies for the Catholic Church’s schools and for its socialprograms. Other religious groups are free to institute their own schools, but they do not receive Statefunding.

About four thousand foreign missionaries work on the national territory. Foreign missionaries musthave a special visa to enter the country, granted by the Office for Religions. Relations between thevarious religious communities are friendly.

The «Misna» press agency on November 6th 1999 reports the approval of certain modifications to theConstitution. After many encounters with the religious minorities present in the country, in fact, theNational Assembly approved three new articles to the Constitution. These changes – noted by «Nev-Notizie Evangeliche» no. 44 in 1999 — guarantee freedom of worship to everyone; they provide forthe autonomy of the Churches, the right to freedom of conscience and thereby even conscientiousobjections to the military service for religious reasons.

VIETNAM



Religion Buddhists: 55%Catholics: 7%


The Constitution and the government laws sanction religious freedom, and this right is confirmed byactions. Even if the authorities generally allow the individual practice of worship, restrictions andobstacles arise for activities by religious organizations. Religious organizations must register andthrough this procedure, the government exercises rigid control over them. On May 28th 1999, «HumanRights Without Frontiers», based on news coming from the Catholic agency «Fides», denounced thedanger to religious freedom coming from the introduction of a new law on religious activities, in vigorfrom May 4th 1999. Article 15 of this decree, in fact, provides that the clergy of the different religionsmust rigorously follow the State’s policies and legislation. State control over the religious persons hasvarious methods: the nomination of Catholic bishops must be approved by the Authorities, seminariansand institutes for the formation must be approved by the Ministry for Education, the lives and theactivities of the religious personnel are controlled by the popular Committees (the regional governmentauthorities). According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the American State Department,religious organizations recognized by the Vietnamese authorities may operate openly. However, theseorganizations find many obstacles and impediments in achieving their activities: they must obtaingovernment permission to organize educational seminaries, encounters and celebrations outside o theordinary religious calendar. The same happens for the construction or restructuring of places ofworship, to actuate their activities of social aid, to manage schools. According to the United States1999 Report, because applying government control is done by local officials, the situation of religiousfreedom on the national territory is very different: most of the obstacles to religious freedom seem to beconcentrated in the Northwestern Provinces.

The government officially recognizes religious organizations belonging to Buddhism, to the CatholicChurch, to the Cao Dai religion (a syncretistic cult based on Buddhism), to the Hoa Hao (a local cultdefining itself as a reform of traditional Buddhism) and Islam. Other organizations belonging todifferent religious beliefs are not granted recognition by the State and thus are not considered legal bythe authorities. The government demands that all the Buddhist monks operate within an organizationcontrolled by the government, the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. Other Buddhist organizationstrying to operate independently are closely watched by the authorities, which in the past have evenarrested and detained monks.

According to what the daily French newspaper «Le Soir» reports on October 30th-November 1st 1998and by «Human Rights Without Frontiers», the UN special representative, having the job of studyingthe situation of religious intolerance in the country, could not speak to any of the members of religiousorganizations not recognized by the government. During this visit, this UN representative was stoppedfrom visiting a re-education camp where, supposedly, three Catholic religious persons are imprisonedsince 1987. Today, after the 1998 amnesty, there is news about some monks obliged in a sort of forcedexile.

The Vietnamese Episcopal Conference has been granted permission to hold annual meetings since1980, but under the careful surveillance of the government. Since 1989, there have been concessionsregarding the ordination of priests, but up until today, an attempt to convince the faithful that theCatholic Church must collaborate towards «building Socialism and saving the Nation fromimperialism» is in act, through the actions of the so-called “patriotic priests”. To do this, the infiltrationof provocatory agents into the Vietnamese Catholic communities in exile in the Western world hasbeen broadly used.

The destruction of propaganda materials, mistreatments, intimidation, imprisonment of religiousleaders perpetrated by the authorities are still very common. This is the case of Mrs. Nguyen thi Thuy,the wife of a pastor of the Assembly of God, detained on October 10th 1999, as informed by theCommission for Religious Freedom of the World Evangelical Federation in a note on the followingOctober 25th. According to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the American Department of State,

at least six priests belonging to the Congregation of the Mother Redemptrix are still being detained.Some organizations, like «Christian Solidarity Worldwide» and «The Voice of the Martyrs» on June2nd 1999, report that episodes of arrests and detentions for religious reasons still continue in the Nation.In May 1999, Reverend Ai, along with 19 other persons, was arrested and condemned for illegalreligious activities and for having printed articles on religious matters without permission. The 19persons were released after 48 hours of detention, while Rev. Ai remained in prison for one month.Freedom of movement within the Nation of Catholic religious persons is discouraged at times;seminaries operate under the authorities’ surveillance, approval is required to register in the seminaryand before ordination.

Next to these episodes, new projects by the Vietnamese Communist Party are under way, which intendto start a different, but not less rigid, relation with the religious reality present in the Nation. Through aknowledgeable dose of travel permits, of restoring church structures, of authorizations for openingseminaries, granted to some bishops rather than others, it tries to sow the suspicion of collaborationismand to provoke division in the Catholic hierarchy. The same strategy of the carrot and the rod is used tocreate problems between the Catholic Church and the other confessions, especially the Buddhists, themajority group in the Nation. Encouragement by the government towards the Catholic Church to takethe steps necessary for a Papal visit to Vietnam, at Lavang on August 15th 1999 to close the Holy Yearin honor of the Our Lady of Lavang, should also be interpreted in the same way.

Because organizing travel for that date, the Catholic bishops decided to nominate a delegation to followthe Pope’s travels in India without asking for government authorization. On November 5th 1999,«Fides» mentions a packet of «courageous choices» made by the Vietnamese Episcopal Conferenceduring the middle of October, among which the institution of a commission to deal with thegovernment, the organization of an encounter between bishops in Nha Trang, far from Hanoi andwithout police control, even if in the presence of the President of the Office for Religious Affairs andother government representatives, who would not have interfered with the works.

According to the United States Report, in the Northwest Province, freedom of worship by theProtestant Evangelical communities, especially the Hmong and the Tai ethnic groups, is stronglycontrasted by the authorities. Testimonies believed trustworthy by the American Department of Stateindicate that over twelve Hmong Protestants were imprisoned in the middle of January 1999, becauseof their participation in religious services and for proselytism. Other witnesses report that over 15Hmong Christians were imprisoned during the middle of 1999 in the Province of Lai Chau. Lack ofrespect of freedom of worship has also been registered against other religions: the two main leaders ofthe Cao Dai confession (recognized by the government since 1997) were imprisoned and detained atleast until June 1999. On February 26th 1999, «Droits de l’Homme sans Frontières» refers that the needfor effective repression of religious freedom was explicitly stated in the Vietnamese «Law Review»,worried about the frequent changes of religion by the ethnic minorities. According to the review, thenewly converted, especially those converting to Protestantism, would supposedly destroy their ancientsanctuaries and would abandon the old funereal and matrimonial customs. The periodical also informsthat a special military unit was created «to regulate the problem of illegal religious evangelism». Thesame source reports, quoting «Reuters», apart from the detention of their religious leaders, the Hmongmust formally promise to not follow evangelism to obtain a job.

On March 10th 2000, «Fides» refers that< sources involved in the Vietnamese Diaspora in Parisdenounced the strenuous persecution of Catholics in the diocese of Hung Hoa, in the Northern part ofthe nation. However, these sources confirm that the situation seems negative in the entire Northwestpart of Vietnam, at the boundaries with Laos and China. The Catholic diocese of Hung Hoa has beenwithout a bishop for the past eight years, because the government continues to resist the Vatican’ssuggestions for nominations. No priest is allowed to reside in this area, and the construction of chapelsfor prayer is also forbidden. According to the same agency on December 24th 1999, some villages inthe Mai Son District received the visit of certain higher echelon government officials, who demandedthat all the Catholics should abjure their beliefs, threatening to expel their children from schools,requisitioning their fields and even expelling them from the national territory. Then there was themethodical search of the Catholics’ homes, where Bibles, catechisms, prayer books, holy images,devotional objects were confiscated. Even meeting at home for prayer meetings were forbidden.

The destruction of churches and arbitrary arrests continued into 1999. According to «Droits del’Homme sans Frontières» dated July 19th 1999, on the preceding July 1st, the police destroyed thechurch in Dak La. Two leaders of the Inter-Evangelical Mission, a local religious organization, werearrested the following July 8th and released after three days. This episode happened in Quang Ngai inCentral Vietnam. On September 27th 1999, the same press agency reports that in the afternoon ofSeptember 17th in the region of Long An, approximately 20 policemen raided a home where a religious

meeting was taking place. All the participants were searched, the religious materials in their possessionwere confiscated and some persons were arrested.

The difficult situation of religious freedom in Vietnam was at the center of an international encounterheld in Geneva around the middle of April 1999. On this occasion, about 46 non-governmentorganizations gave their full support to the document drafted by the UN special envoy (after the visitmentioned above) published on March 1st 1999. These report explicitly denounced the violations toreligious freedom, especially against the ethnic minorities and the Protestants. The same language asthe UN report can be found in the document written by the researchers of the Commission forReligious Freedom of the World Evangelical Federation, titled On the Cruel Edges of the World: TheUntold Story of the Persecution of Christians Among Vietnam’s Minority Peoples. This reportdemonstrates how the acts of religious persecution are not the fruit of the random activities of a fewevil officials, but the result of a cruel policy permitted and promoted by the highest Vietnameseauthorities.

Some encouraging signs come from the encounter held from March 15th to the 19th between the HolySee and the government of Hanoi. In April 1999, «Fides» refers that the encounter was held in acordial and attentive climate, which makes the Vietnamese church have some cautious optimism. Thesame agency published the report concerning the situation of the Catholic Church in Vietnam, where agradual opening to religious freedom is pointed out. However, it also points out that the program of theCatholic Church’s activities must be approved by the authorities, the nomination of bishops andarchbishops by the Vatican must be approved by the authorities, the transfer of priests from one dioceseto another for religious purposes must be authorized by the government, there are problems inpublishing religious materials. The document does not omit mentioning the problem of religiousprisoners still detained at the time of the document’s publication: three Catholics detained in a camp atXuan Loc and one in camp 5, group 25, at Thieu Yen.

YEMEN




The Constitution of the Republic of Yemen establishes that Muslim law is the main source oflegislation.

The French observatory of Aide à l’Eglise en détresse states that Yemeni citizens are all consideredMuslims, even if the small Israelite minority is not persecuted, but confined to some ghettos in citiesand villages.

On January 27th 2000, «Ansa» reports that in the province of Aden, the destruction of the historicallocal synagogue had begun, to the protests of all of the inhabitants that considered the fact acancellation of the historical and cultural inheritance of Aden, where various religious communitieslived side by side. The building had been nationalized in 1972 by the Socialist Government of the onceSouthern Yemen, and a local businessman, after having bought it, obtained permission to demolish itfrom the Ministry for Islamic Property.

According to Aide à l’Eglise en détresse, Christian places of worship are not authorized, but inpractice, the Christian residents of the country, of Indo-Pakistan origins or immigrants, may celebratereligious functions privately. In Aden, there is greater tolerance and the diplomatic relations with theHoly See – according to the 1999 Report on religious freedom by the USA State Department – haveallowed the construction of a Christian center in the capital of San’a. Also, the government favors thecharitable activities of the Christian missions. But evangelization is strictly prohibited and may lead tocases of threats, generally by Islamic groups, such as what happened in Jibla to the hospital of theBaptist Church, accused of proselytism and that was subjected to great pressures during the past years.

ZAMBIA


Surface Area 752.614 sq. km.Religion Protestants: 34%

Animists: 27%Catholics: 26%Muslims: 0,3%


An amendment to the Constitution, approved in 1996, defines the country a Christian nation, butconfirms freedom of religion. Even the rights of other religions are respected.

The advance of Islam in the Nation, refers «Actualité des religions» in the December 1999 issue,worries the Christian Churches. According to the secretary of the Zambian Episcopal Conference,Father Ignatius Mwebe, Pope John Paul II evoked this problem when speaking to twelve bishopsvisiting in Rome, asking them to make every possible effort for the evangelization of the Nation. Adeclaration published by the secretariat of Zambian bishops invites «to the opening of interreligiousdialogue in these circumstances».

The Episcopal Conference of Zambia, at the end of a reunion held between January 25th and 28th 2000in Lusaka, lamented the difficulties undergone by the Catholic schools and missionaries and the lack ofrespect for civil rights.

ZIMBABWE


Surface Area 390.757 sq. km.Religion Animists:40%

Protestants: 17%Catholics: 12%


The Constitution guarantees religious freedom and worship and does not provide for a State religion.Religious associations do not have to register, unless they wish to receive the tax exemptions providedfor by the law.

The teaching of religion is allowed only in private schools and in 1999 a Catholic University wasopened in Harare.

Information Sources

Agencies

Aci-Prensa - Apartado postal 040062 - Lima 4 PerùAfp – Place de la Bourse - Parigi - FranciaAgi – Via Cristoforo Colombo 98 - 00147 RomaAnsa – Via della Dataria 94 - 00187 RomaAsca – Via due Macelli 23/F - 00187 RomaAssociated Press – 50 Rockfeller Plaza - New York, N.Y. 10020 - USACompass Direct – P.O. Box 27250 - Santa Ana - CA 92799 - 7250 - USAFides – Via di Propaganda 1/C - 00187 RomaHuman Rights Without Frontiers – Av. Winston Churchill 11/33 - 1180 Bruxelles -BelgioKeston News Service – 4 Park Town - Oxford OX 2 - 6SH - Regno UnitoMisna – Via Levico 14 - 00198 RomaReuters – 85 Fleet Street - Londra EC4P 4AJ - Regno UnitoZenit – C.P. 18356 - 00164 RomaThe Voice of the Martyrs/The Persecution & Prayer Alert – P.O. Box 117 - Port Cre-ditMississanga - ON L5G4L5 - Canada

Newspapers

Avvenire -- Piazza Carbonari 3 - 20125 MilanoCorriere della Sera – Via Solferino 28 - 20121 MilanoIl Giornale – Via Gaetano Negri 4 - 20123 MilanoIl Sole 24Ore – Via Paolo Lomazzo 52 - 20154 MilanoLa Repubblica – Piazza Indipendenza 11/B - 00185 RomaL’Osservatore Romano – Via del Pellegrino - 00120 Città del VaticanoQuotidiano Nazionale – Via Stradivari 4 - 20131 Milano

Magazines

Actualité des Réligions – 163, bd Malesherbes - 75859 - Paris Cedex 17 - FranciaCatholic World Report – P.O. Box 1328, Dedham, Ma 02027 - USACoscienza e libertà – Lungotevere Michelangelo 7 - 00192 RomaCristianità – C.P . 185 - 29100 PiacenzaEglise en detresse dans le monde – 29, Rue du Louvre - F 78750 Mareil Marly -FranciaEglises d'Asie – 128, rue du Bac - 75341 Paris Cedex 07 - FranciaIl dialogo-AI hiwar – Via Barbaroux 30 - 10122 TorinoL'Apostolo di Maria – Via Legnano 18 - 24124 BergamoMondo e Missione/Asia News – Via Mosè Bianchi 94 - 20149 MilanoNigrizia – Vicolo del Pozzo 1 - 37129 Verona

Researches

Dipartimento di Stato degli Stati Uniti, Annual Report on International ReligiousFreedom 1999, Washington, ottobre 1999.Human Rights Watch, World Report 2000.

Websites

www.kirche-in-not.orgwww.misna.orgwww.fides.orgwww.keston.orgwww.persecution.orgwww.cesnur.orgwww.hrw.orgwww.hrwf.orgwww.cef.fr/aedfrancewww.persecution.netwww.persecution.com

GENERAL INDEX

AFGHANISTANALBANIAALGERIAANDORRAANGOLAANTIGUA AND BARBUDAARGENTINAARMENIAAUSTRALIAAUSTRIAAZERBAIJANBAHRAINBANGLADESHBARBADOSBELARUSBELGIUMBELIZEBENINBHUTANBOLIVIABOSNIA-HERZEGOVINABOTSWANABRAZILBRUNEIBULGARIABURKINA FASOBURMA/MYANMARBURUNDICAMBODIACAMEROONCANADACAPE VERDECENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICCHADCHILECHINACOLOMBIACOMOROS ISLANDSCOSTA RICACROATIACUBACYPRUSCZECH REPUBLICDEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGODENMARKDJIBOUTIDOMINICADOMINICAN REPUBLIC

ECUADOREGYPTEL SALVADOREQUATORIAL GUINEAERITREAESTONIAETHIOPIAFIJI ISLANDSFINLANDFRANCEGABONGAMBIAGEORGIAGERMANYGHANAGREECEGRENADAGUATEMALAGUINEA-BISSAUGUINEA-CONAKRYGUYANAHAITIHONDURASHUNGARYICELANDINDIAINDONESIAIRANIRAQIRELANDISRAELITALYIVORY COASTJAMAICAJAPANJORDANKAZAKHSTANKENYAKIRIBATIKOSOVOKUWAITKYRGHYZSTANLAOSLATVIALEBANONLESOTHOLIBERIALIBYALIECHTENSTEINLITHUANIALUXEMBOURG

MACEDONIAMADAGASCARMALAWIMALAYSIAMALDIVE ISLANDSMALIMALTAMARSHALL ISLANDSMAURITANIAMAURITIUSMEXICOMICRONESIAMOLDOVAMONACOMONGOLIAMOROCCOMOZAMBIQUENAMIBIANAURUNEPALNETHERLANDSNEW ZEALANDNICARAGUANIGERNIGERIANORTH KOREANORWAYOMANPAKISTANPANAMAPAPUA NEW GUINEAPARAGUAYPERUPHILIPPINESPOLANDPORTUGALQATARREPUBLIC OF CONGOROMANIARUSSIAN FEDERATIONRWANDASAMOASAN MARINOSANTOMÉ AND PRINCIPESAUDI ARABIASENEGALSERBIA - MONTENEGROSEYCHELLE ISLANDSSIERRA LEONESINGAPORESLOVAK REPUBLIC

SLOVENIASOLOMON ISLANDSSOMALIASOUTH AFRICASOUTH KOREASPAINSRI LANKAST. KITTS AND NEVISST. LUCIAST. VINCENT AND GRENADINE ISLANDSSUDANSURINAMESWAZILANDSWEDENSWITZERLANDSYRIATAIWANTAJIKISTANTANZANIATHAILANDTOGOTONGATRINIDAD AND TOBAGOTUNISIATURKEYTURKMENISTANTUVALU ISLANDUGANDAUKRAINEUNITED ARAB EMIRATESUNITED KINGDOMUNITED STATES OF AMERICAURUGUAYUZBEKISTANVANUATUVENEZUELAVIETNAMYEMENZAMBIAZIMBABWE

Report 2000 On Religious Freedom In the World - Martin ...

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