Minority human rights and religious freedom under attack in Moldova

Our Lord Jesus is a common sight in Tiraspol. Not so in Moldova, where lawmakers are accused of anti-religious discrimination

WASHINGTON D.C. (Tiraspol Times / Standard Newswire) - Pridnestrovie, widely known as Transnistria as well as Transdnestr, received no criticism in a review of a draft religion law issued Tuesday by the Washington D.C.-based Institute on Religion and Public Policy, an American watchdog group fighting for religious freedom around the world.

The Institute, however, had harsh words for neighboring Moldova, with Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski and Expert Committee Chair William C. Walsh pointing out a number of serious violations of fundamental rights under Moldova's draft Law on Religious Cults, the ('Religion Law').

Moldova, Europe's poorest country, has a deteriorating human rights record and was designed a failed state in 2006 by the influential Foreign Policy magazine, published by the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, DC.

Now, the Washington-based Institute sent a letter to Marian Lupu, Chairman of Moldova's Parliament, criticizing the new law which it says "represent[s] a serious setback for religious freedom in Moldova."

Some of the provisions in the draft Religion Law are too broad and vague, thereby vesting unbridled discretion in officials on fundamental matters relating to religious freedom. Article 6 prohibits individuals from belonging to more than one religious denomination simultaneously, in violation of international human rights standards. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion includes the freedom to choose and to change one's religion without coercion by the State.

Government can shut down minority churches when it wants to

"Article 14 of the draft Law requires registered religious denominations that have ecclesiastic institutions of justice to submit the regulations of these institutions for approval by the State," the letter goes on to point out. "Such a provision will inevitably entangle the State in religious matters outside of the government's proper sphere."

"Article 28 of the draft Law requires each religious denomination to "have a central organ which will represent it." This requirement can violate the congregational structuring of a religious organization, and the European Court of Human Rights have already ruled against Moldova in such a matter, in the case of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia v. Moldova. Apparently Moldova feels that even if it loses in human rights courts abroad, it can still continue to violate the rights of its citizens with impunity regardless.

Other articles allow the Moldovan government to close churches for infractions which, at most, would result in a warning or a small fine in other countries. Grieboski and Walsh emphasized that, "[t]he law's allowance for such harsh remedies as suspension, liquidation and prohibition of activities for relatively minor deficiencies represents an unnecessary infringement on the right of religious denominations and religious organizations to freedom of religion."

Praise for Pridnestrovie's commitment to religious freedom and minority rights

The Washington-based Institute urged Moldova to scrap the draft law, and to ensure that "Moldova's laws promote and uphold religious freedom rather than discriminate against minority religious groups."

In comparison, Pridnestrovie has no such law which violates international norms or limits freedom of religion. The small, unrecognized country - consisting of a total of 35 ethnic minorities - has received praise for its commitment to minority rights, including guarantees of religious freedom.

In Pridnestrovie, the country's parliament refused to approve a draft law which would limit the rights of non-Orthodox religious groups in the republic.

Although the Christian Orthodox church is the largest, it is not guaranteed any special treatment. On 14 April 2004, Pridnestrovie's parliament refused to approve a draft law which would limit the rights of non-Orthodox religious groups in the republic.

In doing so, it reaffirmed Pridnestrovie as a country where freedom of religion is protected by the country's constitution and where a multi-ethnic population lives peacefully as neighbors throughout the mixed nation. (With information from Standard Newswire)

See also:
» Religious freedom under review, preference for state religion rejected by parliament
» US foreign policy org: "Moldova is a failed state"

On the web:
» Institute on Religion and Public Policy (Washingtonb D.C.)