Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey: In depth

Transcription

1 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey: In depth

2 Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 18 Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. November, 2005 Jubilee Campaign NL 1619 BK Andijk the Netherlands T: F: E:

3 Table of Contents Table of Contents...2 Introduction...3 Summary...4 Conclusions and recommendations...5 Bulgaria...5 Romania...6 Turkey...6 Bulgaria...8 Romania...17 Turkey...25 Appendix I: The Copenhagen Criteria...35 Appendix II: Critics on The New Bulgarian Religious Law...36 Appendix III: Raid on Church Buildings Bulgarian Orthodox Church..38 Appendix IV: Ankara Kecioren Gospel Church...40 Appendix V: Ankara Presbyterian Church 42 Appendix VI: Methodology.. 44 List of informants Bulgaria Romania Turkey Appendix VII: List of participants Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 2 of 47

4 Introduction In June 1993, the European Council at Copenhagen laid down the foundations for the current enlargement process. According to the Council, membership requires that the candidate country ensures stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the respect for and protection of minorities. This is called the political criteria. For all countries which applied for EU membership, an annual report is issued. This report gives an insight into whether the state complies with the political and economic criteria for membership and specifies which steps still need to be taken to fulfil the requirements. 1 The right to freedom of religion is generally seen as one of the most fundamental rights. It is even said that this right is a good indicator for all the others. In 2003, the Christian human rights organization Jubilee Campaign NL issued the report entitled, Religious Freedom in new and future EU member-states law and practice." 2 The report reviewed the state of religious freedom in the ten countries which entered the European Union in 2004, the other candidate member-states and some countries in the region. In 2004, under the Dutch chairmanship, the European Union had to decide on the candidacy of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. It was felt that an update of the 2003 report was required to obtain a more accurate picture of the level of religious freedom in these candidate States. In November of 2004, Jubilee Campaign NL publicised her second report in this series entitled, Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey: an assessment. In reaction to the conclusions of the 2004 report and due to the expressed concerned of various parties and the resulting discussion on this topic Jubilee Campaign NL sensed that the need for continued monitoring of the status of religious freedom in these countries was both actual and necessary. As the accession of both Bulgaria and Romania to the EU in 2007 approaches and in light of the fact that Turkey and the EU have already begun their discussions, Jubilee Campaign NL found that a closer look at the situation for religious liberty in the candidate States was not opportune. This report is the result of that undertaking. This 2005 report will delve deeper into the law and practices regarding the freedom of religion in the Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. The report could not be compiled without the help of many people who found the time to share with us their thoughts and experiences regarding the religious freedom situation in their country. We hereby express (once again) our deep gratitude for their time and attention, their openness and dedication. While not all of them will find their words quoted in this report their contributions were nevertheless essential in the construction of an honest picture of the state of religious liberty in their countries. 1 2 The EU s accession reports and other information on the accession process can be found at Report available at and at Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 3 of 47

5 Summary Bulgaria We remain critical of the new 2002 Law on Denominations by which the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is registered ex lege and by which the so-called Alternative Synod is effectively outlawed. Several provisions are potential sources of discrimination against religious groups. We have our concerns about the growing hate speech in the media against (religious) minorities. Further we have our concerns about the lack of clear regulation concerning religious groups who desire broadcast time on (national) radio and television and the lack of independence of the Counsel of Electronic Media of Bulgaria. Romania At the moment a new draft of the Religious Liberty Law in Romania is on the floor of the Romanian Parliament under the emergency procedure. The draft law discriminates against minority religions and thus violates the right to freedom of religion. There is no clear procedure for the registration of religious groups and religions. This is serious as unrecognized religions do not have the same rights and privileges as recognized religions, for example tax exemptions or the right to hold religious classes in public schools. The Government exercises considerable influence over religious life under regulations and decrees. The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC) exercises substantial influence due to its dominant role in society. We are concerned about statements in the media against other religions than the ROC. Furthermore we are concerned about the lack of clear regulation with regard to religious groups who desire broadcast time on (national) radio and television and the lack of an independent governing body for national television in Romania. Turkey The situation of religious minorities in Turkey has changed for the better, especially in the past few years. Nevertheless, a lot of work must be done at least as far as religious liberty is concerned. In general one could argue that a greater degree of religious liberty can have as a result that certain fundamentalist religious groups will also make use of this freedom and not always in constructive ways. There are however safeguards in place to combat this threat. At the same time a higher standard of religious freedom is a prerequisite for Turkey entering the European Union. The procedure to obtain legal personality for religious organisations and the procedure to designate houses of worship is still not clear. In practise it is nearly impossible to gain recognition as a religious group and the duration of the process is too long. The attitude of the police against religious groups has been improved. However incidents do still occur. The attitude of the society towards religious minorities has worsened. Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 4 of 47

6 Conclusions and recommendations Once again we are forced to conclude that the Regular Reports of the European Commission fall short with regard to the right to freedom of religion. Hardly any critical remarks were made and those that were had no political consequences. The Commission s conclusion remains that Bulgaria and Romania comply with the Copenhagen criteria. Although the European Commission states that both Bulgaria and Romania continue to fulfil the Copenhagen criteria, this report reveals that this is not the case as far as religious freedom is concerned. Regarding Turkey, this report s conclusion supports the findings of the European Commission that there continues to be no true and full right to freedom of religion in Turkey despite substantial improvements being made over the last few years. We strongly advise the European Commission to re-examine the religious freedom situation in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey prior to their entry into the EU. We encourage the EU to demand that all the above candidate states improve their religious liberty record by bringing their legislation regarding this right in line with EU standards and compelling the observance of these standards in their countries. Bulgaria Discrimination and disinformation form the main obstacles facing the realisation of true religious freedom in Bulgaria. Bulgarian legislation and government officials encourage and support the continuation of this situation. To combat the continuance of this situation we advise the following: 1. A review of the 2002 Law on Religious Denominations. All discriminatory provisions should be removed. Main points: o o o o Rescind the ex lege designation of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC). This legal recognition is a source of discrimination between the BOC and other religious groups within Bulgarian society. The grounds for denying a request for registration must be clarified. Clarification of the mandate of local authorities regarding decisions concerning freedom of religion. This to prevent discriminatory or arbitrary decisions. Clarification of what should be done in case of a split within a church or denomination. The lack of regulations on this subject can result in discriminatory practices. 2. Concerning the media: o o o o The Bulgarian government must openly condemn all forms of discrimination or hate speech within the media. An industry-wide policy regarding the equal treatment of all (religious) minority groups in society should be formulated. The Counsel of Electronic Media (CEM) must be an independent agency that represents all groups equally - including (religious) minorities - in society. The CEM should intensify their activities with regard to their responsibility for monitoring all forms of media. Any activities that are deemed discriminatory and / or inciting hatred should be penalized. Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 5 of 47

7 Romania The European Commission repeated its opinion that Romania fulfils the political criteria set by the EU for membership. 3 However our research has shown that there remain reasons for concern regarding the freedom of religion in Romania. Therefore we advise the following: 1. A close watch on the process of accepting the new Religious Liberty Law in Romania. At the time of the publication of this report the draft law still contained provisions that could lead to discrimination and persecution of certain religious groups. We feel that provisions with regard to the following points are absolutely required to protect the right to freedom of religion: o o o The legal separation between Church and State to prevent discrimination of religious groups The process by which a group receives recognition (registration) must be simplified and clarified. All religious groups, regardless of size or stability should be granted the same rights as all others. Clarification of the mandate of central and local authorities regarding decisions concerning freedom of religion. This to prevent discriminatory or arbitrary decisions. 2. Concerning Media : o o o The Romanian government must openly condemn all forms of discrimination or hate speech within the media. They must further provide for the independence and impartiality of the governing body for national television in Romania The formulation of an industry-wide policy regarding the equal treatment of all (religious) minority groups Turkey All our sources agreed that the entry process to the EU has reduced the violation of human rights by the Turkish government. However, a lot of work remains to be done at least as far as religious liberty is concerned before Turkey can be said to meet the standard of respect for the right to freedom of religion as held to by the European Union. Reforms need to go much deeper to meet with the EU s stated Copenhagen criteria. Religious freedom for all faiths, especially freedom to give religious education and freedom of assembly for all religious groups, which includes the ability to attain and retain buildings for the purpose of worship, must be one of the core demands of the European Union before Turkey can become a member. This can only be accomplished by a simultaneous process of strengthening democracy and human rights values within the Turkish society and an increase of the acceptance of the concept of pluralism and tolerance towards different religions Romania Comprehensive Monitoring report, Commission of the European Communities, SEC (2005) 1354, COM (2005) 534 final, Brussels (25 October, 2005). Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 6 of 47

8 Greater freedom of religion in Turkey will also mean a greater Islamic influence. In order to establish a stable democracy that can cope with possible hostile groups that may threaten democracy and the respect for human rights in particular religious freedom and the safety of minority groups - we advise the following: 1. A public campaign, openly supported by government leaders, promoting the freedom of religion and pluralism and condemning intolerant behaviour towards religious minorities with the goal of changing the attitude of the society, the police and bureaucrats towards religious minorities. 2. Removing the religion section from the ID cards in order to prevent discrimination 3. In order to ensure freedom of assembly for all faiths: o o Simplify and accelerate the procedure to obtain legal personality for religious organisations as such; and Simplify and clarify the bureaucratic requirements for obtaining a place of worship. Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 7 of 47

9 BULGARIA Introduction Although Article 13 of the Bulgarian Constitution provides for freedom of religion the actual treatment of religious groups in Bulgaria shows quite the opposite. The Bulgarian government restricts the right to freedom of religion in practice for some non-traditional religious groups and prohibits the public practice of religion by unregistered groups. 4 According to Mr. K. Kanev, director of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and Professor of Sociology and Human Rights at the State Universities of Plovdiv and Sofia, the Bulgarian legal system is in contradiction with the EU standard of religious freedom by discriminating between the various religious groups. 5 Position and recognition of religious groups Traditional religious groups The Constitution designates Bulgarian Orthodox Christianity as the country s "traditional" religion and the Government provides financial support to it, as well as to several other religious communities perceived as holding historic places in society, such as the Muslim, Roman Catholic, and Jewish faiths. About 87 % of the population consider themselves to be members of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC). 6 According to Mr. K. Kanev and Mr. L. Popov, chairman of the Rule of Law Institute and President of Advocates Europe, Article 10 of the 2002 Law on Religious Denominations which came into force on the 1 st of January, 2003, gives the BOC a pre-eminent position within Bulgarian society. 7 The 2002 Law on Religious Denominations discriminates between the BOC and other religious groups on several ways. First, the law legally and forcefully reunites the BOC with the so-called Alternative Synod, a group within the BOC which had split from the main body in 1992 due to internal conflict. In effect this reunification translates into denial of the possibility of recognition for the Alternative Synod since it, in effect, does not exist. The Law on Religious Denominations further discriminates by containing a special provision for the BOC s incorporation. 8 The aforementioned Article 10 provides that the BOC is a juridical person ex lege. Further registration is therefore not required. Mr. G. Krustev, Councillor of the Directorate of Religious Affairs within the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior, states however that there are no plans for changing Article 10. He claims that the final result is more important than the differences in registration processes. Despite the different registration procedures the Bulgarian government does not expect this to lead to discrimination between the various religious groups. 9 Examples which follow in this report will illustrate the effects of the present Law on Religious Denominations and the need for legislative reform. The second appendix provides an overview by Mr. K. Kanev explaining the discriminating character of the different articles in the Law on Religious Denominations. 4 International Religious Freedom Report 2004: Bulgaria, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (15 September 2004) 5 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krassimir Kanev, Sofia, 19 September 2005, 6 International Religious Freedom Report 2004: Bulgaria, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (15 September 2004) 7 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Latchezar Popov, Sofia, 19 September The new Bulgarian Religious Law: Restrictive and Discriminatory, European Yearbook of Minority Issues Vol 2, 2002/3, , Mr. Krassimir Kanev, Sofia Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Georgi Krustev, Sofia, 20 September 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 8 of 47

10 Non traditional religious groups Every other religious group, including the Alternative Synod who continues to oppose the enforced fusion between themselves and the BOC, has to apply for registration at the Sofia City Court before they can practice their beliefs in public. The Alternative Synod which was effectively outlawed by the 2002 Law on Religious Denominations has to date been able to effect registration. For the registration of religious groups other than the BOC there are some general criteria in the law that are borrowed from international law. These international criteria have however never been incorporated into Bulgarian domestic law. This oversight has given rise to room for arbitrary decisions regarding the acceptability of a group s request for registration. 10 The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee has also expressed concern at the requirement for religious groups to submit a statement of beliefs when applying for registration or reregistration to local government officials, stating that this constitutes an infringement of their freedom of religion. There were initial fears regarding the exclusive right of the Religious Denominations Directorate of the Council of Ministers (RDDCM) to give "expert opinions" to the court regarding registration matters 11, however, in practice the Directorate only provides an opinion upon request by the court. Such opinions have resulted in the rejection of registration for only one denomination in 2004, namely the Achmadi Muslim Organization of the Muslim Achmadi Community. However, all applicants have the right to appeal the denial of registration through the Court of Appeals, where "expert opinions" from other sources can be submitted and taken into account. An appeal by the Achmadi Muslim Organization of the Muslim Achmadi Community was pending at the end of In 2005 there has been no recommendation from the RDDCM to deny a religious group. 13 Since the Court took over responsibility for registering religious groups in 2003, the number of registered denominations has increased. 14 According to Mr. Rev. V. Virtchev, President of the Bulgarian Evangelical Alliance, 65 denominations received registration in August 2005 and about 550 Pentecostal churches received local permission. 15 No significant delays occurred. 16 Recognition of a denomination at the national level this does not automatically translate into recognition of the individual churches at the local level. The law is vague in this aspect and allows for different interpretations. Several churches have experienced difficulties with the local government due to this lack of clarity. According to the law there should be no obstacle in acquiring local registration if the denomination to which the individual church belongs is recognized at the national level, but the local authorities interpret the law in such a way that they require that extra criteria be met. 17 Mr. Rev. V. Virtchev stated that Protestant churches sometimes have difficulties receiving recognition at the local level in some regions; mainly in Turkish regions or areas where the BOC has, in their opinion, a stronghold and therefore a power position. However, these problems are in most cases quickly solved due to the support the churches receive from the Council of the Directorate of Religious Affairs Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krassimir Kanev, Sofia, 19 September 2005, 11 See Article 16 of the 2002 Law on Religious Denominations 12 International Religious Freedom Report 2004: Bulgaria, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (28 February 2005) 13 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Georgi Krustev, Sofia, 20 September International Religious Freedom Report 2004: Bulgaria, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (28 February 2005) 15 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Viktor Virtchev, Sofia, 20 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krassimir Kanev, Sofia, 19 September 2005, 17 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krassimir Kanev, Sofia, 19 September 2005, 18 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Viktor Virtchev, Sofia, 20 September 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 9 of 47

11 The 2002 Law on Religious Denominations provides for equality for all faiths, but this general provision has not yet filtered down into other laws, for instance, laws concerning local taxes. Mr. G. Krustev, speaking on behalf of the government, declared that the Directorate has plans for the synthesis of local and national laws to make sure that no local authority takes advantage of provisions which would seem open to interpretation and consequently takes a decision contrary to the central level. He claims that although there do still exist small differences between regulations at the national and local level with regard to taxes, they are small in scale and do not result in any discrimination between religious groups as the regulations are applied uniformly at the local level. 19 He further stressed that any possible discriminatory actions are discouraged through a system of penalties. Local authorities are held responsible for their own actions so should one cancel religious activities without due cause he or she will be fined or otherwise penalized. 20 Peaceful assembly and enjoying a place for worship According to Mr. T. Angelov, secretary of the European Baptist Union in Bulgaria, local government opposition is highest when a church wishes to build a place of worship. This opposition is implicit in the procedures a church must follow to obtain a building license. This procedure is complicated, unclear, and extensive. Contradicting regulations also form an obstacle to receiving the necessary permits. These procedural obstacles have prevented some Protestant churches from obtaining their own buildings. At the same time the Orthodox Church may build new chapels, churches and monasteries anywhere they please, even in public parks and other places. 21 For most registered religious groups however there were no restrictions on attendance at religious services. 22 The most striking development with regard to religious freedom was the expropriation by Bulgarian government officials of almost 250 buildings used by the Alternative Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) on 21 July Although this incident took place over a year ago the consequences have been far-reaching and are still felt today. Police raid on buildings used by the Alternative Synod in 2004 On the 21 st of July 2004 prosecutors and police intervened in the BOC s 12-year internal conflict with the alternative synod. A schism in the BOC had resulted in two opposing groups, one which supported the "Holy Synod" of patriarch Maxim and the other taking the name, the "Alternative Synod". The Bulgarian government supported patriarch Maxim. In a nationwide operation, priests from the Alternative Synod were forcibly evicted from approximately 250 churches and other properties, which the Holy Synod claimed they were illegally occupying. The operation resulted in several clerics being temporarily detained and police closing and securing the properties. 24 There are medical reports of mistreatment by the police during the action against the alternatives. The police carried out this operation without an order from the court. In this case the General Prosecutor was the one who took the law into his own hands. According to Mr. L. Popov, neither the police, nor the Prosecutor were legally empowered to undertake such 19 According to Mr. Virtchev, some churches were faced with different garbage taxes ranging from to BLV. 20 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Georgi Krustev, Sofia, 20 September An appendix to the 2002 Law on Religious Denominations provides for these personal sanctions. 21 message to Jubilee Campaign NL from Theodor Angelov (7 October 2005) 22 International Religious Freedom Report 2004: Bulgaria, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (28 February 2005) 23 Bulgaria: Police raid Orthodox churches, Forum 18 News Service, 23 July and Bulgaria: Police expulsion of Alternative Orthodox a dangerous precedent?, Forum 18 News Service, 3 August International Religious Freedom Report 2004: Bulgaria, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (28 February 2005) Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 10 of 47

12 Popov, neither the police, nor the Prosecutor were legally empowered to undertake such action. 25 It remains unclear to this day on which grounds the prosecutor justified his orders. 26 According to Mr. D. Gotchev, former judge of the European Court of Human Rights, former judge of the Bulgarian Supreme Court and former judge of the Bulgarian Constitutional Court, this event was a serious breach of religious freedom and a massive violation of human rights. More particularly, a violation of the right of citizens and clergy to join, communicate and preach. 27 Many people have been displaced by this action and are at a loss at to where they can now go to attend services. 28 According to Mr. Kanev the raid was an attempt by the government to unify by force two wings of one religious denomination. 29 Following the operation, clerics from the Alternative Synod continued to hold religious services outside of the churches from which they had been evicted and a number of the synod's supporters staged protests against what they viewed as illegal State intervention in an internal church dispute. 30 One congregation now meets for worship in the open air in a park in the centre of Sofia. Their services are continuing without any police interference, although politicians have put pressure on the mayor to prohibit these open air meetings. Every month they are forced to reapply for permission. For further information see the third appendix. According to Mr. L. Popov, even buildings erected after the 1992 split in the BOC were forcibly taken. From 93 temples located throughout the whole country, 10 buildings were built after 1996 well after the 1992 split and 15 buildings were in the process of construction. Mr. L. Popov stated during his interview that this incident clearly reveals one of the shortcomings of the 2003 Law on Religious Denominations. At the moment the Law contains no clear regulations dealing with possible splits within religious groups and the subsequent question of property division. Thus the court has no basis upon which it can decide such matters in the case of a split. In practice one could then conclude that a religious group doesn t have the right to split. Again ex lege provision for the BOC in the 2002 Law on Religious Denominations seems in this case to have provided grounds for the government allow discrimination which is advantageous to the BOC. Freedom to give religious education and train clergy For most registered religious groups there are no restrictions on providing private religious instruction. A Jewish school, three Islamic schools, the university-level Islamic Higher Institute, a Muslim cultural centre, a multi-denominational Protestant seminary, and university theological faculties operate freely. The law does however prohibit groups who have not registered from providing religious instruction As the decision to raid the premises used by the Alternative synod came from the General Prosecutor, the decision cannot be challenged before the Bulgarian courts. Both, Mr. Popov and Mr. Kanev are preparing cases to be presented to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. 26 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Latchezar Popov, Sofia, 19 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Dimitri Gotchev, Sofia, 19 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Latchezar Popov, Sofia, 19 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krassimir Kanev, Sofia, 19 September 2005, 30 International Religious Freedom Report 2004: Bulgaria, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (28 February 2005) 31 International Religious Freedom Report 2004: Bulgaria, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (28 February 2005) Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 11 of 47

13 Distributing literature and proselytising Bibles, Korans, and other religious books and materials in the Bulgarian language are imported or printed freely, and religious publications were produced regularly. 32 According to Mr. L. Kiuchukov, legal adviser of the Jehovah Witnesses of Bulgaria, there has been great improvement in the opportunity to share ones faith. He declared that the government of Bulgaria has assumed a spirit of tolerance. Incidents involving the inspection of the proper documentation necessary for engaging in such activities are rare. The national government is also not opposed to most forms of proselytising. Some local governments however do restrict such activities. For example, Jehovah Witnesses continue to be widely engaged in their door-to-door evangelising activities in Bulgaria. In Plovdiv however these activities are restricted. In Plovdiv there are special regulations that forbid this form of public preaching. In Plovdiv a church only has the right to preach in their own place of worship. If a church engages in these activities elsewhere they risk sanctions. Four such incidents, where Jehovah Witnesses were obstructed by the local authorities in their outreach activities, took place in Interglovich and two in Plovdiv. Jehovah s Witness in Plovdiv On the 28 th of March Mr. Amon, a Jehovah s Witness, was fined by Plovdiv authorities for spreading brochures and leaflets with religious meaning. 33 On the 12 th of July 2005 Mr. Amon was again fined 200 BLV for distributing brochures with religious content. These sanctions were based on the regulations defined in the Local Decree for maintaining and protection of the public order on the territory of Plovdiv municipality. These provisions violate Mr. Amon s right of thought, conscience and religion that is granted to him by Article 37 of the Bulgarian Constitution and Article 5 of the 2002 Law of Religious Denominations. None of the prerequisites for restricting this right as foreseen in Bulgarian Constitution as well as in Article 1 and 2 of the 2002 Law on Religious Denominations were present. A complaint has been lodged at the District Court in Plovdiv. 34 Mr. G. Krustev declared that in this specific case the court will surely cancel the fine for religious activities because such restrictions fall outside the competency of local authorities. 35 Mormons in Pleven In April of 2005 a group of Mormons were prohibited from distributing religious literature on the streets of Pleven. The local authorities based their actions on a local ordinance, an ordinance which is contrary to the Bulgarian Constitution in that the text of the articles concerned prohibited the distribution of any materials, religious books or booklets outside places of worship - for example on the streets, and public places. The case is now pending. 36 Protestant Christian youth not welcome in Grohotno On the 4 th of August 2005 several students involved in a summer project in Devin tried to show a Christian movie in the village Grohotno. The students had received permission from the local authorities prior to holding the event but on the day itself they were faced with heavy opposition from the citizens of Grohotno, a predominantly Muslim village. In the end the mayor of Grohotno forbade the students from carrying on with their presentation stating as a reason the sensitive political situation after the elections and further declaring that Christians weren t welcome in the village International Religious Freedom Report 2004: Bulgaria, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (28 February 2005) 33 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Liubomir Kiuchukov, Sofia, 19 September message to Jubilee Campaign NL from Ms. Diana Neykova 6 th of September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Georgi Krustev, Sofia, 20 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Latchezar Popov, Sofia, 19 September Jubilee Campaign NL telephone interview with Mr. Nikolay Nikolov, 27 October 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 12 of 47

14 Visa A number of religious groups complained that foreign missionaries and religious leaders continue to experience difficulties and delays in obtaining and renewing residence visas in the country. The Law on Foreign Persons has no visa category which applies explicitly to missionaries or religious workers, and rules for other categories of temporary residence visa (such as self-employed or business-owner) have been tightened in ways that reportedly makes it more difficult for religious workers to qualify. 38 The difficulty in obtaining a visa increases in the case where the applicant comes from outside Europe. 39 While Protestant Christians have thus far received visas with little difficulty 40, Jehovah Witnesses have experienced delays in obtaining visas. For example they have had to wait up to 3 months to receive a D visa while this procedure should normally no take more than one month. In December of 2004 two male Jehovah Witnesses from Germany were denied entry without further explanation. 41 Discrimination Tolerance within the society According to Mr. K. Kanev there has been little if any change in the attitude of Bulgarian society towards religious minorities. The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee conducted a survey in May 2005 on inter ethnic and inter religious attitudes. The survey shows that there continues to exist a great deal of prejudice and feelings of social distance towards religious minorities within Bulgarian society. While there has been no increase over the last several years in this attitude there has been an increase in public hate speeches, certainly after the last elections in June of Christians attacked by Muslims In October 2005 two Christians were attacked by a group of Muslims while spreading invitations for a Christian movie in a village near Gotze Delchev, located in southern Bulgaria. During this attack one of the men sustained serious injuries to his ear-drum. 43 Exchange student dismissed because of her faith Christina Engel, a student from the University of Technology in Dresden, Germany, was accepted as an exchange student and was given an internship with the company, Water Supply and Sewage Yovkovci LTD. She was accepted because of her excellent biography and professional qualities. Upon arriving in October of 2005, a press conference was held in Veliko Târnovo, the town where the company was located. In her speech thanking both the Bulgarian government and Yovkovci for making her exchange possible she mentioned that she was a Jehovah s Witness. Mr. E. Nikolov, CEO of Yovkovci, promptly cancelled Ms. Engel s internship declaring that his company did not finance sects. 44 According to Ms. D. Neykova, lawyer with the European Law Centre in Sofia, just before the elections in Bulgaria a new ultra-nationalist party called Ataka (which means Attack) was formed. The views of this party are very openly anti-human rights oriented. These views are expressed through propaganda against ethnical and religious minorities in Bulgaria (such as 38 International Religious Freedom Report 2004: Bulgaria, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (28 February 2005) 39 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krassimir Kanev, Sofia, 19 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Viktor Virtchev, Sofia, 20 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Liubomir Kiuchukov, Sofia, 19 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krassimir Kanev, Sofia, 19 September Telephonic interview with Mr. Nikolay Nikolov, 27 October Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Liubomir Kiuchukov, Sofia, 19 September 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 13 of 47

15 Roma or Turkish people who reside in Bulgaria). Let's get back our Bulgaria is the motto of the party. Ataka became one of the seven political groupings that held seats in the 40th National Assembly of Bulgaria after the elections (with 8.93% of the votes). 45 According to Mr. K. Kanev, these messages are in themselves a source of hate and prejudice and can be seen as inducements to violence. To make matters worse these messages were picked up by other segments of the society, the media and even some politicians. 46 Ataka On the web-site of the Ataka party, are several published articles which have been written by its leader, Mr. V. Siderov. Among these articles there is one entitled, Why do we underestimate the sects?. This article includes many negative comments about religious minorities in Bulgaria, but also about the political system that allow such religious movements to carry out activities in Bulgaria. The article, dated October 21, 2004, mentions religious groups such as the Jehovah Witnesses, the Unification Church, the Church of Scientology, the Mormons and others. In the article the statements of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee on religious freedom are commented on as being unacceptable. 47 Media Room for religion on national radio and television In Bulgaria there are public and private national and local radio and television stations. According to Mr. S. Petkov, President of Studio 865, a Christian media organisation, the public national television station is to a large degree under political control. The Counsel of Electronic Media (CEM) is the department that monitors and controls the application of the Law for Radio and Television. 48 According to Mr. Kanev, four members of the CEM are appointed by the president while five are appointed by the parliament. 49 There is no input from civil society in the selection of nominees for the CEM. 50 The national public television is sponsored by the state and funded with tax money. There are no clear guidelines for the CEM to follow regarding the granting of broadcast time. 51 The Law on TV and Radio contains no provisions regarding non-discrimination between religious groups. The CEM has no policy regarding their relations with religious groups. Only one article, Article 53 says that public television can give free of charge air time for greetings on special occasions. The BOC always receives this time as they represent the majority of Bulgarian believers. The only other non traditional religious group who has been able make use of this service was the Pentecostal Church although they only received this opportunity as a result of a peace offering extended by the CEM after a anti-pentecostal campaign. 52 Broadcast time is only ever granted to the BOC. Most of the programs related to the BOC are documentaries or live broadcasts of church celebrations. There is no space for religious messages. 53 Other religious groups are not given the opportunity to broadcast any television programmes. According to Mr. S. Petkov Protestant Christians are still unable to procure airtime for their programs. If we speak with people they say more or less that it needs to be possible to be on National Television. In practice however there is a lot of resistance and it 45 message to Jubilee Campaign NL from Ms. Diana Neykova 6 th of September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krassimir Kanev, Sofia, 19 September message to Jubilee Campaign NL from Ms. Diana Neykova 6 th of September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Stoyko Petkov, Hoogland, 16 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Stoyko Petkov, Hoogland, 16 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krassimir Kanev, Sofia, 19 September 2005, 51 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krassimir Kanev, Sofia, 19 September 2005, 52 message to Jubilee Campaign NL from Stoyko Petkov (18 November 2004) 53 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Stoyko Petkov, Hoogland, 16 September 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 14 of 47

16 has been impossible to have a Protestant program or even a segment of a program on National Public Television. With regards to radio, the policy for years was that there was no space for religion on the radio. The arguments put forward by the State were that [a]s long as the BOC does not have or want radio broadcast time why should the other religions have radio space? 54 These arguments are not given openly anymore and yet requests for licenses submitted by other religious groups were consistently rejected last year. Bishop Elenkov denied radio broadcast time Recently when Bishop Elenkov, chairman of the National Alliance United Churches of God, submitted a request for broadcast time to air an evangelical program, his request was denied. The CEM refused permission because of technical reasons despite a positive response from the Directorate of Religious Affairs. The case is still pending in court. 55 Radio station in Sliven, Voice of Peace A Christian radio station in Sliven, Voice of Peace, has at the moment a case pending in front of the Supreme Court in Bulgaria. This Christian radio received a licence from the CEM four years ago but they received no license for the frequency. The CEM argued that they were unable to extend a license for the frequency because the government did not have a policy regarding the granting of such licenses as required in the Law on Radio and Television. The parliament has never developed a policy for this subject. At the same time that Voice of Peace was denied a frequency license, a new station received a frequency licence despite the same lack of policy. 56 Behaviour of Media Ms. D. Neykova notes that one of the major concerns in Bulgaria is the irresponsible, discriminatory and hateful behaviour of some media. 57 Mr. K. Kanev argues that the Bulgarian governmental has been remiss in its failure to regulate such behaviour by television and radio stations. Such behaviour continues to go unaddressed and unpunished. 58 Kingdom Hall damaged after media incitement The dedication of the Burgas Kingdom Hall on October 2, 2005 attracted many journalists from press, TV and radio. The day after the dedication many articles appeared which contained slanderous information about the Jehovah Witnesses. Journalist Valentin Kasabov revived his anti-sectarian show, Parallax, on the private cable TV channel SKAT TV and incited the local community s distrust of the Jehovah Witnesses in their community. On October 18, 2005 and Oct 19, 2005 the church was damaged by two separate attacks. On the night of the 18 th a large piece on concrete was thrown through the window of the church, thankfully missing all those who had gathered for worship inside and on the 19 th more stones were thrown damaging walls and doors of the church. 59 Before the political party Ataka was formed in April of 2005, Mr. Siderov was the producer and presenter of a TV program called Ataka on the channel SKAT TV. SKAT TV has received several warnings and penalties from the CEM in the last few years as a result of 54 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Latchezar Popov, Sofia, 19 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Georgi Krustev, Sofia, 20 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Latchezar Popov, Sofia, 19 September message to Jubilee Campaign NL from Ms. Diana Neykova 6 th of September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krassimir Kanev, Sofia, 19 September Telephonic interview with Mr. Nikolay Nikolov, 27 October 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 15 of 47

17 some of their programming which could be seen as discriminatory and responsible for inciting hatred. These punitive measures have not been effective seeing as the promotion of ethnical and religious hatred via this medium continues to this day. 60 Not only is radio and television discriminatory in practice but the press is also guilty of discriminatory practices. Mr. L. Popov states, that this media is also controlled to a large degree by the State. Editors of national and local newspapers often decide to exclude any articles written by or favourable to any other religious group than the BOC. 61 The press is also guilty of spreading hatred and lies about non-traditional religious groups. On the 16 th of July 2005 the newspaper 24 hours published an article entitled, Dangerous sect is sowing miracles. The article was published after an interview with Mr. I. Hazarbassanov, pastor of Christian Centre Sofia, regarding the work of Christian Centre Sofia among the Roma and their activities with the youth in Sofia. In the article Mr. I. Hazarbassanov was misquoted. The article also portrayed Protestant churches in general in a bad light while labelling the Christian Church in Sofia as "dangerous. The article linked the Christian Center in Sofia with criminal activities of which they had no part. According to Mr. I. Hazarbassanov, Protestant Christians are often used as scapegoats in the press. Seeing as stories about sects within Bulgarian society are good for circulation the media often portray Protestant Christians and other non-traditional religious groups as such. Mr. Rev. V. Virtchev declared that this incident in newspaper hurt all Evangelical Christians. 62 Several churches joined forces and sent a letter to the Council of the Directorate of Religious Affairs expressing their concerns about this article and the effects of these kinds of stories on society as a whole. According to Mr. I. Hazarbassanov the Directorate was supportive of their position and declared that should Mr. I. Hazarbassanov decide to take this matter to court they were prepared to offer their opinion in support of his position. 63 Mr. L. Popov, as director of the Rule of Law Institute, prepared a case against the newspaper which will be presented to the Antidiscrimination Commission of Bulgaria message to Jubilee Campaign NL from Ms. Diana Neykova 6 th of September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Latchezar Popov, Sofia, 19 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Viktor Virtchev, Sofia, 20 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Ivan Hazarbassanov, Sofia, 18 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Latchezar Popov, Sofia, 19 September 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 16 of 47

18 ROMANIA Introduction Although the Constitution of Romania provides for freedom of religion, the Government exercises considerable influence over religious life through laws and decrees. The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC) exercises substantial influence due to the fact that the majority of Romanians are members of the ROC. Proposals to replace the communist-era 1948 religion law, decree 177 of , have been discussed for the last 15 years. At the moment a draft of a new religion law is being sent to the parliament under "emergency procedures." Despite the fact that Mr. M. Agafitei of the State Secretariat for Religious Denominations declared that "all the representatives of each community approved the draft," not all religious groups did, and still a lot of them have important concerns and objections. 66 Some religious groups remain concerned that the draft law does not spell out the role of the State Secretariat for Religious Denominations, part of the Ministry of Culture and Religion. Minorities already complain that the State Secretariat is staffed by Orthodox believers who believe their role is to defend the rights of their Church. Some human rights activists in Romania have even claimed that "the current staff is anything but professional or neutral". 67 The pre-eminent position of the ROC has been acknowledged in the draft of the Religious Liberty Law. The provision declares that: The state of Romania acknowledges the importance that the Orthodox Church has played in the history and culture of Romania. By including this statement in the draft law the State continues to distinguish the ROC from other churches. 68 Recognition of religious groups The Government requires religious groups to register. However, there is no clear procedure for the registration of religious groups and religions and the requirements are for many religious groups impossible to fulfil. 69 Every religious group has to present it s constitution to the government for approval. Registration is only possible to denominations representing at least 0.1 percent of the total population of the country (which is approximately people), which is for many religious groups impossible. The law for registration is based on the principle of proportionality instead of equality, which is a source of discrimination between religious groups. The total number of recognized religious groups stands currently at eighteen 70. The Government has refused to recognize a number of religious groups since The ROC, due to its prominent position in society, also plays an influential role in politics and their influence in the registration process of other religious groups can not be underestimated. Unrecognized groups allege that the registration process is arbitrary and unduly influenced by the ROC. 65 International Religious freedom report 2005: Romania, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, 26 February Romania Concerns about draft religion law? Forum 18 News Service, 6 October Romania Too much power for the state and recognized communities? Forum 18 News Service, 7 October Jubilee Campaign NL telephone interview with Mr. Paul Negrut (4 October2005) 69 International Religious freedom report 2005: Romania, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, 26 February International Religious freedom report 2005: Romania, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, 26 February 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 17 of 47

19 The ROC is actively seeking to maintain both its status and influence in society and the political sphere. Non-registered groups and even registered groups think that the ROC wants to keep the number of registered religions low to maintain this status. The more religious groups that are recognized by the government the more groups with which the ROC must share the government funds available and the more it must share its political influence. State funds currently allow the ROC to pay its clergy and continue building more churches and monasteries. Should their funding be cut due to a rise in the number of recognized religious groups this affluence will naturally decrease. 71 Consequences of registration Unregistered groups are not recognized as legitimate religious bodies. These are registered by the Romanian government as either religious charitable foundations or cultural associations 72. One disadvantage of non registration is that unrecognized religions have to pay local property taxes on their places of worship, while recognized religious group do not. Recognized religious groups also have the right to establish schools, receive state funds to build churches, pay clergy salaries, subsidize clergy housing, broadcast religious programs on radio and television, apply for broadcasting licenses for denominational frequencies, and enjoy tax-exempt status, privileges not enjoyed by non-recognized religious groups. 73 Some churches including the Romanian Baptist Church and the Seventh Day Adventist Church both officially recognized by the State in 1953 have refused to accept the state funds which they are eligible for due to their status. Their argument against accepting these funds is their fear that by way of giving such funds to churches the State feels justified in influencing religious life, in principle annexing churches to the government. 74 Donations of private or commercial persons to churches are not tax exempted. This regulation strengthens the churches dependency on the State for funding. The Romanian government can then decide how she will reign the church by financing certain activities of the church. 75 Another advantage of official recognition is that the church is then accepted by society at large. The government (influenced or not by the ROC) and the ROC itself have the tendency to refer to non recognized groups as sects, such as the Evangelical Church. A registration is a public proof that a religious group is official and not a sect or cult. Draft of the Religious Liberty Law in Romania At the moment a new draft of the Religious Liberty Law in Romania is on the floor of the Romanian Parliament under the emergency procedure. This means that the Romanian authorities plan to adopt the law as soon as possible making it difficult for the international community to comment on it. While various religious groups have been involved in the process of drafting the new law however, the Christian Baptist Union of Romania remains wary stating that [t]he experience we gained in previous years - where after the consensus of all denominations proposed drafts were significantly modified to the point that the content submitted for parliamentarian approval was totally different - makes us extra careful." 76 Adventists, Baptists, other Protestants, Greek Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses and Baha'is have concerns about the undefined powers given to the state by the draft Religious Liberty Law. 71 Jubilee Campaign NL telephone interview with Mr. Paul Negrut (4 October2005) 72 International Religious freedom report 2005: Romania, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, 26 February International Religious freedom report 2005: Romania, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, 26 February Jubilee Campaign NL telephone interview with Mr. Paul Negrut (4 October2005) 75 Jubilee Campaign NL telephone interview with Mr. Paul Negrut (4 October2005) 76 Romania Concerns about draft religion law, Forum 18 News Service, 6 October 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 18 of 47

20 The following major concerns can be mentioned: Major concerns about the new draft on the Law on Religion Under the new law, all 18 religious groups recognised by the government as "religious denominations" will receive the highest level of status. The State has great but undefined powers in deciding which other religious communities should gain this status: Those with fewer than about 22,000 members can register as "religious associations" with lesser rights, while those with fewer than 300 members can only function as "religious groups" which have no legal status. Religious activity by unregistered communities will be legal Article 5 states that religious associations can only gain the status of denomination if they can guarantee "durability and stability." The Jehovah's Witnesses are concerned that such undefined criteria could lead to "discriminatory interpretation" by the State. 2. Baptists are among the religious communities which oppose the time limit of 12 years before a community can start to apply for recognition. 3. The River of Revival Pentecostal Church also notes that the new law, which will not allow religious communities with fewer than 300 members to gain legal status, "may lead to discrimination and persecution" In the content of the proposed law there is no express provision proclaiming the separation of church and state. This omission opens the door to either open or overt influence of the government over religious groups. According to the Baptist Union [t]he eventual use of such power and influence can not safeguard the independency of religious groups. Insertion into the new law of the text the recognized denominations are legal entities with private rights instead of public rights should be required. 5. The current practice regarding government subsidies will, according to the draft law, remain the same. It proposes that each denomination receives a contribution from the government which can be used for salaries, construction and normal operation. Extra funds are available in case of unforeseen eventualities. The amount of the contribution is based upon the percentage of the population that claims to belong to each denomination. Obviously, this creates a dependency upon the government as well as giving the government a form of tacit control over the churches. Religious groups maintain that the government should discontinue granting subsidies to all churches, including the ROC, and that private donations from individuals and companies should be made tax-exempt. This would stimulate individuals and groups through fiscal incentives to support voluntary institutions Article 13 paragraph 3 of the draft law proposes penalties only when someone has obstructed the religious practice of one of the 18 recognised denominations. Unrecognised communities enjoy no such protection. This fact, together with the fact that the state has undefined powers to decide which communities will be so classified in the future, gives ground for discrimination of unregistered religious groups 7. Religious education in schools is another controversial area. Article 39 paragraph 4 of the draft law, appears to require schools set up by religious groups for their own communities to offer religious education to pupils of another faith who voluntarily choose to attend the school Romania Concerns about draft religion law, Forum 18 News Service, 6 October Romania Too much power for the state and recognized communities? Forum 18 News Service, 7 October Special report on the proposed Religious Liberties law project 2005, Christian Baptist Union of Romania 80 Romania Too much power for the state and recognized communities? Forum 18 News Service, 7 October 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 19 of 47

21 8. In one proposal, only religious denominations and the lesser category of religious associations will be allowed to call themselves "church". "In our culture it is important to have the title 'church'," according to Pastor L. Chis, head of the Federation of Autonomous Christian Churches. "If you don't, you're treated not as a church but as a 'sect'. This is a problem, as lots of churches don't have 300 members." But Mr. Agafatei of the State Secretariat insists any group can call itself a church, although not in law without legal status The Baptist Union is also worried about the proposed addition to the legally recognized reasons for restricting the right to religious freedom according to Article 9 subparagraph 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights. According to this paragraph the only recognized reasons for an eventual restraining of religious liberties are public safety, order protection of the health and moral of the public, the protection of the rights and liberties of others.... In Article 5 paragraph 3 and Article 49 paragraph 3 of the draft law however the phrase public safety is replaced with national security. The Baptist Union is concerned that in the past totalitarian states have, under the pretext of national security, persecuted Christians from their denomination for having fellowship with believers in other nations. We believe that the text of the two articles must be modified to respect the text of the European Convention of Human Rights. Therefore, they propose the replacement of national security with public safety. Mr. Agafatei of the State Secretariat conceded that the use of the term "national security" was a mistake and that this should be "public safety". He said this will be corrected. 82 Peaceful assembly and enjoying a place of worship The law provides for peaceful religious assembly; however, several minority religious groups have complained that, on various occasions, local authorities and Orthodox priests prevented religious activities from taking place, even when their organizers had been issued permits. The Evangelical Alliance continues to report difficulties obtaining approval to use public halls for religious activities following pressure by Orthodox priests. There have been incidents where Orthodox priests have incited the local population against activities by the Seventhday Adventist Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Jehovah's Witnesses. The press reported several instances of Orthodox clergy harassing members of other faiths, such as pressuring non-orthodox school children to attend Orthodox religion classes or not allowing members of religious groups to proselytize near Orthodox churches. Building permits and rights on properties Government building permit regulations allow both recognized and unrecognized religious groups to build places of worship. 83 Most minority religions had no difficulty in receiving permits to build places of worship last year; however, some groups complained of undue delays. Sometimes permits approved by the central government were obstructed at the local level, where mayors refused to issue building permits. The arguments are mostly: This community is 100 % Orthodox that s why you don t have a right to build a house of worship for your religious group 84. The Local Councils are often influenced by the Orthodox Church Romania Too much power for the state and recognized communities? Forum 18 News Service, 7 October Romania Too much power for the state and recognized communities? Forum 18 News Service, 7 October International Religious freedom report 2005: Romania, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, 26 February Jubilee Campaign NL telephone interview with Mr. Paul Negrut (4 October 2005) 85 Jubilee Campaign NL telephone interview with Mr. Paul Negrut (4 October 2005) Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 20 of 47

22 The regular abuse of power by local authorities when making decisions regarding property continues to give rise to unjust situations for several religious groups today. Bethel Church in Bucharest victim of decision on property In 1990, the Romanian Baptist Union, based upon decree 126/1990, received on behalf of Bethel Christian Baptist Church a piece of property of 5,600 m 2 in Bucharest. They were to use this property for the purpose of building a worship center. The decree gave the church ownership over both the land and the building that was erected on it. Despite this, the local authorities, basing their decision on law 18/1991 which pertains to zoning in Bucharest, returned the land to the pre-1990 owners. This was the beginning of a long and tedious legal process. The Appeals Court of Bucharest, in its definite decision (civil decision nr. 195/ ) recognized the ownership of Bethel Christian Baptist Church over the building, but at the same time ruled that it must return the land to its previous owners and remove its building from the property. Currently the church is fighting an eviction notice issued by the court. The church has been fighting this battle since the year Speranta Baptist Church in Rimnicu Valcea victim of decision on property In 1991 the Speranta Baptist Church also received from the Mayor s office of Rimnicu Valcea as a means of Government support a piece of property with a lease in perpetuity as long as the church s building and parochial home were built upon it. In exchange for the legal rights, the church paid the Mayor s office the full value of the land. After the church began and completed both buildings which were tax paying properties the same Mayor s office, based upon law 10/2001, returned the land to its previous owners. The new owners sued the church for not being able to use their property and the church was ordered by a Rimnicu Valcea judge, in file 2350/2004, to pay a monthly sum of $1,450 for the entire duration of the construction. The Speranta Christian Baptist Church of Rimnicu Valcea continues to fight this battle in court. 86 Division of property between Greek Orthodox Church and Romanian Orthodox Church In June of 2002, parliament passed legislation restoring religious properties confiscated by the Communist regime. Some properties had already been returned as a result of government decrees. Despite restitution by these decrees, in many cases religious minorities have not succeeded in regaining possession of the properties. One cathedral and some properties were given back last year, but still the process of restitution is continuing. The Greek Catholic Church was the second largest denomination in 1948 when the Communists outlawed it and ordered its merger with the ROC. They lost legal status and with that all their properties. At the time of banning, the Greek Catholic Church owned over 2600 churches. Since 1989 the government claims to have returned about 270 buildings, while the Greek Catholic Church claims it has regained only 176. In 1990 the Greek Catholic Church recovered their legal status. A 1990 decree called for the creation of a joint Greek Catholic -Romanian Orthodox committee at national level to decide the fate of the churches that had belonged to the Greek Catholic Church in The Government enforced the decree in The ROC resisted efforts to resolve problems in the committee and as a result the committee meets only annually. Courts generally refuse to consider Greek Catholic Church lawsuits seeking restitution, referring to the joint committee. The ROC stresses that the will of the majority of believers should be taken into account and restitution problems should be resolved by dialogue. The ROC calls for an end to all ongoing lawsuits and emphasizes that the construction of new buildings is the only solution to 86 Report on the hardship that some Baptist churches face in Romania, Romanian Baptist Union, 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 21 of 47

23 lawsuits and emphasizes that the construction of new buildings is the only solution to existing conflicts. The government has taken its hands from the issue and sees it as a problem between the ROC and the Greek Orthodox Church. 87 Freedom to give religious education and train clergy The Government permits religious education in public schools, which is optional for students. Only recognized religions are entitled to hold religion classes in public schools. Generally, the religious group with the highest concentration of members in a locality have the right to teach religion in public schools; however, a number of religious groups, including the Greek Catholic Church, the Baptist Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, reported that they had been unable to hold classes because of the Orthodox clergy's influence 88. According to those minority religions, the local inspectors for religious classes are typically Orthodox priests who deny accreditation to teachers of other religions. Both at the Ministry of Education and Culture & Religion most inspectors are Romanian Orthodox. There is no representation of other denominations on this level or at the district level. 89 Children belonging to other religious groups are at times however forced to follow Romanian orthodox classes otherwise they won t pass the school requirements. Both the Seventh-day Adventist Church and Jehovah's Witnesses reported cases of children who were pressured to attend Orthodox religion classes. 90 Distributing literature and proselytising Proselytising is not defined in Romanian law so while there is no law against proselytising most authorities and even religious groups have no clear understanding of what it is. According to Mr. M. Patrasescu, general director of Mastermedia in Romania, tension has risen between churches when one has accused the other of proselytising. They understand "proselytising as trying to get new converts for a religion using means that are not honest or through manipulation and pressures. 91 The ROC has criticized the Protestant, neo-protestant (Evangelical) and other religious groups, which the ROC persists in described as sects for proselytising. 92 Several religious groups, including recognized and unrecognized groups, complain that low-level officials and Romanian Orthodox clergy have impeded their efforts to proselytize, interfered in religious activities and otherwise discriminated against them. Local officials tend to be tolerant, but are often pressured and intimidated by Orthodox clergy. Religious groups that wish to organize public religious activities are required to obtain permission from local authorities. This permission is however dependent on several factors, including the official s religious affinity and the influence of the Romanian Orthodox clergy in the area. On October 1, 2005 the Protestant church in Scornicesti requested permission to have a public meeting in the city and march along its streets. Permission was granted only because the U.S. ambassador intended to visit the activities. With such a high profile the Protestant church easily received the permission it may otherwise not have received Jubilee Campaign NL interview with Mr. Paul Negrut (4 October 2005) 88 Jubilee Campaign NL interview with Mr. Paul Negrut (4 October 2005) 89 Jubilee Campaign NL interview with Mr. Paul Negrut (4 October 2005) 90 International Religious freedom report 2005: Romania, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, February 28 th Jubilee Campaign NL interview with Mircea Patrasescu (28 October 2005 and 2 November 2005) 92 Jubilee Campaign NL telephone interview with Mr. Paul Negrut (4 October2005) 93 Jubilee Campaign NL telephone interview with Mr. Paul Negrut (4 October 2005) Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 22 of 47

24 Behaviour of police Several religious groups made credible complaints that, in some instances, local police and administrative authorities tacitly supported sometimes violent societal campaigns against proselytizing. 94 Discrimination Religious tolerance within the Romanian society According to Mr. M. Patrasescu, there is a xenophobic undercurrent in Romanian society. 95 There are some extreme nationalistic groups who make derogatory statement about Jews and other (religious) minorities. The government has not showed much effort to counter these expressions. 96 Some (government) institutions as well as the press continue to label religious minorities, especially evangelical Protestants as cults. The ROC only strengthens this perception. 97 The New Right (Noua Dreapta) organization, a small extremist group with nationalistic and xenophobic views, continues to verbally and, at times, physically harass members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Bucharest and Lasi. 98 Credinta Church in Tirgu Neamt attacked According to Mr. V. Gavriliuc, pastor of the Credinta Baptist Church of Tirgu Neamt, between the 29 th of November and the 1 st of December of 2004, the gates and part of the metal fence surrounding the church were destroyed and the custodian of the church was threatened. According to reports that were received at the headquarters of the Baptist Union, in the nights following the attack on the church a group of people gathered outside the church chanting, sectants, sectants, death to the sectants. More acts of vandalism followed; forcing of the church locks, destroying of the mail box and street signs around the church, The vandalism culminated in the breaking of 17 churches windows with rocks. On Christmas Eve dirt was thrown inside the church and in the evening of the 29 th of December a small group of people made a lot of noise outside of the church with the purpose of intimidating the gathered church members. Even after the police were called in they continued in their acts of vandalism against the church. 99 Cemeteries The Romanian government has handed over a number of cemeteries to the ROC. This means that in some towns and cities cemeteries are only open to members of the ROC. At times the ROC will allow a member of another religious group to be buried in its cemetery but in those cases the family of the deceased are forced to hand over the coffin at the gate of the cemetery to the Orthodox priest and let him do the funeral. Orthodox priests have repeatedly refused the Seventh-Day Adventist Church access to cemeteries to bury its deceased members. There are also reports of similar incidents from the Greek Catholic Church and Evangelical and Baptist believers. The Baptist Union of Romania has asked for a general cemetery in every town and city where the only current cemetery is owned by the ROC in 94 International Religious freedom report 2005: Romania, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, February 28 th Jubilee Campaign NL interview with Mircea Patrasescu (28 October 2005) 96 Jubilee Campaign NL telephone interview with Mr. Paul Negrut (4 October2005) 97 Jubilee Campaign NL interview with Mircea Patrasescu (28 October 2005) 98 International Religious freedom report 2005: Romania, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, February 28 th Report on the hardship that some Baptist churches face in Romania, Romanian Baptist Union, 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 23 of 47

25 order to prevent similar situations in the future. However, this request has been denied by the government so far. 100 Brethren Church Mehedinta Prahova county denied place to bury deceased The Brethren Church in Mehedinta Prahova county has been unable to bury its members due to continuing opposition from the county s Orthodox priest, C. Dumitri. Mehendinta Prahova county has just one cemetery and the cemetery is owned by the ROC. C. Dumitri has also opposed the opening of a private cemetery in the county by using his influence with the representatives of the Local Council. The situation, which began in 2001, continues to be unresolved. 101 Media Room for religion on national radio and television The ROC has broadcast time on television. Romanian Orthodox liturgies and events have a high profile on television. The only other religious group that receives any significant airtime is the Catholic Church. 102 Mr. M. Patrasescu stated that generally speaking, the influence of the ROC over national television is still very much alive, especially where Christian programs are concerned. It is a legacy from the past that along with an old-fashioned management style makes it difficult for religious groups other than the ROC to broadcast programs relevant to their members. Television stations in general do not seem to know how to react to programs which seem to fall outside of the teachings of the traditional Orthodox Church. General ignorance about the other Christian denominations in Romania is high. I think that many of the television stations in Romania do not consider Christian programming to be interesting or relevant. This is because the image of Christianity as perceived by the Romanian people has a scent of the Medieval Ages rather than something which is alive and has relevance today. The ROC is largely responsible for these perceptions due to its influence over the majority of the Romanian population. When a Christian program is evaluated for broadcasting, I'm afraid that considerations regarding the source of the programming and whether or not it is prejudicial to the ROC come before the quality and relevance of the programming. 103 Behaviour of the Media According to Mr. P. Negrut, the President of the Evangelical Alliance of Romania and President of the Romanian Baptist Union, the ROC is constantly in the media, mostly on talk shows. There they refer to the evangelical churches as sects and cults. They portray other religious groups in a bad light in hopes of influencing the audience and viewing public and convincing them to show no interest in learning what these groups are really about. The press, some with extremist tendencies, continue to publish anti-semitic articles. The Legionnaires (Iron Guard), an extreme nationalist, anti-semitic, pro-nazi group, continue to publish inflammatory books from the interwar period. In March of 2004, a private television station broadcast a talk show entitled, "Gypsies, Jews, and Legionnaires, which voiced xenophobic, anti-semitic, and racist views. The station owners did not respond to a protest sent by the Jewish Communities Federation Jubilee Campaign NL telephone interview with Mr. Paul Negrut (4 October 2005) 101 Report on abuse from leaders of the Local Orthodox Church, Evangelical Alliance Romania, Jubilee Campaign NL telephone interview with Mr. Paul Negrut (4 October 2005) 103 Jubilee Campaign NL interview with Mircea Patrasescu (28 October 2005 and 2 November 2005) 104 International Religious freedom report 2005: Romania, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, February 28 th 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 24 of 47

26 TURKEY Introduction According to Article 2 of the Turkish Constitution of 18 October 1982, the Republic of Turkey is a secular state founded on the rule of law. The Turkish constitutional principle of secularism was modelled on the French concept of secularism which means that instead of taking in a hands-off attitude towards all religions the state chooses to regulate all religion and keep it under State control. The Constitution does provide for freedom of belief, freedom of worship, and the private dissemination of religious ideas as well as prohibiting discrimination on religious grounds; however, other constitutional provisions regarding the integrity and existence of the secular state restrict these rights. 105 For example, Sunni-Islam is controlled by the Presidency of Religious Affairs, or Diyanet, which is directed from the Prime Minister s office. The consequences of such a system translate into practical restrictions as will be illustrated below. 106 There is also a lack of legal regulations concerning specific subjects that provide such things as facilities to actually enjoy the freedom of religion. 107 The existing regulations, while looking good on the surface, leave many lacunas which are left to the discretion of local bureaucrats, individuals who are not always entirely objective in their dealings with all religious groups. 108 According to Professor A. Carkoglu, of the Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey does not recognize any religious authority independent of the state. This is what secularism means in Turkey today. All imams and other mosque officials in Turkey are state officials, basically clerks who follow orders. If Turkey should recognise a religious authority that is not under state control, the whole system would have to be changed. 109 For now the constitution and secularists will prevent this. 110 It is evident therefore that despite the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion pluralism is not highly valued in Turkey and is seen rather as a potential cause of conflict and war. Another fear motivating the State is the possible negative consequences of fundamentalist groups. Recognizing one group would necessitate the recognition of all groups which would potentially bring an increase of the influence of Islam. 111 The state bureaucracy therefore continues to play a crucial role in defending traditional Turkish secularism as it has done throughout the history of the Republic. These underlying fears mean that it is impossible for religious groups to be granted legal personality. Recently the Turkish Government has carried out extensive legal reforms aimed at meeting the requirements for European Union membership. These reforms are aimed at actions which prevent the free expression of religion, crimes which are now punishable by 1 to 3 years in prison International Religious Freedom Report 2005: Turkey, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (28 February 2005). 106 Is there religious freedom in Turkey? Otmar Oehring, Forum 18, 12 October Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Yavuz Kapusuz, Ankara, 24 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Andrew Hoard, Ankara 23 September Faith, hope and parity Financial times, August 26, Papal nuncio: Religious freedom only on paper, Turkish Daily News, 25 June Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Andrew Hoard, Ankara 23 September International Religious Freedom Report 2005: Turkey, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (28 February 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 25 of 47

27 Position of Sunni Muslim majority The protection of the principle of secularism takes various forms. One of these forms is the Presidency of Religious Affairs, established by Article 136 of the Turkish Constitution of Instead of simply keeping a check on religion it has taken over control of Islam. Based on the assumption that 99.7% of the Turkish population is Sunni-Muslim, this department has extensive influence. The government, by way of the Diyanet, not only administers and controls this religious group, but it also supports it. 113 All governmental funds made available for religious purposes are channelled exclusively to the support of Sunni-Islam. 114 According to Mr. C. Ozkaya, President of Mazlum-Der Turkish Human Rights Organisation, for other religious groups there is no financial support. Koran courses are administered by the Ministry of Education. The State also provides for the education of Imams and provides for their salaries. 115 According to Mr. O.K. Cengiz, President of the Human Rights Agenda Association and Legal Consultant Alliance of Protestant Churches, the Government imposes some restrictions on Muslims and on Muslim religious expression. For instance, the law contains no regulations with regard to headscarves, there is no legal ban on women wearing them but there are some arbitrary distinctions, like house rules for particular places that prevent women from covering themselves. 116 Covered women may not enter government offices or attend classes at state-run institutions, including universities, and may not get certain jobs in the civil administration. 117 Recognition of religious groups Recognition in the form of legal personality is necessary for religious groups to fully enjoy the right to freedom of religion. Legal personality is, for instance, required to buy and rent buildings and to appoint personnel etc. 118 The lack of legal personality brings with it many disadvantages for the religious groups involved. For instance, when a religious group has no legal status their clergy can have no retirement benefits or social security and have to pay their own health costs. The lack of legal personality for religious communities also leaves their properties at permanent risk of confiscation or expropriation. 119 Traditional religious groups As previously stated, the government assumes that 99,7% of the population are Sunni- Muslim. 120 The government persists in this assumption despite the fact that 20% of the population consider themselves to be Alawis, holding beliefs quite distinct from those of the Sunni-Muslim. 121 As a result Alawis are not recognized. In September 2005 the Religious Affairs Minister, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Aydin, made the comment that he does not want to give Alawis representation in the Religious Affairs Presidency. 122 The consequence is that Alawis have no right to exercise their religion in accordance with their wishes. It is for instance difficult for Alawis to open their own houses of worship (Cem). The Prime Minister says they are not different from Sunni-Muslims, so they should go to the existing mosques. 123 Shias, 113 Human Rights in Turkey Secularism = Religious Freedom? Otmar Oehring, Internationales Katholisches Missionswerk e.v., Human Rights Office, Aachen (2002). 114 Alawis to start legal proceedings against Prime Ministry, Turkish Daily News, 22 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Cevat Ozkaya, Istanbul, 21 September Telephone interview with Mr. Orhan Kemal Cengiz, 20 October Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Cevat Ozkaya, Istanbul, 21 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Carlos Madrigal, Istanbul, 22 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Yavuz Kapusuz, Ankara, 24 September Papal nuncio: Religious freedom only on paper, Turkish Daily News, 25 June Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Andrew Hoard, Ankara 23 September Autonomy for Religious Body, Turkish Daily News, 23 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Ihsan Ozbek, Ankara, 24 September 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 26 of 47

28 the Sufi orders and some minority Muslim groups within the dominant Muslim majority face the same problem. 124 Other religious groups like the Jewish, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox communities, fall within the scope of the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 and are thus seen as traditional religious (and ethnical) minorities. The Treaty of Lausanne provides protection for some group rights of the above minority religious groups. These communities have been able to establish private foundations (called Vakıf ) which provide them with the necessary legal personality. The foundation is however not registered as one which has a religious goal, something which is prohibited by law. Their religious leaders are not recognized as such but are legally viewed as the boss of a foundation. 125 According to Mr. K. Agabaloglu, pastor of the Gedikpasa Armenian Evangelical Church in Istanbul, it is still hard for these groups to build new buildings or renovate existing ones. A 1936 ruling officially stipulated that religious minority foundations may not receive new property. Whatever an ethnic group bought after 1936 was taken away in the 1970s and 1980s. Many church buildings of the Armenians, 126 Greek 127 and Assyrians 128 were confiscated by the government. After expropriating the buildings the government often gave or sold these back to the original owner. The churches have to date not received their property back. 129 Non traditional religious groups According to Mr. Y. Kapusuz, pastor of the Ankara Presbyterian Kilisesi, for non traditional religious groups that are not mentioned in the Lausanne treaty of 1923 it is also hard to receive recognition. There is nothing in the Lausanne Treaty which provides for adherents to another faith and their desires for a place of worship for themselves. 130 In most cases Protestant churches have no legal status. In the law there is no way for recognition, no official way to establish a church. There is a lacuna in the law with respect to the means Christian and other non-muslim groups may come together. Forming an association (called Dernek ) provides religious groups with the greatest change for gaining legal personality despite that this personality was not originally intended for groups with a religious personality. 131 In accordance with the past laws pertaining to associations, any association with a religious aim was forbidden. However, the Turkish government has recently opened a back door for religious groups to receive official legal personality through the form of association. The previous prohibition with regards to the aims of an association has been omitted in the new law pertaining to the recognition of associations which came into force in October of This legislative change however does not translate into the recognition of religious groups as such; they continue to only be recognized under the noemer of association. This compromise made by the Turkish government was done to meet EU standards regarding the freedom of religion but ultimately this compromise is one of smoke and mirrors hiding the fact that religious groups and individual churches continue to be denied recognition as religious groups and churches. For while Turkish authorities now allows a group to establish an associations using the word `church` within the title of their association s name, the government considers this association as a legal entity which is formed to built up a church 124 Is there religious freedom in Turkey?, Otmar Oehring, Forum 18, 12 October Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Ihsan Ozbek, Ankara, 24 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krikor Agabaloglu, Istanbul, 22 September Faith, Hope and parity, Financial Times, 26 August Stop the process of confiscation of the property of the Assyrian Christian minority, Human Rights without Frontiers, 17 th of June Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krikor Agabaloglu, Istanbul, 22 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Yavuz Kapusuz, Ankara, 24 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. George Bristow, Istanbul, 22 September 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 27 of 47

29 rather than the church itself. This provides partial legitimacy for the churches but does not give them full rights. 132 Although there is now a certain way to gain legal personality, it is still difficult for many Christian groups to obtain such personality and subsequently an official place of worship. The main problems surrounding or associated with the new generation of associations are: 1. More documents need to be supplied than before, and the process is vague and complex. 2. You can make an application to the mayor, but it highly depends on the willingness of the local authority what the outcome will be For small religious groups it is not possible to go the association route. Association requires a minimum membership which small groups often cannot meet. 4. Also the management of an association is different than that of a church and the requirements for an association are contrary to the management of a church. 134 At the moment only two churches in Turkey have managed to receive recognition; the Association of Kurtulus (Salvation) Churches based in Ankara which serves as a denomination for several churches managed to receive recognition in 2005 through the association route 135 and the Istanbul Protestant Church Foundation which functions as an umbrella organization for churches in Istanbul and Izmit was officially recognized in The total procedure took fourteen months and required a ruling of Turkey s highest court. 136 As the foundation has legal personality, it owns the buildings of the churches under the umbrella and employs the pastors. 137 ID Cards At the moment a person s religion is listed on their ID Card. The government promised in March 2005 that they would change the ID cards and that the religion section would be removed, but to date no steps have been taken to realise this promise. Even should this change be realized, a person s religious affinity will still be kept in the records of the civil administration. 138 On the ID cards only three religions can be filled in: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. There is a fourth option which allows an individual to claim no religion. This is in contradiction with the 1986 decisions of the Constitutional Court and the Court of Appeals, and naturally creates problems for members of other religious groups. For the Bahai s is it still impossible to receive Baha i on their ID card. It says Muslim or is kept empty. 139 In the case of renewal of a lost or damaged ID card which said Baha i by the order of a court, local officials try to leave that section blank. After long negotiations, some Baha is have been able to keep their religion on their renewed ID cards. For individuals who convert from one of religion to another it is difficult to effect this change on their ID card. This is at times dependent on the area in which one lives and the local authorities involved. Outside Istanbul it is harder to change your ID card. 140 The difficulty in changing one s ID card is relevant. For example, one must show an adequate number of ID cards of members of a religious group to prove that there are enough attendees to establish the need for a place of worship. 132 Telephone interview with Mr. Orhan Kemal Cengiz, 20 October Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Carlos Madrigal, Istanbul, 22 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Erol Dagli, Ankara, 24 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Ihsan Ozbek, Ankara, 24 September Turkish Protestant Church Granted Full Legal Status, Compass Direct, January Jubilee Campaign NL interview with Mr. Carlos Madrigal, Istanbul, 7 October Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Ihsan Ozbek, Ankara, 24 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Prof. Dr. Cüneyt Can, Ankara, 23 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. George Bristow, Istanbul, 22 September 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 28 of 47

30 Possibility to have a place of worship Receiving recognition as a group of believers is the first step. It is clear that this step in and of itself is wrought with difficulty. However, besides the fact that a group of believers require legal recognition it is also required that that place of worship receives recognition. According to Mr. C. Madrigal, founding pastor of the Istanbul Protestant Church Foundation in Istanbul, if the building you use is not an official building this is not necessarily an obstacle for worship. 141 But it is for instance impossible to receive insurance for a religious building when it has no official status. 142 It highly depends on the attitude and reaction of the local authorities and on the pressure of the local population on those authorities if a building will be recognized for use by a certain religious group. 143 General zoning laws may also require that the building used meet a minimum requirement of square meters. These requirements are for many (small) churches a (financial) obstacle. 144 Sometimes local authorities make things difficult by requiring that a group attain association status before obtaining a building and then state that they have to obtain a building to attain association status. This is of course both physically and technically impossible. 145 Apostolic Nuncio, Monsignor E. Farhat, stated that strange delays and postponements, reluctance and resistance make one think there is a mentality not to allow much space to non-sunni Muslim groups. 146 According to the law you cannot use every building as a church. Until June 2003, the Act of Construction spoke only of mosques. In an amendment, this word was replaced by houses of worship. Theoretically, this opens the way to register churches officially yet practical problems still make this difficult. To use a building for religious purposes the building must be properly zoned. This in turn is dependant on the mayor who allocates buildings which religious groups can buy or rent for use as a place of worship. This restricts religious freedom because the mayor has the freedom to allocate a place outside the neighbourhood of the believers. Groups can also buy a place and then ask the mayor to change the zoning but this is a great risk seeing as the local authorities can reject an application. After this procedure has been followed a religious community must then apply to the governor. The governor has a broad mandate to decide whether having a new house of worship in a certain area is necessary, he can also delay making this decision. 147 A lot of the delays seem to have to do with the problems of zoning an area. Present status To date only two churches have received zoning recognition; The Protestant Church Foundation in Istanbul has received a letter from the government that they would help to change the zoning requirements for the registration. They have already received the approval of the municipality and now there only remains the approval of the local government. When they receive the final approval of the local government this will be an official house of worship. 148 A foreign church in Antalya also received recognition. For the other church buildings there is no recognition as they did not pass the first stage. 149 At the moment 16 churches are applying for a change of zoning. The government wanted to close these churches because the zoning was wrong. In these cases it is not easy to get all the documents from the local authorities that are required for the zoning Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Carlos Madrigal, Istanbul, 22 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Yavuz Kapusuz, Ankara, 24 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Carlos Madrigal, Istanbul, 22 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. George Bristow, Istanbul, 22 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Erol Dagli, Ankara, 24 September Papal nuncio: Religious freedom only on paper, Turkish Daily News, 25 June Telephone interview with Mr. Orhan Kemal Cengiz, 20 October Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Carlos Madrigal, Istanbul, 22 September Telephone interview with Mr. Orhan Kemal Cengiz, 20 October Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. George Bristow, Istanbul, 22 September 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 29 of 47

31 Through complex, unclear and contradicting regulations and the different attitudes of the local authorities many churches face difficulties in finding a place for worship and some even face resistance from the police. Struggles of the Ankara Kecioren Gospel Church and Ankara Presbyterian Church In 2001, Mr. Da_li, pastor of the Müjde Gospel Church in Ankara, started a church in Kecioren, Ankara. In the process of obtaining an official place of worship he did whatever the authorities asked. But the police worked against him in the process of obtaining a building and the local population attacked him and his church several times. At the moment he cannot live in his house nor does he have building for his church. The fourth appendix provides a chronological overview of the steps he took the last five years and the obstacles he faced in obtaining a building in Ankara. The fifth appendix shows the story of Mr. Kapusuz, pastor of Ankara Presbyterian Kilisesi, who had similar problems in Ankara and still doesn t have a church building for worship. Freedom to give religious education and train clergy Article 9 of European Charter of Human Rights (ECHR) determines that there must be freedom to teach religion. In Turkey a religious group needs to ask for permission to give religious instruction. By law only the government can carry out religious teaching. 151 Mosques can hold courses for instruction in the Koran and the Islamic faith. The government supports the Imam school, provides financial support to the students, and pays the salary and social security of imams. This financial support is not extended to other religious groups. 152 Despite the fact that Koran courses should officially take place under the guidance of the state, yet some 6,000 such courses are widely spoken of as existing clandestinely. Government officials and police officers often turn a blind eye to these activities. 153 All children, regardless of their religious identity, are obliged to follow Muslim classes at their school. It is impossible to avoid these classes unless the director of the school allows it. 154 You cannot have private religious schools and it is illegal to run a Bible school. 155 Although the Greek, Jewish, and Armenian communities have Christian (primary) schools Turkish children are not permitted to attend these schools. 156 These schools are considered to be ethnic and not religious. 157 It is impossible to start an official religious school for any other faith than the Sunni-Muslim faith. 158 In practice however Christian churches Armenian Apostolic, Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant- have been able to provide catechetical training to their children on church premises. Distributing literature Christian groups received permission to spread religious literature, including the Bible, in December of However, when Rev. K. Agabaloglu asked on behalf of his church for permission from local authorities in Istanbul to undertake such activities, he was refused. 151 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Atilla Tanman, Istanbul, 21 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krikor Agabaloglu, Istanbul, 22 September Is there religious freedom in Turkey? Otmar Oehring, Forum 18, 12 October Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Atilla Tanman, Istanbul, 21 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Ihsan Ozbek, Ankara, 24 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Orhan Ozcelik, Istanbul, 22 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Atilla Tanman, Istanbul, 21 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Cevat Ozkaya, Istanbul, 21 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Andrew Hoard, Ankara 23 September 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 30 of 47

32 permission. On 5 September 2004 a foreign church worker, who had a visa, was expelled from the country for distributing Bible literature. 160 Visa It is almost impossible for a non-muslim clergyman to receive a visa to work in Turkey. The religious communities recognized under the Lausanne Treaty can invite foreign workers, although under strict regulations. In order to be granted a residence permit, which needs to be renewed every year, a priest from these communities is subject to extremely long procedures with inexplicable delays and contradictory requirements from one government office to another. 161 It is impossible for Protestant communities to invite church workers to Turkey because they are not officially recognized as religious communities. Behaviour of police All religious communities are under state surveillance, with religious minorities facing the closest scrutiny. 162 Christian leaders know they are being watched and that their telephones are tapped. Mr. I. Ozbek, President of the Alliance of Protestant Churches of Turkey, stated that there have been several cases in which government officials have followed the activities of Christian church workers and their followers. In eastern Turkey and in the smaller cities and villages harassment of Christians is especially prevalent. Whenever Christians have contact with someone, the police officials reach that person and try to dissuade them from attending the Christian church or continuing to have contact with Christians. Mr. I. Ozbek related a story about an incident which took place near the end of 2004 in Malatya. An individual (name withheld) had come into contact with members of the Christian community. The local police informed the individual s employer who subsequently threatened the individual and informed him that if he should he persist in maintaining contact with members of the Christian community he would be immediately fired. Similar incidents have taken place in Ankara and Istanbul. Mr. I. Ozbek also stated that if a person converts from Islam to another faith police officers have been known to visit their families. Families start to be ashamed and anxious and try to prevent their family members from converting. 163 According to Mr. Prof. Dr. Cüneyt Can, Director of External Affairs of the Bahá í Community of Turkey, in some cities and towns Baha is faced harassment by the police and intelligence agents in the past, but he has not received any complaints in the six months prior to our interview. Because there is no clear recognition of religious groups police in some areas use this as an excuse to obstruct the full enjoyment of these groups right to freedom of religion. 164 The majority of our sources confirm however that policemen are now better trained in human rights and know that they have to protect people of all faiths. Police officials seem to be more protective of religious groups especially in the big cities. Despite this incidents still occurred where policemen (mainly plain clothes policeman) behave rudely to Christians or even assaulted them. For instance two different incidents with plain clothes policemen occurred on August 7; one in Beyazit district and one near Istiklal, Caddesi in Istanbul. 165 Most Turkish Christians remain reluctant to open a court case for fear of further persecution Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krikor Agabaloglu, Istanbul, 22 September Papal nuncio: Religious freedom only on paper, Turkish Daily News, 25 June Is there religious freedom in Turkey? Otmar Oehring, Forum 18, 12 October Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Ihsan Ozbek, Ankara, 24 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Erol Dagli, Ankara, 24 September Turkey s mistreatment of Christians becoming more brazen, Compass Direct, 30 August Telephone interview with Mr. Orhan Kemal Cengiz, 20 October 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 31 of 47

33 Discrimination Tolerance within Turkish society The government seems to be improving its policy towards religious groups. All our sources agreed that the situation has improved substantially, especially in the last three years. Despite this improvement at the government level, certain groups within Turkish society continue to be less tolerant. 167 It seems several groups are especially disappointed about the new governmental policy of not preventing religious minorities from distributing literature and even protecting them. These mainly nationalist or fundamentalist groups take the law in their own hands and also influence the population at large. 168 For instance in February of 2005, Hope International Church in Istanbul was forced to leave their premises because of indirect pressure by a nationalist/fundamentalist group on the landlord who was forced into suspending the church s rent agreement. Building owners are often afraid to rent places to Christians due to the risk of harassment from these groups. Furthermore, insurance companies will not insure these buildings as they are deemed to be high-risk objects. Over the past year vigilante groups in at least six Turkish towns (Istanbul, Eskisehir, Izmit, Samsun, Gaziantep 169 and Kars 170 ) have threatened Protestant church workers and attacked them or their places of worship. 171 Following a series of negative press and television reports there were, in the winter of 2004 and the spring of 2005, a number of attacks on churches. 172 In February of 2005, the Turkish Daily News reported for instance that a sermon prepared by the Presidency of Religious Affairs for all the mosques in Turkey, portrayed Christians as the new Crusaders, trying to attack or change the Turkish culture and religion and warning to be aware of them. 173 This sermon was read the Friday before a bomb threat was received by the International Protestant Church of Ankara. About a month later, in April, the same church was damaged by a Molotov cocktail attack. 174 In June of 2005 the intelligence agencies within the Turkish state mentioned in a new report entitled, Reactionary Elements and Risks, a group of religions which they were concerned about and which they deemed dangerous to Turkish society. 175 The report claimed to have received the information from the police. The report got a great deal of attention from the media and it was widely publicized. Christian missionary organisations, Baha is and Jehovah Witnesses were mentioned together with Hezbollah, terrorist organisations and Satanist groups. The State s assessment of these groups was coupled with a separate analysis of Islamist terrorist groups and their known leaders. Within Turkey s annual budget they were together listed as a group that would be under strong monitoring. Such portrayals in the media do at least give ground to suspicions on the part of society and thus strengthens the negative attitude towards non-muslim believers 176 Tolerance of minority religious groups often varies according to an individual s level of education and economic status. Differences can also be seen according to where a person lives. In some areas people have more tolerance to other religious groups and have more understanding of human rights. 177 In general in the eastern parts of Turkey and outside metropolitan areas there is a lack of tolerance. In these places the Christian minority fares 167 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. George Bristow, Istanbul, 22 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Andrew Hoard, Ankara, 23 September Turkey s Protestants Face wave of Attacks, Compass Direct, 19 May Muslims Horde Vandalizes Orthodox Village in Turkey, Compass Direct, 30 September Turkey s Mistreatment of Christians becoming more brazen, Compass Direct, 30 August Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Andrew Hoard, Ankara 23 September Europe reacts to Turkey s Missionary Phobia, Compass Direct, 22 June Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Andrew Hoard, Ankara 23 September Report: Missionaries Cover Turkey like a spider web, Compass Direct, 22 June Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Prof. dr. Cüneyt Can, Ankara, 23 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Erol Dagli, Ankara, 24 September 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 32 of 47

34 the worst. For this reason many Christians live in the cities, and should they live in rural areas they will often not openly confess their faith. 178 Employment According to Mr. I. Ozbek, it is hard to find a job as a Christian and should a Muslim convert to Christianity he or she often runs the risk of losing his or her job. It is hard to get a job with the government if you are Christian and Christians employed by the government are often faced with the proverbial glass ceiling. Christians also face relocation. The fate of a Turkish policeman who was relocated to eastern Turkey after being baptised in 2005 is well-known. According to Mr. O. Oehring, Christians, Baha is, and Jehovah Witnesses are often unable to find employment, especially in rural areas. Because of this many keep their faith a secret and many leave their ID cards unchanged if they are converts from Islam to another faith, in order to avoid being discriminated against. 179 Media Room for religion on national radio and television RTÜK is the organisation responsible for radio and television. They are not independent, but fall under the umbrella of the government. The censorship board is chosen by the government. 180 RTUK gives broadcasting time to Muslim programs but not to other religious groups. 181 Mr. S. Tufan, general manager of Shema Radio, runs a Christian radio station in Ankara. They have been broadcasting now for 5 years up to 24 hours a day. Shema Radio obtained a national security licence for their radio station only one year ago. Two years ago, in 2003, the radio station received a warning that Shema Radio was not allowed to read Bible verses on-air and received a fine. In January of 2004 the RTÜK, upon learning that Shema Radio was planning to broadcast the story of Daniel, prohibited the station from continuing with this programming. The RTÜK provided Shema Radio with a program they deemed more appropriate. In April of 2004, RTÜK gave the radio station another warning for reading passages from the Bible. It was recommended that they broadcast something else. If they refused RTÜK would shut down the radio station permanently. At the moment this case is pending at the highest court. 182 Behaviour of the Media Religious minorities claim that they endure more discrimination from society because of the negative and false publicity that is spread about them. The press is reportedly very free in distributing these reports and there seems to be no effective government control over the content of media reports. 183 The attitude on both radio and television about Christians is reportedly worse than last year, 184 but it is impossible for the Christian community to take legal recourse because the media attacks groups and not specific persons. There is no direct victim, but indirectly Christians as a group face the consequences. 178 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Ihsan Ozbek, Ankara, 24 September Is there religious freedom in Turkey? Otmar Oehring, Forum 18, 12 October Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Orhan Ozcelik, Istanbul, 22 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Krikor Agabaloglu, Istanbul, 22 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Soner Tufan, Ankara, 24 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Andrew Hoard, Ankara 23 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Atilla Tanman, Istanbul, 21 September 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 33 of 47

35 Local media attacks church in Samsun In the Black Sea city of Samsun, a local church was verbally attacked by the local media. The media charged that the church was selling Korean women. As a result of these false charges there reigns a strong anti-christian mentality in Samsun. In May 2005 several acts of vandalism were reported against the Agape House Church, a Protestant congregation in Samsun. The attacks included broken windows, as well as numerous incidents when eggs were thrown at the building. 185 They have a building that is not yet accepted by the mayor. Sometimes during the service people carrying walky-talkies can be seen walking around the building. Missionary danger Several TV channels waged a campaign against Christians at the end of 2004 and the beginning of Television stations, newspapers and even local politician defined the spreading of the gospel by Protestant Christians in some cities at no charge and the existence Christians as missionary danger. 186 According to Mr. A. Hoard, elder of the International Protestant Church of Ankara, the government has not taken steps against the incitement of hatred by the media. 187 Rather the government, at times, appears to add oil to the fire. On the 25 June 2005 the Turkish Minister of State for Religious Affairs, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Aydin, was quoted in the media as saying that missionaries threatened the unity of the nation, despite the fact that he had to admit later that there have been only 268 conversions to Christianity over the last five years Turkey s Protestants Face wave of Attacks, Compass Direct, 19 May Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Ihsan Ozbek, Ankara, 24 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Andrew Hoard, Ankara 23 September Papal nuncio: Religious freedom only on paper, Turkish Daily News, 25 June 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 34 of 47

36 Appendix I: The Copenhagen Criteria In June 1993, the European Council at Copenhagen laid down the foundations for the current enlargement process by declaring that the associated countries in Central and Eastern Europe that so desire shall become members of the European Union and by defining the membership conditions, the so-called Copenhagen criteria. Under the Copenhagen criteria, membership requires that the candidate country ensures: Stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the respect for and protection of minorities : the political criteria. Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam in May 1999, these requirements have been enshrined as constitutional principles in the Treaty on European Union, and have been emphasised in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, that was proclaimed at the Nice European Council in December In order to evaluate the extent to which candidates meet the political criteria, the Commission not only provides a description of their various institutions (Parliament, Executive, and Judiciary), but examines how the various rights and freedoms are exercised in practice. With regard to human rights, the Commission analyses the way in which the candidate countries respect and implement the provisions of the major human rights conventions, including in particular the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 35 of 47

37 Appendix II: Critics on The New Bulgarian Religious Law The New Bulgarian Religious Law: Restrictive and Discriminatory 189 By Prof. Dr. Krassimir Kanev ( ) As the main purpose of the new act is to legally reunite the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) by force of law, it makes a special provision for its incorporation. Article 10 provides that the BOC, a member if the United, Holy, Congregational and Apostolic Church, i.e. of the union of the eastern orthodox churches headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul, is a juridical person ex lege. Paragraph 3 of the transitory and final provisions of the law forbids any person who has split from a religious institution in violation of its statutes to use an identical name and. its property. As the Ecumenical Patriarch recognizes only the synod of Maxim, it is clear that it will be recognized as a juridical person ex lege and the Alternative Synod will be banned from using the name of the Orthodox Church and all the property it possesses will be transferred to the Synod of Maxim. In addition, the law, in its Article 36, envisages fines for anybody who without power to represent, undertakes activities on behalf of a religious denomination. Thus the Alternative Synod becomes effectively outlawed. This provision was passed with the votes of the members of parliament from the NMSS and the BSP. The MRF, coalition partner of the NMSS, voted against this particular provision but supported the other provisions of the law. The New act contains many other restrictive and discriminatory provisions, which are the result of prejudiced views towards minority religions, as well as towards religion per se. They are also the result of a very poor knowledge of the international human rights law as well as the nature of the different religious beliefs. Some of them are simply absurd and are impossible to enforce. Thus, Article 7(4) of the law provides that no rights and freedoms of the persons who are members of a religious community may be restricted by the internal rules, rituals and rites of this community or institution. Read literally, the provision prohibits a number of canonic regulations, such as the Adventists and the Jewish ban on working on Saturday or the Muslims ban on drinking alcohol. The provision does not say fundamental rights and freedoms but just rights and freedoms and therefore lends itself to an overly broad interpretation and can become a basis for various abuses. Moreover, it is discriminatory, as no such provision exists for non-religious associations. The new act expands the grounds for restriction of the right to manifest religious beliefs beyond the ones permitted by international law. Thus, to the legitimate ones 190 it ads national security, a ban to use religious beliefs for political purposes 191 and a ban on the involvement of minors in any kind of religious activities without the express permission of their parents (Articles 7(1), (2) and (5)). Discrimination goes further with Article 8 (1) of the act, which envisages punitive measures that may be imposed on religious communities through the Court on a motion by any interested party for the violation of certain legal provisions. These include: banning the 189 European Yearbook of Minority Issues Vol 2,2002/3, , 2004 Koninklijke Brill NV, Printed in the Netherlands 190 Article 9 of the ECHR and Article 18 of the CCPR allow restrictions of the freedom to manifest one s religion only in the interest of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. As the UN Human Rights Committee stated in its General Comment 22 on Article 18 of the CCPR: The Committee observes that paragraph 3 of Article 18 is to be strictly interpreted: restrictions are not allowed on grounds not specified there, even if they would be allowed as restrictions to other rights protected in the Covenant, such as national security. (UN Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev.1 at 35, 1994, para.8) 191 In fact, these are the grounds for restricting religious freedom provided for by Article 13(4) and Article 37(2) of the Bulgarian Constitution. Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 36 of 47

38 distribution of printed materials; banning any printing activity; restricting public events; revoking the registration of a charitable institution; suspending the activities of the juridical person for up to six months and a permanently revoking the juridical person s status. Most of these punitive measures affecting its juridical person status. In fact, the law provides for a double system of punishments. According to Article 38 the Directorate of Religious Denominations may impose administrative fines on individuals or groups for any breach of the law, the act does not prohibit the imposition of two types of punishment (judicial and administrative) for the same offence. Article 27(1) of the new act provides that non-profit organizations dedicated to supporting and advocating certain religious beliefs may only be created with the approval of the respective religious institution, which, for its part, should be registered. This provision was introduced to block the incorporation of religious denominations under the cover of non-profit organisations. Such organizations that might use this opportunity at present in Bulgaria are the Unification Church which has already applied unsuccessfully to obtain the status of a religious denomination and the Church of Scientology, which has never applied for such a status. No such provision exists for non-religious organizations whatever type. ( ) Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 37 of 47

39 Appendix III - Raid on Church Buildings Bulgarian Orthodox Church Continued persecution of the Alternative Synod in 2005 The Alternative Synod faced some resistance during this last year from some unknown groups. For example, on the 10 th of June, 2005 the altar of the Holy Saint Paraskeva in Sofia was partially burned. This occurred on a day of celebration for the church. The temple dedicated to Saint Ilia in Sofia was also burnt and this too occurred just prior to a church celebration which took place on the 20 th of July. Although nothing can be proved the Alternative Synod believes that these attacks were committed in an attempt to threaten and discourage the members of the Alternative Synod, especially considering the attacks both occurred around days of special holy events. 192 Mr. Krustev claims however that the first incident was caused by faulty wiring and declares to know nothing about the second incident. At the moment priests employed by the Alternative Synod and their families are struggling financially due to the seizure and closure of their churches in They also cannot afford medical treatment, for themselves or their families. 193 According to Mr. C. Latinov, representative of the Alternative Synod, prosecutors and investigators not only seized the buildings belonging to the Alternative Synod but also took away legal documents belonging to the church and its clergy. The dispossessed priests and their families are now unable to register for (health) insurances or at the office for unemployment seeing as they have no way to disprove claims that they are unemployed because their contract was cancelled nor prove their legal status as clergy connected with a church. Nicola Zakortjanen, one of the many priests left without recourse after 2004 and a resident of Bansko, died of a heart attack last year. He and his family were unable to pay the necessary doctor s fees for his treatment. 194 Legal Basis for Expropriation? According to Paragraph 3 of the Transitional and Final Provisions of the 2002 Law on Religious Denominations, persons who have seceded from a registered religious institution in violation of its approved statute cannot use an identical name and use or manage its property. This means that only when a group violates the statutes of the concerned religious group does it lose its right to use the property belonging to the denomination. In the case of the BOC, their statutes did not address the possibility of an internal split. In which case there could be no secession in violation of the religious institutions statutes in which case the Alternative Synod was not prohibited from continuing to use the property it always had when it split from the BOC in However this provision forms part of the basis for the prosecutor s actions in July of The State intervened in religious matters because there were no applicable rules, no information or policy regarding the settlement of property issues in the case of a split within a religious group. 195 It is the duty of the general prosecutor to act if a crime connected with the possession of property has (may have) been committed. The only crime committed by the Alternative Synod s Board of Trustees who had the titles to the seized properties was in this case: splitting up. 192 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Kamen Barakov, Sofia, 18 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Latchezar Popov, Sofia, 19 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Christo Latinov, Sofia, 20 September Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Latchezar Popov, Sofia, 19 September 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 38 of 47

40 Another justification used by the prosecutor for the manner of the seizure was that it was an urgent matter. The urgency of this matter is in light of the facts doubtful. The Alternative Synod had managed and occupied the churches concerned for almost 12 years of peaceful possession 196. The raid took place after the situation has been tolerated by the four separate governments that had been elected since the split in 1992 and five years after the chief prosecutor himself had been elected A building becomes the property of the user after 10 years of peaceful possession. 197 Jubilee Campaign NL Interview with Mr. Latchezar Popov, Sofia, 19 September 2005 Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 39 of 47

41 Appendix IV Ankara Kecioren Gospel Church History of obstacles in obtaining a place for worship The Ankara governor s office was informed that the church was beginning to meet (document number 295) A notice came from the Ankara governor s office (document number B.05.1.EGM /2001) stating that if a church is opened at the stated address, legal action would be taken The church wrote an answer to the governor s office (this date, document number 436) A notice came from the Ankara security police stating that the church must be closed. (document number B.05.1.EGM /1/2002) The church made an official request to the Kecioren municipal division of Ankara for them to inform the church of a suitable place to meet. (document number 1259) An official request was made to the central city government of Ankara to provide or to inform the church of a suitable place to meet. (document no. 745) Erol Dagli gave testimony to the Ankara prosecutor. The charge: violation of T.C.K. law # An official complaint was registered against the head of the minorities division of the Ankara security police, Ismet Caglar, for his disturbing and inappropriate visits to the church s leader and his wife. In this regard a law suit for damages in the amount of 5,000,000,000 TL (5,000 YTL) was opened against Mr. Ismet Caglar The church s leader was given a 54,526,024 TL fine for violation of T.C.K. 529 (Court division- 9. sulh ceza mahkemesi) An official request was made by the Ankara governor s office and the Ministry of the Interior to have the church closed. This request was made to the following court, Ankara 9. idare mahkemesi and the request was numbered: / (57-19)/Konu 2002/ A request to stop this proceeding was rejected by the the above court, 9. idare mahkemesi There were usually 2-3 police from the minorities division of the Ankara security police present at each of our worship times. The spiritual atmosphere of the meetings was negatively affected by the sound of their police radios during sermons and their continual entering and leaving the building during prayer times In this time the windows of the church were broken several different times The Kecioren Gospel Church found it necessary to move At the recommendation of both the governor s office and the security police, a free standing building was rented In the night the outer door of the church was broken into, the church windows were broken and inner doors and chairs were burned The church s leader was attacked The police chief in charge of the Aktepe police station, Seref Gunler made a threatening phone call to the church s leader. Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 40 of 47

42 The church informed the Ankara governor s office concerning the address of their new meeting place Two church members experienced an attempted attack at knife point while working on the church grounds The steel garden gate of the church was raised from it s hinges and stolen The Ankara state prosecutor was officially informed concerning the attacks against the church including arson, death threats, assault and battery and drawing a weapon in public. This official notice was made to the following court, Ankara Cumhuriyet Bassavciligi In the evening, the windows of the church leader s place of business were broken An official notice was received from the Ankara governor s office and security police that our application of B.05.01EGM /35 to the city municipality was not a place suitable for worship Unknown persons entered the church and piling the kitchen door and the outer door on each other they were lit on fire Official notice was made to the Kecioren municipal division of Ankara concerning the church and the conditions being experienced At approximately 11:30 pm 6-7 persons came to the church leader s home and tried to break the door to their apartment. The Ankara State Prosecutor s office was notified of this (2003/29167) The church s newly installed steel outer door received damage from unknown persons A fire was started under the church s steel garden gate Several people made threatening statements from outside the church leader s apartment building An Ankara state head prosecutor s office was informed of the following incidents: death threats, insults and drawing a weapon An official complaint was entered against Aktepe police chief Seref Gunler to the Ankara security police board of inquiry. This complaint concerned the discomfort caused to the church s leader and his family. He had made statements such as, I will never allow a place of worship to be opened in this area. At the moment this church still has no way to obtain a building. Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 41 of 47

43 Appendix V Ankara Presbyterian Church History of obstacles in obtaining a place for worship: On the two story office space in the Ostim Özçelik office complex was rented. Having undergone necessary renovations, it began to be used for worship on On the Ankara Governor s Office was notified by us through document YZ03/2509A that this location had been opened for worship and visitation. On our church began worship and held its first gathering. On the Ankara Security Bureau informed us through document B.05.1.E.G.M /107 that our worship location was not part of the Public Works Plan and thus we had 30 days to apply to the municipality and complete the legal procedures in line with the Public Works Plan. On , after doing the necessary research, we applied to the Yenimahalle Municipality for the matter to be resolved or for an appropriate worship location to be identified. On the Yenimahalle Municipality informed us in writing that the place we had rented could not be made part of the Public Works Plan. However, acknowledging our request, they identified several approved properties. On , in keeping with the document we received from the municipality on , we informed the Governor s Office of our situation. After some research, we wrote to the municipality about meeting with them concerning an approved place. On we wrote to the Yenimahalle Municipality requesting that a piece of property approved for worship be allocated to us. On the municipality informed us in writing that our request could be met, but that a signature of approval was needed from the Governor s Office or the Yenimahalle District Office. On in keeping with the document from the municipality, we applied to the Ankara Governor s Office and requested property. On , in document B.05.1.EGM /4997 from the Ankara Governor s Office, it was put forward that our congregation was not of sufficient size in our area, and our request was rejected. On we received an edict from the Ankara Seventh Lower Criminal Court. We learned that we had committed a crime on for holding worship (disobeying the order of an authorized official) and that on through the decision of the court, our two pastors had received a punishment of three months in jail. (Our jail sentence was converted into a monetary fine). We appealed the decision but lost that court case as well. On we were called to the Ankara Security Bureau. Canceling the document B.05.1.EGM /4997, they replaced it with a new document with the same number. In this document they directed us to make our request for property to the Yenimahalle District Office. Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 42 of 47

44 On , following the instructions of this last document we applied to the Yenimahalle District Office. On the Yenimahalle District Office gave a positive response to our request and directed us to the National Real Estate Bureau connected to the Ankara Governor s Office to complete the purchasing procedure. On we applied to the National Real Estate Bureau for purchase of the property. (However, despite it now being October of 2005, they still have not issued a response.) On we left our location in Ostim at the request of the landlord. Until we searched, unsuccessfully, for a place where we could worship. On that date we found another location in Ostim and are hoping that we will negotiate an agreement soon. Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 43 of 47

45 Appendix VI: Methodology To monitor the situation on religious freedom in Bulgaria religious leaders and experts of different religions have been interviewed about their situation and about incidents that occurred in the country last year. Further different national legal experts have been conducted to inform about the last legal developments. For the update of the report information freely available on the internet was used and Turkey and Bulgaria were visited. Some people who were accidentally in the Netherlands have been interviewed as well. Others were interviewed by phone or gave their opinion and experiences by . List of informants Bulgaria Mr. Theodor Angelov, secretary of the European Baptist Union, Sofia Mr. Kamen Barakov, Bulgarian orthodox priest, member of the so called Alternative Synod of Inocentius, Archbishop of Sophia Mr. Kemal Eup, Chairman of Commission on Discrimination in Bulgaria, Sofia Mr. Dimitri Gotchev, former judge of the European Court of Human Rights, former judge of the Bulgarian Supreme Court and former judge of the Bulgarian Constitutional Court, in Sofia Mr. Ivan Hazarbassanov, pastor, Christian Center Sofia, Chairman of Faith Churches in Bulgaria deputy representative of National Alliance United Churches of God in Sofia Mr. Christo Latinov, church defender of the so called Alternative Synod of Inocentius, Archbishop of Sophia Mr. Krassimir Kanev, director of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and professor of sociology and human rights at the state universities of Plovdiv and Sofia Mr. Liubomir Kiuchukov, legal adviser of the Jehovah Witnesses, Sofia Mr. Georgi Krustev, Councillor of the Directorate of Religious Affairs within the Bulgarian ministry of Interior. Mr. Nikolay Nedelchev President of the European Evangelical Alliance Mr. Nikolay Nikolov, pastor of the Evangelical Pentecostal Church in North Zagora Ms. Diana Neykova, lawyer European Law Centre Sofia Mr. Stoyko Petkov, president of Christian Association Studio 865, Sofia Mr. Latchezar Popov, chairman of the Rule of Law Institute, Sofia and president of Advocates Europe Rev. Viktor Virtchev, President of Bulgarian Evangelical Alliance Romania Dr. Paul Negrut, President of the Evangelical Alliance of Romania and President of the Romanian Baptist Union Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 44 of 47

46 Mr. Mircea Patrasescu, general director of Mastermedia in Romania Turkey Mr. Kirkor Agabaloglu, Pastor of Gedikpasa Armenian Evangelical Church, Istanbul Mr. George Bristow, Pastor of Besiktas Protestan Kilisesi, Istanbul Mr. Prof. Dr. Cüneyt Can, Director of External Affairs of the Bahá í Community of Turkey, Ankara Mr. Orhan Kemal Cengiz, President of the Human Rights Agenda Association and Legal Consultant Alliance of Protestant Churches, Izmir Mr. Erol Dagli, Pastor of Müjde Gospel Church, Ankara Mr. Andrew Hoard, elder of the International Protestant Church of Ankara Mr. Yavuz Kapusuz, Pastor of Ankara Presbiteryen Kilisesi, Ankara Mr. Peter Lamprecht, correspondent Middle East Bureau, Compass Direct, Istanbul Mr. Carlos Madrigal, Founder-Pastor of the Istanbul Protestant Church Foundation, Istanbul Mr. Dr. Otmar Oehring, Head of the Human Rights Office of Missio - Internationales Katholisches Missionswerk - Aachen Mr. Ihsan Ozbek, President of the Alliance of Protestant Churches in Turkey, Pastor of Kurtulus Kilisesi, Ankara Mr. Orhan Ozcelik, President of Protestant Research Group Silas, Istanbul Mr. Cevat Ozkaya, President of Mazlum-Der Turkish Human Rights Organisation, Istanbul Mr. Atilla Tanman, lawyer, Istanbul Mr. Soner Tufan, General Manager of Shema Radio, Ankara Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 45 of 47

47 Appendix VII: List of participants EVANAID STIFTUNG Jubilee Campaign NL Stichting Kom Over En Help Stichting 3xM P.O. box 643, 3800 AP Amersfoort the Netherlands Tel Fax The Bible League P.O. box 567, 3800 AN Amersfoort the Netherlands Tel Fax Dorcas Hulp Nederland Postbus 12, 1619 ZG Andijk the Netherlands Tel: Fax: Evanaid Stiftung Werkstrasse 2 CH-7000 Chur Switzerland Stichting Hulp Oost-Europa Postbus AL Barneveld the Netherlands Tel Jubilee Campaign NL P.O. box 21, 3970 AA Driebergen the Netherlands Tel Fax Stichting Kom Over En Help P.O. box 138, 3860 AC Nijkerk the Netherlands Tel Fax Operatie Mobilisatie Nederland Assemblageweg BB Emmeloord Telefoon (0527) Fax (0527) info@nl.om.org Stichting De Ondergrondse Kerk (SDOK) P.O. box 705, 4200 AS Gorinchem the Netherlands Tel Fax Religious Freedom in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey In depth page 46 of 47