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REPRESENTATIVES OF ARMENIAN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES SEE BENEFIT OF IWPR-SPONSORED DEBATES ON RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting IWPR
http://iwpr.net/report-news/caucasus-dec-%E2%80%9810jan-%E2%80%9811-0
March 8 2011
UK
Representatives of minority faiths in Armenia have urged IWPR to stage
more round tables on the problems they face following a wide-ranging
discussion on the subject.
The January 27 event - attended by clerics, rights activists,
journalists, government officials and concerned citizens - focused on
reported violations of the rights of minority faiths; discrimination
against them; and, more generally, their role in Armenian society.
Armenia ratified the European Convention on Human Rights in 2002,
committing itself to respecting citizens' religious freedom.
Nonetheless, many religious minorities say they are discriminated
against, and that the Apostolic Church - which is followed by almost
all Armenians - has an unfair advantage.
Stepan Danielyan, head of the Cooperation for Democracy Centre,
said that attempts by parliament to restrict the rights of smaller
Christian groups were very worrying.
In March 2009, parliament passed a first reading of a bill which would
have banned "proselytising" and attempted to define Christianity as
a belief in the Holy Trinity, which would have excluded Jehovah's
Witnesses being registered as Christians. The project was dropped
after a wave of opposition.
Avetik Ishkhanyan, chairman of the Armenian Helsinki Committee,
opened the IWPR discussion by setting out the problems faced by
religious organisations in Armenia. He said the Armenian authorities,
media and society have an intolerant attitude towards minority faiths.
"They are vulnerable, there is no tolerance of them. The media use
the word sect to describe them, which has an insulting connotation in
Armenia," he said. "The ruling political parties and opposition have a
negative attitude towards representatives of religious organisations,
except for atheists and followers of Armenian Apostolic Church."
Yerevan Evangelical Church pastor Levon Partakchyan spoke about the
unfair advantage the Armenian Apostolic Church had over other religious
groups. "For instance, they forbid us from preaching in prisons,
but representatives of Armenian Apostolic Church can do so," he said.
Vardan Astsatryan, head of the government's department for ethnic
minorities and religious affairs, admitted that problems raised by
experts and representatives of religious groups do exist.
"Of course, there should be legislative amendments - however one
cannot speak of the total absence of tolerance. Here, we should speak
of the level and extent of tolerance," Astsatryan said.
Leaders of evangelical churches felt the round table assisted them
in their bid to bring to the fore concerns over intolerance and
discrimination.
Samvel Navoyan, secretary of the Armenian evangelical churches
cooperation group, said, "The discussion was extremely necessary. It
raised questions that urgently need to be discussed. In my opinion,
the most useful part was the discussion about freedom of conscience
legislation. I expect further discussions organised by the Institute
for War and Peace Reporting on this specific problem."
Rubik Pahlevanyan of the Armenian Evangelical-Baptist Church said,
"Discussion of any problem is welcomed and useful in Armenia. The
church-to-church discussion was very useful. I suggest organising
smaller discussions on specific problems in the future."
From: A. Papazian
Institute for War and Peace Reporting IWPR
http://iwpr.net/report-news/caucasus-dec-%E2%80%9810jan-%E2%80%9811-0
March 8 2011
UK
Representatives of minority faiths in Armenia have urged IWPR to stage
more round tables on the problems they face following a wide-ranging
discussion on the subject.
The January 27 event - attended by clerics, rights activists,
journalists, government officials and concerned citizens - focused on
reported violations of the rights of minority faiths; discrimination
against them; and, more generally, their role in Armenian society.
Armenia ratified the European Convention on Human Rights in 2002,
committing itself to respecting citizens' religious freedom.
Nonetheless, many religious minorities say they are discriminated
against, and that the Apostolic Church - which is followed by almost
all Armenians - has an unfair advantage.
Stepan Danielyan, head of the Cooperation for Democracy Centre,
said that attempts by parliament to restrict the rights of smaller
Christian groups were very worrying.
In March 2009, parliament passed a first reading of a bill which would
have banned "proselytising" and attempted to define Christianity as
a belief in the Holy Trinity, which would have excluded Jehovah's
Witnesses being registered as Christians. The project was dropped
after a wave of opposition.
Avetik Ishkhanyan, chairman of the Armenian Helsinki Committee,
opened the IWPR discussion by setting out the problems faced by
religious organisations in Armenia. He said the Armenian authorities,
media and society have an intolerant attitude towards minority faiths.
"They are vulnerable, there is no tolerance of them. The media use
the word sect to describe them, which has an insulting connotation in
Armenia," he said. "The ruling political parties and opposition have a
negative attitude towards representatives of religious organisations,
except for atheists and followers of Armenian Apostolic Church."
Yerevan Evangelical Church pastor Levon Partakchyan spoke about the
unfair advantage the Armenian Apostolic Church had over other religious
groups. "For instance, they forbid us from preaching in prisons,
but representatives of Armenian Apostolic Church can do so," he said.
Vardan Astsatryan, head of the government's department for ethnic
minorities and religious affairs, admitted that problems raised by
experts and representatives of religious groups do exist.
"Of course, there should be legislative amendments - however one
cannot speak of the total absence of tolerance. Here, we should speak
of the level and extent of tolerance," Astsatryan said.
Leaders of evangelical churches felt the round table assisted them
in their bid to bring to the fore concerns over intolerance and
discrimination.
Samvel Navoyan, secretary of the Armenian evangelical churches
cooperation group, said, "The discussion was extremely necessary. It
raised questions that urgently need to be discussed. In my opinion,
the most useful part was the discussion about freedom of conscience
legislation. I expect further discussions organised by the Institute
for War and Peace Reporting on this specific problem."
Rubik Pahlevanyan of the Armenian Evangelical-Baptist Church said,
"Discussion of any problem is welcomed and useful in Armenia. The
church-to-church discussion was very useful. I suggest organising
smaller discussions on specific problems in the future."
From: A. Papazian